The Tasman Sea rushed in intermittently, making entry into the cave difficult. I’d decided it was too dangerous for kids, until, upon closer inspection, I grabbed them one at a time and hoisted them into the sepia darkness. Unwary Chinese tourists fell into the waist high water and I helped one to her feet. Her …
Hidden amongst Australia’s beautiful coastline, forests and cities are places where stories are forgotten, relics sleep in long grass and the atmosphere is palpably different. Here’s just seven of these unusual places to visit in Australia, all of which are worth at least half a day of your time. 1. Pillinger – western Tasmania A …
I first met Steak the adventure dog in Buckley’s Plains – about 10 kilometres north of Broome in Western Australia – lazing in rust-coloured dirt next to an old shed. We were about to head north with camels and a trailer towards Cyclone Nicholas, a journey I won’t soon forget. Little did I know, however, …
Autumn The streets of Tenterfield, NSW, are especially nice during Autumn, as rusted gold and apple-green leaves form tunnels and mottled shadows. Passing beneath this seasonal show, my friend and I headed towards town to get supplies after a morning climbing Bald Rock. Tenterfield, as we found out, has an interesting mixture of tourists and …
I followed the white markers, zigzagging up the steep ashen dome as daylight abandoned the forest. Behind me soared a vast indigo sky, fading into hues of pink and tangerine above miles of woodland, mountains and strewn boulders. This, as I was discovering, is a spectacular region known as ‘granite country’ and I was glad …
Bald Rock – Climbing Tenterfield’s Granite Monster Read More »
Growing up in Sydney, I didn’t give much thought to the Sydney Opera House, which today of course is one of the world’s most iconic buildings. To me, it’s something that’s just always been there, as it opened the year before I was born. I used to be one of those little ‘pests’ that would …
Walking is my favourite exercise and mode of transport. To me it’s a meditative way to get about – as it helps me sink into a rhythm and think (or not) – and I can venture almost anywhere I’d like. One superb place to walk in is Sydney, my home city, given that it has …
It seems that where there’s cold and drizzle, there’s lamb and potatoes in abundance. At least this holds true in England, where the combination is regarded as a “luxurious” national favourite. It also appears so in Guyra, NSW, a comparatively chilly part of Australia where curtains of sleet and mist often wash over the streets …
Pride and Produce – Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival Read More »
I’d caught wind of a story, that somewhere out the back of Gosford, in Kariong, NSW, there are over 200 Egyptian hieroglyphs carved into sandstone which have caused quite a stir. Some believe them to be ancient Egyptian symbols, while many believe them to be fake. As I was in Gosford country just last week …
Egyptians Among the Eucalypts? The Gosford Hieroglyphs Read More »
A vast grey sky hung over farmland, meadows and the odd house as I wound past Glen Innes towards the New England town of Guyra in NSW. Just beyond the bend stood an old-looking pub, more or less on its own. I pulled in and walked past carmine benches, firewood and trees that looked cold …
I was back in Dalmorton again, a ghost town about an hour-and-a-half south-west of Grafton in northern NSW. A few buildings still stand, old wooden shells harbouring ghostly stories of another life. The silence here is palpable – an eerie, misplaced sense that makes it more beautiful in a way. Like many such towns, Dalmorton …
It was a bleak, drizzly January morning and not a coffee shop was open at 7:50am in Guyra, a small highland town about 30 minutes north of Armidale in NSW. I was a couple of days early for the town’s main drawcard – the annual Lamb and Potato Festival (which actually starts today) – although …