Not all days are equal.
Some days, especially travel days, become etched in your memory forever.
As young South African boys, we spent a good amount of our free time honing our backyard cricket skills.
Circa 2001, I was travelling around Australia with my cousin and two childhood friends. The night before this picture was taken, we had driven to Cape Tribulation in the northern parts of Australia. We were travelling on a shoe string, so most of it was camping, youth hostels, loaves of bread and the cheapest beer money could buy!
That night we camped in a completely random spot in the lush tropical forest. We consumed plenty of piss (an Aussie term for anything alcoholic!) and headed to sleep in our tents. Only to be rudely awoken around 3am by a massive thunderstorm and got seriously drenched! I have a vague memory of us having to jump into my cousins Toyota Hilux because it became too much, even for us hillbillies.
Fortunately we were on the beautiful expansive beaches of the Great Barrier Reef. So when we woke up it wasn’t exactly a problem for 4 guys who were roughing it! We just had to roll out of our tents and onto the beach.
That morning, while half groggy and hanging our tents out to dry, I have a clear memory of seeing a stick insect for the first time. It was the most camouflaged creature I had ever seen. I mistook it for a twig. It also wasn’t just an ordinary stick insect, it was one as long as my forearm! The thing was huge!
Armed with two hats, minimum clothing, a cricket bat, and a tennis ball, we headed to the beach and spent hours playing on the beach. We also luckily stumbled on an outdoor shower, which was an absolute godsend, as we couldn’t swim in the sea up there due to the dangerous creepy crawlies they have lurking in the shallow waters.
Still one of the best memories of my life.
Man, I wish days and memories like this on everyone, especially youngsters. The world is your oyster!