Nicholas Quirke was on a plane on 14th January bound for Brisbane when he finally finished reading ‘the Hour I First Believed’. It was an immense read and it’s protagonist’s quest led him to think about his own journey and where, If anywhere this Odyssey was leading him. The early morning start at the rock did not happen as he thought, absorbing further the power of these Aboriginal sacred spaces,which meant his last sight of it was in his rear view mirror as he drove to the airport to begin another travel day. He was heading back to the back Queensland and Currumbin Valley where he would be meeting an old friend, Peter Bensley and family. A flight to Alice Springs, where he spent a little time with The Strikers Cricket team from Adelaide, then a flight to Brisbane and then a long train journey, gave him plenty of time to contemplate his read and the meaning of life, his life and what he was going to do with it when the travelling ended. What would he have achieved? What could transpire from this experience? It was his Odyssey, but just what was he searching for? He knew he wasn’t going to find the answer sitting on a plane. He was aware though that he was entering a new stage of his journey which was not solely about discovering new places but also reconnecting with his youth and  seeing old friends he had not seen since he was 20. Pete picked him up from the Varsity Lakes station and drove him to his beautiful home where he met Pete’s wife and sons. They had not been warned that a Vegan was coming to stay and he was impressed with their wonderful improvisation. They had been in Italy and returned with what sounded like the same sickness that had beset Nicholas on his flight to Australia which meant it was an early night to prepare for seeing more old friends the next day.