Surprises Down Under

Her variety of wildlife has drawn me to Australia twice in the past year. Along with impressive birds and animals, I experienced several surprises Down Under.

Australia and her inhabitants today, in many ways, remind me of my first encounter with America in 1977. An easygoing attitude belies considerable practical ingenuity. There is an informal directness, a propensity for humour coupled with an irreverence borne of a frontier spirit.

One immediately sees it in the language. Australians generously allot nicknames often ending with a “y” or “ie”. Thus, a “tinny” is an open aluminium boat, a “mozzie” is a mosquito, a “barbie” is a barbeque, a “blowie” is a blow fly, a “tradie” is a tradesman... you get the idea!

My search took me to many wild places and everywhere I was surprised by the Australian love for the outdoors. It was hot and yet most people had no problem trekking (or, in one case, waiting to see crocodiles) in the heat.  I found tents or campers unexpectedly in the middle of nowhere and encountered many hikers, birders, fishermen, boaters and other outdoorsmen, always ready to chit chat.

The creature that impressed me most was the Crocodile. I had no idea of the menace they pose in Australia.  One has to be extremely cautious of going into any water body – pond, creek, river, waterfall  – because Crocodiles may be lurking. Even a small isolated pond could harbour Crocodiles that had arrived with a flood.

Water Buffalos and Camels were introduced to Australia years ago. Several untamed generations later, both species have gone wild. Roaming Buffalos are extremely dangerous and attack people. The Camels are found in the desert center of the country. Kangaroos and their younger versions, Wallabies, turned out to be very shy when I saw them. I also saw Tree Kangaroos, Mouse Kangaroos as well as the Platypus which I wrote about in an earlier column.

I learned there are over 500 species of Eucalyptus trees (called gum trees) in Australia. They fit in very well in the environment; thus I found many birds in them. Unfortunately the Eucalyptus (along with Mahogany and Acacia) in Bangladesh are devoid of birds.

Perhaps because of their irreverent attitude, Australians are not hero worshippers. One exception is Ned Kelly, a sort of Robin Hood figure from the 1800s who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Curiously, the novel “Ned Kelly and the Gang” by Peter Carey is the only novel I’ve read without commas. It won him the Booker Prize.

I saw an example of Aussie ingenuity in the East Alligator river which divides Kakadu National Park from Arnhem Land, an area owned by the Aborigines. Instead of a bridge across the river, they have paved a road hugging the bottom. When tides move in, water movement is so ferocious that a bridge would not last long. Instead, the Australians “ford” the river in their cars and the road does not require as much maintenance as a bridge would.

A sweet surprise came at dinner one night. I ordered a dessert called “Sticky Dates” expecting a concoction made from dates – instead I was treated to a delicious dark cake oozing with caramel syrup. It reminded me that one should expect the unexpected in the land that brought us the boomerang!

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