in bloom

a couple of weeks ago i travelled about 600km north of where i live, along with my parents, to enjoy some time away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. when i say big, i fail to mention that perth is just the right size of a city for my taste. possibly even slightly bigger than what i would prefer. but never you mind that.

in any case, the objective of the trip was to spend a few days away from it all (not really in the outback - still in a relatively acceptable slice of civilisation), and as per my father's wishes, view some rare australian wild flowers. now, it may seem mundane to most of us (i say 'us' because it's not my cup of tea to begin with), but apparently, these wild flowers don't bloom too often. once a year, in a window of a couple of weeks during the spring rains. i guess, for my father who had lived in australia for many years, this was something that brought back fond memories of his life here, and though i cannot say i could re-live his experiences, i am more than happy to accompany him on his vicarious pursuit of what is lost and stored at the back of his mind. in return, i hope that my children allow for the same; amidst bickering between the yet unnamed kids, and continual questions of 'are we there yet?', although i reckon that them not knowing this will make it entirely irrelevant.

so, we set out with a beggar's plight. dad, mom and i, accompanied by an aunt and cousin, on a sojourn of sort to see the various facades of the australian outback - from arid deserts to lush canyons (that sounds so counterintuitive, but there you have it), and most importantly to glimpse some desert flowers. i should remind myself here that the australian outback scene is very monotonous (and monochromatic). a red-brown hue as far as the eye can see, separated by a baby-blue sky by the horizon with nothing to see in miles. hence, even driving at speeds of 80 - 130 km/h, one can easily spot said flowers from a distance. the reds, oranges, whites and yellows stand out like phosphorescent fireflies on a calm, velvet night. which, if i may run off on a tangent, is eerily beautiful. i totally have this romantic setting in mind when it comes to fireflies in the night. except that it's usually accompanied by very humid and warm air, making me sweat and get slightly hot and bothered. although, that might be the whole agenda of setting up the frolicking with fireflies. oh yeah.

ahem. anyway, here's some pictures of flowers that we (might have) seen. i really cannot remember them all, and knowing me, i don't have any personal photos anyway.

p/s: god, not having written in ages makes me cringe when i read what i just wrote. so disorganised. deal with it.