Australians Abroad II

When I was in Malta I was amazed to see how many eucalypts and wattles had been planted on the little island nation (see Australians Abroad). This was on top of seeing Aussie gums in New Zealand (which was not so surprising), Turkey (which was) and Greece (which was too). Since leaving Malta I have visited Italy and Tunisia, and have found eucalypts there as well.

Gum trees, Tunis, Tunisia, Australians abroad
A park full of gums, Tunis, Tunisia
Gum tree El Djem Tunisia
Beautiful old gum, El Djem, Tunisia

I’m in Spain at the moment, and once again seeing gums and wattles all over the place. The other day I walked inland from Marbella on the south coast, and thought I’d been transported back to south-east Australia.

Australians abroad Wattles and gum trees, south coast Spain
South coast of Spain. No, really
Australians abroad Eucalypts south coast Spain
Are you sure? Yes, this is the south coast of Spain
Eucalypts south coast Spain
You’re pulling me chain! Nope, fair dinkum

I even found a callistemon growing outside the council building in a small village.

Callistemon, Spain
Apparently callistemons are available at nurseries in Spain and known as ‘red hot pokers’

I’ve also come across the occasional Aussie animal in my travels. A koala in Malta…

Australians abroad Koala graffiti Malta
Everyone loves a kite-flying koala

…a kangaroo in Italy…

Kangaroo Painting Italy
Skippy’s double-jointed elbows were always a talking point

…and another in Spain…

Kangaroo painting Spain
A kangaroo, maybe an Aussie parrot, and a Platypus! Oh hang on, I think it’s an inverted toucan…

No chance of getting homesick with all these comforting reminders of Australia everywhere. I wonder if I’ll find Australians abroad in every country I visit?

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