Throughout our recent travels, which have now stretched into a seventh month, we have kept ourselves aware of world events, especially the numerous “natural” disasters, via the internet or the TV. We have been close to some of them. We were in Queensland when the tropical rains began about a month earlier than expected causing widespread flooding and we had been through Toowoomba where there was such devastation and loss of life in the Lockyer Valley and beyond. We were stunned by the extent of the disaster and felt lucky that our only inconvenience was the occasional change of route because of closed roads. Of course, the problems were compounded by Cyclone Yasi which added further misery to those who had already suffered in Queensland. Similarly, during our time in Victoria before and after Christmas, severe
... read more