Australia VI

So, I can now say that I am capable of driving on both sides of the road, though I still can't drive stick. I can now make wide right turns, and instinctively walk to the right side of the car to get into it. After having driven about 2000km (and another whole state to go), I think I can say that is the case....
That being said, I still think the North American way of driving makes more sense: if I forget something in my purse, my right hand is still free to rummage around in the bag, answer the phone, make some calls, grab a snack, etc.... the way they drive on the left, it forces me to drive safely and legally (the nerve! :P )!
As you may not be aware, Australia is the world's driest continent, and has been in fairly severe drought this past year (I'm not sure how it compares to years previous, or if it's compounding previous years, but it is significant). Most of the places we've been have been on water restrictions, or severe water restrictions. You can see it in the land; most of it has been clearly parched, with dry, brittle, brown landscapes. It clearly is landscape waiting for bushfires. In fact, most of the state we've just arrived from has been having a dilly of a time fighting bushfires throughout the state. This has resulted in some power outages in several cities.
You can also see it in the waterfalls, lakes and rivers: most of these waterfalls we have been looking at have been no more than small trickles coming down the sides of cliff faces, and many of these large rivers have been no more than small streams, and some have dried up entirely.
Speaking of bushfires, I was watching the "Kangaroo Creek Gang", which is an Aussie Saturday cartoon about, unsurprisingly, a group of animals, including a kangaroo, emu, koala, possum and wombat. Today's story was about fire, and how fire is never your friend, and you should never light one, and you should always stamp one out when you see one. It was actually a bit scary, and very strange in terms of the teaching reality that this is what they need to tell Aussie kids....