The Great South Land [Australia]

Written on Qantas Flight Home, after holiday in Australia :14 April 2006

We are travelling back from the Great South Land
after the trip that our Oz family planned;
And there are no words to describe all we saw
Just a burning desire to return and see more.

From the quaint little city where my brother resides
to the Gold Coast and Dream World with its magical rides;
To the wildlife parks with dingoes and snakes,
and Fraser Island with its clear, turquoise lakes.

A good word for Sydney could simply be “grand”
Yet you’d need to be there to quite understand,
For the city vibrates by day and by night
with remarkable passion and colour and light.

Buses and trains and a monorail too,
A cable-car ride at Taronga Zoo,
Aquarium visits – we sure saw the lot
and made the most of all Sydney’s got!

Our ride on the jet-ski the very first day
back and forth in the harbour, quite drenched in the spray,
And the leisurely ferries which we rode frequently
surpassing our dreams of how it would be.

The harbour bridge left us gaping in wonder,
So much to take in whilst we were “down under”,
And the Opera House (from each angle we knew)
and the A.M.P. Tower with incredible view.

From shopping, I know, I should have been banned,
But there’s so much to buy with my poor, worthless Rand,
Lots of people back home – I need gifts for them all
Paddy’s Market proved better than any large mall.

To hold a koala – feed a young kangaroo
See a cute little Joey as his small head pops through,
The majestic Blue Mountains with forests below
The beautiful birds who make such a show.

The barrier reef with its stunning display
of coral, and turtles, and large Manta Ray;
The fish in their thousands, and of every kind,
Our Awesome Creator the great Master-Mind.

And soon we’ll be back in our “own” southern land
where most of the people are quite darkly tanned,
And we’ll travel to work dodging taxis each day
for there’re children to feed, and there’re bills we must pay.

So we thank back with fondness on the Great South Land
with its litter-free beaches and pure, golden sand;
Our holiday there was quite beyond measure
And the memories we have forever we’ll treasure.

Reproduced with permission
SJA
Copyright