Rambling through Covid

May 2020

The first day of the lockdown, I took an early morning walk up Gap Road, in autumn air so pleasant I walked on further than usual. That’s curious, I thought. I can hear the limbs of trees rubbing together. I never noticed that before. 

Then I realised, with a jolt - the human world had stopped.

To save their skins, the humans are taking a break, and all creation breathes a sigh of sweet relief. A gang of parrots squabble and shriek in the distance. The magpies’ late morning warble expresses what I love about this strange interruption to business-as-usual, a kind of spaciousness in the heart.

I feel I’ve slipped back a century.

I’m not the only one walking. The walkers are on the streets, to ease the boredom, stretch the limbs, keep the dog happy, let the kids run themselves out. In Riddell we have two bush walks right on the edge of town. Conglomerate Gully, up Wheelwrights Road, is an hour circuit, reassuringly signed. Or there’s Barrm Birrm at the top of Gap Road, a maze of untended and unregulated tracks.

Street walking is good for waking up, but afternoons are good for rambling, and the bush is the place to do it. In Barrm Birrm, where I mostly walk, you can make up your own mind as you go. Up the hill for a little cardio, or along the hillside for a stroll? Autumn rains have brought new growth to the grasses under the trees. The green cloak of the cassinia fills the air with its pungent scent, sharp, herbaceous. Wattles are setting up for winter blooming, florets branching like outstretched fingers.

Rambling leaves time for thinking about things. The bush sticks to its own rhythms, and there’s pattern and sense all around, that quietens the heart. I take heed of Claire Collie’s advice: "You don't want to be wise now. You want to be watching and being quiet and observing what's going on."

Ross Colliver, Riddells Creek Landcare