A Traveller’s reflections from the Larapinta Trail

Tjoritja, West MacDonnell Ranges,
Northern Territory, Australia

As a child
my mother would give me a gold star
if I completed household chores.
Five stars could be exchanged for a prize.
It took until puberty to realise that this was not
a special tradition unique to our household,
but a common bribery tactic adopted by many parents.
I learnt that my friends would receive candy and chocolate,
whereas I would receive Golden Books.
I pitied my friends. I was lucky – candy and chocolate
are temporary.
Anyone that has ever read Harry Potter as a child
will tell you that books are forever.
I loved my Golden Book collection. Crouched upon
the forest-green carpet of our living room,
I would line up my books end to end across the room.
I would then start at the top and read my way down the line.
My love for books and collecting books has never wavered since.
I never considered writing as a pathway
and pursued a career in civil engineering. The rigid, logical,
mathematical world of construction proved to be the ideal, unexpected
environment to prompt me to search for a creative outlet.
Presently, I am more George R.R. Martin than Stephen King, as
I write my first novel whilst simultaneously circumnavigating
Australia in a van, undertaking multi-day hikes
and meditating on steep outback bluffs.

Courtney Mason sometimes lives in South Australia. Receiving her education from the Australian Science & Mathematics School, University of South Australia and the UK’s Lancaster University for degrees in civil engineering and her MBA, she is a writer, reader, and chartered civil engineer with a background in mining, civil construction and environmental. She is currently travelling around Australia in her van called Meatloaf, in search of the bunyip, free wifi, and the perfect pepper pie. A bit more about Courtney can be found here.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.