On The Road! An Australia Day Journal!
An Australia Day Road Trip Journal
This Australia Day road trip took me through salt lakes, wheat country and rocky ridges – and somewhere along the way, it turned into this journal in verse. There’s something about an Australia Day road trip that slows you down enough to actually look at the country you’re driving through.
I love a sunburnt country
And the salt lakes of Sea Lake
Where deadened tree trunks boast
Behind salt entwined fence posts
Laying home to make-believe sharks
Who were chasing make-believe men
That were hilariously placed
by a strategic comedienne
Where the street art is lit up
Not just by the glow of the moon
But the inner light of people
Inside historically done-up rooms
Where a grand old pub
Filled with music and laughter
Spills from the lace-worked verandah
Farewelling a local ever after.
I love a sunburnt country
And the wheat fields of the Region
Where the horizon is ever stretching
Dotted with trees, yet no protection
Where harvesting is not just work
It’s a chosen way of life
With farmers who keep on keeping on
Potential for hope is rife
And once a crop’s done and dusted
It’s stubbled five o’clock shadow
Is rested for another year
Until the landscape once more turns yellow
And a piece of tin, a rusted bucket
A water tank of old
Sits aside windmills old and new
Waiting for new stories to unfold
I love a sunburnt country
And the scrublands of the Mallee
Where natures dusty palette
Plays home to the fox and rabbit
And while the wildlife burrow deep
And the ants build up their towers
Somewhere in between
Are the snakes and the mallee fowl
Protecting the grave of the rail worker
Strangers paying homage to the tale
With flowers or with Silence
Even unopened bottles of ale
I love a sunburnt country
And the remains of Generations Past
Where hay bales are stacked in their sky high towers
Surrounded by old headers, tractors and rusty ploughs
Where silos are transformed into vivid art
Not ever letting boring, dull or drab remain
Where Dog Lead Rd and Lovers Lane
Tell stories no one needs explain
Where vines replace brick
And weeds replace paths
Where windows become frames
And doors – a hollow arch
Where cars and homes are left to die
Stripped of their familial identity
Left to crumble in the elements
Their value lost for all eternity
I love a sunburnt country
And the beauty of the Riverina
Watching the punt rock side to side
As holiday-makers patiently wait their next ride
Slowly crossing this amazing, iconic river
We feel the drag of its metal ropes
As we’re ducked by the skiers and swimmers
and the party-going houseboats
Not quite the Cliffs of Dover
Or the majestic Rio Grande
But when it comes to the banks of the Murray
This is classic Australian land
I love a sunburnt country
And the vineyards of the Barossa
Where row upon row all you can see
Are the manicured lines of deep reds and green
Furrowed deep into the dirt
Dripping fruit of all colours
Soaking up a 42-degree heat
This is an Australia’s Own summer!
Holding scantily filled glasses
In palatial chateaux
We check out bouquets and tastes
As if in Provence or Bordeaux!
I love a sunburnt country!
And the sweeping Adelaide plains
Where the rain shadows meet parched paddocks
And the willy-willy’s cause undue havoc
From the top of the Lofty Ranges
To far off Murray Bridge
The sheep now replace wheat
As they graze on this steep rocky ridge
And chimneys stand without houses
And houses stand without walls
And walls of rock replace fences
And fences become stalls.
I love this sunburnt country
Today we honour our land, its rivers
and its fruits of the vine,
The fields of wheat, the gums and the
worlds best wines
And as we enjoy being woken by roosters
while rain hits our galvanised tin roof
We acknowledge we live in the lucky land
A fact no one can dispute!
If you’re planning your own Australia Day road trip, my only advice is to leave the itinerary a little loose. The best parts of this Australia Day road trip weren’t the destinations I’d planned – they were the salt lakes and general stores I only found because I wasn’t in a hurry to get past them.
Bringing That Same Perspective Home
Every Australia Day road trip eventually ends, but the habit of noticing – really looking at what’s in front of you instead of rushing past it – is one I try to carry into my work too. If you’d like Bernadette McClelland to bring that same grounded, human perspective to your next sales conference, her keynote presentations are built on stories just like this one.
I’m Bernadette – founder of the Decision-Led Revenue™ Operating System and The Revenue Leader of Influence™, where I work with CEOs and sales leaders to build a sales team they can rely on to think, make the call, tell the truth about pipeline and own the result.
If any of this resonated – or if you’re staring at a revenue problem that feels like it should have been solved by now – I’d love a conversation.
BOOK A NO-OBLIGATION 20-MINUTE CALL
And if you’d rather join the discussion, you can also join me on Substack. That’s where the Revenue Leader of Influence community is starting to have these conversations in real time.
