Australia by Red Nomad OZ
London, Paris, Thargomindah - Flags at the Thargomindah Hydro Station, Outback Queensland

Things to do in Thargomindah, Outback Queensland

Thargomindah is conveniently located between Eulo and Noccundra – two other Outback Queensland localities you’ve probably never heard of.  At over 1000 km (620 miles) west of Brisbane, it’s not a place you come across by chance. But there are plenty of things to do in Thargomindah. As part of the Adventure Way, a self-drive trail from Brisbane to Innamincka[…]

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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[…]

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Waterfall at Natural Bridge, Springbrook National Park, Queensland

Beauty at Natural Bridge!

It’s the bird du jour around almost any given sub-tropical picnic area and car park, so it should have been easy to get a good shot.  However, my shots of Australian Brush-turkey in the dark depths of Natural Bridge*, part of Springbrook National Park’s lushly magnificent rainforest, all had something missing. Clarity. We’d driven up the impossibly steep Border Ranges from[…]

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Native Waterweed on the surface of the Crater pool, Mt Hypipamee National Park, Queensland

The Hypipamee Heebie-jeebies …

‘I would NOT like to fall down there,’ the backpacker remarked to his mates with that peculiarly British mixture of overconfident understatement and blinding obvious as he stared down into the depths of the crater. They nodded wisely, unsure whether or not they’d heard something profound, but deciding to play it safe. Banal though his utterance was, however, he was[…]

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White Crocodile, Victoria River, Northern Territory

7 Crocodile Hot Spots in Australia’s Top End

Crocodiles are a weird combination of Aussie ‘Big Thing’ and perilous prehistoric predator. Maybe our fascination with crocodiles in Australia is what makes this my most viewed post of all time*. Or maybe it’s because of the awesome photos and superlative writing … read on, and decide for yourself 😀 But before you do, PLEASE NOTE this WARNING: Crocodiles are VERY dangerous and[…]

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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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Eromanga Distance Sign, Outback Queensland

Signs #19 – Where’s the Ocean? Eromanga, Queensland

There’s only one town in Australia furthest from the sea – in EVERY direction! Surprisingly, to me at least, it’s NOT in Central Australia! Australia’s weird continental shape means the geographic centre is relatively close to the Great Australian Bight to the south, and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the north. No, the title of furthest from the sea currently[…]

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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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Between Boulia and Bedourie, Western Queensland Outback

Aussie Icons #6 – Min Min light, Boulia, Queensland

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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Toompine Pub, Outback Queensland

A Day Trip to Toompine, Outback Queensland

With an official population of two, tiny Toompine is barely a blip on the radar! And yet, all roads seem to lead there in the western Queensland Outback. A simple distance measurement between the outback towns of Eulo, Thargomindah and Quilpie yields Toompine’s coordinates almost exactly. Is that enough reason to visit? Of course not! But finding out why the[…]

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