Garth Brooks, "Friends in Low Places" was playing at some point in the last few days in one of our tour vehicles. The trend in music among the outfitters seems to be older American Country. I'm perfectly fine with that. I didn't hear about the incredible amount of flies in the Outback this particular year prior to my trip - probably something to do with all the rain they've had here. There is a cream you can dab on your face which keeps them … [Read more...]
Camels to Sounds of Silence, Uluru Australia
Riding Camels in Australia? I thought present day camels were native to parts of the Middle East and parts of the Horn of Africa? In fact they are, but were brought to this part of the country in 1840 from the Canary Islands. Nine camels were originally brought over - all but one died en route and that one was eventually killed - but then more arrived. More than fifteen hundred camels were released into the wild many generations ago - and … [Read more...]
An Exceptional Day Regardless of the Rain
I'm not one to enjoy rain - really, ever. Today was an exception. Joe, our driver for the day from Wayoutback Safaris pulled up nice and early at 630am, making the rounds of hotels and hostels in downtown Darwin. We were off for a day of swimming - heavy rain was not going to stop us. Our destination was Litchfield National Park located in the bush about a 90 minutes drive south of Darwin. Our first stop was the impressive Florence Falls for … [Read more...]
Helicopter Tour of Darwin Australia
What to do in Darwin on a rainy grey day? Going up in a Helicopter is perhaps not one's first choice. It is the rainy season here. With that said, perhaps it was optimistic to think I could do a scheduled Heli Pub Crawl. Yes this is what you think! Five remote pubs accessed via helicopter - spread out over 250 miles - lasting much of the day. Meeting locals, meeting characters and perhaps making some new friends. Oh and enjoying great beer. … [Read more...]
My Role as one of Tourism Australia’s Digital corOZpondents
I am honored to have been selected as one of Tourism Australia's digital corOZpondents for 2013/2014. As part of being a corOZpondent I will be making a trip to this great continent for nearly a month (I was in Sydney and vicinity earlier this year for the New Year's fireworks). I'm on the road quite a bit each year - and every trip has its own merit - but there are few trips I have been looking forward to as much as this one. I already know it … [Read more...]
Lynn Gilmartin: Australian Presenter and Traveler
We first stumbled upon Lynn's travel videos inadvertently while doing research for another interview. Poker, International travels, well being - yes, this looks like a great lifestyle! We thank Lynn for taking time out of her busy schedule to do this interview - at the time of this interview, she was actually in the process of moving to Los Angeles from Melbourne Australia. Q. What (or who) was your initial motivation to initially start … [Read more...]
Coogee Beach & 2013 Sydney Fireworks
We are still trying to catch up on blog posts as its been a hectic past couple of weeks! Trying to avoid Bondi like the plague on the last day of 2012 we headed straight for Coogee. So did many others - there were more views of people than sand. Walking up the coastal walk I stumbled upon Wylies, boasting public swimming baths perched on the edge of the cliffs with its own sea pool built into the existing sandstone rock next to the crashing … [Read more...]