“I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains.” – Dorathea Mackellar
They are words etched into the heart of the nation, but Australians’ love and pride for their harsh land has certainly been pushed to breaking point these past few days.
Just as the ash of the bushfire crisis begins to settle, Down Under has found itself braving new natural catastrophes; some welcome while others not.
Also see: Heartwarming images of Aussies saving our animals following the bushfires
On Thursday and through the weekend the heavens opened in deluge across eastern Australia, from southern Queensland down to Victoria – relief for drought stricken farmers and exhausted firefighters, but severe flood danger for others.
Then on Monday western parts of New South Wales were inundated by an apocalyptic dust storm straight out of Mad Max while the nation’s capital, Canberra, was smashed by a biblical hail storm.
But we survived…