Evening of June 18: my mobile phone has had no reception since leaving West from Charters Towers – no contact with home for two days.

Bushcamping West of the Campaspe River between the road and the railway line. A rough, restless night. Three goods trains thundered past the campsite, and a dozen or more road-trains shook the earth nearby. Sleep became elusive with images of a huge, black, wild pig dead on the roadside earlier in the day.

At last I sleep, only to be woken by a dreadful feeling of foreboding, misgiving and apprehension…

…I knew: I shouldn’t go on.

In the morning, tinned tuna and biscuits for breakfast and a 16 km ride to Pentland where I checked into a cabin. Over lunch, and still filled with the foreboding of the previous evening, I made my decision – abandon my ride totally, and return home.

I always listen to my feelings – I received a message two days later: my wife was in hospital again.

I won’t be resuming my venture. Such is life!

Tags: feeling, hospital, pig, road train