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Australia is far-flung and until the airplane overcame the tyranny of distance Australia was terra incognita. Aboriginals of Australia are one of the oldest living peoples of the world having occupied the same territory longer than any other human population, about 50,000 years. They believe their ancestors brought the world into being by naming the landscape and the creatures that inhabit it. They sing to keep the land alive and their songs are stories of ancestor figures and a GPS to help guide them over vast distances. In Sydney and were treated to a spectacular exhibition of Aboriginal art and dance depicting places along the Canning Stock Route in Western Australia but we missed a visit to the Opera House and ferry rides across the harbour because of a mix-up with the flights. In Perth we attended the 60th Perth International Arts Festival with a dawn-dusk opening that aimed to reconcile the Nyungar guardians of Mudurup Rocks at Cottesloe with modern Australia.

This is an account of a trip with Emily So of Cambridge University in 2006 to the areas affected by the Pakistan earthquake of 8 October 2005. The aim was to conduct a survey of survivors of the earthquake about their injuries as part of her PhD. My aim was to shed light on the factors affecting long-term recovery after major disasters. We interviewed people in Islamabad responsible for coordinating relief and reconstruction and visited the areas affected by the earthquake. We also drove up the beautiful Kaghan Valley as far as we were able. Understanding some of the issues faced by survivors of the earthquake was a powerful experience and we were treated with the warmest hospitality and generosity by everyone we met in Pakistan