Australia, the distant shore I was able to touch!

Usually there is a long way in front of you till Australia.  From Romania it meant 20.000 km. We started our trip from Bucharest on the route London – Singapore- Brisbane (final destination). Usually, a trip like this mean 30 hours spent on the road, including all the airport delays. By the time you reach your destination all you think about is a nice comfy bed and how can you get there fast enough. Especially if you are like me, who cannot fall asleep on the plane, all I can do is watch the monitors that are in front of me with the route you still have to go through.

I loved a lot of places and visited Brisbane mostly. The most representative are Alma Park Zoo where I’ve seen the famous koala bears and a small kangaroo species, the Wallaby, and Pine Koala Reservation. Another great spot is the Gold Coast, at the Pacific Ocean and please believe me when I tell you, this is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The pictures speak from themselves and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

You’ll find a lot of nations and cultures here but the Asians are the most noticeable. Before arriving, I knew the Australians are very relaxed and I wasn’t wrong. They are very polite and calm. I didn’t notice a harsh behavior or ostentatious clothing style.  The way they greet you when you cross their threshold has absolutely won me over. In Springfield Lakes, the suburb where my son lives, if you cross paths with someone, doesn’t matter if you know them or not, inevitably an exchange of greetings is made. Politeness? Civilization? Definitely! I will remember Australia as that distant shore and wonderful place that I was able to touch while others only dream about it.

I loved the architectural constructions. Since I watch a lot of Discovery I knew that Australia has great constructions, and now I have finally seen it for myself. Every community is special; no house is built after a pattern. Some people might think this means a lack of uniformity, but personally, I loved it. I miss Australia and want to go back there soon. I hope that in three years, I’ll settle down there. It’s a great opportunity that I have, because of my son, but I won’t talk about it anymore, it is the little corner inside my heart that I want to keep just for myself, for now.

Before I put my foot on Australian ground, my son said I should definitely try the kangaroo meat, which is considered a delicacy. Obviously I did, thanks to a family friend with whom I exchanged a bottle of “palinca” from back home for some kangaroo meat. He organized a BBQ night, where the main attraction was the kangaroo stake. I didn’t like it in particular; it seemed a bit tough, with a lot of herbs and spices.

The whole travel experience means a dream that I had the chance to accomplish. New experiences, new things I learn about people and places, a huge luggage of knowledge I acquired in every new place I’ve been. This is my only wealth and the one thing no one will ever take away from me.

I can’t finish this story without saying something about the kangaroos, of course. With some of them you can even socialize. If you buy a special food you can even feed them. The problem is that if you get to the Zoo at early hours you’ll find the kangaroo’s very hungry and they don’t have the patience to be feed. They just grab the bag of food from your hands. On another note, there are many areas in Australia where the kangaroos will just appear on side of the road or even in the middle of it. I’m sure you are all familiar with the famous road signs, all my friends asked for them as souvenirs.

A couple of facts from the Road: We had a 3 hour delay from London to Singapore and every British Airways passenger received a 5 pound voucher. After a couple of hours we were told that the flight was canceled until the next day. All passengers were accommodated at Sofitel Hotel (5 *****) which was near the airport, and the next day we had breakfast and lunch, all at the expense of British Airways.