go-see-do guide for adventurous travellers
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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‘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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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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The ancient landscape of OZ, eroded by time, long disappeared sea beds and a harsh climate has given rise to weirdly unique and bizarre creatures. Well … their remains, anyway! I knew this. But I DIDN’T know the present day Outback fossil fields near northwest Queensland’s Richmond, would engender a creature more fantastic than any of them. And I was[…]
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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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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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Those nostalgic for the ‘good old days’ would do well to consider the enduring legacy of Townsville’s ‘The Saint’, a 1962 student prank that continues to generate controversy. A tragic reminder (!) of the lawlessness and anarchy characterising 1960’s society degeneration (!) from the wholesome family values of the 1950’s, the James Cook University students responsible have left North Queensland’s[…]
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Watching people do things you just KNOW they’re going to regret is one of life’s guilty pleasures. Even more so when there’s a cruel laugh to be had at their expense – without their knowing! So the staggering 360° view from the top level of western Queensland’s Cawnpore Lookout didn’t completely distract us from the horrifying sight of a pair of Grey[…]
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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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Well, the government was never going to do it – and it probably didn’t occur to anyone else. So when casting about for something other than its 100 year sugar milling history to put it on the map, Gordonvale, deep in the wet tropics of Queensland’s far north, didn’t have to fight too hard for the right to immortalize what[…]
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