"They keep sendin' ya about, ya might find yourselves reporters," Melbourne commented to Sarah and Malice as they road along in the backseat of an older SUV that Melbourne had.
"This is mostly just a school job," Sarah answered, "something that Animalia picked the original group out for because we were either friends with Abby or got caught up in the initial outbreaks as it went beyond the area around the Brown Farm. Clara thought we'd be the best suited to try and show how Humans and Animalians could get along."
"I think ya've done that fairly well," Melbourne commented, "no complainers showed up to the wedding or to protest it."
Both Sarah and Malice gave a small smile at that as they drove along. Things had gone surprisingly well, particularly with how Animalia had gained recognition and at least legal tolerance. In fact, after hearing about the outbreak on the Brown Farm, Sarah had worried that many of those they got along with in Lyre would reject Abby outright for being an Animalian. She'd never do that, but some of the initial reporting on what the Animalia Virus could do was enough of an "unknown" at the time that it would certainly be possible. Thankfully though, outright rejection, in Lyre at least, never happened. Questions might have been raised after Heather's attack on Sophie and Roland, but even that ultimately settled down.
But they also knew that at least within the US there were large sections that had been trying to find ways to strip Animalians of their rights, either as a physical or biological threat or because their culture was too "different." However these elements had generally had trouble in trying to get things forced in. Some of it was that they didn't know how the system worked and had essentially tripped over their own feet and got the wording wrong. Some of it was negated when Horizon and Animalia noticed changes in some groups that became Animalians that were seen as positive things to those against Animalia because they also provided a means to an end on other issues. In this, only moderate regulation, even in some of the states that were more "anti-Animalia" than others had ended up being the norm, and that was something that Sarah and Malice felt Animalia could live with. Things might not be perfect on the whole, but the possibility of things getting better were still there.
And the area that they were told about in northern Australia while covering Ben and Tyree's wedding seemed like one of those things that got better. Land provided along the coast with some access to the sea off of Australia's northern coast. Thus, Sarah and Malice were riding along with Melbourne to get a look the site and enjoying the archeologist/adventurer's company. They had plenty of camping gear and Melbourne's SUV was towing a trailer with a decent sized boat on it. It was bigger than what both of them had expected, but Melbourne ultimately explained that the river that the Northland colony site was located on was one that had local Saltwater Crocodiles living in it, and with their large size and predatory nature... it was safer to be on something that the crocodile wouldn't see as vulnerable.
"So... will we see the Great Barrier Reef?" Malice wondered as they rode along and she looked out at the passing scenery, largely with its patches of red earth, shrubs, short trees, and other foliage that fit in with depictions of the "Outback" in tourist guides and stories.
"Nah, the reef is off the northeastern coast and runs down that edge on the east side," Melbourne answered, "we're gonna be closer to Darwin than anywhere else. According to all the paperwork that's been filed, the people that own the area are willing to let Animalians establish a small colony city just outside the Kakadu National Park. They'll ultimately work with the Aboriginal peoples that own the park land and the government help protect it. Some security type things... deal with crocs or Bull Sharks that come up the river and so on. Some of the older animals from Ben and Tyree's zoo may likely get moved there..."
"So... it'd be like the colony set up outside the park area at Uluru?" Sarah asked.
"Yes," Melbourne nodded, "sort of a cooperative agreement. Whether or not the people there become Animalians or others in Australia that become Animalians will be up to them... but..."
"I'd think it'd at least be a good start," Sarah assured him, "and will hopefully given Animalians a shot at helping..."
Melbourne nodded and continued driving along. Sarah and Malice contently sat in the back seat and were glad to watch some of the natural scenes go by. For while Animalia Ambassadoria had given them an opportunity to travel and thus they had seen far more of the world than they might have if not for the web show, Australia was a new continent for them to see. And with other parts of Animalia Ambassadoria covering different events or being in events, it meant that only Sarah and Malice were able to be there for Ben and Tyree's wedding and the shots on the progress made in Australia. Of course, it also meant that they would miss out on some of the specialized events that were coming up as part of a demonstration on the differences between Humans and Animalian's abilities. From what Sarah and Malice knew, it was arranged as something of a specialized stunt where an average Human and an Olympic level athlete would take on a few Animalians in a few specific events, generally track and field, and this would then demonstrate the real reason why groups like the NCAA and professional sports leagues wouldn't take in Animalians at present, due to the number of Animalians with interest in those sports limited and why the IAC didn't have a lot of Human events. But Jessica and Roger had promised good coverage and explaining the details behind the special event. In return, Sarah and Malice promised plenty of pictures.
As they moved further north, much of the topography and ground around them changed. It became greener and grasses joined in with more trees in places. Some of the trees looked a bit scrubby and had some clear differences from the trees that Sarah and Malice had seen planted around Lyre and growing in other places. This lead to a few pictures taken from their phones at the landscape moving past them. Melbourne even noticed as they came up on a posted sign that seemed to actually advertise the coming colony.
"Amazed by things?" Melbourne asked curiously as he turned.
"Pretty much..." Malice said in a semi excited voice, "all new things to see and a new colony..."
"Mostly right now they'll just be startin' some of the construction," Melbourne warned.
"Won't they have some things built and moved in?" Sarah wondered.
"The approval for this from our Aboriginal peoples for the colony is very recent," Melbourne answered, "and since the Northland is also right next to their territorial lands in Kakadu... there will be some efforts of on control and making sure no construction goes into the park, which the Aboriginal people own and manage."
Sarah and Malice slowly nodded as Melbourne followed a sight that took them off the main road and onto a smaller dirt one. They also passed one small roadside that read, "Future Site of Northland Animalian Colony." Parts of the area were shaded by scrubby trees but eventually they came up onto an area that was a bit more built up, though most of the buildings all looked like they were being put together. There were various people moving about as they set up very modest houses. They weren't mobile homes, but they weren't huge dwellings either and Sarah and Malice looked and noticed that Horizon's seal was on a few of them and as Melbourne backed the trailer up so that his boat could be launched into a nearby river a lone man approached. He had darker skin, but unlike the Aboriginal peoples, he was dressed more like Melbourne than those that had been at Ben and Tyree's wedding.
"Hello, you are the people from Animalia?" the man spoke as Sarah and Malice got out.
"Yes, this is my sister Malice and I'm Sarah," Sarah introduced themselves, "we're from Lyre, Nevada."
"You're not dressed like the leaders that were at Ben and Tyree's wedding," Malice said openly and some puzzlement evident in her voice.
"I'm not an elder or a leader," the man gave a small chuckle, "I try to help them... and since they decided work out an arrangement that would be beneficial for your Animalia... I figured it best to make sure that no one digs up something they shouldn't and that you get a good shot at the site."
And they did get a good tour which showed the areas the Northland site would cover. It wasn't huge, slightly bigger than what the land around Animalia covered, but it did have a small stream that took them out to the ocean and both their guide and Melbourne provided some points on things the Animalians in the colony would be expected to handle. A lot of it related to what was done to preserve the park and also preserve the wildlife in the area. There was also the means to provide some safety and security when dealing with wildlife. The guide had even provided some importance that least a first aide clinic could be set up, so that anyone bit by a Death Adder or something like that would get some treatment to give them time to make it to Darwin safely. That was accepted and agreed on, and the guide even explained that while it might not be quite like Lyre/Animalia, the site would clean enough to live in and wouldn't be too far away from Darwin, giving the Animalians and any Horizon staff that came there the ability to enjoy both... when the colony was fully ready.