Spotlight Author Shares Life Changes After Australia...

First of all, I want to thank Glenda for featuring me on her blog. It has been such fun seeing my photos and quotes every few days, and I so appreciate her taking the time to review my book and interview me. It is always great to connect with a reader, but it is even more fun when the reader is so enthusiastic about telling others! However, now it’s time for another writer to be featured, so I thought I’d close out “my” month with a few final thoughts.

I learned a lot during that first six-month trek around Australia. I have learned more since, but not just about Australia. I have learned about the nature of pursuing dreams and building careers. I’ve discovered that goals often turn out to be doors, rather than destinations, leading to other goals and to rewards undreamed of at the outset. Both Australia and writing have given me more than I expected.

My life is completely different from what it was before I left or what it would have been had I not gone. The most obvious difference is that I’m working for myself. Another difference is changed priorities. Before Australia, I worked all the time. I almost never took vacations. Instead of travel, I had shopping. Today, I’d rather take a great trip than have a fabulous wardrobe or new TV—and I’ve had some amazing journeys. I take more time to contribute to the community, from teaching classes to organizing fundraisers. On a beautiful day, I’ll go to the Botanic Garden or forest preserve for a walk, knowing that I’ll work better when I return refreshed. I just have a different mindset now. I still have to work hard— no one who is self-employed escapes hard work. But work isn’t my whole life now.

Freelance writing has its ups and downs, but even in down times, I’m pleased I made the choice I did. When things are good, I’m more than content—I’m having a wonderful time. I write about the things I love, primarily history, food (mostly culinary history), and travel. I am doing everything now that I once thought I’d have to save for retirement—so no need to retire!

I’d love to write a sequel to Waltzing Australia (I’ve been back to Australia three more times, and have many more adventures to share), but only time will tell if I’ll get to do that. However, even if that doesn’t happen, I’m pleased to have been able to share that first grand adventure. I hope readers come away with a sense of knowing Australia, but more importantly, with a sense that dreams can come true, if one pays the price.

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Cynthia, thanks so much for being here during your birthday month! May your writing continue to show the enthusiasm and heartwarming stories about your adventures for all of us to share!

My Visit to Australia Through Her Eyes - Favorite Quotes of Moi! Thanks Cynthia!

It is almost beyond words to describe the beauty of the rainforest. It is harder still to express how that beauty affected me. My reaction was almost physical--an intense serenity, an elated peacefulness poured through me, like cool water in a dry land. (13)

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This is it. This is the edge, where civilization runs out and wild is simply status quo. My spirit seemed to vibrate in sympathetic response to something in that wildness. I felt drawn to the innocence, the fierceness, the solitude. (47)

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As I clambered up and down that magnificent, shattered, chaotic landscape--towering, water-sculpted rock walls, fascinating plants, the sparkling river, dazzling scenery on all sides--munching on warm, tangy-sweet wild passion fruit, soaking up the gloriously brilliant sunlight, I could not help but think to myself, "I don't know what the rest of the world is doing right now, but it couldn't be this good." (121)

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Most interesting are the Darwinias, or Stirling Bells. Not only do they grow nowhere else in the world except the Stirling Range, but each of the seven varieties of Darwinia has its own mountain, growing nowhere else in the range...

As I sped over the soft earth, the wind in my face, the colors crowding in around me, I felt fleeter and freer than I can ever remember. Such is the liberating quality of joy. (157)

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I have done the most amazing things--beyond what I ever imagined myself doing. Traveling across Victoria's legendary High Country on horseback was harder than I had dreamed, and more wonderful. The mountains were glorious, and the riding, exciting, though I suspect I ran through about a two years' supply of adrenaline. (250)

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I sat on a low, wooden bench, just to enjoy the view, but was soon interrupted by the gentle pressure of a wallaby's nose on my shoulder. Two wallabies stood, watching expectantly, batting long eyelashes, as I dug into my pockets for more treats. (See picture - 279)

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I began to unpack and settle in. In a fit of mostalgia, I put on my Snowy River hat and oilskins and stood wistfully in front of the full-length mirror. I have owned few pieces of clothing that were so evocative, that pleased me so completely as they. I love this look and what it represents. I took my riding gear off, put it in the closet and still smiling, went to bed. (315)

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I wondered again, as I have wondered before, why this place moves me so. I am drawn to the remoteness, to the vigor, the fierceness, and the unfettered innocence of this land, and its spirit whispers to my spirit, and its song sings in my veins. I don't know if this is cause or effect, but I do not need to know. I simply surrender myself to the pleasure of feeling it one more time. (438)

Wine Country in Victoria, Australia

Chandon Winery, Victoria:

Australia’s wine culture,

and the beauty and greenness

of Victoria’s countryside

mentioned often in Waltzing Australia

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Photo and

Waltzing Australia dialogue

Cynthia Clampitt

Camels in Australia? You Bet!

Camels, near Alice Springs, NT:

On the other side of the gap, we visited a camel farm. There were no roads or rails coming inland for much of the Centre’s history, and horses were not really suited to desert travel, so camels—one-humped dromedaries from India—were imported during the 1800s to help conquer the sand and dryness of this part of Australia

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Copyright
Waltzing Australia Excerpt
Photo
Cynthia Clampitt

Wow! Let's Walk on the Beach with Cynthia!

