The Big Crab in Miriam Vale, QLD

As I mentioned yesterday, I was a guest on The Ultimate Road Trip podcast this week.

I chatted with award-winning BBC motoring journalist James Whalley about where I’d go, what car I’d do it in and who I’d take along for the ride. I also had to nominate the song that would be the soundtrack to my trip.

There were so many road trips I could have chosen. But in the end I decided to revisit one I’ve already done. Around Australia in a Ford Falcon station wagon.

The first time I the trip with my English wife. We’d just got married and I wanted to show her my country.

This time I’d take my daughter.

Ostensibly to introduce her to the country she holds a passport for but never grew up in. But to reacquaint myself as well.

After living in the UK for going on 17 years, it’s probably time I reconnected too.

This photo was taken at the Big Crab servo in Miriam Vale, just down the road from Rockhampton. We’d bought the car at the Backpacker’s Car Market at Kings Cross in Sydney and, still early in the trip, it was still going OK.

As big things in Australia go, the Big Crab is actually quite small. But I did like the way it was painted ‘Shell Red’, in keeping with the service station’s corporate colours.

And that they sold mud crab sandwiches in the restaurant to the side.

Nothing fancy, of course. Just a generous serving of local crab meat slapped onto a couple of slices of white bread.

Pretty tasty, though.