This was reported in the national media last week.

Captain Cook was one of the world’s great explorers. There have been many others – far too many to mention in this limited space. Being an explorer sounded like a good gig to this correspondent back when we were a lad. Going off and finding exotic places and plundering them seemed like a decent way to make a living. 

However, an unfortunate event from a couple of weeks ago proved it was a good thing we didn’t get into the exploring.

Everything started innocently enough, as these things generally do.

It was the day of the local rugby union semi-finals and we accepted an invitation to head to sunny Nabiac to watch the big games. The Manning Ratz were involved. All was going well, the Ratz won both their engagements so we decided to leave the picturesque Aug Ferris Field at Nabiac bound and head home or at least to the hotel. That’s where we struck trouble.

We have to say at this juncture that we weren’t driving. We weren’t even navigating. We were just sitting there, thinking about going to the hotel. Now, Nabiac’s not by any means a big place. Bigger than Killabakh (another place we’ve visited in recent weeks), but certainly not a metropolis. Impossible to get lost in, or so you'd think.

But the driver – for the sake of this exercise we shall call him Murray Nelson – thought it prudent to veer from the normal route.

“Quicker this way,’’ he assured.

Quicker! Quicker? In no time at all we were off the beaten track and on yowie alert. This correspondent tried to stay calm.

“We’re lost,’’ we screamed. “Hopelessly lost. We’ll never step foot in a public bar again.’’

To his credit Nelson maintained his composure.

“Stop panicking,’’ he instructed.

“I’ll just turn down here and ...’’

And it was yet another dead end. The friendly village of Nabiac seemed an eternity away. Nothing looked familiar. Fatigue and thirst were starting to set in. Just to make things even more desperate, there was a race Nelson needed to watch and it was due to jump at any moment. We pondered the unthinkable...actually asking someone directions, until fate finally played a hand.

“We go that way,’’ Nelson said with an air of authority.

“What makes you so sure,’’ we wailed in reply.

“The sign there pointing to Nabiac,’’ he said.

He was right. Soon enough we were back on the highway and heading for home. The beer we enjoyed at the hotel has never tasted better. We’ll never go exploring again.