一家九口乡间历险记

As one of seven children growing up in the eighties, the chances of my family jetting off to Hawaii and staying at the Hilton was as likely as Australia winning goldfor table tennis at the Beijing Olympics…or any Olympics for that matter.But lack of monetary resources never seemed to bother my parents who are, as we speak, in the midst of the second year straight of their grey nomad adventures.

Boeing 747s were replaced by a 1985 Sahara Tan Ford Falcon XR.This car seemed extremely cool at the time.So cool, in fact, that we drove around to show it to everybody we had ever known and some people we didnt.But I digress, the original car was made to sit six, but my family cunningly managed to squeeze in nine by installing a dickie-seat in the boot.Luckily the car was a station wagon and not a hatchback or, even worse, a sedan!This seat managed to fit an extra three primary-aged bottoms and was the source of much amusement on the part of the kids who were “forced” to sit in the back and stare at, ridicule and poke fun at the drivers of the cars behind.

The Hilton was replaced by a Jayco Camper Trailer which was faithfully towed behind “Big, fast motor car” the nickname of our treasured Falcon.This caravan was cleverly designed to meet the accommodation needs of nine.At first glance it looked like a small box, but after a few acts of pure magic by my father it soon blossomed into a mini apartment complete with kitchen, living room, storeroom and bedding for nine.Two double-beds extended out on either side, a couch and dining room set converted into bedding for three, and a mattress stored outside under the annex for the remaining two.

As for Hawaii, well around Australia my family discovered destinations more exotic, waters more blue and sunshine more abundant.During my childhood my parents made it their mission to ensure us kids saw as much of Australia as possible.So on school holidays and even during the school semester we piled into the car and hooked on the caravan ready for our next adventure.

The trip I remember most fondly was when I was in grade six and my dad was given ten weeks long service leave.Ten weeks is like a lifetime for a kid, especially when you get to miss school for that whole time!We decided it was time for a real “Outback Adventure” so travelled up through Queensland and then west into the Northern Territory which is the place you want to go to experience the heart of what Australia is.

After hitting the Top End (as it is affectionately known to the locals), we headed north to Kakadu National Park which is two hundred kilometres from north to south and over one hundred kilometres from east to west.As Australias largest national park, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its environmental and cultural treasures.Environmentally it boasts over sixty mammal species, fifty freshwater species and one thousand six hundred plant species.Culturally it has played home to the Aboriginal people who have lived there continuously for forty thousand years.We went in July which is the dry season (May-October). Going in the wet season (November-April) is an option if torrential rain and tropical cyclones dont dampen your spirits.

One particularly interesting animal residing in Kakadu is the crocodile.There are in fact two main species, namely, the ‘freshie which grows to 3 metres and ‘saltie which can exceed 6 metres.Closer to Darwin there are actually boat tours available in double-story boats where you can sit on the top floor and watch the operators dangle bits of meat over the edge of the boat.The crocodiles will then leap two metres in the air and snatch the meat from the operators lines.It is probably best to keep a close eye on the kiddies on these kinds of adventure cruises!

After basking in the lushness of Kakadu we headed south to Mataranka.Being loaded with seven kids does tend to put a damper on ones love life, so when we arrived my parents tricked us into going to a clown show by threatening us with a twenty kilometre bushwalk through Elsey National Park.While we were at the clown show they escaped to enjoy the crystal clear pool of thirty-four degree thermal water which is Mataranka Thermal Springs.After we arrived back from the least funny clown show in history my parents admitted their subterfuge and we all headed off to the spring to swim as a family.

After indulging in the therapeutic springs, my family packed up and headed down to Ayres Rock or Uluru as it is known by its traditional Aboriginal owners.Uluru is also listed as a World Heritage Site and is, as the name suggests, a huge rock which appears very out of place due to its island-like appearance.It stands 348 metres high and 9.4 kilometres in circumference.

Uluru holds huge spiritual and cultural significance for the local Aboriginal people, so climbing the rock is not recommended.However, when my family went there back in 1991 we climbed it and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.The climb is physically demanding—not Mountain Tai demanding, but more dangerous with thirty-five deaths recorded so far. I can still see the image of a screaming Japanese tourist clinging to the rock and refusing to move not ten metres into the climb and a potential heart-attack victim lying on the rock half way up huffing and puffing.I never did see those two at the top.

Much to my little sisters humiliation, my father insisted he use a length of rope to connect them together.Lucky I was eleven so was spared the humiliation and was left to my own adventurous devices.My sister did manage to get revenge the next day though when she decided to run ahead during one of our bushwalks through the Olgas.At the age of eight she managed to get so far ahead that instead of doing only part of the walk we were forced to do the entire eleven kilometres in the deathly midday heat.She is now a keen marathon runner!Fortunately, we had taken enough food and water with us to last a week.Beautiful scenery through those parts though!

The walk around the rock was also truly memorable as it was filled with waterholes, rock caves and ancient aboriginal rock paintings.Another beautiful thing about Uluru is that it changes colour according to the time of the day or year when you view it because the light changes continuously.My family joined the masses to take snaps of the glowing red rock at sunset.

Although I missed two months of school on that trip, the knowledge I gained about Australias environment, history and culture truly made the trip a rewarding experience.If we had travelled by plane and stayed in five-star hotels I am positive I would not have gained as much from the journey.So, when I have a family, Ill be packing up the family wagon, hooking on my caravan and embarking on another adventure of a lifetime.

