Stories from the Road – Sydney, Australia
By Asher Heisten
I rise quickly from my bed, as I always do, sleep never making me groggy in the morning. The morning sun shoots through the blinds in the room I share with Ronan, making parts of my skin feel hotter. It’s my tenth birthday, and I’m celebrating it in Sydney, Australia.
I join my dad on the balcony, ten stories above a busy street filled with the sounds of stores opening for the day and the commotion of morning rush hour. Even though it’s the middle of the Australian summer, we aren’t hot because a brisk wind comes through every few minutes. We sit outside, making guesses about what people are doing and whether they are late to work.
Our tradition is that the birthday kid gets to decide how our family spends the day. I want to go to a local animal-rescue center filled with dozens of beautiful species endemic to Australia. First, we go to a brunch place a few blocks away from our hotel. Inside, it feels like we are back home: loud voices, cool air, the hustle and bustle of coffee makers and people trying to get their food. Everything we could ever want is on the menu: pancakes, waffles, eggs, pastries, fruits, and butter—lots of butter.
After our bellies are full, we start the long drive to the rescue center.
When we arrive, the sheer difference of the area truly hits us. The temperature has risen another fifteen degrees, the wind is gone, dust is thick in the air, and we can feel the lack of sunscreen on our bodies. Scattered eucalyptus along the ridge frame our view of the outback. We move over to the shade of a small tent that has been set up for visitors and apply sunscreen, consume large portions of our water bottles, and shed some extra clothes. I can’t wait to get going. We are so close to some animals you can’t see anywhere else.
We start off with the wallabies, smaller kangaroo-like creatures that are generally nocturnal. We get to feed them from small cups filled with their food. There are two of the cutest owls I’ve ever seen. They look like furry heads with feet. We enter the koala enclosure to have them climb onto our laps, a total thrill we’d never get back home.
Australia is known for all of the animals that can kill you. Along our path, we see some of the most venomous snakes and spiders in the world. But the scariest thing we see that day isn’t the crocodiles, and it isn’t the Tasmanian devil (which can run faster than a bike can go). It is the cassowary, an emu-like bird that stands on two long hind legs and is flightless. It looks like a dinosaur and has super-sharp claws.
When you look up cassowary on the internet, the first thing that pops up is “cassowary attack.” That makes sense. Every spot we’d hiked in Australia had signs with stick-bird drawings and red and black text telling us how dangerous cassowaries are and to keep our distance.
Our final stop is the kangaroos. It is so weird to be seeing an animal for the first time that you’ve always seen in picture books. A tiny joey pokes his head out of his mother’s pouch and looks us straight in the eyes.
Tired from the heat, Ronan and I take naps on the drive back to our rented condo in Sydney so we can feel rejuvenated for my birthday night. Back at our room, I request cheeseburgers for my birthday dinner. Mom treks a few blocks to a local grocery store for the ingredients while I make my birthday calls home to family. I talk to my mom’s side of the family in Ohio and my dad’s side in Missouri.
My mom returns and cooks the burgers and serves them up on plates with tater tots she’s baked in the oven. We top off the meal with a giant container of Neapolitan ice cream, and I am allowed to eat some directly from the carton. But first, we put candles on top and sing “Happy Birthday,” just like at home.
For more stories and inspiration, check out our book, Wonder Year: A Guide to Long-Term Family Travel and Worldschooling. You can also sign up for our quarterly newsletter below and follow us on Instagram @wonderyeartravel. Our mission is to help you find your way out the door and into the world.
