Crystal pristine waters and rugged coastline views
Cloudless skies at sunset with painted orange hues,
Salty air cascading from waves upon the sand
In sweet refreshing splendour, this is the great south land.

Mountain ranges echo through channels of coolness
The crisp and vibrant chatter harmonic to the bush,
Composed by Mother Nature a symphony so grand
Of bellbirds, crows and kookaburras, this is the great south land.

Scorching heat so humid that's found along the coast
Is drier in the outback but still so hot you'd roast,
And miles of dust and open plains across this vast expanse
From east to west and north to south, this is the great south land.

Yet there's snow upon the mountains and sunshine in the sky
And despite the chill of winter this "river's" running dry,
The harshness of this climate sees no rainfall in the dams
And still we see its beauty within this great south land.

A place of vast extremities I really must confess
Though Dorothea Mackellar still somehow said it best,
This is a sunburnt country, though beautiful and grand
From the beaches to the outback, this is the great south land.

© Christina
July 2006