The plea from Queensland’s Granite Belt Wine Country: Rain, rain…please come our way!
The last thing most of us want when planning a few days away in the countryside is rain. But when the heavens opened last week, just…
My year of exploring Australia
As the year ends, I always like to look back on the places I’ve visited as a travel writer and I found that this year had…
Why every week is ‘Bird Week’ at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
“Bir…bir…!” The half-formed word is accompanied by a chubby little finger, pointing to the sky. My grandson’s first word – other than those that mean his…
The Outback Way, Day 2: Hunting the mysterious Min Min Lights
Tall tales are a feature of the Outback, where a “yarn” (Australian slang for a story) can get bigger in the telling. And the five-hour drive…
The Outback Way, Day 1: Dallying with Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs once roamed the countryside around Winton, a Queensland outback town that’s now famous for the evidence of their existence. Winton’s other claim to fame is…
Travelling the Outback Way
Adventures come in all shapes and sizes, but free-wheeling in the Australian Outback is hard to beat. So I was very excited to be invited to…
A bird in the hand at O’Reilly’s
There’s a little bit of the “twitcher” in me. Some of you might understand what I mean by that; for the uninitiated it means that I…
Yarrabah – reality hits home in a place called ‘paradise by the sea’
As the crow flies, it’s only about 12km across Trinity Inlet from the bustling Far North Queensland tourist centre of Cairns to the Aboriginal community of…
Riding the ‘rails’ to Kuranda
Few travellers visit Cairns without making a trip to the rainforest village of Kuranda, about 34km up a largely winding mountain range from the city. Of…
Digging deeper at Mossman Gorge
Lush rainforest, water dripping from fern fronds, a gushing river over giant granite boulders and one of the world’s most ancient cultures combine to make a…
A Glass Half Full 