The pub that time forgot
Swing through the saloon doors at the Imperial Hotel in the tiny Queensland town of Ravenswood and be prepared for a shock. It’s all carved cedar,…
A brolga walks into a bar…
I’m starting to really love blogging. So it’s quite a thrill to be asked to be a guest blogger, which has happened a few times since…
Sailing: the art of slow travel
A turtle pops its head up as I glance across the water. As quickly, it is gone again…but I know there’ll be another along sometime, for…
Swell sculpture
Sand between my toes, a soft-serve ice-cream covered in sprinkles in my hand, and a feast of seashore, surf and some stunning sculpture before me. That’s how I…
Raising a glass to Merle and Ro
On a Wednesday afternoon in March 1965, Merle Thornton and her friend and fellow feminist Rosalie “Ro” Bognor walked into the public bar of a Brisbane pub and…
Snagging a snap with Kevin 07
It’s not every day that I receive an invitation to a barbecue hosted by a former Prime Minister. But so it was last week, when a…
Happy birthday, Queensland!
It’s Queensland Week, a week when my adopted home state celebrates its separation from Australia’s first state, New South Wales, on 6 June 1859. To celebrate, the state’s…
The rush of rafting
White-water rafting is a rush. The adrenalin pumps, even at small rapids. On a rafting trip along Australia’s Mitta Mitta River in the Victorian High Country, with…
Beer and pizza at the Regatta
Beer and pizza were served to celebrate the re-opening of the Front Bar of Brisbane’s historic Regatta Hotel last week. After a $10 million renovation, the Front…
The best job in the world?
Forget that bloke who works for Tourism Queensland. Suddenly it seems that in many people’s minds, I’m the person with the Best Job in the World…
A Glass Half Full 