A few years ago, I started my love affair with foreign lands but at the time I wasn’t sure whether I was brave enough to begin this journey alone, so I researched ways that I could travel but with like-minded people. What I found seemed right up my street. I’ve always had a love of …
On my travels in Australia a few years ago, one of the places I visited was Noosa Heads, in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland. It’s small town, but there are many boutiques and restaurants which run parallel to the calm waters of Noosa Main Beach. But I wasn’t there to go shopping, …
Quite simply, I love Australia! I have been there four times to date, each time doing different things and staying in different parts of the country. There is so much more that I need to see but, in the meantime here is my list of ten things not to miss in Australia. …
Where else can you sleep under the stars, drink in an underground bar, and sit and watch the longest coal train trundle past? Australia, that’s where! My original plan was to tour the Great Ocean Road before ending up with my relatives in Adelaide, but having been to Australia before and not gone to Uluru …
Another year, another trip down under. This time I touched down in Perth, in Western Australia- the most isolated place in Australia. What I mean by that is if you were to travel due west, across the Indian Ocean, there is nothing in between there and the shores of South Africa, some 8,674km away. In …
The Indian Pacific train is one of the few true transcontinental trains in the world. It runs from Sydney to Perth, covering around 4,000 km from east to west. It takes 3 days. I boarded in Adelaide so the journey would take only 2 days. 2 days on a train? Only in Australia. Nothing much …
I arrived in Adelaide, to be greeted by Helen and Ernie at the bus station. Helen is my Mum’s cousin, who emigrated to Australia in the ‘60s. Ernie is her husband. It took about 30 minutes to get to their house, in Morphett Vale. I met Scott, their son and my 2nd or 3rd cousin …
The bus journey from Sydney to Melbourne took ten and a half hours. Everyone knows Australia is big, but it’s not until you start travelling around that you realise how big it actually is. Having checked into a pleasant hotel, about 10-15 minutes from the city, I went for my usual wander to get my …
Two quick stops. Coffs Harbour, which apparently has the most liveable climate in Australia, with temperatures being 18-26 Celsius in the summer, and 8-20 Celsius in the winter. And Port Macquarie, where, in 1821, the town was founded as a penal settlement for convicts. The surrounding area has thick bush, ideal for any escapees to …
En route to Sydney my next destination was Byron Bay. I arrived late afternoon, laden down with my (getting heavier by the minute) rucksack, and checked in at First Sun Caravan Park, where I had booked a cabin for the next three nights. The cabin was small with a double bed, sofa, TV and fridge …
I was always a fan of Steve Irwin’s Crocodile Hunter shows. So when I was in Brisbane I had to make the trip out to Australia Zoo. The zoo is located about an hour north of Brisbane, in Beerwah near the Glasshouse mountains. The zoo is 100 acres and there is a lot to see. …
Travelling to the other side of the world has its downside. The journey time is just so long. When I first went to Australia the flight from the UK was 19 hours including a layover in Singapore, another 7 to Brisbane and a 4 hour train ride to Bundaberg. But it’s definitely worth it. Once …