After my Whitsunday trip I stayed around in Airlie for a few more days. Just to relax. The trip up north was more exhausting than I was expecting it to be. Mostly because I had to do so much driving. Three or four hours a day is a lot, especially when there isn’t someone else in the car to talk to.
Not much happened in Airlie the last few days I was there. I played a ton of ukulele which has been my creative outlet lately. It’s nice to have something to do that gets those creative juices flowing. I met a few new people and I partied a bit with some of the friends I already made.
From Airlie I headed a few more hours north to a camping spot near Townsville. The last ‘major’ city before getting to Cairns. Big Crystal Creek was recommended to me by a variety of people I’ve met since I got into Queensland. So I decided I couldn’t miss it.
The German group I met was supposed to meet me there but they decided that they wanted to make the drive straight to Cairns. The forecast called for a chance of rain and that scared them off unfortunately. It’s a shame because it’s a beautiful campsite. And it didn’t even rain that much. A bit during the night but nothing that would cause a problem.
So I had to enjoy this beautiful place on my own. The creek itself is pristine. A great place to take a swim and find some peace and quiet. I arrived in the late afternoon and set up camp quickly. My tent was wet from the previous camping spot so I let it sit in the sun while I checked out the creek.
I was there by myself at first and took a short swim. The water was cool and there were fish and turtles swimming around in there. Hung out for a bit and then I decided that this would be the perfect place to play some ukulele. When I got back with it there were a few more people there. So I played for them and they seemed to really enjoy it.
It’s been such a transformation for me. When I was younger I used to be so nervous to perform in front of other people. I think it’s natural. But now I am playing the ukulele and even singing for people I don’t know all that well. It’s a liberating feeling to be fair.
I met this Australian couple at the creek and they were set up in the camping site right next to me. So we got to chatting and we built a fire together later in the evening. We just chatted about a plethora of topics. Traveling in Australia, politics, self-improvement, and spirituality to name a few. It was quite relaxing.
I find you always will meet some cool and down to earth people wherever you go. Sometimes you just need to be a little brave to get the conversation flowing.