After a couple of attempts to make something artfully remarkable out of the footage I took of the lightning storms that tore through Brisbane about a month ago, I’ve discovered that with only 120 seconds of material, perhaps I would have been smart to leave the camera running a bit longer so I’d have more to work with.
Since this newer version of WordPress makes it hard to produce nicely formatted text but easy to upload video, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to post a clip here — more lightning than I’ve ever seen before! Literally, the sky was never black due to the airbound electricity that was constantly flashing from cloud to cloud.
There are plenty of things in life we never think we would end up doing, most of them simply because we haven’t been presented with the opportunity. These are some of the things I never thought would happen to me… and then I came to Australia, and the whole story changed.
I never thought I’d…
chase a wallaby out of my tent for eating my snacks.
One weekend we camped at Blackman’s Point, just south of Bateman’s Bay — there were wallabies everywhere! As soon as we approached the campground we saw them sprawled out on the grass and munching away at the tender green reeds growing in the pond. When we got back from the beach one afternoon, I unzipped the tent to find one of them with his paws in my packet of cookies!
I never thought I’d get to…
pet a koala.
There are lots of wild koala that live around Australia, but the best way to get to see them is at a koala park, just like a zoo but with heaps more koala action! At the park in Brisbane, where I live, you can even get your picture taken holding a koala! The animal trainers there explained to me all about why it’s so hard to see them in the wild and let me pet the one he was holding - it was so soft! My friend Kim who lives in Melbourne says that the house she lived in as a kid had koalas that lived in the tree outside her window and that their snoring is really loud!
More than any other animal, there are *lots* of birds in Australia. Australia’s meanest bird is the magpie. They have a really strange song, and will eat everything from birdseed to trash to even lizards. In the spring, when they have eggs and babies in their nests, they become aggressive toward any people that might happen to pass beneath their tree and will swoop down at them, clacking their beaks and slashing with their claws. One day while riding my bicycle, I rode under a magpie nest and it swooped down and clawed the back of my head! Nothing serious, but I was sure to wear my helmet anytime I went riding after that.
Who could have thought I would… Eat a crocodile pie for snack (or any kind of meat pie, for that matter).
Meat pies are one of the main foods that people consider uniquely Aussie. Every bakery in town has them for sale in many different varieties like Mexican pie, steak ‘n’ bacon pie, and beef and cheese pie. A pie can be eaten any time of the day, for a morning snack, or even for dinner. During my travels on the East coast, I stopped at Fredo’s Famous Pies, who are known for their delicious crocodile pies. They also had pies made from kangaroo, ostrich, shrimp, and even rabbit! I wasn’t brave enough to try most of them, but the crocodile was better than I ever would have guessed!
I never imagined that I’d… live in a house without an air conditioner.
Australians spend lots of time thinking about how their lives affect the environment they live in. With all the hot weather, boy was I surprised to move into my new house and find out it didn’t have air conditioning! Instead of using electricity to cool the air, houses are built with tile floors and lots of windows to let the breeze blow through. Most houses also have special blinds that keep the hot sun from heating up the air inside.
I still don’t like to…
dry my laundry outside.
Another way Aussie (pronounced ‘Ozzie’) people like to help the environment is by using the hot sun to dry their clothes instead of using an electric dryer. Most houses have drying racks built onto the sides of them, and in the middle of the day and direct sunlight, your clothes will dry in less than an hour. When I lived in a tall apartment building, it was fun to watch everyone come out onto their balconies in the morning to hang up their washing before going to work. Some people have dryers, but anyone you ask what they prefer will say “I’d rather hang my clothes outside!”
I had to learn to get used to…
taking the shopping cart home with me from the store.
In Canberra, the city is small enough that many people don’t have cars, and take the bus, walk, or ride bicycles to get around. Not having a car can make getting all your groceries home quite a chore, so many people simply take the shopping trolley (Aussie for ‘cart’) along with them when they go, and end up leaving them by the sidewalk in front of their house for the trolleyman to pick up. It is quite a funny sight, hardly seen anywhere else in the world, to find trolleys parked all along the street!
I was shocked when I…
Saw a spider as big as my hand (and probably as big as your head!)
The Huntsman spider is BIG! They can grow to be large engough to eat small birds, and like to hang around homes and buildings looking for insects to eat. They don’t build webs, so one night I looked out the window and saw one clinging to the glass, no doubt hoping for any bugs that would be attracted to the light coming from inside. During the day, they like to find a dark corner, and can sometimes be quite startling to see, even though they’re mostly friendly.
I never thought I would…
eat Chips ‘n’ Gravy.
Aussies love to eat french fries, but they call them ‘chips.’ A favourite afternoon snack is a big bowl of chips with either gravy or sweet chilli sauce and sour cream for dipping. I never would have guessed that chips ‘n’ gravy would be as tasty as it is!
Unexpectedly, I got to… walk through a pineapple field!
Queensland, where I live, is very warm and sunny all year long. Because it’s so sunny, they can grow all kinds of fruits and vegetables that are hard to grow in America. When I went to see the Big Pineapple, I was amazed to see how big the pineapple fields are! The plants are short and bushy and they grow very close together. At the store they had there you could buy everything you’d ever want to eat made of pineapple - the candies (called ‘lollies’ in Australia, were my favourite!).
Finally all this cycling around the city will pay off and get me more than just the benefits of independent transportation…
This morning at work I was greeted by a bright and smiling face - “You wanna do a triathlon with me?” she said. Thus, after ages of off-and-on training, planning and postponing, my first race is on the calendar. April 26 at 7.30am — just under 4 months to finish up my preparation. The race will play out as follows, for our team of three, each team member completing a swim, ride and run:
Swim - 400m
Wave starts in a protected marina. The course will be clearly marked with pink buoys being the 100m markings and yellow BRW turning buoys.
Cycle - 10km
2 laps, flat course with a full road closure of Sea World Drive, to Sea World car park and back. Always stay left unless overtaking.
Run - 4km
A scenic out-and-back course on running paths overlooking the broadwater, Gold Coast Seaway and Surf. The run leg will have drink stations so ensure you take drinks especially if it is a hot day. There will be 1km markings on the course.
