Australia

Walking on beaches

On Saturday I left New South Wales, with some friends to visit some friends, and headed north up to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. I’m even further away from the fires now but I’m hearing more and more stories from people who have been affected themselves, families evacuated and houses lost, or at the very least know someone dear to them who has been affected. It is devastating.

Initially, it was my friends and family overseas whose alarm bells I heard ringing loudest. And it took a while before I tuned into people here talking about this catastrophe in a way that reflected the growing sense of global concern. But this is a group of people for whom every summer is ‘bush-fire season’. And everyone knows someone who is, or has been, a volunteer ‘Firey’. It’s just what you do. I wasn’t watching the news and I had the impression that the Australia I was visiting was saying, ‘We’ve got this’. But there is no doubt now that the message has changed and it’s no longer possible for anyone here to think or to talk about much else.

I am witnessing expressions of deep sadness and anger by the people I come into contact with. And it’s clear that many feel that those in authority haven’t taken anywhere near appropriate or decisive enough action. Whole communities have been isolated and the sense of having been abandoned is strong. And it’s painful. So the support that is being received, both in words and actions, from around the world has been vital. And so is that very Australian, strong and steely resolve that says, we’re going to dig deep and we’re going to get through this. Bush-fire season isn’t over yet.

Dear friends and family, thank you for your messages and for checking in. I have no travel plans for the time being. I’m spending time with my friends in homes with kitchens and comfy beds. I am safe and, although he is back in Sydney, so is my far-away son. I’m grocery shopping and walking on beaches. Usually with dogs. I’m swimming in the ocean. I’m not writing much. I’m not really being a traveller right now, I am being a friend.