Thursday 16 August 2012

Green and Gold

With the London Olympics extravanganza still a talking point, my latest trip along the Hume Highway re-affirmed the significance and relevance of our national colours. The mid-August timing of my journey, combined with several years of La Nina weather, meant that my journey south from Sydney today was a 'green and gold' feast for the eyes. Despite twenty five years of regular trips, never before have the roadside plantings of different wattle species, set against a backdrop of lush green paddocks, made such a visual impact on me.

The patriotic spectacle in New South Wales became much more patchy south of the border. Did the recent decade-long drought in Victoria eradicate the gold from its Hume Highway verges?

Tourism authorities would do well to encourage further investment in wattle plantings along the full length of this road. Western Australia promotes its wildflowers. The north-eastern states of America promote their 'fall' - that brilliant display of autumn foliage across vast areas of country. That rather daunting road sign as you leave the outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area proclaims the distance to Melbourne as 830 km. Why couldn't it be known as August's spectacular 'green and gold' wattle drive?

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