After Charleville the next real stop was Lara Wetlands, located north of Blackall and just south of Barcaldine on Lara station, the wet land offers camping with showers and toilets but no power. Dog friendly but dogs must be on leash at all times, it is a working station so there is stock about, in … Continue reading Lara Wetlands
Augathella = meat ants and Smiley
Slowly catching up on posts. After Charleville we started the trek north, stopping briefly in Augathella. The two things Augathella is famous for are meat ants and the Smiley stories. To be honest I was unaware of the Smiley connection although I certainly remember seeing the old movies; Smiley and Smiley gets a gun. The … Continue reading Augathella = meat ants and Smiley
Bilbies
After three weeks of escape with almost no wifi, therefore an enforced and much needed digital detox I am back and now playing catch up on reading blog posts. I have only just started to catch up and I have clearly missed a lot! To be honest, I think I really needed that time away … Continue reading Bilbies
Lightning Ridge and the Great Artesian Basin
"Water is the soul of the earth" - W H Auden The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) is one of the miraculous contradictions of Australia, we are the driest inhabited continent on earth, only Antarctica is drier, and yet our dry inland sits atop the largest and deepest subterranean water resource in the world. The GAB … Continue reading Lightning Ridge and the Great Artesian Basin
The Art of Lightning Ridge
Renowned artist John Murray calls Lightning Ridge home and you can't escape his impact on the town. Depending on which way you approach the ridge you might be greeted by a giant emu, Stanley made from old girders, Volkswagens and satellite dishes, or on Morilla St an old combi given wings and a propeller, flown … Continue reading The Art of Lightning Ridge
The surprising creativity of Lightning Ridge
Open plains and big skies, that sums up the trip west from Toowoomba to Lightning Ridge, endless rolling plains, much of it under cotton. One of the great beauties of the west is the endless open plains and big skies. Lightning Ridge is largely defined by opal mining but despite the dreams of exceptional gems … Continue reading The surprising creativity of Lightning Ridge
Staying at the Opal caravan park in Lightning Ridge.
Life feels a bit hurried but we did pretty much completely tune out and switch off for a few days with our short escape to Lightning Ridge. Loved Lightning Ridge, it is a unique place, with a very different vibe and character. It has a kind of rough and ready character, down to earth, get … Continue reading Staying at the Opal caravan park in Lightning Ridge.
Long, long road to Lightning Ridge
As you can tell from the title, S and I have started our latest holiday travels. Been wanting to see this part of Australia for a long time. In my naivety, I decided to do the whole trip in one day. Nine hours of travelling which did include three stops so about seven and a … Continue reading Long, long road to Lightning Ridge
Tree time
We are lucky in this country to have the luxury of space and rich coastal and country environments, all within close proximity. While I live and work in a large town, I am never more than an hour from what in our house is generally referred to as tree time. A little longer for beach … Continue reading Tree time
“A magic key… that unlocks a door into a world of enchantment” – Mary Watts
Recently I posted some images for the travel photo challenge; ten days of photos with no explanation, mostly I chose some older photos from past trips overseas. Just thought I might do some brief posts on some of the lesser known but worthy locations from our past travels. The very first image I posted for … Continue reading “A magic key… that unlocks a door into a world of enchantment” – Mary Watts
Gum trees and Galaxies 