Vegemite, the Southern Cross, AFL, big chunks of meat on a barbie, surfers and crazy killer animals. Australia in a nutshell. There is a lot to love about this country, but the sneaky beasts hiding under water (crocodiles, sharks, stingray) or in the bushes (snakes, spiders, anything that has too many legs or likes to suck my Belgian chocolate blood) are another story. Before coming to the land Down Under, I found it hard to imagine people living at peace in a place filled with animals that are ready to attack you. How do Aussies survive when sharing their home with the deadliest creatures in the world? Even koalas have claws! The idea of camping here made my heart sink to my stomach. But now my Australian adventure is coming to an end, my only fear is I'm going to miss those little killers.
On far-flung adventures I worked on a cattle station in the outback. I learned to be aware at all times. Especially while gardening snakes loved to pop up and scare the shit out of me. Spiders would keep me out of my sleep. And a baby cow jumped on my big toe. She didn't like it when I called her Steak.