I think that as a tourist, you are treated a little differently wherever you travel. People who visit London often say how friendly and approachable the people there are; whereas the majority of people that have to suffer the place on a daily basis will swear that everyone they encounter are uniformly aggressive and self-absorbed. [...]
After a little less than a week in Sydney we headed for the hills in our newly acquired van. Katoomba is the main town of the Blue Mountains and whilst the houses sprawl out for quite a distance, the town centre consists of one street which is home to a few dozen pubs, cafés, and [...]
Even before I embarked on this trip, the phrase came again and again into my mind: ‘Even the best made plans of mice and men oft go awry’. I can’t remember who plagiarised who – but the phrase has been quoted, revised and quoted again many times over the last century. And as is often [...]
Today I saw my first hopping marsupial. And my second not too long after that! On the way down to the Jenolan Caves (where the most amazing calcite crystals can be seen) I saw a small, dark-furred, fluffy walabe hopping from the roadside up a little bank, before turning to stare at us as we [...]
Clarence is an aboriginal tribesman born close to the Clarence River in Northern Australia. His totum is the Salamander which means he shares the same blood as it, it is like his brother, and to allow one to come to harm would make him physically ill. He is also the head of Aboriginal Studies at [...]
I arrived in Sydney just a few minutes behind the girls. Siân and Rachel had gone the opposite way round the globe to get to Sydney, changing planes in San Francisco and Los Angeles – with no more than an hour in each airport between flights. I don’t envy them at all (but I did [...]
In order to break up a horrifically long journey to the other side of the world, I had a 12 hour stop in Hong Kong. With the build-up to Australia, my trip to HK was slightly dwarfed (what’s 12 hours when you’re planning a year-long trip?) and so I arrived without any plans at all. [...]