St George
St George. In spite of its name, and its association with fire-breathing monsters, there was not a dragon in sight on either of our visits here, although I did hear the odd dubious remark around our campsite from time to time! The town actually got its name when the explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell crossed the Balonne […]
Sunshine Coast
Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast lies approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Brisbane, stretching along the coast from Caloundra in the south to Rainbow Beach in the north, and out through the hinterland, but with its laidback lifestyle it is truly a world away from the hectic pace of today’s city life. Our visit to the […]
Town of 1770
On May 24, 1770, Lieutenant James Cook R.N. and the crew of HM Bark Endeavour set foot on Australian soil, for the second time. The Town of Seventeen Seventy in Queensland is built on the site of that landing. Originally known as Round Hill, the name was changed in 1970 to commemorate the bicentennial of that […]
Gold Coast
Queensland’s fabulous Gold Coast is, arguably, Australia’s premier holiday region. With a wonderful year-round climate, beautiful beaches, and brilliant nightlife, this is the holiday destination of choice for a vast number of Aussies, us included. We arrived at the Radisson Palm Meadows Resort on a Saturday in late May. Only a few days away from […]
Alice Springs
Alice Springs beckoned and on a hot and sunny day we set off along the Stuart Highway to a town known affectionately as “The Alice”. Australia’s most famous outback town is in the heart of Central Australia between the East and West MacDonnell Ranges. In the 1800’s, the tiny settlement of Alice Springs played a major […]
Daly Waters
Even those who have never been to the Northern Territory have heard of Daly Waters. The historic Daly Waters Pub is one of those Aussie icons, like the Oodnadatta Track, and every travelling Aussie wants to see it. Clad in corrugated iron and literally draped in bougainvilleas, it is chock a block full with decades of […]
Kings Canyon
Kings Canyon in the Watarrka National Park, 307 kilometres (191 miles) from Uluru, is one of the Northern Territory’s most remarkable natural wonders. We left the Stuart Highway at Erldunda Roadhouse and proceeded along the Lasseter Highway for 95 kilometres (59 miles) until we reached the intersection with Luritja Road. Very little traffic meant that we travelled […]
Threeways Roadhouse
Threeways Roadhouse is at the junction of the Stuart and Barkly Highways in the Northern Territory. From there you can head south towards Alice Springs, north to Katherine and Darwin, or east to the Queensland border. Hence the name ‘Threeways’. We were heading for Queensland and Threeways was to be our overnight for our last night in the Territory. On our […]
Darwin
Darwin is hot and humid for most of the year. And so it was when we arrived one afternoon in early autumn. To the locals I imagine it was a pretty normal day, to those of us from way down south it was just hot! We’d been travelling since about 9:00 that morning and already […]
Jabiru and Kakadu National Park
The town of Jabiru has the distinction of being the only Australian town inside a national park, the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park. Kakadu is the 2-billion year old jewel in Australia’s crown and the gateway to Arnhem Land. Covering over 20,000 square kilometres (7722 square miles), the contrasts in this stunningly beautiful vista will […]