The end of our time here and the end of the country, or one its several ends anyway, as any further driving in this direction would put us in the Timor Sea, the bit of the Indian Ocean that separates Australia from Indonesia.
To wrap up I'll point out a few things about Australia that I might have missed mentioning or that I want to expand on:
1. Australia is really really big.
Yes yes, Canada is technically bigger, but a lot of our bigness is due to the massive and roadless Arctic. Australia's similar massive areas have some roads, so driving across the Outback is a bit like driving from Winnipeg up to Rankin Inlet and then over to Tuktoyuktuk. You can't do that. At least not yet. Canada would seem even bigger then. Outback roads have so few gas stations that you have to calculate your fuel consumption carefully. Large red warning signs encourage you to take headwinds into account. We foolishly did not and consequently almost ran out before Cloncurry.
2. Australia is expensive.
Gas is $1.30 to $1.80 per liter. Beer in the liquor store runs $3 a bottle and up. Restaurant meals are easily 50% more than in Canada. Electronics can be double. Bananas are cheap though.
3. Australia will turn me (and you) into a birdwatcher.
I already own an embarrassing amount of Tilley clothing. And I'm so close to the end of 49 that I've started thinking of myself as being "in my 50s". Regardless of sartorial and demographic considerations though you would have to be, well, I'll just say it, catastrophically dim not to be impressed and bewitched by the bird life here. Beautiful and varied and, for someone used to crows and sparrows, impossibly exotic. Rainbow Bee-Eater anyone? (yes, bee, not brie, not a gay Frenchman, although exactly how the bee eating is accomplished is a mystery to me) Or Red Necked Lorikeet? Or Azure Kingfisher? One note though - generally the more colourful the bird the more gawdawful the noise they make. It's a living metaphor I think.
4. Australia has bugs.
Actually the ones advertised by the side of the road (big signs: "Bugs!") turn out to be a kind of tasty crayfish rather than a peculiar warning, but there are plenty of inedible insect type bugs too. Especially flies. Especially flies that are positively obsessed with crawling into the corners of your eyes and into your ears and into your nostrils. They don't bite. They fondle and tickle and drive you.... madmadmad! I looked for the t-shirts saying "Australia - Famous For Flies!", but it appears nobody had thought to exploit that niche.
5. The El Camino lives.
Voted by me the ugliest vehicle of the last century, the El Camino style is still wildly popular in Australia. You remember them, right? Car in the front, truck bed in the back? Ridiculous chimera-car? Here there are at least three different models. The original Chevy appears to be still in production (or is being lovingly restored by thousands), but there are also brand new copycat Holden Omegas and Ford Falcons. Come to think of it, I've been seeing quite a few mullets too, so it's starting to make a bit more sense...
6. Australia is Canada's twin separated at birth.
The deep similarities are so spooky that it makes the many differences seem freakish. We should share a border with them, not with, well, you know. I could spend most of the rest of my life road-tripping through Oz and die happy (and sunburnt).
My apologies for the unusually large number of words. A photo round-up will follow.
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