I shivered in the winter chill, as the sheep grazed unconcerned in the paddock next to the giant metal dish. Magpies warbled in the distance and I wondered what it must have been like for the technicians worried, as heavy wind gusts tugged at the dish, yet knowing they were …
I heard the music first, then turned a corner in the park and the explosion of tulips filled my eyes with Spring. It’s Floriade time in Canberra – with more than a million blooms, it is the Southern Hemisphere’s greatest flower festival that runs from 15 Sept to 14 October. …
The view through the water wall at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne Australia is reminiscent of a Van Gogh painting. The light refracts in strange ways and distorts the image of the people and the traffic outside. I was here to see the exhibition: Van Gogh and the …
On to Balladonia. We passed the Western end of the Nullarbor Plain and celebrated with a photo and a happy dance before heading on to Balladonia 🙂 And neared the end of the Ninety Mile Straight. Balladonia at the Western end of the 90-mile straight seems an unlikely place to …
It’s easy to romanticise the truckers – ‘knights of the road’ – as they carry the nation’s goods from east to west and back again. There is no doubt they are skilful drivers and their job is a tough one. While these days they have power steering and air conditioning …
Training for any long walk, including the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain, requires some preparation, both physical and mental. Physical preparation – walking with backpacks Firstly, physical preparation must include walking on paths analogous to the kinds of track we expect to encounter, with distance …
Around 5km west of Caiguna on the Nullarbor Plain, you will see a blue sign pointing the way to the Caiguna Blowhole. The sign breaks the monotony of the view 🙂 The Caiguna blowhole is disturbingly close to the highway, being only about 20m from the road, and it marks …
Eucla Telegraph Station The Eucla telegraph station was particularly important because prior to Federation in 1901, South Australia and Victoria used American Morse code, whereas the rest of the country used International Morse Code. So the station was staffed by both South Australian and Western Australian telegraphists – separated by a …
Borders Borders are interesting places – they mark a transition – in this case from the State of South Australia to the State of Western Australia. It is a transition of both space and time. Yes, Central Australia has its own timezone – our third time-zone since leaving home. So …
