Meeting Ez and Ev

Today's map.

The long weekend was over, the maniacs were off the roads and I had to get out of Wauchope. I'd spent three blissful nights there, relaxing and recovering. Now I had to get to Lennox Head, nearly 400km away, for a rendezvous with one of my bestest mates from Brisbane, Ez.

In the three years I worked as an engineer in Brisbane, Ez became one of my most trusted and revered friends. She, like me, was churning away in the private sector as a consultant, wielding her degrees in sociology and economics to very profitable (for her company, at least) effect. We both felt that we were working at jobs where our creative sides were somehow irrelevant to our roles; that procedures, politics and profit margins existing to crush our intellects instead of developing them. We marvelled at how complete, honest-to-goodness d**kheads landed managerial roles; how wide the gulf between marketing and reality could really be. (Do I sound like a petulant Gen Y'er? Sorry.)

Anyway, we shared our problems over cups of tea at our flats, via frustrated and hilarious emails, or by wandering through the discount shop in the Queen St Mall and laughing at all the mis-translated packaging from China. We hung out, talking all the time, buzzing and fizzing with stupid creativity until the pent-up frustration of the week had been eased. Ez, if you're listening, I don't think I can ever thank you enough for those days (and for still talking to me after I ditched my life in Queensland to see if the one I sought was in Tasmania).

With our history in mind, I was excited to get a chance to catch up on the last couple of months in our lives, so I pointed the Rev up the highway and rode like crazy. Starting at 7:30, I made Lennox in time for a late lunch at the pub. As promised, Ez's partner Evan came along to demolish pub grub and I was finally introduced to the bloke I'd heard so much about. His laidback humour seemed like the perfect foil to Ez's razor wit and, before our meals even arrived, we were all talking smack and laughing on the verandah together. It was brilliant.

With the pressure to arrive long gone and a steak sandwich mellowing in my stomach, exhaustion hit me like a sack of Chuck Norrises. Ez kindly took me to the shops to buy provisions, then gave me a guided tour while Ev had a surf. In the afternoon light, the rocky headland was beautiful. We watched the surfers and chatted animatedly as the sun sank. Lauren called me, freshly returned from her first CanTeen camp, and I caught up with her while we waited for Ev to finish surfing.

"It's one of the best things I've done in my life. Ever!" LT enthused.

Finally, she'd had the chance to meet people who'd been through what she had and just 'got it' when she told her story. I beamed and told Ez. It was a very happy piece of news from a girl who was initially pretty nervous about going to camp.

Ez had to travel back to Brisbane, ready for another week of work, so we said our goodbyes. Tired and happy, I set up my tent at the caravan park down the road in the last of the light. It had been an enormous and very beautiful day.