go-see-do guide for adventurous travellers
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[…]
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I don’t know if anyone ever struck it rich in the old days – or even the new days – by hitting a seam of opal while sinking a dugout dunny shaft. But if it’s going to happen anywhere, the chances of it happening in Andamooka are better than average. As long as the hole is at least 3 metres[…]
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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 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[…]
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What’s a weary Aussie traveller to do after a few hours and a few hundred kilometres on the road? Stagger from the car – reeling from too much sitting and legs crossed from sipping water water – and head straight for the loo, of course! Or the nearest tree, rock or shrub. Finding a good place to do your business[…]
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The benign, blue sky stretches away to infinity around western Queensland’s Boulia, mostly unrelieved by clouds, birds or planes. Unremarkable – at least by Outback standards – Boulia’s boundless blue backdrop is the ultimate Big Sky luring travellers to the Outback. But it’s not the splendidly panoramic sky of daylight hours that attracts visitors to this remote capital of the[…]
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When the 200-year-old Tree of Knowledge was poisoned shortly after being included on the National Heritage List on Australia Day 2006, I was appalled. Yet another historic Aussie landmark fallen victim to the disregard sometimes shown for our heritage. But although the tree’s demise was disappointing, I was also resigned to its fate. Because when a tree dies, it’s gone for[…]
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According to my train buddy* G, the longest ever recorded chicken flight lasted for 13 seconds. Ironic then, that one of Australia’s most unsung aviators drew his early inspiration from experiments with measuring chook** wingspan relative to their flight! A world exclusive wasn’t what I expected when I visited Minlaton on South Australia’s York Peninsula. But the Red Devil, a Bristol M.1C[…]
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Well OK, it’s not actually a ‘paddock’ as such. And it’s certainly NOT just a plane! It’s a fully operational Qantas 747 Jumbo Jet (aka 747-200 VH-EBQ for those who care about such things!), the centrepiece of the Qantas Founders Museum – today celebrating 90 years of Qantas. It’s parked on a fenced off section of of the Longreach Airport grounds,[…]
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Wycliffe Well is one of several roadhouse/diner/pub/motel/caravan park/store complexes on the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs. But Wycliffe Well is unique. Why? Because it is the self-proclaimed UFO capital of Australia – if not the world. As such, it’s worth stopping over to see if those claims are true. There was once a book in the roadhouse where visitors[…]
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