In the 18th century the renowned Australian explorer, Captain James Cook, ran aground on the now equally renowned Great Barrier Reef. His ship was near a peninsula jutting from the coast of Queensland north of…
We stood on the shore and looked around the inviting bay of Fitzroy Island, a 45 minute ride from Cairns off the coast of Queensland and our home for three days. Slight waves scratched the…
Most inveterate travelers will tell you that meeting interesting people can prove a more memorable part of travel than the amazing sights of the world. We recently shared an evening in Cairns with one surprising…
If you walk around the inner suburbs of Melbourne – such as Carlton, East Melbourne, Fitzroy, Richmond and others - it doesn’t take long to notice the fancy cast ironwork and distinct style of many…
Since we arrived in Australia, we’ve been planning trips to some of the most enticing parts of the country – two trips along the western coast, two up the eastern coast, a long one at…
We missed the fall season last year because we moved to the southern hemisphere in July. For us, it’s been sixteen months straight without it, at least till now: winter-spring, then winter-spring-summer. And no fall.…
We had just about finished the booking of a flight to Brisbane, and Qantas was selling us options: better seating, a car to rent, hot lunch, more baggage, and a carbon offset for our trip.…
“Remember, you’re in Walpole,” Gary Muir declared exuberantly, “the belly-button, not just of Western Australia, but of the world!” Walpole? A spot on the map. A town three or four blocks long with an equally…
We love to bike. So, in a relatively flat city like Melbourne, we just had to purchase good, low cost bikes and get rolling. We had been warned about the threat of crazed motorists and…
Perth WA is a very tidy town. Back in 2009, we noticed that many small towns announced on their welcome signs that they had won a “Tidy Town” designation. You couldn’t really miss the towns,…