Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting stories about how travel is resuming globally as we emerge from the COVID-19 imposed shutdowns that began in early 2020.
I am travelling to Sydney, Australia, with side trips to Coffs Harbour and Nana Glen. I first took this trip in 2019, fulfilling a dream I have had since I was a child and read a book called “Golden Dog.” This year I’m adding Wollongong, about an hour south of Sydney.
I wanted to find out how old friends and new acquaintances had fared.
The stories actually begin in the fall of 2019. Fall in the United States is the beginning of summer down under, and in 2019, that meant months of some of the worst bushfires eastern Australia had ever seen. For weeks images of the towering flames, utter destruction of property, loss of lives and heartbreaking injuries to wildlife dominated news reports around the world.
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Fast on the heels of the bushfires, Australia and the rest of the world started hearing whispers of a virus in China. Whispers grew to shouts, warnings that COVID-19 was spreading across the globe, creating the first pandemic since the beginning of the 20th century.
Among the people who will be featured in these stories will be Glenn Locke, owner of Mt. Coramba Apiculture and a volunteer firefighter in Nana Glen. At the time of the fires, Locke was senior deputy chief under Chief John Larder. Locke was named chief of the Nana Glen fire brigade when Larder retired.
Also in Nana Glen is Alison Johnson, owner of the Idle In Cafe and Belinda Cameron one of several volunteers who produce the Nana Glen Community News, an online and printed resource for news from Nana Glen and surrounding communities.
And finally Ian Watson, an artist and sculptor who lost everything, his home, his workshops, everything to the flames.
In Wollongong I’ll be staying with author Marie McCready and her husband, Neil. Marie and I had connected on social media just a few months before my 2019 trip.
Her story is itself interesting.
When she was a young girl, Marie lost her voice and doctors could not find out why. Test after test, x-rays, nothing could explain why she had gone mute. It was not until many years later, years during which she was shunned by people who thought she was faking, when she was at work and began coughing that the mystery was finally solved.
Marie, Neil and I will be travelling to the Bargo Dingo Sanctuary just outside of Wollongong.
It can be unusual to find a purebred dingo in the wild. They have bred with other dogs, from family pets to strays over the years. Bargo’s purpose is to preserve the purebred dingo. In 2019 , the sanctuary was leveled by flames.
When flames were threatening, they packed up and left with the dogs. They lost all of their buildings, all of their supplies, but every one of the dogs was saved. It took months, donations and hard work from volunteers to rebuild the sanctuary. It is now back in operation, post-COVID and again teaching people about the importance of preserving the pure dingo lines.
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The purpose of these stories is look at how the world is trying to shape a post-COVID lifestyle, including traveling. But they are also to show the resiliency of people. People who first lost everything to Mother Nature, then had to shut down because of a virus.
They survived. They kept their businesses open, found reasons to persevere and came out of the dark months with their eyes looking to the future.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
