I wasn't sure where the deadline came from, or if it actually existed. Still, the prospect of being locked out of accommodation in close to freezing conditions in a small town in the West Australian hinterland didn't appeal at all.
Still, the first stop on the itinerary was obvious.
It was the first day of the Wildflower Festival at Mullewa in the heart of wildflower country, about halfway between Geraldton and Morawa.
Not that we were necessarily going straight to Mullewa without passing Go or taking 200 pictures of wildflowers, you understand.
From the time we were on the road, it was a case of cruise below the speed limit, keep your eyes peeled and stop where necessary.
It was just after ten when we arrived in Mullewa, located the Festival, paid our $5 each and gathered the latest intelligence about locations worth visiting.
The Festival was located in a local hall.
It wasn't, if you looked at it with the steely eye of a big-city Expo-goer, all that impressive.