down under travels in a sunburned country

There are more things here to kill you than anywhere else in the world: all of the ten most poisonous snakes, sharks and crocodiles in abundance, the paralytic tick, and venomous seashells that will “not just sting you but actually sometimes go for you.” A place harsh and hostile to life, “staggeringly empty yet packed with stuff. It was here, after all, that the Prime Minister dove into the surf of Victoria one day and simply disappeared-the prime minister, mind you. This time it is Australia, a country tailor-made to surrender just the kind of amusing facts Bryson loves.

“And so once more to the wandering road,” declares Bryson-which is music to the ears of his many deserving fans. The author also supplies plenty of humor in the form of historical accounts of early explorers and settlers of Australia.Just in time for Sydney’s upcoming Olympic games, this travel narrative from veteran wanderer Bryson ( I’m a Stranger Here Myself, 1999, etc.) provides an appreciative, informative, and hilarious portrait of the land Down Under. The author describes his experiences on the train, the places the train passes through on its way to Perth such as the Blue Mountains and White Cliffs. He is accompanied on this journey by a young English photographer named Trevor Ray Hart. The first part of the book mainly describes the journey taken by Bryson aboard the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Perth. His writings are intertwined with recurring humorous themes. In a style similar to his book A Walk in the Woods, or William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways, Bryson's research enabled him to include many stories about Australia's 19th-century explorers and settlers who suffered extreme deprivations, as well as details about its natural resources, culture, and economy. Summary īill Bryson describes his travels by railway and car throughout Australia, his conversations with people in all walks of life about the history, geography, unusual plants and animals of the country, and his wry impressions of the life, culture and amenities (or lack thereof) in each locality.

It was also published as part of Walk About, which included Down Under and another of Bryson's books, A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, in one volume.

In the United States and Canada it was published titled In a Sunburned Country, a title taken from the famous Australian poem, ' My Country'. Down Under is the British title of a 2000 travelogue book about Australia written by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson.

Down under travels in a sunburned country