我生于上个世纪80年代，是我家7个孩子中的一员。我们举家去夏威夷旅游住希尔顿酒店的几率几乎跟澳大利亚在北京奥运会或者任何一届奥运会上的乒乓球项目上拿金牌的几率一样低。但是缺钱花却似乎从来没难住我的老爸和老妈。就像我们所说的，在我出生后的第二年就带我们过起了灰色的游牧生活。

坐不起波音747，我们干脆就坐一辆1985年的撒哈拉黄褐色福特猎鹰XR。这辆车看上去非常酷，真的很酷。我们开着它在每个我们从没见过和不认识的人面前展示了一番。我先打个岔，这辆原装车设计的是六座，但是我们耍了个小聪明，在后备箱安了个加座硬是挤成了九座。幸好这是一辆旅行车，而不是一辆后开门的汽车或者是更糟糕的轿车。这个加座可以容下三个小孩，可以说是孩子们的娱乐场所。因为他们可以坐在后面盯着后面汽车的司机并取笑戏弄他们。

希尔顿酒店被Jayco的野营者活动房屋所取代。这间活动房被我们心爱的猎鹰——被我们称之为“又大又快的汽车”所牵引着。活动房设计得十分合理，正好能满足我们9个人的入住。第一眼看上去它就像是一个小盒子，但是经我父亲几下子就很快变成了一个迷你公寓。里面有厨房、客厅、储藏室以及供9个人居住的卧室。两张双人床在两边，餐厅里的沙发可以展开供3个人睡，还有一个床垫，放在外面一个夹层的下面，可以给剩下的两个人睡。

至于夏威夷这部分，我们的父母在澳大利亚周边找到了更富异国情调、水更蓝、阳光更充足的地方。在我的童年时期，我的父母给自己定了一个任务，就是让我们尽可能多地游览澳大利亚。所以一到学校放假，甚至还没放假，我们就被拉进车里，带着我们的活动住房，准备好下一段旅程。

让我觉得最有意思的一次旅行是我六年级那会儿，我爸爸有一个10个礼拜的休假期。对于一个孩子来说，10个星期就像一生那么长，特别是还可以为了这段时间不用去上学！我们决定是时候开始我们真正的“乡间旅行”了，向上行进，穿过昆士兰州，然后向西到达北部地区——那个可以体验澳大利亚中心地带的地方。

到达“北领地”（当地人对北部地区亲切的称呼）之后，我们向北行进到达卡卡杜国家公园。它从北向南全长200公里，自西向东100公里，是澳大利亚最大的国家公园，还因其丰富的自然文化瑰宝被列为联合国教科文组织世界遗产。自然遗产方面，它拥有60多个品种的哺乳动物，50多个淡水物种，以及1600多种植物；文化遗产方面，这里还是土著居民的家乡，到现在为止他们在这里已经生活了4万年。

鳄鱼是卡卡杜公园里非常引人瞩目的一种动物。一共有两个品种，一种小个头，能长到3米长；另一种大个头，能长到6米。快到达尔文的时候，我们改乘船前进。船是两层的，站在最上层可以看到工作人员站在船边用绳系着一小块肉来回摇晃。这时候，鳄鱼们就会跳出水面两米高一口咬下绳子上的肉。在这种惊险的水上旅行当中，看好孩子们是很明智的做法。

愉快的卡卡杜之行之后，我们继续向南来到马塔兰卡。对于盼望享受二人世界的夫妻来说，带着7个孩子旅行实在是一件让人扫兴的事。于是我的父母哄骗我们去看小丑表演，理由是穿过艾乐斯国家公园还要徒步走20公里。当我们看小丑表演的时候，他们两个跑去水晶般晶莹的水池里享受34度水温的马塔兰卡温泉去了。我们看完有史以来最无趣的小丑表演之后，我们的父母承认了他们的小伎俩，结果我们一家人又去了趟温泉。

泡过疗养温泉之后，我们收拾行李向下行进来到因土著居民而闻名的艾尔斯巨石，又名乌卢鲁巨。乌卢鲁巨也被列为世界遗产，就像它的名字，一块巨大的，像一个孤岛，看上去十分特别的岩石。它有348米高，周长有9.4公里。

对当地的土著居民来说，乌卢鲁巨石有着巨大的精神上和文化上的重要性，所以不建议攀爬。然而，我们全家1991年来到这里的时候，我们爬上去了——那是我经历过最惊险的事情之一。爬乌卢鲁巨石需要很大的体力，不像爬泰山，是非常危险的，到现在为止已经有35个人为此丧生。到现在我眼前还浮现着一个尖叫着的日本游客依附在岩石上，说什么也不再爬了，再爬10米都不行。还有一个人像得了心脏病一样，在半路上躺下来不停地喘着粗气。在山顶我没看到这两个人。

让我小妹妹感到丢脸的是，老爸坚持用一根长绳子将自己和我妹妹系在一起。于是我妹妹在第二天设法报复——在我们徒步穿过奥尔加斯石阵的时候超过我们。8岁的她并没有想偷懒，而是想方设法超过了我们很远。我们被迫在热得要死的天气里走完11公里。还好，我们带了足够的食物和水，维持了一个礼拜。不过沿途的风景真的很美！

岩石周围的旅程也是十分让人难忘的。到处是水洼、岩洞和古老的土著绘画。乌卢鲁的另外一处美景是，当你每天或者每年不同的时间看它的时候，它可以随着不断变化的光线而变换颜色。我们全家站在人群中抓拍着日落中渐渐变红的岩石。

尽管为了那次旅行我耽误了两个月的学校课程，但是在旅行中我得到了很多关于澳大利亚环境、历史和文化方面的知识，是一次非常值得的经历。如果我乘坐飞机，住五星级宾馆，肯定收获没有那么多。所以，等以后我有一个家庭，我也会把我的家人装进汽车，拖着我的活动车房，开始一个个生命中的旅程。