Everything good in Central Australia happens at dawn. Whether it be walking, hot air ballooning, photography or just admiring the views, dawn in the desert is outstanding. Getting up is hard but once you are up it's worth it. For us it was tackling Kings Canyon, the set piece walk of the vast ochre wonderland... Continue Reading →
On the map the Hawkesbury Harvest Trail could seem like a wild goose chase. On the ground, it suddenly makes sense The Hawkesbury Harvest is a food trail that brings together food producers in the Hawkesbury area, which is the huge swathe of land stretching from the edge of the Blue Mountains to Brooklyn in Sydney's... Continue Reading →
In-the-know backpackers (which it seems is all of them) are adept at nabbing the best camping spots for free. They simply park their Wicked van in a beach carpark and wake up to a beautiful beachy sunrise. And a whole lot of lycra from the middle-aged morning walker crowd. In Sydney, predictably this free beach camping practice... Continue Reading →
As far as placenames go, Canoelands sounds like an idyllic summer on a river somewhere. When I arrive via a long and winding road from Dural, strangely there's no river or canoe in sight. Instead there's a little house on the prairie style wooden shed jam-packed with condiments and fruit trees stretching to the horizon. Canoelands is a... Continue Reading →
A week or so ago when I was in Thredbo, I snuck out to Thredbo's schnapps distillery, Wild Brumby Distillery located between Jindabyne and Thredbo. It was wunderbar! Quirky signs, lovely picnic areas, cosy and reasonably-priced lunches and did I mention schnapps tasting?! Our friendly schnapps-meister guided us in the gentle art of schnapps tasting.... Continue Reading →
Last week I made a summery pilgrimmage to Thredbo, and after a tip-off from a friend checked out the new Thredbo Valley Track. Running from Thredbo to Crackenback, this 18km graded gravel track is geared towards mountain bikers, walkers and, being Thredbo, superfit runners. There are a few campgrounds on the way so you can... Continue Reading →
The Tarkine has been on my bucket list for a few years and, having done it in November, I can report it really is as spectacular as it seems. Located in north-west Tasmania it takes up a large swathe of Tassie and initially is a little hard to wrap your head around on the map.... Continue Reading →
This sign is one of my favourite signs of all time. It's at Corinna in the Tassie wilderness at the Pieman Ferry (yes, it's named after a man who made pies) and is bush humour at its best.
I guess it's a sad indictment on modern life that picking your own strawberries is now a tourist attraction. And it's going gangbusters, if my visit to Ricardoes Tomatoes & Strawberries at Port Macquarie on an ordinary Monday morning is anything to go by. Ricardoes is a ten minute drive out of town and is... Continue Reading →
The Lower Blue Mountains gets a bad rap from die-hard bushwalkers. It doesn't have the world-famous gorge views, the real mountains weather (read: freezing) and it's just a bit close the sprawling Sydney metropolis to be truly getting away from it all. All of that is true, and also none of it. The Knapsack Reserve in... Continue Reading →
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