Sarina.

Another town I’ve been wanting to visit. Sigh. One day.

That day has come!
Sarina was a beautiful beautiful town.

and I’m not just saying that because it was the first beach I’ve encountered with waves.

I headed down to the beach of course and jumped under the car to make sure everything is okay… I clocked a water leak the day before and couldn’t locate it.

A girl was walking past fresh from the water (a mermaid?) and she asked if I was okay and suggested it might be the AC. Ha! The AC. I don’t usually use it, so checks out. Phantom leak solved.

This girl was really lovely and we were talking for a little bit. She owns a cafe in town and I went there on my way through – the barista who I gathered was her sister was really lovely also.

Sometimes I think people are just so lovely and then I remember they may be responding to my demeanor (me projecting) which is a feel good hit.

It’s been windy intermittently and my girl doesn’t handle the wind well. She’s carrying a bit of height and while I got new suspension, I still get a little paranoid. A lot paranoid. Every now and then the wind pulls the car and I wanted to get it checked over.

I called a wheel alignment place in Sarina, but they were booked out until Friday. I managed to get a booking in Rockhampton the next day.

On my way back through, the wheel aligners in Sarina called back and said they could squeeze me in. Praise the lord! The staff were really really lovely and they had a dog on site as well.

The tech commented on how bouncy the car is but he couldn’t see anything wrong with it. Yup, that’s my girl. Little rollercoaster.

With peace of mind, I headed off for Carmila.

I’ve been so excited about camping at Carmila Beach. I originally expected this would be my first stop.

I was really surprised at how big the camping area is – it stretches along the beach. Goes for miles.

I drove down to the end where the tent camping is, but it felt a bit suss because it was so quiet. I came back along and stopped in where other people were and got myself bogged. Turns out you need to have the car in 4WD when driving on the sand. A lovely couple directed me to move into 4L (I was actually in 4H whoops) helped me out of the sand. Literally, pushed me out.

Today, I learned you need to push the lever down to access 4L. When I say I got the car for it’s cutes, I ain’t joking.

It was cold and overcast when I arrived at the campsite, so perfect weather for me to relax really. I snuggled in with my book for the afternoon. It felt a bit strange being there on my own – there were some other campers about 10 feet over, across some bushes but I was pleased when a family pulled into my area later in the arv.

Last night it was really windy. It got dark at around 6:15pm, just as I was finishing up making my cacao and I headed in for the night. I read for a bit and tried to sleep at 7:30pm but I was honestly a bit scared for the wind. There were lots of trees around and my car is shaky at best. I watched a bit of Jack Irish (2) and put on some music to help me sleep.

I also said some prayers that no trees fall on me and that I wake up in the morning.

Anxiety is a silly thing, because how many times have I slept in the car and it hasn’t rolled away? How many times has my car been in the wind and it hasn’t toppled? It literally sat through the cyclone at the start of the year. But I wasn’t here to witness it.

A healthy dose of anxiety, if you can conquer it with logic/fact based evidence.

When I left, the car moved quite well over the sand – that sluggish 4WD power… I giggle because it’s such a silly absent minded thing (why would you let me go on this huge adventure?) but I’m learning to utilize the kindness of strangers and I think that’s a huge lesson for me at the moment.

Next stop… Yeppoon? We’ll see.