"In Australia alone is to be found the Grotesque, the Weird, the strange sribblings of Nature learning how to write. Some see no beauty in out trees with no shade, our flowers without perfume, our birds who cannot fly, and our beasts who have not yet learned to walk on all fours. But the dweller in the wilderness acknowledges the subtle charm of this fantastic land of monstrosities."
- Marcus Clarke
I certainly understand where Marcus Clarke was coming from. In the days that I have been here I have seen the strangest, weirdest looking plants and animals. No one who has actually been to Australia could claim that Australia is just the hybrid offspring of a successful pairing of Britain and America, at least not in terms of Australia's landscape.
I have seen fascinating things so strange and different from the West and I find myself in the most civilized, inhabited part of this massive country; I need not venture into the 'bush' or the outback to experience strangeness: a day at the Taronga Zoo, a walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens or along the desolate cliffs between Manly and Bondi beach will suffice.
I have seen fascinating things so strange and different from the West and I find myself in the most civilized, inhabited part of this massive country; I need not venture into the 'bush' or the outback to experience strangeness: a day at the Taronga Zoo, a walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens or along the desolate cliffs between Manly and Bondi beach will suffice.
On Thursday I ventured into the Royal Botanic Gardens expecting a short little stroll along the scenic pathway beginning at the Opera House to Lady Macquarie's Point. What I did not realize was that the Royal Botanic Gardens stretch 30 hectares, boasting 45,124 plants.
Needless to say I did not see everything that day. But what I did see was weird and amazing, somewhat grotesque but absolutely beautiful. Penis plants and fruit bats. Roses and Birds of Paradise. Parrots and Cockatoos.
The animals: Bizarre. We spent an entire day at the Taronga Zoo trying to understand God's thought process during Australia's creation.
Upon seeing the platypus, one of Australia's native inhabitants, I could not help but wonder.
In the words of Robin Williams:
"Look at the platypus...you think God's up there going 'OK, let's take a beaver, k, let's put on a duck's bill (hey I'm God whattya gonna do)...k he's a mammal, but he lays eggs. There you go!'"
(link: Cool Stuff)
And it's true, most animals don't walk on all fours in this country. Kangaroo. Nope. Wallaby. Nope. Meerkats. Not really. Emu...well they don't have four anyway but they certainly don't fly. However, as we learned on a 'walkabout', a fenced-in area that visitors may enter to interact with the zoo's animals, emu run very quickly. For as we entered the walkabout and were entering a cave expecting to look at the water creatures within tanks, a renegade emu came charging at us. Needless to say for the rest of the walkabout we peered around the corners of the cave before advancing.
And I haven't even gotten to Australia's real monsters: the snakes ans spiders. I learned from Bill Bryson before I left for this country that Australia is the proud home of the most dangerous animals on earth. Entering the reptile house at the zoo, I had no difficulty believing him.
The Komodo Dragon may be mistaken for a tree trunk; a tree trunk that can take down and devour a deer. And the Komodo Dragon doesn't even make the top 25 of Australia's most deadly creatures.
Yet even seeing these seemingly grotesque, monstrous creatures one cannot claim that Australia is a grotesque, monstrous place.
The views from Taronga Zoo, its cable car, or the ferry ride to Sydney Harbor are only a few reminders that Australia is a place full of beauty.
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