… right before the dawn.
It was like Australia came out to play over the summer holiday for us.
Happy Australia Day everyone. No talk of controversies, changes of date, protests, or anything else. I’m sure everyone can find one thing to be thankful for on yet another long weekend to appreciate the lucky country. Light at the end of the tunnel regarding a break in the drought may still be a distance away, but the way everyone has banded together makes you feel very privileged to come from the land down under, even in dark times.
I’d mentioned previously that we had an American guest with us for the holidays. So we were on a mission to ‘Aussie it up’ over Christmas. Well, we didn’t really have to, because at every turn, it appeared that Aussie came to us, rather than us needing to chase it.
Visits to the War Memorial, Parliament House and Big Bash got us well and truly rolling on the All Aussie Adventure. As we packed things up to head to the river in Forbes for Christmas, a trip down to the back shed to grab the folding tables saw us swing by the damn to check on the (low!) level. Knock me over with a feather if there wasn’t a big grey roo sitting under the willow tree, shading himself from the world, appreciating all things Millthorpe. Our US friend snapped away, taking pics as the roo happily posed, then hopped around, blissfully unaffected by our presence. Later that afternoon, Mr America offered to put the bins out, and found a lovely Copperhead curled up asleep underneath the yellow bin, further perpetuating the myth everything in Australia is destined to kill you.
Christmas cricket in 3 days of 40 degree heat (104F for him), swimming and classic catches in the river, the massive plate of prawns, and golf and darts made for an absurd change for someone used to freezing temps and regular snow each year on Dec 25th.
As we ventured north to QLD via the inland road, the devastation caused by the drought and the fires really made an impact on all of us. Not only did we see ‘roos hopping across the highway at very regular intervals in search of food and water, but emus and their chicks wandered the side of the road near the Pilliga, something none of us had ever seen before. Hitting the beach on the Sunshine Coast saw us dip into the water at 25.6 degrees (seriously), the waves were almost too warm, but the American was in heaven, proving quite adept at body-bashing, also heeding our advice about sunscreen.
Australia Zoo was the highlight. Close-ups, pats and snaps with Echidnas, Wombats, Wedge-tailed Eagles, Koalas - check. A pane of glass separating you from the world’s deadliest snakes? Check. But who would’ve believed it as we sat down to take in the main show in the ‘Crocoseum’? Bindi, Bob and Terri themselves came out! Crikey! Our American friend was in raptures. They all fed the massive crocs, the crowd cheered wildly and the moment couldn’t have been any more Australian.
On our trip south down the coast road, the impact of the fires really hit home for all of us as we came through Taree and saw all the highway road signs melted beyond recognition. With the bushland destroyed as far as the eye could see in any direction, our guest was in shock at the power of nature (as we were).
In his song Bradman, Paul Kelly sings “they say the darkest hour, is right before the dawn”, let’s hope the dawn comes quick for The Lucky Country. As you tuck into a snag on Sunday, raise your fork for those who’ve had their darkest hour, and those who helped save us. Crikey.