Okay, so who watched Discovery Atlas last night? Anyone? Anyone? C’mon, I’ve been hyping this show for weeks… didn’t anyone think, “hey, that Lisa has really good taste… I oughta check out this show…”? (Or maybe I DON’T have such great taste?)
I’m a little annoyed, though, because for a month now I’ve been seeing the commercials for this show, and they always mention South Africa. So I assumed, judging from the fact that this particular country was prominently featured in the advertisement, that eventually South Africa would be the country-of-the-evening. But after wooing me with China, Italy, Brazil, and Australia, it appears my beloved Discovery Atlas is leaving me for good. There was no South Africa… South Africa was just some kind of lure to reel me in. How will I ever learn about the wonders of South Africa now? I’ll have to actually read a book, or, like, look at a map or something... :)
But why would they have advertised South Africa if they never planned to air an episode about that country? Maybe it’s been filmed, and eventually it’ll show up somewhere. Maybe this is a good thing, and MORE episodes of Discovery Atlas are in the works. Perhaps one day it will return to me… (yeah, I know, I’m really weird… it’s just a TV show… :))
So, as I mentioned, last night’s show was about Australia. Australia is one of those places I’d like to visit eventually (which would include pretty much everywhere), but it’s never been high on my list. And watching the show last night reminded me why – Australia is home to all TEN of the ten most poisonous snakes on earth, as well as a few of the most poisonous spiders on earth, as well. Now, I suppose if a traveler were to stick to a city hotel room, the chances of coming in contact with said creepy crawlies would be at a minimum. But do I really want to risk it? (There’s also the matter of the flight – how many hours do you suppose it would take to fly to Australia? 18? 20? Lots and lots? Definitely lots and lots…) Regardless, some time in the future I suppose I’d like to spend an entire day of my life on various planes, which will wing me to the Southern Hemisphere. I’ll just have to take my chances with the snakes and spiders…
A few interesting facts I learned last night: Did you know that about 90 percent of Australia is uninhabitable? Most of the interior land is too dry – which is why most of the cities are right on the ocean. In fact, one of the interior towns they talked about hasn’t seen rain in over four years (and we complain about drought in Austin when we haven’t seen rain in a couple MONTHS). But even with all that dry land, the northern area of the country is made up of rain forest. (I didn’t realize there was a rain forest in Australia…) And, just like China has the Great Wall, Australia has a really great fence – there’s a continuous fence that runs about 3000 miles through the country, to protect livestock from dingoes – wild dogs (another interesting fact: dingoes can’t bark. Isn’t that strange? They look just like cute dogs, but they can’t bark and they kill livestock… so much for a family-friendly watch dog…).
My aunt and uncle actually lived in Australia for several years, I think back in the 80s. At that time, they weren’t entirely impressed with the country – they said it was like living in the U.S. in the 1950s. Apparently there were a few lifestyle areas that needed to be updated. But from what I’ve been able to see in books and on television the last few years, Australian cities seem to be plenty up-to-date now. I’m pretty sure they even have Starbucks.
Which is great, because when I visit, I’ll need to be well-caffeinated when I’m running away from the snakes and spiders…
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