Don’t grumble about the wind; learn to enjoy it instead
There always seems to be a lot to complain about on a windy day. No matter what you are doing, the wind becomes a nuisance. If you are camping, the tent flaps around noisily in the breeze. If you are on the beach, sand blows in your face. If you are towing a caravan, the wind buffets the van mercilessly. And the wind seems to take a particular delight in blowing smoke and ash from campfires into the face of campers.
It would be easy to just view windy days as one of those little annoyances that you have to endure in life. But things aren’t quite that bad. The wind is also responsible for many of the interesting things that you see in your travels. Some of them only work because of the wind, and others are made more interesting on windy days. Here are some of our favourites.
Blowing in the Wind
As you travel around our country, you can’t miss the fact that rural windmills are icons of the Australian landscape. They were designed purely for functionality. Their purpose was simply to pump water out of the ground, not to look pretty. But over time, their familiar lines have achieved a sort of timeless beauty. Somehow they conjure nostalgic images of the pioneering era, when the reliable old windmill was all that stood between success and catastrophic failure for many settlers and farmers.
As a result, windmills always catch our attention, especially when the wind is blowing and the windmill is spinning around merrily. If the windmill is squeaking or wheezing, that is just another proof of its venerable old age and continuing service to mankind. And when you see the remains of an old, broken down windmill, it almost brings a lump to your throat. There is something almost human about these simple machines.