Australia Beyond the Windshield

Watch out for kangaroos and wombats!

 Hi Everyone!

Last week was really hectic--and I think it will be worse in the weeks to come. I have gotten used to going home from the lab at 9 or 10 in the evening. And somehow I have gotten used to walking alone in the dark "forest" while the strong wind tickles monster trees to dance. It's a dreadful scene, really. You never know when the trees will collapse.

Lake or creek?

Moving on to our brief feature story today... Last year, when I visited my bf in Australia, we had to do a lot of driving. One was the extremely long drive from Sydney to Melbourne. But I didn't find it exhausting because--well, I wasn't the one driving! :D And the sceneries beyond the windshield were inexplicably breathtaking! I had to tell my bf to stop every now and then so we could take pictures. 

Hills.

The kookaburra.

 In all places in the world, I think Australia has the most number of road signs. You will probably find signs every 10 meters! And some of these signs are very unique too. In the first picture above, you will see that the sign is telling people to watch out for kangaroos and wombats. In the countryside where marsupials outnumber the human race, car accidents rarely occur due to collisions between two vehicles. It's usually between a bullet-fast car and an indifferent marsupial crossing the road! Australians seemingly care about preserving the natural environment that they put all these signs just to warn drivers. I even saw a tiny bridge dangling above the road which was intended for koalas. But of course, instead of using the hanging bridges, some koalas choose to "jaywalk" and run the risk of getting hit by a car.

Sunbathing cow.

All sorts of birds are flying everywhere. My bf would frequently point towards a hawk which flew so fast, my poor astigmatic eyes could not even see. Many times he asked, "Did you see that? Did you see that?" When you have poor eyesight, it's hard to spot a flying bird against the beautiful clouds. I only see birds when they fly as a group and make the V formation.

And of course, I can see huge animals like cows and sheep! This last picture really makes me smile. The cow is peacefully resting after a good feed. Everyone of us deserves a good life. :)