Cheynes Beach, WA:

I walked down to the beach. It was a spectacularly beautiful spot, with the gently sloping crescent of pearly white sand running from the surrounding green hills down to the clear, vividly blue water. I took off my shoes and strolled along the beach, then waded in the water, trying to hold my skirt up far enough to keep it away from the waves, but usually failing. It was a glorious day and a mesmerizing location.

Photo and Excerpt

Cynthia Clampitt

Used with Permission

Ever Cuddled With A Koala?

KOALA

Among the tall gum trees, dozens of koalas nibbled leaves or slept, curled into tight balls, wedged in the forks of higher branches. A mother koala ambled from limb to limb, her baby clinging to the fur on her back.

Photo and Excerpt
Waltzing Australia
Cynthia Clampitt

Visit Kings Canyon - Excerpt from Waltzing Australia

Kings Canyon, NT:

We drove to a spot about two miles from the head of Kings Canyon. Undulating, scalloped stone walls fell from the plateau above like a great, ragged, red furbelow. Hugh led us up one of the steep, broken stone pleats. A 700-foot climb brought us to the top of the canyon wall.

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Photo and Excerpt

Copyright Cynthia Clampitt

Used with Permission

Check out the Sealion & Excerpt from Waltzing Australia!

Sealion, Kangaroo Island, SA:

We walked out onto the hills of drifted sand and clambered down their steep, shifting sides, descending to the beach, where we were surrounded by Australian sea lions. The colony here is made up of nearly 500 sea lions, and they were ranged all along the bay, as far as the rock-sheltered white sand stretched in either direction.

Photo and Excerpt

Copyright Cynthia Clampitt

Used with Permission

Beautiful! Right?! Photo and Excerpt from Waltzing Australia!

Millaa Millaa Falls, Queensland:

We headed off through the rainforest again, to visit some of the area’s many waterfalls. My favorite was Millaa Millaa Falls. Moss and ferns hang from the underside of a high, ragged, jutting cliff, over which the water flows in a long, silvery cascade. The surrounding tropical greenery is so dense that it also appears to be flowing over the cliff. The waterfall is reflected in the pool at its base, which gives the impression of two falls rushing toward each other and meeting at the water’s surface. As always, I would have liked to have stayed for days.

Photo and Excerpt copyright

Cynthia Clampitt

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Visit Tasmania With An Excerpt from Clampitt's Waltzing Australia

Bennett's Wallaby, Tasmania:

It is spring, so most of the females have joeys in their pouches. We offered them bread, lettuce, and apples, and they gently placed forepaws on our arms to steady themselves as they ate out of our hands. They would occasionally place their paws on our knees and lean across our laps to see what another wallaby was eating. They watched everything we did, followed us around, let us stroke their incredibly soft fur, and generally behaved like the family pet. (And these are non-captive animals—this is a national park, not an animal reserve.)

Isn't She Beautiful?! Excerpt From Waltzing Australia!

Crimson rosella sitting on my knee:

I bought some birdseed, because (I had been told) if you feed them, the parrots will come right out of the rainforest. Within seconds I was besieged by the most astonishingly beautiful birds I’ve ever seen. Brilliant red and royal blue, they’re called crimson rosellas.

As greedy as they were, they got tired of waiting for the seeds to hit the ground and started perching on my hands, arms, shoulders, head. As D.H. Lawrence noted: “That is another of the charms of Australia: the birds are not really afraid.” I was delighted. I sat on the ground and poured the rest of the seeds into my skirt, then photographed the birds as they perched on my knees, munching, and snapping and flapping their wings at newcomers. They were so beautiful, I could hardly believe it.

Excerpt from Waltzing Australia and Photo

Copyrighted Cynthia Clampitt

Excerpt from Waltzing Australia by Cynthia Clampitt; Photo by Clampitt

Three Sisters rock formation,

Blue Mountains, NSW:

We stopped at Echo Point, a jutting ledge that affords an excellent view of the rock formation, the Three Sisters and a major portion of the Jamison Valley. The view was amazing: the forests more than 2,000 feet below, lapping at the mountains’ feet, mottled by shadows of passing clouds; sudden, vertical up-thrusts of stone, tall, pale rock walls emerging from and topped with dark, green foliage. The wind coming through the valley below sounded lonely and haunting. It was glorious.



copyright: Cynthia Clampitt

Spotlight Author: Cynthia Clampitt, Author of Waltzing Australia!

Good Morning!

Today, Cynthia Clampitt joins Book Reader's Heaven as our spotlighted Author! I'm showing just three pictures of her tour of Australia...Click on the title to go to her blog! Waltzing Australia, shares the diary of touring Australia...but it also offers so much more...see my earlier posted review on July 15th!

Tomorrow, our guest author is celebrating her birthday! I'll be sharing a personal interview with her right here, so stop by and wish her a great day!





3 Sisters Rainbow Koala!

Fortesque Falls