Today is Australia Day, which celebrates the “founding of Australia” at Port Jackson (Sydney) in 1788. It’s not dissimilar to the Fourth of July in the US. I’m celebrating it with my mother, a naturalised Australian, by postponing our trip into Atherton, the nearest big town, until tomorrow – since everything would be closed today. Isn’t that a great way to celebrate?
The aboriginal people of Australia call it “Invasion Day,” according to the wikithing.
So my vacation, since arriving here at Ravenshoe, has consisted mostly of reading books and having long conversations with my mom. It’s pretty relaxing.
It’s very summery here, with temperatures over 30 C during the day, but the nights are quite cool, because her house here is up in the mountains. They were recovering from a lot of rain just as I arrived, but the days and nights have been stunningly clear since. Last night, looking up at the sky, the stars were so vivid I felt like I was in outer space.
There are many birds, wallabies and geckos about. My mother often yells at them. I think it’s a fairly good-natured coexistence, though.
