For someone like me, unable to travel to all the places I read
about, I mirror the experience through someone
else's eyes. When the author is gifted, I am there with him.
Such is Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country." In
his amazing book I marvel at the energy and stamina required to walk and
travel throughout Australia's vast land.
The excessive heat and emptiness
overwhelm me as it did him. The rich
Australian history mesmerizes me. The
traditional contribution of abundant ore beneath its surface was unending and
built wealth and a country.
Bryson describes the origins of man as if reported yesterday. Was a version of man really there two hundred million years ago? If so, how did such a man get to the isolated island and from where did he come? Bryson didn't know, neither do I.
Bryson describes the origins of man as if reported yesterday. Was a version of man really there two hundred million years ago? If so, how did such a man get to the isolated island and from where did he come? Bryson didn't know, neither do I.
If I were there, I'd be thrilled to find an insect that has
never before been discovered, or a plant or tree that never made it into
scientific study. The many species of snakes I would try to forget (but would
watch every step I took). I found myself pondering with trepidation the mystery where a fork in the road leads or the identity of the markers of bones from
past forgotten explorers. I visually shudder. If lost, how long til rescue with
the next town not a few miles away, but many and its accommodations unknown. (However
they all seemed to have a pub and coffeepot. Buying beer stock in Australia's
financial markets--not a bad idea.)
In Bryson's travels throughout Australia, I lost count of
how many cups of coffee he consumed, but I was ready with him to have one more
cup at the next stop. He rightly related
that the settled population in the barren lands were as pleased to see him enter their pub for a pint as
he was to quench his thirst. There seemed to be
two definitions of loneliness--those settlers who thrived in their independence
and those who suffered the absence of community living.
When visiting the coasts, the world of Australia changes. Starkly
contrasted with the raw, sparsely settled interior, the modern cities
of Sydney and Melbourne form cultural countries of their own: Cosmopolitan, undisputed leaders in sports and
business, ahead of the game in consuming the latest technology, and welcome
combatants on our side in western world conflicts. It was a good feeling to be able to enjoy two
worlds within one setting.
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