We set off last Thursday for a three day drive northwards. The ute chugged along like the misbegotten snot beast that it is. We stayed at Stanthorpe and climbed Bald Rock. The following day we were less fortunate and perhaps more culturally enriched when we stayed at Murgon. The next day we began to see more and more evidence of bushfires before joining the Bruce Highway. As we approached Agnes Waters we were enveloped in smoke for about 100km until we eventually came out into the clear air and finally to Seventeen Seventy.