Backpacking in Australia
I wrote this poem, originally as a song when I was working at backpacker accommodation in Yeppoon a picturesque beachside town in central Queensland, Australia. Well worth the one-hour drive east from Rockhampton (Rocky) and the four-hour drive from Bundaberg (Bundy). My brother and I sang it to the backpackers at the regular Friday night BBQ.
The poem describes a backpacker’s experiences travelling up the East Coast of Australia, and it includes some Aussie slang. Have fun with that! The poem mentions various Australian towns that backpackers visit as they make their way up the East Coast. Beverley Joy
Poem
Well, I was stranded in Rocky, After travelling from Bundy,
With no bus on Sundy, I had to wait ‘til Mundy.
So, I slept in a dorm, Above a fella who snored,
In the morning heading east for the beach.
I’ve seen Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane,
Town-of-Seventeen Seventy,
Nambour, Noosa, Maryborough,
Gympie, Childers, and Bundaberg.
Phone reception drops in and out,
As we travel north, up the Queensland Coast.
At last, I arrived, I was welcomed with a smile,
At what would be my home away from home.
They got a job, working on a farm,
But I had to be fit, strong and calm.
Everything we need at our fingertips,
As we settle in at a backpacker’s lodge.
The staff smiled and asked “Please say that again?
I don’t quite get your foreign speech.”
“Will you slow down,” I said “I don’t understand.”
“Your Aussie slang is driving me around the bend.”
A barbie on Friday, and a beach walk on Sunday,
We had a lot of fun at a backpacker’s lodge.
Now, I’m heading north to Airlie Beach,
Then Kakadu and Uluru,
Then maybe Perth or back down south,
I’ll miss you all from the Queensland Coast.
As I review and rate these towns,
The best place to stay was at a backpacker’s lodge.
Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry © 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Listen to all my poems HERE
Simply Story Poetry 
Leave a comment