I'm trying a different style of writing here, so I'd be keen to get your feedback - and please vote if you like it!
I parked the car and hid the key nearby - you should never take it with you in case you drop it.
Laces tight, harness firm, on my way. I know this track well.
Magpies and currawongs are calling. Crows are cawing in the distance. A few cicadas have started, but without their companions joining in, they quieten down. The gum trees rustle in the breeze and give off their characteristic smell - it's a Friday afternoon but it hasn't been so hot that the air has dried out, so the wattles and gums are scenting the breeze. Sleepy lizards are sunning themselves. Nothing moves but the high leaves on the trees. You may have guessed by now, we are in Australia. I am in a national park, a piece of ancient wilderness preserved against the white man's greed.
I know a waterhole not far from here. In the bush, water is scarce, but this place, a bend in a stream, has both a swimming hole and fresh water running into it. Unbelievably, it's also not well known. The ranger signs don't mention it, and I like it that way. A quiet, solitary weekend is what I want. Uni is stimulating, fun, engaging... but I need a break now and again. My old pack, old boots, a few bits and pieces to sleep on and to make meals with, and I'm ready for some simple camping. The harness feels good, my legs know how to step over the many roots, my hands know which trees to grab to steady myself. I'm pushing the pace so I get more time in the water.
The first clue you are getting closer is the run of water over stones. You can mistake it for the gum leaves stirring if you're not expecting it. Then the track goes down into a small gorge. Then hand-made drystone steps make a zigzag down to the waterhole. The beautifully-made steps look a little odd so deep in the old, unspoilt bush. Nearly there.
Someone is already there. Because of the steep terrain I can see, almost from above, a woman's curvy shape slipping through the water. She has short hair and pale skin. She is naked. I guess she hasn't heard me because the steps let me walk more softly.
I'm not great with girls. Or strangers. Or naked girl strangers. But there is a way out of this. The track moves off to one side and out of sight of the pool. I can stamp a bit and break a few twigs to let her know I'm coming down.
The water at the bend is neck-deep and the size of a couple of backyard pools. Down one side is a shelving beach of sorts, made of sand and smooth round stones. Other rocks, some as big as a car but all smoothly rounded, are in the river bed.
When I get down to the grassy bank above the beach, the woman has not got out. She is in the deep water, watching me. The usual walkers' greetings feel very odd, with one of us with pack and boots and one stark naked. I'm wondering if I should leave and keep going, but there's nothing else on the track to go to. And I want the swim.
"Why don't you come in? If you've got this far you should at least wet your feet!" I'm quite startled by her comment and can't reply at first.
"Usually, there's no one here, but I've shared this place once or twice before, so I won't mind if you don't mind." Her voice is deep for a woman's, with a faint lilt to it. It's beautiful.
"My boyfriend and I love this spot. Loved this spot. Good water, private, some level ground for camping behind you - but I reckon you know all this already."
"Yeah, that's where I always put my tent up."
"I reckon we can find room for two. Now, get your pack off and relax!" How could she tell I was so nervous?
* * *
For dinner I had pasta and a meat sauce just about thawed out. She had chick peas, pitta bread and lots of dips, and wine. Sharing your meal is common enough, but I'd never had wine when camping before. It's great. We don't speak much, to my relief. Some walkers will swap stories for hours, but she and I seemed to be more the quiet types. We'd made a small fire to sit around.
"The boyfriend and I would come down here. There was no one. Just us, and the sun, and the water." She smiled as she thought about it, then gave half a laugh. "It was great, like our lives together. He did whatever he liked with me and I did whatever I liked with him.
"Then it went... funny. Dull. Same old same old. Didn't take quite enough care with each other. Don't you make that mistake! And don't let her do it either!" She flashes a smile at me, then went still as rock.
"He dropped me. Said some bullshit like, we needed to grow. We were stifling each other. I was holding us back. Or something. Sounded like bulldust to me." There was a long pause.
"He said something funny once. He looked at me on the bed and said, "Your bush..." then stopped himself. But he had this look on his face. Distaste? Disgust? I'll never know. What was he looking at online, when he had me for real?" I could hear the hurt in her voice.
'Big Yellow Taxi' popped into my head, and I start singing softly,
Don't it always seem to go, That you don't know what you've got till its gone?
And together:
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
We laugh gently, amongst trees not yet in a tree museum. She stares at me. Everything seems to go quiet. She leans forward and kisses me softly, slowly on the lips.
* * *
