A Mini Willy-Willy in Australia

Australia doesn’t have the massive killer hurricanes that we experience in the U.S.? I’ve just learned tonight that, apparently, they do not. This surprises me as the country is, after all, an island. I would think somewhere along its, literally, 25,760 kilometers of shoreline, mighty winds would occasionally whip up one of its many oceans or seas into a frenzy even greater than we see on the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.

Australia does experience what they call tropical cyclones, or, cutely, “Willy-Willys” (this is actually not cute; rather, it is a term believed to have Aboriginal origins and just sounds cute). For their own very sound geographical and meteorological reasons, these little Willy-Willys just don’t pack quite the same destructive punch as their big hurricane brothers in the U.S.

Since there are no great winds and waves spelling natural disaster here in Australia, in honor of the onslaught of hurricane season back home in the U.S., here’s a peak at what it can look like when the waves of the Atlantic do get wild here. The scene at this beach is no Willy-Willy, but it’s still quite a sight, I think.