An Australian Odyssey

This book is the story of an epic journey around Australia undertaken by two adventurous British seniors, Michael and Dawn Franklin-Harris. Their inherent love of nature and wildlife, the people, and the vast sweep of natural history, is plainly obvious in this recorded account of travels in this fascinating country. The duration of the tours described in the book covers four months and six months, coinciding with two consecutive English winters. They were to drive close to 20,000 km in the 10 months they were in Australia, covering north to south and east to west, on this large and varied continent. They were told afterwards by many locals that they had seen more of Australia than many Australians would see in their lifetime. Despite their age, their past life and experiences had made them eminently suited to take on and record such a journey. Dawn had left England in late 1963 with her first husband and young family on an assisted passage scheme to arrive in Australia in 1964. They spent eight years moving around following the work, periodically returning to their base in Queensland where they settled for a time before finally returning to the U.K. Her love of the country and its people never left her, and she always longed to return under different circumstances to her first experience. With Michael retired, that opportunity presented itself. Michael had been a Precision Service Engineer, driving on average 35,000 miles per year, both in the U.K. and abroad. Like Dawn, he had a passion for life and new experiences. With his deep interest in literature, he was no stranger to the written word and had published many essays in the U.K., France, and the U.S.A.