G’day mate! Australia is a land worth celebrating and when it comes to our lifestyle and homes, there’s a lot to love. A favourite Aussie movie, The Castle, was even based around our strong feelings towards our homes: “It’s every Australian family’s dream – a quarter acre block – a pool room – a barbie on the back verandah and an airport over the back fence.” (well for some there is an airport near the back fence…lol) For us, many times we have felt like leaving Australia for a better way, but when it all boils down, we have absolutely the best lifestyle here! Sometimes the reason why we want to run and leave this gorgeous country is we are running away from something major in our life and feel that it would be best to get completely away and start again! Most of the time this would be the wrong reason to leave but then for others, it can be the best thing that they ever did!
Here are just some of the reasons why I love living in our wide open spaces with such diversity called Australia:
This swing seat: We don’t shout loud enough about it, but we’re a nation full of country charm. Almost 8000 square kilometres of it in fact. Love the look of this swing seat made out of a reclaimed pallet.
This spa: Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi! Aussies just love ‘spas’, whether they are indoor or outdoor. We find them exhilarating, pampering and just plain ‘must do‘ and sometimes ‘must have!’
This shady spot: Take your virtual minds to the hammock under this box elder tree. Don’t forget the lemonade. Oh, and the fly swat depending on where you are hammocking! This would have to be one of many, many Australians past times – probably with some wonderful colorful pillows and a good book! Ah….sounds so relaxing!
Our Australian beaches are the absolute best in the world by far: After traveling to many different countries over the years, I would have to say and admit that we have absolutely the ‘best’ beaches in the whole wide world. We have long stretches of white and yellow sand which is most of the time soft and like powder and they are very clean! They are always one of the highlights from visitors and holiday makes abroad. There is nothing more horrible than to see a dirty beach which is so uninviting for visitors, this is found in so many other countries and mainly 3rd world countries. For me, it becomes so disappointing to see this as these countries could become much more profitable if they took pride in the beauty that they sometimes have around them but seem to be oblivious about the conditions. The Australian way on our beaches is: sand, sun, hats, block-out, thongs and BBQ!!
The Outback – well what more can I say: The famous ‘Outback’ – vast, red lands, road trains, caravans, motor homes and black skies full of shining stars. Australians talk about “the bush” when they refer to wilderness areas outside the cities. As they move further and further away from what they know as the bush, they eventually cross some invisible line and find themselves in the Outback, the part of Australia they don’t know, the harsh and unforgiving interior. Those of us who live in the Australian Outback respect this country, and we love it. We love the fact that nature reigns supreme here, we love the unspoiled beauty, the space and the freedom… and we intimately know the places that many people call “the Outback”. It’s not harsh or forbidding to us.. I know when Rick and I traveled to Darwin and around the Top End for 6 weeks, we actually discovered a place called ‘LAWN HILL’. This is truly ‘an oasis in the desert’…. a must to see. It actually looks like the Garden of Eden and you can only see it by kayaking through these amazing red cliffs which have luscious green ferns hanging all over it.
The Backyard BBQ: The awesome backyard barbie is indeed an icon of the Australian people. Lighting up the barbie, having friends around, sitting on the back verandah and having a great time just chatting away, whether it be day or night, the ambiance of a BBQ is still the same – laid back, casual, fun and full of laughs – generally!!
Let’s ‘boycott’ Coles & Woolworths with their fruits & veggies: Whether you know it or not, our incredible farmers of this amazing fertile land are going down hill here quicker than we realize. Australia can support itself with its home-grown fresh farm produce but the Government continues to wort the system by insisting on obtaining produce – which is not ‘fresh’ from overseas!! (well about 95% of it). Why do they do this? It seems as though it is all about ‘$’ and by doing and allowing this to happen, it is sending our farmers broke. Tons and tons of produce are literally destroyed and buried because they can’t sell it. I don’t know about you but I am sick and tired of buying rotten fruit and vegetables from these big chain stores – it is not fresh, it is frozen for years some of it! We will definitely be ONLY going to ‘farmers markets’ from now on where you can buy it straight from the paddock to your plate – and that’s the way we like it!!
Enjoy reading it as I enjoyed writing it..
Regards,
Trish
Rick & Trish Ledingham - Learning to Live Outside Our Comfort Bubble! 