Australia by Red Nomad OZ
Hay Plain, via Deniliquin, New South Wales

Hunting the Wild Plains Wanderer – Deniliquin, New South Wales

They’d scented fresh blood. And in the deathly silence of twilight as dusk fell over the moonlit plain, I could hear them coming for me. A million manic mosquitoes, and I couldn’t move a muscle. Actually, that’s a lie. I COULD move – but I’d chosen not to. For 3 good reasons. Firstly, listening for the call of the enigmatic[…]

Read more
Jump-up Loop Landscape, Sturt National Park, via Tibooburra, New South Wales

Explore Corner Country! Tibooburra, Milparinka and Cameron Corner, New South Wales

Our Corner Country Adventure Begins! Taking a road trip to ANY hottest place anywhere just SO isn’t on my travel bucket list. But Tibooburra, aka the hottest place in New South Wales, was closest town to the ONLY place in the world where I could stand in three Australian states – South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales – all at[…]

Read more
Lord Howe Island

How to Spend 7 Days in Paradise – Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

‘I’ll take TEN kilos off for your RED hair,’ the baggage handler announced as I stepped on to the scales clutching my hand luggage. Just as well, I thought, sneaking a peek at the reading. Boy, were those scales defective, or WHAT?! Luckily, the scales faced away from the crowds at the airport – who was going to believe that[…]

Read more
Boulders on Bald Rock climb, via Tenterfield NSW

Climb Bald Rock – Australia’s BIGGEST Granite Monolith! via Tenterfield, NSW

There’s no shame in taking the easy option. Is there? That’s what I kept telling myself on the Bald Rock climb, anyway. It’d been too long since I clocked up an Australian exclusive, so climbing Bald Rock, largest exposed granite rock in the Southern Hemisphere and centrepiece of the boulder-studded Granite Country around Tenterfield, was a no-brainer. Choosing the easier[…]

Read more

Random Adventures in the Scenic Rim: Part One

There’s a magical, mystical land where ancient, dense rainforests cloak majestic mountains, their serrated silhouettes marching across a dramatically sensational skyline. Where vertically columned cliffs fall into fertile valleys patch-worked with produce and criss-crossed by rocky streams. Picturesque hamlets dot the landscape providing shelter, food and a base from which to explore their impossibly scenic surroundings. Numerous National parks showcase[…]

Read more
Berries and Leaves

A Day in the Border Ranges National Park

Australia aggressively markets itself as all sunshine, surf and sand; red rocks, red dust and reefs.  But a visit to the Border Ranges National Park will show another side. Ancient sub-tropical rainforests of Gondwana clothe the sheer cliffs formed by the eroded caldera of what’s left of a massive shield volcano. They’re so unlike anything else you’ll see downunder they’ve[…]

Read more
Balls Pyramid, via Lord Howe Island

Basalt, Birds and Balls Pyramid!

‘The current’s running like a cut cat round the island,’ Jack shouted. He fired up Noctiluca‘s powerful 200 horse power engines and guided the eight-metre vessel into the bay. Boat Tour to Ball’s Pyramid If not for the camera in one hand and a convenient strut for balance in another, I’d have high-fived Pilchard. On our first trip three years[…]

Read more
Queensland from Lions Road Border Crossing

7 Reasons to Road-trip the Lions Road NSW

As Aussie road trips go, the Lions Road NSW isn’t the best known. Or the longest. Or even the most demanding! But this 50 km fully sealed stretch of road linking the Mt Lindesay Highway near Queensland town Beaudesert with the Summerland Way near New South Wales town Kyogle is one of the most scenic, unusual and intriguing stretches of[…]

Read more
Woodenbong Landscape

Why Woodenbong is a TOP Aussie Town!

Even if I’d been to Woodenbong BEFORE I listed the Aussie place names that WON’T keep you guessing, it never would have made the cut. Yes, there really IS a town called Woodenbong. And no, this Northern New South Wales town just south of the Queensland border and ~150 km west of coastal hot spot Byron Bay ISN’T named after[…]

Read more