darsh's life

warrumbungles solo roadtrip, part 1

I've talked about feeling free via adventure before - to move is to feel alive. I decided to embark on a new solo adventure to a place with mountains, stars, birds, and some roads to take pictures at. Warrumbungle is a Gamilaraay word that means crooked mountain. The landscape (Warrumbungle National Park) there is shaped by millions year of erosion. It's also a place of exceptionally dark skies. As soon as this option was presented to me, I knew it was where I needed to be. At just six hours away, I decided to embark on a three day adventure and feel alive before the stride of the year swallowed me.

So come share the adventure with me, starting with part one:

day 1: roadtrip, pastries, mj lenderman, birds, sunsets, and a glimpse at the stars

the plan

I find the planning of a roadtrip very therapeutic and wholesome. It's something in the future that YOU will get to be a part of and you control. This allows me to slow down and think about what I want to see and do, take pleasure in finding out things via maps, friends, recommendations, blogs, and ultimately, fills me with a sweet anticipation. I was dipping in and out of work in between meetings and task just refining, completing, and building on the adventure day by day a few weeks out of the trip (though a lot of it did get finalised in the last week as it always happens 😅). Here is what the final whiteboard looked like 😊:

The plan was to spend 3 days in the Warrumbungles from Thu-Sat:

So it's Wednesday evening now and everything is now packed, I'm going to sleep at a reasonable hour soon! Oh wait, I just checked my email and my cabin booking is cancelled due to maintenance issues. Scramble!!!

Welp, turns out I will have to pay a bit to get a motel in town and out of cheapness I choose the motel further away from the town. I was pretty proud of quickly making a decision here as I did not want to jeopardise this trip. Gotta love that adrenalin right before bedtime. Guess who didn't sleep as well as they think they would?

I wish past, younger Darsh could have taken solace in the fact that I will be able to make decisions like this without freaking out in the future and be more resilient.

driving and being free; rolling landscapes

One of my favourite things about a roadtrip is seeing the landscapes change. From the city, to the fringe, to rolling hills and landscapes. It feels so freeing. There's nothing else but you, the car, the road, and going through space and time to reach a destination. I decided to stop by places where I could capture a photo of things that caught my eye. Whilst I was worried it would disrupt my driving flow, it worked out really well because they would be short stops as the car ran and I was forced to make a quick, good, composition.

I saw myself regretting not stopping at a lot of places in the beginning though thinking I should be optimising for time. But I am glad I realised that I have plenty of time and it's ok to not follow the "optimal" way to get to places as long as you're getting something out of it.

I did a lot of thinking during this drive though. It was just me and my thoughts. I won't lie, it was harder than I thought it would be. A lot of things I tried to talk and think through (whilst also being safe on the road) just led to more things and discoveries and new anxieties and realisations. Ultimately, music brought me out of that and I started thinking constructively again. I think doing a solo roadtrip whilst going through a new crush and how that affects your very being is a highly productive therapeutic experience :D

soundtrack: mj lenderman

I hadn't planned out albums and soundtracks for this trip. I decided to go by what I was feeling. I played Bloc Party, The Smiths, some podcasts, Lily Chou-Chou, and finally MJ Lenderman. I felt like he called out to me as I went through a million thoughts in my head with the emotional state I was in. I put Manning Fireworks on repeat. Now, every time I listen to this album, I get the sense that I am free and life is passing me by as I drive through it.

a love for small towns

Towns/rest stops visited:

I love doing rest stops at small towns along the way. A thought I always have is what it must be like to live in these towns day to day. What is the community like? What is like compared to city life? How much do I take for granted being in a metropolitan area? Would I ever fit in? Is it a solution to all of life's modern problems? It's easy to romanticise it too, especially from a city-person's point of view. And I think I just accept that I will never truly be able to comment on it unless I do spend time in places like these and contribute to these communities.

