Our weekly opinion pieces are written by North Queensland Register journalists. The thoughts expressed are their own.
I recently had the lovely pleasure of sitting down with a few of the girls from Bush Birds on Backroads.
Who are the Bush Birds you may be wondering?
They are a group of six Mount Isa-based mates who quit their healthcare jobs earlier this year to pack up the utes, their lives and hit the road to travel around Australia.
It was incredibly refreshing to chat with a group of young professionals, who after a solid seven months sleeping in their swags under the stars and getting back to nature, were content, reset and revitalised to return to the workforce.
One concept that really stood out to me from our conversation was the phrase of Australia as the lucky country.
It truly is and I can attest to that.
I have previously shared that I grew up in Africa, however, the political issues of Zimbabwe in the late 1990s and early 2000s is not something I talk about very often. It was, and still is, incredibly personal.
I spent over a decade of my life living under a political dictatorship and censorship.
But now, as an adult, I can look back and reflect on my childhood from a more healed place and see that what I experienced was not normal.
To be honest, it is very hard to explain to someone who has not lived that experience because once you hear it out loud, you can't quite believe that's the life you lived or you thought was normal.
As absurd as it sounds.
On the other hand, I also could not talk about it for a very long time without emotionally breaking down.
One day I went to boarding school and never came home to my family farm and childhood home. It's as simple as that.
Our farm and home was severely damaged and looted by political 'rebels' who showed up at our farm gate carrying axes, knives and guns.
After repeated threats of violence, my dad was told he had three hours to pack whatever was left and never come back.
We were left with nothing.
No compensation. No title deeds. No recognition for a farm that had been in our family for generations. Memories completely gone.
My parents, who after having everything that they worked their entire lives for in Zimbabwe taken away in the space of a day, had to then move to a foreign country and start again with three young kids.
What happened to my family is not unique, a lot of other Zimbabwean families experienced similar events and much worse.
While I have many happy memories growing up in Africa, I have also learnt that you cannot dwell on the past or the hand you were dealt.
It has been over two decades since that day I packed my bag for boarding school and left our farm for what would be the last time.
I have lived in Australia for 18 years now come December and I am so incredibly grateful.
Australia truly is the lucky country. I am so thankful to live in a nation where you have freedom, safety and democracy.
I may have grown up in Zimbabwe, but I now consider myself an Australian.
So, if there is one thing I've taken away from my chat with the Bush Birds, is that this country of ours is bloody beautiful and we all need to take time to appreciate it and all that it has to offer.
I still support the Springboks in the rugby union though. Go Bokke!
Zoe Thomas
Northern based journalist at North Queensland Register and Queensland Country Life.
Northern based journalist at North Queensland Register and Queensland Country Life.
