一家九口鄉間歷險記

As one of seven children growing up in the eighties， the chances of my family jetting off to Hawaii and staying at the Hilton was as likely as Australia winning goldfor table tennis at the Beijing Olympics…or any Olympics for that matter.But lack of monetary resources never seemed to bother my parents who are， as we speak， in the midst of the second year straight of their grey nomad adventures.

Boeing 747s were replaced by a 1985 Sahara Tan Ford Falcon XR.This car seemed extremely cool at the time.So cool， in fact， that we drove around to show it to everybody we had ever known and some people we didn’t.But I digress， the original car was made to sit six， but my family cunningly managed to squeeze in nine by installing a dickie-seat in the boot.Luckily the car was a station wagon and not a hatchback or， even worse， a sedan!This seat managed to fit an extra three primary-aged bottoms and was the source of much amusement on the part of the kids who were “forced” to sit in the back and stare at， ridicule and poke fun at the drivers of the cars behind.

The Hilton was replaced by a Jayco Camper Trailer which was faithfully towed behind “Big， fast motor car” the nickname of our treasured Falcon.This caravan was cleverly designed to meet the accommodation needs of nine.At first glance it looked like a small box， but after a few acts of pure magic by my father it soon blossomed into a mini apartment complete with kitchen， living room， storeroom and bedding for nine.Two double-beds extended out on either side， a couch and dining room set converted into bedding for three， and a mattress stored outside under the annex for the remaining two.

As for Hawaii， well around Australia my family discovered destinations more exotic， waters more blue and sunshine more abundant.During my childhood my parents made it their mission to ensure us kids saw as much of Australia as possible.So on school holidays and even during the school semester we piled into the car and hooked on the caravan ready for our next adventure.

The trip I remember most fondly was when I was in grade six and my dad was given ten weeks long service leave.Ten weeks is like a lifetime for a kid， especially when you get to miss school for that whole time!We decided it was time for a real “Outback Adventure” so travelled up through Queensland and then west into the Northern Territory which is the place you want to go to experience the heart of what Australia is.

After hitting the Top End (as it is affectionately known to the locals)， we headed north to Kakadu National Park which is two hundred kilometres from north to south and over one hundred kilometres from east to west.As Australia’s largest national park， it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its environmental and cultural treasures.Environmentally it boasts over sixty mammal species， fifty freshwater species and one thousand six hundred plant species.Culturally it has played home to the Aboriginal people who have lived there continuously for forty thousand years.We went in July which is the dry season (May-October). Going in the wet season (November-April) is an option if torrential rain and tropical cyclones don’t dampen your spirits.

One particularly interesting animal residing in Kakadu is the crocodile.There are in fact two main species， namely， the ‘freshie’ which grows to 3 metres and ‘saltie’ which can exceed 6 metres.Closer to Darwin there are actually boat tours available in double-story boats where you can sit on the top floor and watch the operators dangle bits of meat over the edge of the boat.The crocodiles will then leap two metres in the air and snatch the meat from the operator’s lines.It is probably best to keep a close eye on the kiddies on these kinds of adventure cruises!

After basking in the lushness of Kakadu we headed south to Mataranka.Being loaded with seven kids does tend to put a damper on one’s love life， so when we arrived my parents tricked us into going to a clown show by threatening us with a twenty kilometre bushwalk through Elsey National Park.While we were at the clown show they escaped to enjoy the crystal clear pool of thirty-four degree thermal water which is Mataranka Thermal Springs.After we arrived back from the least funny clown show in history my parents admitted their subterfuge and we all headed off to the spring to swim as a family.

After indulging in the therapeutic springs， my family packed up and headed down to Ayres Rock or Uluru as it is known by its traditional Aboriginal owners.Uluru is also listed as a World Heritage Site and is， as the name suggests， a huge rock which appears very out of place due to its island-like appearance.It stands 348 metres high and 9.4 kilometres in circumference.

Uluru holds huge spiritual and cultural significance for the local Aboriginal people， so climbing the rock is not recommended.However， when my family went there back in 1991 we climbed it and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.The climb is physically demanding—not Mountain Tai demanding， but more dangerous with thirty-five deaths recorded so far. I can still see the image of a screaming Japanese tourist clinging to the rock and refusing to move not ten metres into the climb and a potential heart-attack victim lying on the rock half way up huffing and puffing.I never did see those two at the top.

Much to my little sister’s humiliation， my father insisted he use a length of rope to connect them together.Lucky I was eleven so was spared the humiliation and was left to my own adventurous devices.My sister did manage to get revenge the next day though when she decided to run ahead during one of our bushwalks through the Olgas.At the age of eight she managed to get so far ahead that instead of doing only part of the walk we were forced to do the entire eleven kilometres in the deathly midday heat.She is now a keen marathon runner!Fortunately， we had taken enough food and water with us to last a week.Beautiful scenery through those parts though!

The walk around the rock was also truly memorable as it was filled with waterholes， rock caves and ancient aboriginal rock paintings.Another beautiful thing about Uluru is that it changes colour according to the time of the day or year when you view it because the light changes continuously.My family joined the masses to take snaps of the glowing red rock at sunset.

Although I missed two months of school on that trip， the knowledge I gained about Australia’s environment， history and culture truly made the trip a rewarding experience.If we had travelled by plane and stayed in five-star hotels I am positive I would not have gained as much from the journey.So， when I have a family， I’ll be packing up the family wagon， hooking on my caravan and embarking on another adventure of a lifetime.

我生于上個世紀80年代，是我家7個孩子中的一員。我們舉家去夏威夷旅游住希爾頓酒店的幾率幾乎跟澳大利亞在北京奧運會或者任何一屆奧運會上的乒乓球項目上拿金牌的幾率一樣低。但是缺錢花卻似乎從來沒難住我的老爸和老媽。就像我們所說的，在我出生后的第二年就帶我們過起了灰色的游牧生活。

坐不起波音747，我們干脆就坐一輛1985年的撒哈拉黃褐色福特獵鷹XR。這輛車看上去非常酷，真的很酷。我們開著它在每個我們從沒見過和不認識的人面前展示了一番。我先打個岔，這輛原裝車設計的是六座，但是我們耍了個小聰明，在后備箱安了個加座硬是擠成了九座。幸好這是一輛旅行車，而不是一輛后開門的汽車或者是更糟糕的轎車。這個加座可以容下三個小孩，可以說是孩子們的娛樂場所。因為他們可以坐在后面盯著后面汽車的司機并取笑戲弄他們。

希爾頓酒店被Jayco的野營者活動房屋所取代。這間活動房被我們心愛的獵鷹——被我們稱之為“又大又快的汽車”所牽引著。活動房設計得十分合理，正好能滿足我們9個人的入住。第一眼看上去它就像是一個小盒子，但是經我父親幾下子就很快變成了一個迷你公寓。里面有廚房、客廳、儲藏室以及供9個人居住的臥室。兩張雙人床在兩邊，餐廳里的沙發可以展開供3個人睡，還有一個床墊，放在外面一個夾層的下面，可以給剩下的兩個人睡。

至于夏威夷這部分，我們的父母在澳大利亞周邊找到了更富異國情調、水更藍、陽光更充足的地方。……