go-see-do guide for adventurous travellers
A Taste of the Paranormal Magnetic Hill South Australia promised to be a little bit weird. Up to now, my discovery of the Daleks of Khancoban in a remote Snowy Mountains hideaway had been the pinnacle of my paranormal participation in the world of real-life Australian sci-fi. Now, the sign in front of me detailed a strange and bizarre extrasensory[…]
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The pairing of Australians and Cane Toads works well. Almost as well the pairing of pavlova with pepperoni! Although, come to think of it, while the Cane toad is an introduced species, so are its colonial counterparts … but I digress! 77 years after ‘experts’ deliberately introduced the Cane Toad (Bufo Marinus) into the wild, this alien animal has infested[…]
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The benign, blue sky stretches away to infinity around western Queensland’s Boulia, mostly unrelieved by clouds, birds or planes. Unremarkable – at least by Outback standards – Boulia’s boundless blue backdrop is the ultimate Big Sky luring travellers to the Outback. But it’s not the splendidly panoramic sky of daylight hours that attracts visitors to this remote capital of the[…]
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From the Highway, Homestead, Queensland Homestead doesn’t generally make the Top 10 list of Queensland tourist drawcards. Not to MY knowledge*, anyway. This small, ex-Gold mining town is more likely described as a blip on the radar almost exactly half-way between Balfe’s Creek and Pentland, themselves blips on Queensland’s Overlander’s Way between Charters Towers and Hughenden! In fact, while we’ve[…]
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Whether or not you consider Aussie bushranger and icon Ned Kelly a national hero or national disgrace probably depends on which version of history you’ve been told. But whatever your views, there’s no denying Ned’s reincarnation as both cultural icon – and tourist drawcard! From inspiring the first feature film ever made (more recent remakes star Mick Jagger and Heath[…]
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Well, the government was never going to do it – and it probably didn’t occur to anyone else. So when casting about for something other than its 100 year sugar milling history to put it on the map, Gordonvale, deep in the wet tropics of Queensland’s far north, didn’t have to fight too hard for the right to immortalize what[…]
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The 5 hour* drive between Broken Hill and Cobar in western New South Wales generally scores a pretty high ‘tedious’ rating. Unrelieved except for the township of Wilcannia on the Darling river and a couple of roadhouses, the scenery is mainly dusty, dry and desolate, like this picture taken near Broken Hill about 13 years ago. Near Silverton, Broken Hill NSW[…]
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The spectacular Gouldian finches* caged for the breeding program at the Mareeba Wetlands Visitor Centre are great, but there’s WAAAAAY more birds to be seen out and about around the lagoon or on one of the walks in the 5000 acre reserve. So, bins** in hand, we took the Pandanus walk, its varied habitats promising – and delivering – a cross-section of[…]
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Compared with other states, South Australia works hard to preserve the sanctity of its reservoirs. Their waters are generally unsullied by boating, skiing, fishing or swimming activities – and poorly maintained facilities tend to discourage visitors from lingering. But the Barossa Valley Reservoir’s Dam Wall is an exception. A short drive past Williamstown, north of Adelaide, the outlook from the[…]
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Declining interest and waning attendance rates are the curse of Country shows around the nation. But I’ll bet gun shearer Jack Harvey’s winning performance in the 1934 Blackall Show ‘Quick Chop’ Championship drew the crowds!! After all, who would pass up the opportunity to see someone shear, kill and partially eat a sheep in under 8 minutes?? The above extract from[…]
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