Australia by Red Nomad OZ
Red Leaves in the Sunset

Adelaide, Autumn and the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens

As any South Australian pedant (is that a tautology?) will know, Mount Lofty isn’t South Australia’s highest mountain. That honour, as said pedant/s would confirm, goes to the 1435 metre high Mount Woodroffe in South Australia’s far north up near the Northern Territory border. But Mount Woodroffe is a long way (and not visible) from state capital Adelaide, so Mount[…]

Read more

7 Wonderful Walks in Innes National Park

Sand dunes and shipwrecks.  A wild and windswept heli-pad. Magnificent cliffs, an old wooden railway transport line and exotic lighthouses. Historic ruins and a sailor a long way from home.  None of these are visible from the entrance to Innes National Park. And you can’t see them from the ~30 km of road winding through the park. To discover the[…]

Read more
The Bunkers, Wilkawillina Gorge

Walk Wild Wilkawillina!

A six hour drive north of Adelaide takes you deep into South Australia’s Outback zone AND into the Flinders Ranges National Park. It’s considered remote. By most people’s standards, anyway. Factor in its staggering scenery, wonderful wildlife, numerous hiking trails and awesome natural beauty, and you’ve got one of the best eco-tourism adventure destinations in the country! That makes it[…]

Read more
Lake Tutchewop Track

Two Twitchers, Two Nights and Two Thousand Clicks!

If I hadn’t been twitching I would never have gone to Tittybong. And if that’s conjured up a disturbing mental image, keep reading! It’s not quite as perturbing as it sounds!! Or maybe it is … Most Northern Hemisphereans probably won’t understand.  Why would two otherwise sane, normal Australians (that’s a self-assessment, not an oxy-moron) would spend three days driving[…]

Read more
Lone Gum at Stubbs Waterhole

Arkaroola Wilderness Adventureland!

For a place explored, surveyed and ravaged by pastoralism, mining and smelting; overrun by sheep, camels, donkeys, rabbits and dingoes; and more recently under threat from an avaricious government looking to sell off uranium mining rights, Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is looking mighty fine! That’s due to the extraordinary Sprigg family* – visionaries, eco-tourism pioneers and explorers – who bought this[…]

Read more
On the Lake Surprise circuit track, Mt Eccles National Park, Victoria

8 Random Adventures on the Kanawinka Geotrail!

My first adventures on the Kanawinka Geotrail pre-date Pilchard by quite a few years. They also pre-date both owning a camera AND knowing that the Kanawinka Geotrail even existed!! Now I know the Geotrail connects 60+ significant sites across South-Eastern South Australia and South-Western Victoria.  It forms Australia’s first UNESCO Global Geopark – one of the largest regions of volcanic[…]

Read more
The Secret Lake in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia

TOP Aussie Birding Spot #1 – Somewhere in the Adelaide Hills …

I slowly climbed the hill through the knee high dry grass, each step raising a cloud of dust. Every stick looked like a snake. But that was better than the other way around. The heavy breathing behind me increased. The horse that owned the paddock was getting tetchy. I wondered what he’d do when he found out the camera bag[…]

Read more
View across the Bunbinyunna, Elder and Red Ranges from Bridle Gap, Wilpena Pound, South Australia

Walk the Bridle Gap Wilpena Pound Trail, Flinders Ranges

The last few kilometres were heavy going as I trudged back to camp. The bright daylight faded into twilight as the sun sank below the eroded peaks surrounding the amazing Wilpena Pound valley, centrepiece of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges National Park. The evening coolness rose as we entered the campground. While taking an 18.8 kilometre (11.7 mile) hike might not[…]

Read more

Postcard from … Marree South Australia

Hi there! Tiny town Marree South Australia is the first major sign of civilisation in over 500 km (~310 miles) for travellers heading south down the iconic Oodnadatta or Birdsville tracks – both LOOOOONG stretches of dirt, rocks, gravel and bulldust. But we approached it over several days from the other direction – a straight run from Adelaide of nearly[…]

Read more