a hodge podge blog of music, travel and news.
The Emu is Australia’s largest land bird. Seeing this paddock of Emu reminded me a lot of the movie Jurassic Park and the clever Raptor. I just knew these birds were thinking of something — probably how to escape. Why escape? These birds are destined for slaughter because their oil is used in cosmetics. New South Wales, Australia.
Traveling from Gilgandra to the Warrambungles National Park we stopped to visit an Emu farm. The road was hot and empty. The sky was blue. New South Wales, Australia.
Photo by Dmmaus
The RMS Queen Mary II — the worlds largest ocean liner — sailed into Sydney Harbour this morning as part of its inaugural world tour. At 345m long and 72m tall the ship would be a menacing and beautiful sight to see in person. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
I’m still unsure of where I fit in this spinning and changing world. I feel completely compatible with the hustle and bustle of a city like Toronto — riding the subway to concerts, walking to work, meeting friends for a pint — but I also feel completely at ease in a smaller town where stop lights are an oddity and you actually speak to your neighbours. It is in this duality that I found my self sliding into the lifestyle of Gilgandra and feeling as though I’d been living there for many years.
As previously mentioned Gilgandra is a small farming community of about 3000 people. They have one high school, two primary schools, a pre-school, a pool, an observatory, three pubs, a car track, a horse track and a golf course. Gilgandra is also fortunate enough to be situated over a water table, so the effects of the drought that is gripping most of Australia is felt a little less. it is your typical main drag town surrounded by farming. It was here that I was lucky enough to spend 10 days observing the Australian School system. A complete photo set of this trip can be found on my flickr.
It feels like I just got settled and I’m out on the road again. I will be departing Wollongong at 4:30am tomorrow to travel to the town of Gilgandra — population 3000 (map). It is located some 7h drive north-west of my current location, but by train-train-bus it will clock in the range of 11h. The excursion is part of the “Australian School Experience” portion of the program I am enrolled in here in Wollongong. Duration: 10 days. I will be observing at the Gilgandra High School which has an enrollment of 360 students spread across levels 7-12. The town is not officially in the outback, but it’s probably close enough for most readers. The weather will be around 40C and they are especially stricken by the 100-year drought that is currently enveloping Australia. it will be interesting to say the least. Oh, and I’ll be living above one of the towns 3 pubs.
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