Kangaroos and Chaos

The True Story of One Backpacker's Insane Adventure Around Australia

De: Julia Brooke

Narrado por: Poppy Royana

Julia is granted a working holiday visa and heads to Australia. Never one to do things quietly, she tours the country via a jumble of hostels, road trips, and randomness, indulging in more than her fair share of debauchery along the way. She attempts and fails to learn to surf, attends her very first festival, and explores the open-minded village of Nimbin.

Intoxicated both literally and metaphorically by the backpacker lifestyle, Julia decides to extend her visa. However, there’s a catch. To be eligible she must complete 88 days of farm work. To console herself she purchases a small car (which turns out to be totally impractical for cross country drives) and decides to spread the work over the course of her trip. A dairy, a cattle station, and a hippy commune are all on the list and the hazardous results are hilariously entertaining, as the city girl takes on rural tasks.

Back on the road she continues to unearth the history, culture, and people of Australia. Through the dust of the desert she fossicks for sapphires; in the subtropical north man eating crocodiles leap from murky waters, and off the East Coast giant fish chase her across the Reef. Julia boldly takes uncalculated risks in the name of adventure and is not afraid to look stupid doing so. From bagging bananas and branding cattle, to animal attacks and outback disaster, it’s an authentic Aussie experience which will change her life forever.

From the big cities of Sydney and Melbourne, to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitsundays and Fraser Island; this girl knows no limit to reckless adventure. Couch surfing, hitch-hiking, sailing and four wheel drive action, its all there, alongside drunken mishaps and states of lust and inebriation to which we can all relate. Julia travels the Australian backpacker path in her own unique style.

©2013, 2016 Julia Salt (P)2023 Julia Salt