Australia by Red Nomad OZ
Green Island from the Jetty, via Cairns, Far North Queensland

Return to Green Island – via Cairns, Far North Queensland

We Arrive on Green Island Although it was 20 LOOOONG years since our last Green Island National Park visit, Pilchard’s first action on our return just MAY have been a little bit extreme. I mean, propelling a perfectly good hat into the sea wasn’t some kind of superstitious ritual, was it? Did he perhaps think it meant we wouldn’t have[…]

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A Few of my FavouRED OZ Things!*

Swanvale Jump-Up, Outback Queensland RED Outback sunsets; and  Julia Creek, Outback Queensland RED Windmill vanes,   Cawnpore Lookout, Outback Queensland  Rugged RED Ranges that turn into plains! Poetic Public Toilet, Gunnedah, New South Wales RED-roofed Public Toilets –  The Red Devil, Minlaton, South Australia and RED Devil Wings … The Big Park Bench, Broken Hill, New[…]

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Random Adventure #2 – Herveys Range, Townsville, Queensland

Hervey’s Range Heritage Tea Rooms I never thought I’d be grateful for my unsophisticated palate until it saved me $50 and a mouthful of cat-poo … That publicity favours Townsville’s Paluma Range National Park over the much closer Herveys Range may be due to the unfortunate council boundary line placing Herveys Range on the wrong side of the Townsville regional[…]

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Excitement on and off the track - Bedourie Camel Races, 2011

Camels, Cowboys and Cockies Joy – Bedourie, Queensland

Cockroaches, cane toads and camels are generally considered physically and/or temperamentally unsuited to commercial racing. But here in OZ, the absence of animals traditionally raced, such as horses and dogs, is no hindrance to holding a race meet… Although all these races are held in Australia, I’ve yet to experience the pleasures of cane toad or cockroach racing. But …[…]

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Only in OZ #15 – Musical Fence, Winton, Queensland

The Musical Fence, Winton, Queensland  Here we are in sunny Winton.  Well … it was sunny on our previous visit in June 2009 – and it was sunny the day we first arrived earlier in June 2011, but a couple of days down the track and unseasonal rain has forced us indoors and off the roads, which are blocked in several directions.  Looks[…]

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Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles at Sunrise

Exploring Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles, Northern Territory

It’s just a 20 minute drive from the Wycliffe Well roadhouse to the stunning natural attraction of Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles.  But other than distance, these two places could not be further apart. Wycliffe Well, known as Australia’s UFO capital, is full bizarre extraterrestrial figurines, spaceships, mural-covered buildings and other oddities dotted throughout the campground.  On the other hand, the Devil’s[…]

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Random Adventure #1 – Isabella Falls, Cape York, Queensland

 The Cape York Road The customary morning rain had finally let up. Even the locals had remarked on this dry season’s uncharacteristic wet spell – normally by mid-July they’d have the sprinklers going to kill the dust and save the lawns. But 2010 was an aberration. Of course! Now the sun turned every drop to sparkles in the Endeavour[…]

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My Lord Howe Island Triathlon!

 *WARNING*: Real triathletes may find this post offensive! Please select another post!!    Lord Howe Island visitors seeking inertia are likely to be disappointed. Getting from A to B usually involves walking or cycling – and the best island activities are high-energy, hands-on and outdoors based. So after two days of reconnaissance on foot, we extended our range[…]

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Don’t Miss This! Daintree Discovery Centre, Queensland

Looking 23 metres down – the Canopy Tower The Demon Duck of Doom (Dromornis stirtoni) at the Daintree Discovery Centre is unlikely to cause panic unless you’re of a particularly nervous disposition. That’s because it’s a metal cutout, the real life version having been extinct since the late Miocene period. Likewise, the Giant Ripper (by name AND nature) Lizard (Megaliania prisca) –[…]

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Mounts Lidgbird and Gower, Lord Howe Island

Favourite Place #6 – Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

OK, I admit it. I’m shallow. For a favourite place to make it onto my favourite places list, it’s got to be able to deliver experiences I can’t have anywhere else. In Australia, if not the world! And a selection of good bakeries doesn’t hurt either … Stepping onto the 1km airstrip bisecting Lord Howe Island and into a Bali[…]

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