Thoughts on Australia: Australia is a large country (similar in size with the States) that I found it to be a land of contrasts. Because of the size, there was no way we were going to see it all in a month like we did New Zealand. However, in the time we had, we did see the rainforests of the tropical north, the pristine beaches of the wealthy Gold Coast and the Red Center of the Outback. In between, we saw a great diversity of unique Australian wildlife of many tropical birds (Kookaburras, Cockatoos and Cockatiels), Wombats, Koalas, Emus, Crocodiles, Camels and Kangaroos. As we came south, the landscape changed from many sugar cane fields to many cotton fields, as evidenced by cotton alongside the roads, and the bright red dirt of the interior outback.
Opal Mine at Lightning Ridge
We also had an opportunity to visit the” near Outback” of Lightning Ridge where this area seemed to be a land of eccentrics hoping to get rich mining precious Black Opals but few striking it rich and many living on the government dole. The weather we experienced was late fall, comfortable, weather. When we learned that the Outback gets hotter than 140 degrees F in the summer, we were thankful that Fantasy scheduled the tour for this time of year. We found the Aussies to be a friendly lot outside of the large cities but around the larger cities more like the people at home – in a rush to get somewhere/ nowhere fast.
In the Outback, we learned about and saw the Aboriginal people. Their unique culture allowed them to survive in very sparse, harsh, conditions for over 10,000 years. These people were hunter / gathers who successfully lived off the land by observing animals and living in harmony with their environment. Their laws and norms are much different than ours and were structured to facilitate the survival of the community. When someone passed away, they go through a 3 day process of “Sorry Time” where they morn the deceased for a short period of time. After 3 days, all the deceased possessions are destroyed and no one is allowed to speak of that person again. Because of these cultural beliefs, they are reluctant to have anyone take their picture but, rather, you should always ask if you could “make” a picture. If you buy some of their unique artwork, you should always ask if you can “make” a picture of the artist. This could help to affirm the originality of the art and therefore the potential value of the artwork in the future.
Overall, this trip has indeed been a marvelous, learning, experience for us and we are grateful to Fantasy RV Tours for the opportunity to see and learn about these different, beautiful, lands. We especially are thankful to have had the opportunity to interact and make friends with the locals and other guests on the trip. We are now looking forward to a few days in Fiji. Returning home brings on the challenge of driving on the “right” side of the road after 2 months of driving on the “wrong” side.
Having experienced these very memorable 2 months, we now look forward to more travels and adventures with Fantasy. We liked a sign we saw on a rig in an Australian campground that gave us a sense of urgency for more adventure that said “Adventure before Dementia.”
