![](\"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img_20191231_1614367815403152299861783-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSo New Year’s Eve turned out differently from what I had expected. Not long after I posted my previous blog entry, my friends and I had to evacuate the lodge we were staying in due to bush fires.<\/p>\n
We had to pack up hurriedly, put our stuff in the cars, and off we went. On the drive back to Sydney, we came across scenes that resembled a post-apocalyptic world.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The skies were blackened from smoke and at some points the sky in the horizon had turned reddish orange, meaning we were close to the fires.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img_20191231_1610584171431659632776358-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The farm land everywhere was all parched and dry. There were no green pastures for the cattle and sheep to graze on, and all the water holes were bone dry. Sad scenes.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.dimsumdolly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/img_20191231_191026_1365966131983889924538.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Mid way at Goulbourn, motorists were directed off the Hume Highway (the motorway back to Sydney) because of a fire. So my friend and I had to drive into Goulbourn (previously a mining town) to assess the situation. Other motorists were telling us they had been made to turn back by the police and we were thinking we had to camp somewhere for the night. At Goulbourn, the air was thick with smoke and it was extremely choking. We ended up having dinner at the Goulbourn Workers Club while waiting it out, hoping that the motorway would open again soon.<\/p>\n
After 1.5 hours we decided to hit the road again as the air appeared less smoky than it had been before. It would be another two hours before we reached Sydney. I got home at about 11pm, by which time I smelled of smoke from head to toe. It had been a long and dramatic day and I was just glad to be home.<\/p>\n
The bush fire situation in Australia is bad. Really bad. I was already scared in the situation I was in, much less people who have lost homes, livelihoods and even lives to the fires. Many animals in the bushland have also been affected. We need rain – lots of it. Hopefully the rains will come soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So New Year’s Eve turned out differently from what I had expected. Not long after I posted my previous blog entry, my friends and I had to evacuate the lodge we were staying in due to bush fires. We had … Continue reading