I just
returned from a few days break in tropical north Queensland—the Australian
state to the north of New South Wales where I live. I went in
search of warmth and relaxation and found both. The winter in my part of
DownUnder has been decidedly chilly. Not so in Port Douglas! It was perfect
with just-right hot sunny days and water the right temperature to swim in.
Bliss!
Note,
however that I swam only in the pool. Walking along the lovely Four Mile Beach
in Port Douglas I asked a local who was walking her cute dog why no one was
swimming.
“Because
there could be crocodiles in the water,” she replied somewhat reluctantly,
perhaps not wanting to scare the tourists.
EEEK!
Sharks I know about, but crocodiles in the surf? Apparently they sneak in from
the mangrove swamps that bracket the beach. So no swimming on a beach what wasn’t
netted.
The hotel
where we stayed has beautiful tropical gardens. What says vacation and sun more
than palm trees?
I realised as I wandered around that the
grounds that so much of the beauty of a tropical garden is in its leaves—as
colourful as any flower. In fact some of the tropical plants have tiny, insignificant
flowers. I just loved those leaves. But sadly tropical plants wouldn’t thrive in my
farm garden where frosts are frequent.
Was there
something significant I could learn from my trip to enhance my writing? Maybe
something about hidden dangers or hidden beauty? Who knows what might sneak out
of my subconscious and onto the page! One thing for sure is that the next romance I write will be set somewhere in the tropics!
