Recently there was a lot news about a heatwave that struck England and Europe and tragically killed a fair few people. Now although this was very sad and my heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones, part of me couldn't accept the fact that this was happening in 30 degree heat. I know that is unusual for the area but I got to tell you. If the heat affects you Europeans that badly then might I suggest you stay as far away from the Outback as you possibly can. Now this was about the same era as the dust storm that I previously mentioned (possibly could have been the same summer, but I can't recall specifics). A heatwave hit us that you simply could not believe. It went on for two weeks and from what I was told at the time the hottest period of this madness saw the temperature gauge hover in the late 40's to hovering just under 50 degrees celcius. For 4-5 days straight. Then again after a bit of a breather. Now THAT is a heatwave. Schools were closed, the local swimming pool was left open for 24 hours every day (a bonus), the elderly were shuffled into homes with significant air conditioning and water consumption reached record highs. And apart from the actual swimming pool issue my God did it suck. It was so hot things actually melted if you left them out in the sun for too long. Not exactly the best of conditions during bushfire season. Upon my research for this article (not that I needed much) I couldn't come across any specific data from that era of that particular area of the countryside but I did find out that during the same period the neighboring "bigger" town experienced just slightly under 49 degrees as its record in that time period, although there appears to be no specific dates kept on record till at least the year 2000. So I unfortunately can't give you the exact dates of this event, but rest assured that it was hotter than hell. But if any country Australians that reads this who may remember the drought of circa 1983 in Outback NSW and have a better memory (or better luck at google than me) than I have, then by all means share the infomation to the world.in the comments section below. So there you are. Five instances of Outback living that truly sucked balls. Although I have to re-iterate that it wasn't all hellfire and brimstone out there (as I have mentioned in previous articles). But if you have any plans on moving there (directed mostly at foreigners) I suggest you consider some of the experiences I have mentioned here today before a final decision is made. But remember that sometimes, although the cons of outback living in this country can be quite large in scale, the pros that can come with it can outweigh any natural adversity. Just remember to pack your thongs (flip flops) and bring a lot of water.
Passions in life: Movies, Music and Wrestling....My childhood was spent growing up in the "Outback" of Australia (I'm a little bit country) and my adulthood resided within the city limits (I'm a little bit rock and roll), so you could say that I am the best (or worst) of both worlds. A 6 foot 7 ex wannabe pro wrestler (whose career was cut short due to a busted back, NOT caused by wrestling) & muso who has a precocious cat & a habit of doing the wrong thing but for the right reasons. The story of my life????
All demos, no albums ;)
