Jottings from the Tropics: 1 July, 2013

What happened to the first half of the year? It's not behind the sofa cushions and I haven't accidentally put it in the fridge, so it must have slipped down the back of the bookcase. That's the only explanation, because I refuse to believe that it's July.

— o O o —

This is the time when the southerners migrate north in mixed flocks of caravans and Kombis to get a taste of the tropics. You can spot them in town. They're the ones wearing shorts, t-shirts and startled expressions as they discover that even though we're 850 kilometres north of the Tropic of Capricorn it can be quite cool half way up a mountain range. Those bush stone-curlews that don't move when they see you — they're not relying on camouflage. They're frozen to the spot.