Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park – Sydney

One of Sydneys magnificent bush reserves can be found just North of the city centre. A favourite haunt for Sydney-siders has always been this beautiful National Park. It nestles quietly on the coast between the Hawkesbury and Port Jackson, in its own brand of splendour. Often the most visitors to Sydney see of the park is the unforgettable sandstone cuttings which herald your northern approach into Sydney. These are for me the gateway to the sprawling city, found along the M1, but there is so much more than this to see.

Noodling for Nundle Diamonds

Nundle in NSW, east of Tamworth, is an old gold prospection area that we love to visit. Cold in winter or hot in summer if offers challenges… those which include access to water, unless of course it is flooding.  Nearby Chaffey Dam is a favourite camp for many as is the caravan park in Nundle itself, spacious and comfortable, and it is here you will find the Info Centre which is necessary for panning and noodling advice. Particularly if your not sure what your doing.

Australia’s Rainbow Serpents

Serpents have starred in religion since Adam and Eve… which is relatively recent. Before that they also starred in the Dreamtime and predominantly in ancient Lore around the globe, being involved in the creation and the evolution of mankind. In Australia, which has some of the most ancient lands still above the tide, serpents hold a special place in Lore… and they are commonly known as the Rainbow Serpents.

Home, Hearth (or Campfire) & THAT Fridge

The last few months have been something of an hiatus for us as we regroup at the home base, attend to a bit of maintenance … for the vehicle, van and person, and to enjoy the gathering of family of the Christmas Season, listening to the noise of Grandies, the gossip of our brood and the ‘putting into order’ that which a household needs from time to time.

Last year… 2017, was a busy year that saw us enjoying a sojourn in beautiful southern corner of WA and Perth, then out to crossing the Central Desert Region along the Outback Way, a bit of the Gunbarrel and the Great Central Road, along with our adventures into the beautiful red gems of Harts Range. 

A Celebration in Sydney

 

Sydney has to be one of our favourite places to explore. While accommodation is always an issue, and the cities Caravan Parking is as scarce as hens teeth, one of the biggest advantages in Sydney is the Opal card… coupled with what is generally a affordable, usable and convenient public transport system. Yes… you can easily get around the vast city on the public network and with the use of one of the transit apps available for smart phones which links you via public transport, from where you are, to where you want to go.

The Dreaming E-books – 50% Off

The Dreaming Series

E-book 50% Discounts

A small Chissy gift to all in this season is a 50% discount vouchers that expire on the 11th January 2018, this for the 4 books of the Dreaming Series from Smashwords, which offers e-books in all e-formats.  Following are the voucher codes to download the e-books of this fictional series on Aboriginal Lore.

Loose yourself in the tales of the Dreamtime. Travel with the Featherfoot and touch the world of the Rainbow Serpents. The tale is a celebration of family… of love… of life and of culture. I hope you enjoy the journey. Just follow the hyperlinks.

Shadow Dreaming:  50% Discount Price – $1.45 The code is: GE24E
Sky Song: 50% Discount Price – $1.95 The code is: VW93U
Spirit of the Rocks: 50% Discount Price – $1.95 The code is: UE43N
Caverns of the Dreamtime: 50% Discount Price – $1.95 The code is: MN78P

Travel well

Jan

Mon Repos, Bundaberg – Turtles and Taking to the Skies

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The opportunity to spend time in the beautiful backwater of Bargara in Central Qld Coast, on the Bundy shoreline, is something not to be passed up. What draws us to the region is the nesting of the turtles. Mon Repos, is a precious mainland turtle rookery, active between November and March. This is truly something special that we enjoy visiting when we can. From the labouring of the mums… to the hatching of the clutches, sprinkled up and down the beach at the National Parks Turtle centre near Bundaberg in Qld.

It’s all in the Planning… Making the most of Travel

At the moment I am thick into another trip plan… one coming up soon, and as usual I have two or three of these trip plans sitting on my desktop as I develop them as the mood takes me. A number of travellers like to just go with the flow, and there are certainly times when this is the fun way to go, but then at other times planning is a part of the enjoyment of discovery and I wouldn’t even consider not building up a plan for any given tour… Even the roughest of rudimentary plans is a good option.

Traveling as we do as a lifestyle choice, as opposed to a 2-4 week or month stint across the country, we do have a broad based guide that gets us to where we want to go and then there are times where we just head off in a general direction… or in pursuit of a general goal or season respite… or even in pursuit of an interest, but the trip plan is an essential part of our future plans and I wouldn’t be without it. Mind you these trip plans are very malleable … such as this years primary plan which was to have seen us up in the Kimberley, but instead saw us spending 6 months in and around Perth… exploring, instead. Plans change as does your focus, and often. It is best to roll with the waves and enjoy the ride.

Mimi People of Australia

Spirits of the Rock

Learning about, and interpreting the Ancient Lore and Legend of Aboriginal Australia is an aspect of my writing that I have studied for most of my life. One of these fascinating avenues of Australian Lore is that of the Mimi people. That mystic and secretive Lore of a people who lived once amongst us and who still, today, drift through the stories told and the experiences of Australian Lore.

Kalbarri WA and the National Park

Western Australia certainly has unique features. The least of which are the sands, both of the desert and the coast. It is flat… unlike the east coast of Aus’ though after a time even the flatness takes on a rolling outlook. The SW corner of WA is the most familiar of landscapes to those from the Sunrise side of the nation. This corner of WA is also the most fertile and most populated region of the State.

There are only around 2 1/2 million odd people living in the largest of Australia’s States, a State with a land area 1/3 of the nation. If I was to choose the most remote of places in Aus’ many of them would be found in Western Australia. It is undoubtably a frontier of our country… even today.

Half way up the stretch of coastline that is Western Australia is the seaside coastal town of Kalbarri. We were drawn to Kalbarri, as it is surrounded by the Kalbarri National Park which has some spectacular gorges, and the township sits at the mouth of the Murchison River, being the only town on the entire river length. It is also the region that offers some magnificent wildflower displays and hereabouts the wildflower season is the longest to be found anywhere in the State.