ROOs! I still want a pet joey
This is Wayne the Roo killer. He only hunts at night, makes his own ammunition and skinned this here roo in front of us. I found this all quite attractive until he made a forward pass to hook up in the shearing shed. yep. the shearing shed.
there was a mud pit we frolicked in during free time. The Outback was everything Crocodile Dundee made it out to be; flat, dusty, and filled with roos. but i didn't expect it be as beautiful as it was. There is something about a vast landscape that is both freeing and overwhelming. The bush is a place that doesn't offer comfort or prosperity, it demands respect. I never thought about how much a terrain can affect the way its inhabitants view life until i met the people who live off it. In America, we know that if we put a kernel in the heartland, we'll have corn. In the bush, its a toss up. they might have rain they might not. the soil might be good that year but most likely not. We expect to see fruits of labor; they are just trying to survive that year. Bogans (aussies that live in the bush) have incredible work ethic and are very practical people. It was refreshing to be around people who worked with their hands, I was getting over city slickas.
One afternoon we went to what seemed like the most desert like area. There was a sand hill kind of out of place where the bus dropped us off. the slight elevation gave us a sick view of ...more flat land. We were told to write a letter to yourself and that we'd receive it when we returned to the states. I think it was supposed to remind us of everything we had learned and wanted to take back with us. I ended up writing to my 45 year old self. I had a feeling I wouldn't need to be reminded to chase what I love shortly after returning, but maybe i would need that reminder more when/if im a mom or too wrapped up in my career to remember what it was like to fly myself to another continent. maybe ill post that.
