GOODBYE TO AUSTRALIA JULY 2012
During our last couple of weeks in Australia we visited Rockhampton, (got hit by a kangaroo on the way there but luckily neither us nor the kangaroo were hurt), Mackay, Cairns where we took the mountain train to Kuranda (See poem below), a boat trip to see crocodiles (driven by Captain Crash) and a boat trip to the Great Barrier Reef, (a little disappointing as there was a storm), Townsville (sounds like something out of Superman), Hervey Bay (famous for whale watching but it was the wrong time of year), Gin Gin (to try award winning pies and they were), Noosa Heads and Brisbane.
It was a fantastic end to a fantastic trip. We travelled around 15,000k by car, 6,000k by plane and 3,400k by boat. When we set off, I was unsure how I would take to travelling but have loved the entire experience. The Australians are brave, optimistic people, at least all the ones we met were, and it was lovely to be about them and to share a part of their lives through doing HelpX. They love the outdoors and we were amazed to see so many picnic areas with bbqs all well used and none vandalised. I loved the beauty of the country, which changed in every state we visited, from boring bush to beautiful arid red deserts to green lush pastures and awesome mountains to the most amazing beaches ever. I loved the variety of birds, wildlife and plants just so exotic in comparison with our lovely Scotland. I would never have done the trip without Charlie, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart for being a wonderful companion on this most wonderful of adventures.
I found some more photographs so they are at the bottom of the blog and include some from Hong Kong where we stayed for four days on the way home.
This is a little poem I wrote about Kuranda which I hope in a way sums up the pioneering spirit that built Australia.
In Memoriam
The steaming locomotive shakes its way
through the rampant rainforest floor,
like a snake slipping on its belly through
the fecund, fertile, foliage where
spinning spiders lie in webs,
waiting for their prey.
Whoo! Whoo! whistles the steaming locomotive
and echoes the mysterious exotic birds
that bill their whip and whirl,
like the wail
of falling pioneers in a brave new world
at the feat
of this monument to engineering.
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MARION MACDONALD 