I took in the sights, murals, pies, pastries, coffees, and set off to my destination.

new bird excitement; my last minute motel

I reached Coonabarabran safely (the biggest town around the Warrumbungles) and decided to go to the visitor's centre in the national park straight away. I had to register my intention for my solo hiking trip the following day and I wanted to get some tips for my plan in case it rained/stormed (hint: foreshadowing). Straight away after getting out of the car and stretching my legs, I hear new birds! Instead of heading straight into the visitors centre, I go around the trees to try and spot and ID some birds. I am excited to see some adorable White Plumed Honeyeaters forage around in trees. It also seemed they figured out to go under newly parked cars to see if they can find a quick snack. Then as I headed into the visitors centre, I notice some Rufous Whistler (IDed via their call because they looked too similar to Jacky Winters).

I'm glad I went to the visitors centre first because I got some great tips for how to navigate the hike (vs my initial route). And just seeing the view of the mountains and the birds made me feel much more connected to the place I was now in.

I headed to the town to pick up some last minute supplies (and lunch) and then to my new accommodation around 20 minutes away from the town. The one that I booked at 9pm the night before after quickly checking my options and finding the most reasonably priced room in the area. My new motel was one of the best new discoveries I could have hoped for. It's one of those situations where you wonder how the heck did such a beautiful series of events occur? Just listen to what I was gifted with:

I feel so thankful that things worked out. I definitely don't take these moments for granted and these little happy accidents keep things interesting 😊.

dash to the sunset

With the new motel actually being around civilisation, I could be a little more adventurous and improvisational. After chatting more with my new friend (at the motel), I decided to retire back to my room and get ready to catch a sunset. I was so present at this moment. I have my camera in one hand, resisting the urge to pick up my other lenses, a water bottle in the other, and I set off into the light that will start diminishing soon. It's a 20 minute drive and I think I've timed it perfectly. The road looks different in this light. I'm one of the few cars heading out this way.

I think I'm listening to The Smiths again. I'm just stoked to have this plan be set out for me but also cautiously reserved and just going with the flow.

After traversing the bends and loops of the road leading to the national park, I make it to Whitegum Lookout with plenty of time to spare.

I made it! I walk through the short track. I already notice a grey fantail following me amongst the other bird calls and song that is present towards dusk. It's just me walking up this track. I feel really at peace here. When I reach the lookout after around 5-10 minutes of walking, the crooked, ancient, eroded mountain peaks stare right into my soul as I take it all in. I bask in it all and make my way to the edge to sit down and take in the sunset on my sweet, sweet lonesome.

The ravens are calling in the background and the air starts to quieten. I am here at the edge, about to see the sun set over the 15-million year old peaks that I will be climbing tomorrow. Camera in one hand, switching between taking in the last light through my eyes and through the film in my camera. I have a sudden urge to share this moment with someone, and I am so glad I decided to video call my parents. It's one thing to have these sights in front of me, but what's the use if I can't spread that joy to someone else in the moment?

On my way back, I feel content and thankful I was able to experience this. I will say though, I do wish I had brought a friend along to share this moment with (there's a story where my friend Wil and I also just made it to the sunset when we did our Sydney to Adelaide road trip last year).

After cautiously driving back to the motel (and avoiding wallabies, wild pigs, and kangaroos) I'm finally back and begin preparing for my hike tomorrow.

the stars

When I returned home, night had well and truly arrived. I cannot describe how good it was to then step outside of my room and see one of the main things I had yearned for when picking this place to explore: the stars in all their unadulterated glory.

There's something so human about feeling small amongst the sea of stars in the sky (once your eyes adjust) in a place where there is nearly zero light pollution. This is what we were meant to see each and every day. As I gaze into the night sky, tracking the satellites, planets, milky way, constellations, and just clusters upon clusters of white sparkling dots, I can't help but think whether we would all be better to each other if this is something we all go to do every single night.

I wanted to stay out all night, but I remembered I had an early morning hike to get to. I ignored that and stared for another few minutes and then reluctantly retreated inside to prepare and rest. I will see you again tomorrow if I am fortunate, stars.

Stay tuned for some star trails I captured on night two in the next blog post!

☶

#hike #travel