I had a frustratingly long list of items that I needed to do on Saturday, but I also knew that I needed to escape from lists, at least for a little while. So, in the afternoon, I ran away from the office and collected the APs, and we went for a drive in the country. We decided to do a little exploring of the south-west midlands area (Broadmarsh and Elderslie), and so pursued the back roads through valleys and hills made vivid green by the recent heavy rains that we have experienced and the bright winter light.
In Elderslie we took a left turn that wasn’t marked on any of my maps. Following obscure roads is a long-standing family tradition and today the payoff — as so often in the past — was a hidden gentle gem. This time it was a narrow valley that connected two larger open valleys; bushranger country that was beautiful but with hints of hostility, and then isolated paddocks of the farm we didn’t quite reach because a flock of sheep blocked the road and I didn’t want to disturb them by driving on.
We returned to the Midlands Highway via the back of Dysart, where a high point on the road gave us a good view of contoured hills and denuded winter trees.
And then, because I really didn’t want to get back to my list we stopped in Old Beach and went for a walk along the banks of the Derwent River, watching the bird life in the late afternoon sun. All in all, a very pleasant afternoon exploration.
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