Australia by Red Nomad OZ

The Bizarre Back-of-Beyond Bakery – Farina, South Australia

STOP PRESS!  2020 Farina Bakery Update:  Due to COVID-19 the Farina Bakery South Australia will NOT be operating in 2020.  However, the Farina historic township and Farina campground will be open and can be visited in line with South Australian state government border closures and travel restrictions.  The sign shimmered through the haze of dust and heat like a mirage.[…]

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The Pinnacle Lookout with Lake Bellfield below, Grampians National Park, Victoria

Walk the Pinnacle – Grampians National Park

WARNING: Do NOT attempt the Pinnacle walk if you don’t like A) heights; B) snakes; C) wildflowers; or D) looking uncool! Whether or not D) applies depends to a certain degree on physical fitness levels – and possibly hiking fashion sense! Although tragically that’s not a factor if you’re like me.  That red face, heaving chest and death-rattle puffing after[…]

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Mt Buffalo, Victoria

Afloat in the Sky – The Land Locked Island of Mt Buffalo

Approach south eastern Victoria’s magical Bright region Victoria from any direction, spot Mt Buffalo’s impossibly scenic bulk dominating the skyline and you’ll swear you’re not in Australia! It’s difficult to believe the soaring granite cliffs and outcrops leading to the extensive plateau more than 1200 metres above sea level were once much higher. Right at the end of the Aussie[…]

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Looking South over 4 mile Beach, Port Douglas

7 Days in … Cairns!

Cairns is one of the best Australian travel destinations – and I’ve got the photos to prove it! This laid back city 2000 km north of Brisbane between World Heritage Listed Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, has come a long way from its sugar-cane farming roots to become Far North Queensland’s tourist hub. Cairns has just as much to[…]

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Australia’s Scenic Public Toilets #23 – Port Fairy, Victoria

Scenic Public Toilet, Port Fairy, Victoria Spectacular though the view is from this coastal amenities block on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, there were more important things to do than admire it. And I’m not talking about using the conveniences, either! Pilchard defends our lunch to the death … The goods from one of Port Fairy’s TWO fine bakeries were under[…]

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Moon Rocks in Main Street, Richmond, Queensland

Only in OZ #19 – Moon Rock-Throwing World Championships, Richmond, Queensland

I’ve yet to meet a Calcareous Concretion I didn’t like. Although there’s some confusion about exactly where that magical Moon Rock meeting is likely to be. My first sighting in Outback Queensland’s Richmond was supposed to be ‘unique to the Richmond Shire’ according to the town guide. BUT … I’d clocked up several hundred Moon Rock sightings before heading a[…]

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Australia’s Scenic Public Toilets #21 – Lake Bellfield, Grampian NP, Victoria

Lake Bellfield – AND Scenic Public Toilet – from Dam Wall, Grampians, Victoria At first glance you’d think the only thing lacking in this staggering panorama is a scenic public toilet, right? Wrong! Look again – they’ve thought of everything on the shores of Lake Bellfield, deep in the heart of Victoria’s Grampians National Park. Lake Bellfield from the Amenities![…]

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Horseshoe Bay from the Nelly Bay to Arcadia Track, Magnetic Island, Queensland

Walk Nelly Bay to Arcadia! Magnetic Island via Townsville, Queensland

‘What goes up must come down,’ she twanged, immediately identifying a) her astonishing originality and b) her country of origin. Suitably dressed for a dusty, rocky climb through clinging vines, a charred mountainside and tropical humidity in a white ‘resort’ dress and gold sandals, this gem fell from her pinkly glossed lips and dropped like pearls of wisdom before swine.[…]

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Walk Mount Zero!

Hollow Mountain and Mt Stapylton from the Mt Zero Summit, Northern Grampians, Victoria Hauling myself up the rocky drop-off towering above my head, I desperately clung to the cold hand rail, slippery with drizzle, hoping like hell my arms wouldn’t give way. Vertigo kicked in as I scrabbled for a foothold. Looking neither to the right (dizzying drop off) or[…]

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Causeway, Griffiths Island, Port Fairy

OZ Top Spot #11 – Griffiths Island, Port Fairy, Victoria

Apart from the snake on the beach, our island circumnavigation stroll was pleasant, albeit uneventful. But a frisson of danger changes everything – and an element of uncertainty elevates the ordinary, or even just plain old pleasant, into something more remarkable, doesn’t it? Or is that just me? Whether Griffiths Island, at the mouth of Port Fairy’s Moyne River on[…]

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