Winter 2018, Queensland On an afternoon walk on the beach I meet a woman with a large bag of rubbish which inspires me because the beach looks clean. In minutes I have found three cans and a styrofoam foam tray. I huff and puff trying to remove a chunk of fibreglass from the sand before realising that it may have been the whole boat. In future I’ll carry a knife to cut nets and rope from driftwood but I’m not going to dig up boats. Continue reading Clean up Oz
If you want to see the best of what Australia has to offer get off the beaten track and for the non off-roaders I don’t necessarily mean hitting the dirt, just take the lesser roads. The B and C category roads that will take you through farmlands and tiny towns that need the support of visitors. You’ll have a much easier drive as the scenery is more interesting and you won’t have to contend with traffic and large trucks. Explore the valleys too. Take a wander into the Ovens Valley, the Kiewa, the Upper Goulburn, the Murray, the Mitta Mitta … Continue reading Get orf the road
We always like to have a wander through towns to get a feel for the place. Sometimes they hold surprises, like the grain store with a few chooks next door or a goat or sheep keeping a vacant block mowed. … Continue reading Balranald a town of surprises
June 2018, Rollingstone, Qld The midges are winning. I’ve tried Bushmans, The Locals, long clothes and Elle’s pungent mixture of baby oil and Dettol. Elle’s mixture is the only one that does a half decent job of warding off the … Continue reading Of midges and tides and lazing in the tropics
Some people count sheep, if I can’t sleep I count the towns that we’ve visited on the current trip. It works every time. Which reminds me of a story we heard in Karijini National Park in WA back in 2015: “At the (Karijini) visitor’s centre we learn about the history of the area and life for the Aborigines after the Europeans arrived. There is a delightful story about a woman who learned to count while mustering sheep, all 29,000 of them.” Continue reading Can’t sleep?
Aug 2018, Gwydir River, Bingara, NSW A walk in the winter sun along the riverbank where horses graze and giant gums stand high upon ten feet long roots washed clean by past floods and home to spiders and the like. Is it any wonder then that this poem comes to mind and circles my brain like the painted horses on a merry go round? The Spider by the Gwydir By Anonymous By the sluggish River Gwydir Lived a wicked red-backed spider, Who was just about as vicious as could be: And the place that he was camped in Was a … Continue reading By the Gwydir
Aug 2019, Bingara, NSW Australian country towns have a wonderful history of Greek Cafes. In Bingara, NSW you’ll find a fine example of this memorable era. Tours are available and ours was conducted by a descendant of a Greek immigrant … Continue reading Roxy Theatre
Aug, 2018, Bingara, NSW Bingara’s Main Street is a short walk away from the caravan park and a pleasant surprise. It is a neat town with memorials to the doctor and chemist. There are murals on the walls and a grand court house and then there’s the Roxy Theatre. Wearily we drop into the Imperial Hotel’s Gwydir Bar for a drink. There’s a fire burning and a friendly barmaid who has escaped the city (Ipswich) for the community lifestyle of Bingara. As we are dog tired and wanting to tour the town’s Roxy Theatre we decide to stay another day. … Continue reading Bingara
Sometimes we query signs as we whizz by “Did that say what I think it did?” Monto, Qld “Monto Stockman’s store, Open 7 days unless closed” Mulgildie Pub, Qld Beside a picture of past prime minister Paul Keating – “The … Continue reading Signs of life in Queensland
March 2015 The weather is warm and the shower was so refreshing, I reach for a nice fluffy towel and as I dry myself I realise that ants have nested in it overnight and now I’m being bitten from head to toe. Ouch, ouch, ouch! Continue reading Constant Companions
itchingforhitching 