Come with me on a Mystery Day Tour!

Remember that beautiful feeling one has when waking from a deep sleep?

Lying there, enjoying the comfort of feeling snug while hearing the birds whistling. I play my day’s program, recorded in my head, putting the activities in order of priorities.

After a few attempts and a reminder that I cannot fit everything into my day, I sigh…

Fortunately, I was disturbed by my alarm. No more thinking it is now time for doing!

With a shower out of the way, milk for my coffee heating, television broadcasting this morning’s news, I quickly check my phone. hmm... we are on schedule. Mystery Day Trip, here I come!

The bus is arriving at 6.30 AM. I’m to meet it at the top of my drive. I’m actually quite excited. I love these day tours where I accompany my daughter on adventures where, she, as a Tour Operator, takes a bus load of happy, adventurous people on a tour, not knowing where they are going but are out to enjoy the day.

Boarding the twenty-five seater, air-conditioned bus, I get a peck on the cheek from my daughter and a warm good morning, chorused by those guests already on the bus. Off, we go!

Arriving at our actual, departure venue, we all chorus good morning to the rest of the group joining us for our adventure. A group of smiling faces brightly chatter while we get out of the Bundaberg morning traffic and head for the hills and the “Mystery” that awaits us.

We head inland on our sightseeing tour to a rural town with so much history. It was originally settled as a service town to the gold fields in 1880.

We stop for a delicious morning tea, not just tea and biscuits - oh no, a calorie counter's delight. Ha-ha!

Joanne, our bus driver, announced that we have an hour before meeting back at the bus. Well, we all disperse walking in different directions to visit our preferred shops.

Some go to a well-known shop, Deb’s Country Outfitters, that has country-western clothing, especially catering to the numerous cattle properties and, more particularly, the attire used by the Country Western Horse Riders who compete at many of the State Competitions... very popular out here.

I, together with several others, head to a Boutique Store called Poppy Laine. Here we have the most unusual variety of gorgeous outfits and bags, that I haven’t seen anywhere else, costume jewellery, and giftware crafted by the most talented local artists.

No one from the bus chats. We are too busy procrastinating about our possible purchases. I hear short gasps, how long have we got, how long have we got? Times up. Joanne comes to gather her flock to the moans and comments rumbling about “Oh, no, there aren't enough hours in our day!”…

A quick coffee, then off to our next destination.

We pull into a favourite place among people wanting things to do in the wide bay, the picnic grounds at the base of Mt Walsh National Park. I love this place, so peaceful!

I contemplate, what an amazing tour this has been. What a must do for Bundaberg and the outer regions - for locals and visitors alike, especially adventurous seniors, looking for a Social Outing with like-minded people.

As we pour out of the bus, amidst lots of oohs and aahs, we are alerted to a very special lady driving up the road to meet us. “Surprise”, says Joanne, introducing the wonderful Moira, from Experience Altitude, and daughter of the world known Naturalist, Photographer and Writer, Harry Frauca. Moira was asked to join us, to let us in on some of her adventures.

Moira has had thirty years of wilderness bush walking, both here and overseas. She is a bush walking guide who is often called on to assist the SES and RACQ Life-flight with Rock Climbing rescues, amongst her other Caring Roles.

Weather wise it was a glorious day, we chose to sit, in comfort, in the picnic area at Mt. Walsh, to listen to Moira. Fascinated, we digested the stories of Moira’s many rescues and dangerous altitude adventures she's experienced over the decades…

Now it was question time.

We all had so many questions to ask this amazing lady. She kept her answers short, even though we saw the signs, as Joanne started to make a move. Understandably we needed to keep to our schedule to enable us to meet our other commitments, at our final destination, and the clock was ticking.

Saying our good-byes, we as a group, voiced our heartfelt frustration by exclaiming in unison that there were "Not enough hours in a day - but we’ll be back!”.