Is that a Coolibah tree beside the abandoned house? Every Australian knows about Coolibah trees because the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda is nigh on our unoffical national anthem but most of us live nowhere near the inland where they grow. Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me. Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.
"To muse, to creep, to halt at will, to gaze ... such sweet wayfaring"
William Wordsworth
We saw plenty of these things up north too. Pretty dangerous when you come up against them on an unsealed road. The only thing you can do is pull up by the side of the road until the dust clears.
ReplyDeleteYep and in Queensland they seem to make narrow roads with very steep sides. A nightmare.
DeleteThey are huge things and the drivers must be clever to handle them. As Winam says, they are not pleasant to meet on the road.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen one of these here.
ReplyDeleteJM, many Australian's have not seen them either because they are only allowed on the inland roads out beyond the cities the main towns and cities.
DeleteThe guy on top is nice. Gives the photo this extra special touch. I like that.
ReplyDeleteYes, I like the way he gives a better idea of scale. There were lots of cattle stamping and thumping about in the truck, he was checking them out.
DeleteI wonder if he might be talking to them. Like pacifying reassuring things: "Everything will be alright!"
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