The Dally M Medal awarded today to the best player in the league is named in his honour . As a Rugby League fan , to stumble across this hotel and piece of history was pretty special . Returning to my camp I was approached by a guy camping near me . He asked what I was doing for the day . During our conversation he made mention of another free camp site about an hour and a half up the road from Manilla at Bingara that was right on the banks of the Gwydir River . Apparently there was plenty of open space , plenty of shade and plenty of relaxation . Well sign me up . The decision to have a day off the bike was dashed and within about 30 minutes I was packed up and on the road .
Reservation filled me and a hesitation to leave this nice site was alleviated when I realised that the guy was right .
The track into the camp site at Bingara was sketchy with some pretty harsh and large rocks / boulders but boy was it worth coming in for . I even had the luck of finding a site with enough firewood for close to 2 nights .
One of the issues with anxiety and depression is that one minute you ’ re ok and then the next you are knocked on your arse and feeling extremely low . Well , it happened during the night , to the point I just wanted to pack it all in and just ride back home . Theme park roller coaster rides have nothing on these real-life rides . I do understand that opportunities like these , where you can spend a week or so with no real time constraints and set destinations , don ' t always present themselves at every corner and you need to make the most of them when they do and that ' s something I will be working on in 2022 , to be fully thankful for every opportunity like this and not to let the self-doubt and loathing creep in .
TRAVERSE 67