Burnt land

We've seen enough of the tourist magnet Byron Bay and venture into the hinterland again, hoping to visit a national park. However, our hopes are soon dashed: we learn from the relevant website that many parks nearby are closed, including Nightcap National Park, which we wanted to visit and yesterday it was said to be open.

Later, as we drive through the countryside between the towns of Lismore and Grafton on the so-called Summerland Highway, we understand the extent of the bushfires. A band of blackened trunks and burnt earth stretches for kilometers, smoke fills the air and in some places it's still smoldering. We're amazed that we can even drive through here, but there are no road closures. However, the sight saddens us and does little to ease the frustration of not being able to visit national parks. In a café in Grafton, a local tells us that 58 families in the region have already lost their homes.

It's somewhat comforting that we've now found a very nice campground at the Wooli Wooli River, where our camper is cozily parked under a tree with purple flowers. And -- today it rained for the first time! We were able to finish the first part of our spaghetti, and then a light rain started, a welcome rain, we think. Let's hope that in other regions, this wet refreshment somewhat eases the situation.

Finally, this: as so often happens, even sad moments sometimes lead to funny situations. We're driving through the burnt land, the trees are black, the earth is black, and suddenly Heidi exclaims, 'Look, even the cows are black!' And it's true: everywhere you look, only black cows! Unfortunately, we don't have any photos to prove it.