Don't forget to admire the beautiful things..

Occasionally I take the advice of my family, much to their amazement. I am currently suppose to be studying for my end of semester exams but after handing in my last two assignments for the semester on Friday decided to take a couple of days away from the books to revel in the Queen's birthday long weekend.  Yes, I am aware the Queen of England was born in April and strangely enough tends to celebrate her birthday then. However, June is the descent into winter for these colonies so we have a random winter long weekend in June, blame the Queen and perversely open the Australian ski season, whether or not there is snow on the Australian Alps. Except in WA where they have the Queen's birthday in September and perversely open the Perth Show but, how I have digressed..

In one of the subjects (which will be examined in the near future), we have been learning about the various types of environmental legislation in the various jurisdictions of Australia and how, if at all, it protects the beautiful things we have.

When the lecturer asked for examples of World Heritage areas, RAMSAR wetlands etc., she usually met the correct answer with, yes, you must visit there before you die. So actually, it appears I am about to be examined on the Australian Environmental Bucket List (and the processes for getting the correct Minister to approve any major acts of environmental desecration planned in the near vicinity).

So, in keeping with the theme, over the weekend instead of studying the legislation, we visited some of those sites that the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act aims to protect including The Coorong National Park. We also passed in our travels the World Heritage listed Naracoorte Caves and Bool Lagoon.

The strange thing is, at different times of my life, I have lived nearby all of these natural wonders and only ever took visitors there occasionally, never just went to look and admire. Just another little reminder - don't forget to admire the beautiful things while you can...