Sunday Sept16 Vancouver-We are very busy getting ready for our trip. Bill gets a reprieve and was an observer in a predicted log race at the club. They came in 3rd. He just tags along to make them honest. They provided all the food- breakfast, lunch and a steak dinner at the end that I got to go to also. I am doing research for the trip and find it very exhilarating. Australia is the worlds 6th largest country. It is the only Island that is a continent and the only continent that is an Island. It is the only nation that began as a prison. It is home of the largest living thing on earth, the Great Barrier Reef (we go here) and the largest monolith Ayers Rock(but not here). I begin to wonder what kind of country we are going to as it has more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else: the 10 most deadly snakes on the planet, fluffy yet toxin caterpillars, seashells that actually attack you and unbelievable box jelly fish with a deadly sting, the awe of the land down under. Australia is the driest, hottest, most desiccated, inutile and climatically aggressive of all inhabited continents (only Antarctica is more hostile to life). 80%of all that lives in Australia (plants and animals) exist nowhere else. The most characteristic creature doesn’t run or hop or canter but bounces across the land like a dropped ball. The Australian coat of arms depicts the kangaroo and the emu both creatures physically unable of going backwards thereby signifying that Australia focuses on progress and the country’s future. Australia is about the size land mass as USA but very sparsely populated with only 19 million people.
We get there in their spring. We go to Queensland and New south Wales only 2 of the 6 states and 2 territories. Australia has the Aborigines and New Zealand the Maori. New Zealand has no snakes, scorpions or other nasties except a katipo spider, sharks and mosquitoes It is on the international dateline and claims to be the first country to see the rising sun .
We will travel approximately 1,900 miles in Australia and 2,300 miles in New Zealand. All on the wrong side of the road. They figure it will cost 850 US dollars for fuel. We are counting the days like a child at Christmas.