Katherine

June 2015 Katherine in the Northern Territory is the birthplace of champion cyclist Cadel Evans. This is a very tropical town and Shady Lane Caravan Park is all palms and mango trees. I ask the chap at the Katherine Info Centre what the main attractions are in town, apart from the Katherine Gorge of course, and with a big grin he replies “me”. I’ll have to stop asking that question. Continue reading Katherine

Staples to Keep On Board

We rarely leave the bitumen so supplies aren’t such an issue. All around Australia most towns these days have good supermarkets and I’m sure that even if our fridge/freezer broke down we’d still have enough food on board to keep us going for quite some time. Pasta, rice noodles, canned soup (there’s nothing better than soup on those cold wet nights when you are too tired to cook), rice (short grain and Arborio of course because Woody loves his risotto), small cans of tuna for lunches, sandwiches and salads. Tubs of tomato paste and bottles of passata. We always carry … Continue reading Staples to Keep On Board

World War One Skirmish at Home

White Rocks Reserve in Broken Hill, NSW is the site of the only bloodshed on Australian soil in World War One. This happened when two ‘Turks’ (actually Pakistanis, but Turkish sympathisers), one an ice cream vendor the other a butcher, attacked the Silverton train as it passed, the train was full of miners heading to Silverton for a picnic. Four locals and the ‘Turks’ were killed in the resulting skirmish. A replica ice cream cart is on display at White Rocks Reserve. Continue reading World War One Skirmish at Home

Thunderboxes

March 2015 It is a warm morning in Pildappa, South Australia and I’m sitting in a National Park long drop trying hard not to breathe until the day’s work is completed, when an ant bites me! Ouch!! Translation note: Thunderbox = unsewered outdoor toilet, hence ‘long drop’. Campers sometimes remark on how well the rangers have dug the hole as they often listen for the deposit to reach the bottom. Continue reading Thunderboxes