Queensland – beautiful one day, perfect the next

However true those words may be,  it is an unfortunate fact that at the present time tourists are staying away from Australia in droves. This is probably due to a combination of factors, including the high cost of the Aussie dollar, the vast distances between tourist destinations and possibly because of Australia’s lack of historical sites, medieval ruins and ancient cities. However, while the glorious weather, relaxed lifestyle, friendly people and amazing beaches, reefs, inland deserts and tropical islands are reason enough to attract visitors from overseas, tourists are still not coming here.

 Local tourism boards are desperately trying to come up with new ways to advertise the country’s attractions to the rest of the world, such as the ‘throw a shrimp on the barbie’ campaign starring the leading man in the film Crocodile Dundee and former Sydney Harbour Bridge painter, Paul Hogan, which was an unbounded success. So while the creative intelligentsia of the tourism business are still scratching their heads, a few ocker mates in far north Queensland took matters into their own hands and completed the job for them for a fraction of the cost.

Their ‘Roo Mail’ video starring Jacky the kangaroo has gone viral and the marketing experts of Tourism Australia must wish they had thought of the idea first.

Trish Clark is author of Good Night and God Bless: A Guide to Convent and Monastery Accommodation in Europe, Vols I and II, both published by Hidden Spring, an imprint of Paulist Press NJ. We've interviewed Trish about Good Night and God Bless.  She writes a monthly column for Wandering Educators as the Travel with a Spiritual Twist Editor.

You can find her at http://goodnightandgodbless.com/