“The things I see around me” so say the words of a song,
As you travel this great country on roads both short and long,
The highways are so busy, where ‘rush hour’ never seems to ease,
But to me, it’s the byways that will always please.

Some travellers have to be amused with ‘attractions’ on the coast,
To go and see, is a must, just so they can boast,
They’re on a mission to get there, don’t have time to slow down,
Do they know about the ‘freebies’ you can see from town to town?

It’s so easy to be mesmerised by the white line on the ground,
And boredom can come easily, until you look around,
When suddenly a reminder that there is a world out there,
And all the free attractions can appear from out of nowhere.

The brolgas at the water hole, standing straight and tall,
And far off in the distance you can hear that old crow call,
Cattle often raise their heads as they look you in the eye,
You seem to have upset their day just by passing by.

And suddenly a flapping, of mottled grey and pink,
Just a mob of galahs, you’ve interrupted from their drink,
Up ahead you notice a disturbance in the grass,
You slow down, to allow an emu and her chicks to pass.

Far off in the distance you can see a long black line,
Is that an ore train coming from the mine?
And as it gets closer you begin to count each wagon,
Maybe this is a sign, that your trip is draggin’!

The majestic eagle sits in all its glory, having its fill,
No lack of food in these parts, with all this road kill,
With roos in abundance, drivers must be aware,
It’s still our national emblem, think of their welfare.

The cockatoos are squawking, both black and sulphur crested,
The array of birdlife changes as you travel westward,
You can have a conversation with a magpie in the bush,
But the laughing kookaburra is my favourite to push.

With this great array of wildlife we forget to look up in the trees,
Where we’ll find our unique koala taking life with ease,
Maybe you can tempt a possum at night-time with some fruit,
And if you listen carefully, you can hear the odd owl hoot.

There is the wombat too, if he dares to saunter in your path,
And you can often spy on pelicans while taking their bath,
What about the echidnas with their golden quills,
All our types of lizards, some of them with frills.

And best of all our landscape, so diverse and vast,
From the cooling of the sea breeze to the western heated blast,
Where the rugged mountain peaks rise up from desert plains,
The snow capped alps in winter and the cooling summer rains.

You can see a dry riverbed become a banker overnight,
The colour changes on the rock, different in each light,
You can go from quiet outback towns to cities busy streets,
Watch the swirling of the tides where the southern oceans meet.

From the rainforest to the scrubland, to the golden plain,
You can find the grazier, the orchards, or the sugar cane,
Where the cotton lays beside the road from the fields down to the mill,
By the western bore-drains, you watch the cattle drink their fill.

So next time as you travel, don’t forget to take a look,
Note down all you see around you, in a special book,
Then come the day when your travelling is a thing of the past,
Your book will give you memories that will always last.