Its been a very long, wet and cold January 2020. With more snow in the forecast, it is
time to get out of town in search of the sun. This year we have chosen a much longer trek than our usual sun
search destinations in Mexico or the Caribbean. Australia is going to be our adventure hunting ground for
the next two months.
Our bags are packed, Rose is coming in to take care of
Abby the Cat, Katie will keep an eye on the house from her suite vantage point
in the basement, and Bryn will be available by phone if something was to go
awry.
Randy and Doreen have agreed to be our travel partners
and we will meet up with his brother Gordon and Margo, along the way.
We have been planning the trip for several months and
“yes” we have been affected by the media’s portrayal of Australia as a towering
inferno. Our feelings have been
all over the map but in the end, all agreed, Australia is a huge sub-continent
country and it can’t be all on fire.
Even if it was “all” on fire or enveloped in smoke, we will already be
in the southern hemisphere and there are planes that could whisk us to another
country at a moment's notice. The
key planning phrases for us were, “don’t plan too far ahead”, “let the elements
dictate the direction”, and “be flexible!”
I have been re-reading one of my favourite authors,
Bill Bryson’s account of his visits to Australia and I think a passage in his book
In A Sunburned Country is a good primer for our trip. I don't think he was predicting the current Aussie conditions but his comment is no less apt.
"You are totally at the mercy of nature in this country, mate. It's just a fact of life. But I tell you one thing." "What's that?" "It sure makes you appreciate something like this when you know it could all go up in a puff of smoke." - Bill Bryson.
Sam the Shuttle Man (actually Sam’s driver Mike) will
transport us from our door to the Vancouver Airport and then we will settle in
for the 16.5 hour flight to Melbourne.
I will write in the blog as time allows.
