September 29 2021 _ Heysen Trail Day 14

Hey there

I'm still walking...

Just spent the last three days at an organic vineyard near Tanunda called Smallfry Barossa

In exchange for a few hours work amongst the vines each day, I was provided a roof over my head, a bed, a well-stocked kitchen and a shower

What more could you want?

I met a few interesting people during this time, also staying and working the property

It was hard to leave. I could have easily stayed weeks. But, I've got to keep moving along the trail. Decided to head off early yesterday afternoon

Walked 13 kilometres from Smallfry to Rossiter Hut, through the Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park

It finally happened. I've been able to dodge it along the Heysen Trail so far, but this time I basically walked straight into a thunderstorm

About an hour and a half of walking in steady rain all told. It wasn't so bad. Put the raincover on my pack and a jacket over myself. Got a bit soaked, but not wet through. Once I got to the entrance to Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park, the rain stopped. Which made the walk through a beautiful experience. You know? Just after rain... the scene is silent. Then, the first chirp of a bird, emerging from hiding. The rhythm of every tree dripping dry, the scent of petrichor filling the air. The landscape through here is unique: everywhere there are huge boulders. Many of them standing upright, all of them glistening wet as I walked by in awe. Here, in this moment, I thought of a line by the author Douglas Adams:

"There is a moment in every dawn when light floats, there is the possibility of magic. Creation holds its breath."

So I'm having a lot of trouble writing about the earlier part of my trip

Specifically my time in Hallett. I've spent many a night now just writing whatever comes to mind, but I am as yet unable to bring it together into a cohesive whole. There is a compelling story here, even though it's not the one I first set out to tell

How the discovery of a single fact can change things so dramatically...