I’m thinking. Yes, even this happens sometimes. I’m thinking why I’m sitting in long pants and a sweater in the middle of summer, in one of the driest regions of Australia. Australia, the driest continent, experiencing climate change like other parts of the world. 

I decided on Australia because I like summer, high temperatures and spending days under the hot sun, in shorts and going to sleep with tan shoulders. I decided about Australia with expectations that were too high, that a year-round summer awaits me here. 

I’m sitting by Lake Alexandrina, a large lake, which serves as a gateway for the longest river on the island, leading to the ocean. Murray River runs through three states, regions. Its source is in the Australian Alps, and in 2.508km it runs through New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, where, through Lake Alexandrina, it runs into the Great Australian Bight, which is a part of the Indian ocean. I stopped here to enjoy nature and see how people live in the old port town of Milang. 

I’m cold. 19 degrees Celsius doesn’t convince me that we’re in the middle of summer. In the last two weeks, I’ve only worn shorts three times. The first time since November, when I volunteered in Yuendumu (link) near the Tanami Desert. While fires still run wild near Canberra, I wonder if, while wandering around, I actually managed to avoid regions with the right summer temperatures, or is Australia in the year since I’ve been her actually dealing with noticeable weather changes? 

In Alice Springs, where it almost never rains, I saw a rainbow in December. Three days ago, there was a heat wave in Adelaide, with 42 degrees, followed by a two-day water bomb. The feel of the tropic on the skin. Everywhere I visit, it rains. And everywhere I visit, they tell me that it usually doesn’t rain there. At least not in this season.