Meanwhile, back in the land of OZ - (71)

Yes, I am still alive and kicking (ok, so maybe not
kicking). Since I have been back so many people have said ‘what a shame
you couldn’t finish the trip’ and yes, seeing some of Roger’s
photos of the beautiful clear water, I occasionally agree with them. But you know something, you don’t have to sail half
way around the world to have an adventure, you can find them right in your own
back yard, if you look hard enough. So it was a normal Saturday and I could have chosen to stay
in and watch tv. But a paddock burn had been arranged on the estate and they
needed all hands on deck (damn old habits die hard). Now a paddock burn, for
those of you not accustomed to Australian bush life, is where, before the
spring and summer arrives, they burn back all the tall winter grass in order to
minimise the chance of a bush fire. It is a controlled (well that’s the
intention anyway) burn, so everyone has to help keep it under control.
As is usual in any Australian activity, there was a
considerable amount of grog being consumed (not by me I hasten to add) and some
of the volunteers were in danger of self combusting.
Everyone piled on the back of Col’s truck to save
walking the kilometre or so to the where we were starting the fire. As it was my first paddock burn I was allowed to set my
first (intentional) fire, so I simply struck a single match and dropped it on
the grass, within seconds we were off.
The smoke was acrid and sparks from the fire were flying
everywhere, the crackling from the burning saplings sounded like firecrackers
going off.
It is such an awesome spectacle, the bright orange flames
lighting the trees against the backdrop of a starlight sky. Someone had reported the fire and it wasn’t long
before we had the attendance of the local fire brigade, offering their
services. But they were happy we had it under control. In fact we had called
them earlier in the week to advise them that we would be having a burn back and
they were happy with the provisions we had made.
I was so pleased I had gone, not only was it an amazing
experience (and as close as I want to get to a bush fire) , but it also gave me
a much better idea of how to deal with a bush fire, which considering we live
in a fire zone, is no bad thing. So you see, it’s really all up to you, you can have
all the adventures you want right on your door step, you just have to get off
the sofa first. |