It’s summer and everybody is taking their annual holidays. Australia is in the middle of the hottest heatwave on record and everybody’s heading en masse to the beach, so why am I going west? No, not to Parramatta, way out west.
Well, I live by the beach so can go there anytime, and while everybody is heading to or along the coast it’s a good time to get away from it.
And heading west there are very few other cars on the road, and definitely no traffic jams.
I’m at the farm, where you don’t have to choose between a beautiful sunrise or a sunset, both are magical through the gum trees or over the hills. Kangaroos bound over those same hills in what sometimes appear to be mobs of thousands, and you only have to sit still for a few minutes to see wallabies, wombats, and even tortoises if you’re near the dams. Eagles soar overhead and flocks of finches flit in and out of the blackberries.
And, of course, cockatoos and galahs abound.
About the only thing I haven’t seen out here is a koala, but I’ll keep looking.
While there might not be an ocean out here for a cooling dip, there is a lake. And – unlike the coast – there are many beautiful places on that lake where there is absolutely nobody else. You can swim, picnic and lie in the sun (with sunscreen of course) for hours without seeing another soul. Or you can move around into the next bay where people are waterskiing and kids are playing in rubber tyres.
And at night there are big, big skies where you can count the stars in the Milky Way
I know this is a very short blog, but it’s already 38 degrees outside so I’m heading down to the lake for a swim.
There is another reason I’m here at the farm, but more of that tomorrow.
In the meantime, if you’re reading this in Australia, stay cool. If you’re in the northern hemisphere stay warm. Given the choice of weathers I’ll take the heatwave anytime!
