go-see-do guide for adventurous travellers
Many Australian natural attractions with public amenities are set amidst such scenic splendour that using them is part of the sightseeing experience. But once you’ve seen it, the view will be the same every time you visit. So imagine a convenience block where the view changes a couple of times each night. And where, like a wormhole, it can transport[…]
Read more
Close up of Jabiru at Lake Argyle, Western Australia Although non-birdwatching Aussies refer to stately and elegant Black-necked Stork as ‘Jabiru’, any twitcher* worth her/his salt will immediately recognise this to be technically incorrect. And will probably take great delight in boring you to death by telling you so – and why. If unlucky enough to be on[…]
Read more
My mother was born and bred in Western Australia, right in the heart of the fabled wildflower zone. If I had a dollar for every time I heard how wonderful the Western Australian wildflowers were compared to anywhere else in Australia – if not the world – I could have travelled round the world to find out for myself! But[…]
Read more
Crocodiles are a weird combination of Aussie ‘Big Thing’ and perilous prehistoric predator. Maybe our fascination with crocodiles in Australia is what makes this my most viewed post of all time*. Or maybe it’s because of the awesome photos and superlative writing … read on, and decide for yourself 😀 But before you do, PLEASE NOTE this WARNING: Crocodiles are VERY dangerous and[…]
Read more
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[…]
Read more
Swimming sign at Elsey National Park, Northern Territory “Hey guys! The swimming hole’s open – but I’ll go in first and check for crocodiles,” said no one ever after reading this sign in the Northern Territory’s Elsey National Park. Looks inviting, doesn’t it?! BUT … It’s a relief to learn that despite other signs in the park indicating crocodiles ARE[…]
Read more
The insatiable curiosity that leads me off the main road to explore an interesting sounding place or rumoured oddity isn’t always rewarded. But in the tiny town of Patchewollock, deep in the Victorian Mallee and just off the Hopetoun/Walpeup road, I hit paydirt. Big time! Unmarked on any tourist literature (that I’d seen) Patchewollock hosts one of the most bizarre[…]
Read more
So many days at sea before a wondrous land loomed broad and high Its lush and glittering shores so far from home And no one there! So its emptiness, its bountiful emptiness They claimed for a faraway queen. But the proud and ancient race who roamed these vast and trackless plains And in their comprehending wisdom left the land untamed[…]
Read more
It’s getting increasingly difficult to do something that no one else – or at least very few – have done. Even the ‘I’ve-climbed-Mt-Everest’ club is not the insider clique it once was … But conquering Mt Wycheproof, deep in the heart of Victorian Mallee country should cement my mountain climbing credentials once and for all. Because I’ve now done what[…]
Read more
The huge fish levitating planking looming above the cars parked opposite the Swan Hill Visitor Information Centre ALMOST made up for Pilchard’s refusal to take a detour via the tiny town of Tittybong. Just so I could say I’d been there … But the thrill of ALMOST visiting Tittybong dissipated as I sniffed out a story here on the Victorian side[…]
Read more