To Our International Friends

I know from looking at the statistics for Family Road Trip Australia that many of the visitors to this site are from countries other than Australia. Although I do write for an Australian audience (I often refer to Australia as 'home' and appeal to our patriotism for instance) I am also very passionate about inspiring travellers and families from around the world to come and experience this spectacular land!

I hope the recent fanfare around Oprah's trip Down Under has encouraged those in the States and other countries to come and see Australia for themselves. Don't let the recent floods and cyclones put you off, just think how lush and green the land is and how full the rivers and water holes are!
Yes parts of Australia have suffered greatly so far this year, but part of being Australian is our ability to pull together and bounce back stronger than before! We have a remarkable history of challenges, adversity and astounding fortitude - as do many other spirited countries. Anyway I digress...
The point being that Australia is like no other place on Earth. We have an amazing variety of landscapes, climates, wildlife, plant life, culture, architecture, landmarks and events.
As I say in my book, Discover Australia Kids 'n' All, "If your dream is to see Australia, the time is now. If you have kids, well they're just going to have to come!"
Better still if you don't have kids, do it before you do or if they have grown up then get over here and start spending their inheritance!

Go See Australia!

Happy Australia Day!

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror

The wide brown land for me!

 

Ok so maybe the flooding rains and terror we can do without this Australia Day but this time of hardship has given Australians the opportunity to show to each other and the world how tough, how generous, and how supportive of each other we can be.

 

As I watch the massive clean up effort and listen to the stories of strangers helping each other it brings a tear to my eye. I do love Australia and our people! It's a shame that these days it takes a tragedy to unite people and recreate our community spirit in many places but perhaps that is what the divine plan is all about.

 

This is certainly a special Australia Day that many will not forget. Have a good one.

 

P.S. Our already struggling tourism industry has taken a beating in the hundreds of millions of lost dollars due the the floods. Please help our economy and those affected by the floods by spending your tourist dollars at home.

Charge!

Travellers can now ensure their electronic gadgets never run out of power with Targus' new laptop and mobile charger.

The light and compact charger can power two devices simultaneously from your car. It comes prepackaged with nine laptop tips, one tip for iPad/iPod/iPhone and another mini-USB tip and retails for $99.95.

Check it out at http://www.targus.com.au/

Crying a Flood of Tears

I bawled my eyes out this morning reading the stories about those who have survived the floods and those who haven't. Sitting over here in hot, dry Perth it all seems a bit surreal, like watching the terrible aftermath of a natural disaster in Thailand or New Orleans or Haiti....always somewhere else. The difference is I have travelled around this beautiful country and I have visited many of the affected towns in Victoria, NSW and Qld and Carnarvon in WA. This is Australia, my country and my people, and the sadness and helplessness I feel keeps literally reducing me to tears.

I would offer my home and my clean up hands if I could but it seems in WA I am restricted to making a donation and watching the images unfold on my TV with one hand over my mouth.

My heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones, homes, pets, businesses, crops, cars...

and also to all the travellers in those areas who thought they were just passing through...

New - Travelling Friends & Holiday Record

This new, self published book by June Foote is a great idea!

This book is a 'Must Have' for travelling retirees, families and holiday-makers.

It keeps all those names, addresses and other little bits of information gathered along the way in one compact record.

Travelling Friends becomes a lifetime memento of places visited and will recall treasured memories of your journeys on the open road.


It also records the various expenses incurred whilst touring around.

Travelling Friends can be purchased for $23.95 from
http://www.noboundaries.com.au/book%20shoppe.htm