Well Christmas and New Year have been and gone and I'm back travelling now, having left Cairns after 13 weeks on the 30th of December. After a Christmas that included no turkey but a cold buffet, swimming in an outdoor pool at 10 o'clock at night and Marks and Spencers Christmas cake (Thanks for smuggling that past customs Gran it was much appreciated!) I left Cairns for Sydney as the whole of Australia turned its attention to the Tsunami victims in Asia. It seems everyone knows someone who was in the region and on Boxing day when the news broke there were many frantic phone calls, text messages and emails being sent. It seemed no one escaped being affected, backpackers had friends travelling over there, locals had family holidaying on tropical islands and I personally knew a number of people making stop overs in the affected areas before returning home. The news first broke that there had been an earth quake which was alarming enough but then the story just seemed to get worse and worse and still the death toll rises. With every day that passes there are more and stories of people escaping and more stories of families losing loved ones. Horrific pictures are on the news everyday and even now over a week after the disaster many people are missing feared dead. As the news reports what goes on, Australia is trying to help with volunteers on almost every corner asking for money or donations for those in desperate need. It's like nothing I have ever seen or experienced before; so many people desperate to help in a country that, had it been much closer, could have itself been affected. Thankfully my friends are all safe and well despite being on the island of Phuket when the wave struck, I guess it was just luck they got away; the place they were staying was unaffected but for too many that wasn't the case. Just a few short days later in the midst of the New Year celebrations at Sydney's harbour bridge those who were lost were not forgotten with a minutes silence before the fireworks began. A sombre way to enter 2005. It was strange being down by the harbour for New year after seeing it every year on the News..... And here's how Australia saw in the New Year: it was bizarre to be a part of it but packed up with enough supplies to keep us occupied for the 11 hour wait I, and three friends, waited with about 70,000 others to see in the New Year in style. Impressive it was too. I guess you could say the Australians know how to do fireworks, the only question now is what do I do next year? Somehow think it may feel like an anti climax! Well from Sydney I have hit the road and am now in Canberra for a few days. It's Australia's capital and was specifically built for the job so it looks like I'll be be playing tourist for a while and visiting old parliament and new parliament in the next few days.
Claire M Could you be a student diarist?
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