Down Under

The Great Barrier Reef
[[File:Great Barrier Reef 015 (5390533959).jpg|Great Barrier Reef 015 (5390533959)]]

As I prepare for an upcoming trip Down Under, I have been reflecting on how much (or little) I know about Australia. Like Bill Bryson, I can’t seem to remember the name of the Prime Minister. I have never had a strong desire to visit, since in my mind it seems like half of South Africa must be living there, surrounded by shark-infested waters, there's the abominable treatment of the aborigines and it's not the easiest country to get to from here. 

Much of my knowledge seems to come from local television in the mid-70s…like programmes on the marvels of The Great Barrier Reef, and does anyone remember The Rolf Harris Show? That popped up from my subconscious when I woke up this morning. I could clearly recall the woolly bespectacled man with his wobble board, didgeridoo and accordion, introducing us to Waltzing Mathilda and Tie Me Kangaroo Down. And, of course, there was Crocodile Dundee.

According to a friend who has moved here from Adelaide, most of the cities are on the coast and except for Sydney, are “like Port Elizabeth with a little more going on”. As often happens, once you turn your focus onto a place, you start to gather all sorts of information, like it takes five and a half hours to fly from Sydney to Perth, there are multiple time zones and, according to another friend who heard me complain about the heat a while ago, if it’s 30 degrees she thinks it’s a cool day. That’s the other thing, I realise I have friends in at least four cities. At the end of the day, that’s really why I am going – to connect with people. 

Since, thanks to globalisation, I have more than a few items of clothing with Australian labels in my cupboard and even my hair products carry the .com.au logo, coupled with the Nicole Kidmans and Hugh Jackmans, I suspect that I may have absorbed more than a little of the culture. I am travelling to the largest island and the only continent to occupy an island, with an open mind. Will keep you informed, mate. 

P.S. Just in case I lose my sense of humour, I have packed a copy of Bill Bryson's Down Under. 

A Walk in the Woods

"A path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town ...
A sign announced that this was no ordinary footpath but
the celebrated Appalachian Trail."

I had grand plans for reading Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods while in the USA and then actually walking a little of the trail in Maine. The plan to visit Maine didn't work out, so I was pleased to find that we could access the trail from where we staying on the New York-Connecticut border.

I'm a big Bryson fan, but for some reason, it proved easier to actually get out there and experience the trail than get into the book. I think that it was the moaning of his friend, Stephen Katz, which put me off, but then who am I to talk after only doing 1/300 of the 2 100 miles of the trail?

"The AT is the granddaddy of long hikes."

The Applachian Trail is the longest continuous footpath in the world, stretching along the east coast of the USA, from Georgia to Maine.

From Georgia ...

...to Maine

I did read enough to be warned about the merciless insects. The insect repellent was no match but, being from Africa and having observed many a zebra or antelope in the wild, we found that by swishing a small branch over alternating shoulders, we could stop the pests flying right into our mouths every time we tried to speak to each other. Perhaps it was a similar scenario which inspired those Australian hats with dangling corks. We could have done with one of those. 

It wasn't long before we reached the end of the woods and wandered along paths edged with metre-high grasses and rolling meadows. I repressed the urge to break out into song...we were already get odd looks from fellow-hikers when they saw our fly-swatters.

According to Bryson, every twenty minutes he and Katz did on the AT was further than the average American walks in a week. "For 93% of all trips outside the home, for whatever distance or whatever purpose, Americans get in a car." That may be true, but I did get in at least twice as much as walking as I would normally do at home and, like Katz, I can say " the only thing that matters ... is that I hiked the Appalachian Trail". 

Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, is published by Transworld Publishers, UK