i love this country!

since i got back from my aunties in the country (by the way i actually grew up in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere...sounds weird saying 'the country' but anyway)
i have realised, while i was on a walk around a small seaside town, on a path through some bush, beach and sand dunes that it was completely deserted.
and not only that, it is so long since i have been in a place where i am just all alone, and u simply know that nobody else is there, or will be there, not while you are.
it is a feeling i had a lot, on a farm while growing up, but u never really think about it until it has been gone for a long time, and you reocgnise it again, but this time as a stranger.
it was refreshing. - it was quite cold, but i knew if i felt like it, i could pull of my clothes and go swimming, and nobody would see.
not only that, but i have been yearning to go overseas, experience different things and cultures. and funnily enough, on this walk, i was reminded of the country that i missed and really, deep down, loved. as a child, the city with its bright lights was the only place i wanted to be (and trust me i have no plans to move country permanently!) but walking along, looking at saltbush and the little plants and trees that i knew to be australia, to be uniquely rural, i kind of appreciated them for the first time. the sand dunes, the little scrubby trees, the big bounding footsteps of kangaroos that had passed before me, even finding a deserted fire spot where some locals had obviously come for a few night time drinks, it reminded me all of my own farm (where i havent been for a year at least) and it also reminded me that overseas, i wont see this.
its a hard feeling to explain, seeing the landscape as mine and feeling nostalgic about it, for i am sure a tourist from another country would look at it and think it was pretty boring. but for me, it was a wonderful feeling to look at something and feel it being familiar and yet new at the same time.
even the beach....everywhere has beaches. but do you see a deserted beach, piled with a bit of seaweed and rocks, with seagulls around having a chat, in europe? beach with no buildings next to it, simply bush sand, rocks for miles around. i dont think you do.
"i love a sunburnt country"
perhaps that statement doesnt apply to the piece of environment specifically (lots of water and greenery!) but the sentiment is the same. you have to love australia for what it is, and appreciate those small things you see, because simply lamenting what it may not have is really missing out.