It seemed fitting to be ending Act I where it all started for me, at Barrenjoey on the northern extremity of Sydney, and what for me is one of the most iconic places I remember from my from my younger years, many moons ago.

To be honest I didn’t really know what to expect when I set of three months ago, and in many ways the experience, so far, has exceeded my expectations.

Strangely enough, what seemed at the time to be a crazy idea to start my journey at Booby Island in the Torres Strait worked at well and the time I spent in the Queensland outback simply getting to my starting point proved to be one of the highlights and proved to be a great circuit breaker which took me out of my comfort zone and opened me up to the special experience that comes from travelling alone through a strange land. Almost inadvertently this first verse set me up for what was to follow, 12 o’clock high and a leap into the unknown!

After over twenty wonderful years of being immersed in family life it was a novel experience to be travelling alone and I wondered how I would cope. What I discovered is that solo travel encourages you to be more outgoing than if you might otherwise be. As it turned out I met many wonderful people and renewed a number of friendships that in some cases stretch back over fifty years. It’s been interesting to compare notes with these “old” friends and fill in some of the blank spaces that result from time and distance apart, sharing stories, marveling at the unpredictability of life and discussing where we go from here…

Everyone I met went out of their way to offer me incredible hospitality and great advice regarding things to do and other people I should meet as I made my way around the country.

In sequential order some of the people I’d like to thank are Mandy and Simon and their newly hatched Grandson Digby who decided to arrive in the World at the same time I arrived in Mudgee; Eilis and JY in Burketown; Pixi and Pixi again in Cairns; Sam on Prince of Wales Island; the Stock family at Piccaninny Plains; Mike, Jen & Dylan at Mission Beach; Leeam & Rhi at Cape Hillsborough and for suggesting I visit Finch Haddon gorge, Captain Lloyd and Shelly at Maroochy River, Mary & Jerry in BrisVegas, Indigo the Web Wonder-Woman, Wayne and Keree on the Goldie, Steve and Pearlie at Lennox Head, Charlie in Bangalow and Uncle John the Novocastrian.

I’d also like to thank all those who have taken an interest in my website and offered valuable feedback. As I suspected there are lots of other Pharologists out there, many with a much deeper knowledge of our lighthouses than me and who have offered a number of corrections which I have tried to include. On the subject of lighthouses I have been asked many times which is my favourite so far, which is a bit like asking who your favourite child is as they’re all different and each has it’s own charm but if I have to nominate one it would be Smoky Cape!

I’ve also seen and experienced some amazing parts of Australia and again I’ve often been asked what’s been my favourite place so far. Looking back I’m surprised to nominate Burketown, Prince of Wales Island in the Torres Strait, Bowen and Finch Haddon George, all of which were completely unknown to me before this trip and all of which have left a lasting impression.

Looking back on it, it’s strange to realise that even though I wasn’t under any time pressure it felt like like I was always rushing from one place to the next. I guess old habits die hard and once you get behind the wheel with a destination in mind the temptation is to get from A to B as quickly as possible. The other slight regret I have is that despite my original intentions I didn’t spend as much time alone, gazing into an open fire deep in contemplation as I’d expected – in fact I think I only managed to do this once, appropriately enough at Undara in the Volcano National Park in Queensland, but unfortunately no epiphanies were to be had! I suspect this was partly due to my “fear” of being alone and thinking too deeply, and partially due to the attraction of meeting new people and reconnecting with those from the past. It will be interesting to see if I can slow it down and take a deeper dive on the next stage on my journey.

Which leads me to yet another surprise which was the feedback that I received from a number of people in that they were more interested in the “Thoughts of the Solo Traveller” than the “Lighthouse Stories” or “Travellers Tales” sections of my website. As a result I’ve recategorised this post from “Travellers Tales” to “Thoughts of the Solo Traveller” and from now on I’ll try and be less formulaic and a bit more abstract, offbeat and personal in relating my observations and thoughts as I travel around.

I have to confess to feeling a bit self conscious about publishing my inner thoughts, firstly because I’m not sure how far to “let it all hang out”, and secondly because I thought it might be presumptive to think that anybody else would care about what I though. But then again this is meant to be a voyage of self discovery and I should be “brave” enough to take it to the edge and hopefully the catharsis of turning thoughts into words can be part of the process. Maybe the act of being open and vulnerable is a necessary first step in peeling back the layers of protective armour that we tend to wrap ourselves in as we progress through life. So, take this as a warning that I will try and go deeper and be more personal in the next act, and you can decide if you want to join me for the ride!

So that’s it for now, time for some family time, and many thanks to them for supporting me in this indulgence!