As we traveled around Australia, I was impressed by many of the artists and artisans we met, whose work was creative and out of the ordinary. Here’s a small snapshot of them. Aboriginal Art Aboriginal Bush Traders is one of many places that sells work by aboriginal artists in Darwin and the Northern Territory. UnlikeContinue reading “Art and Artisans in Australia”
Category Archives: Australia
High Noon Birding Society: Australian Cockatoos
One of our goals in visiting Australia was to see as many of the cockatoos as possible. We heard that in some places there were so many cockatoos in city parks that they became a pest. We wanted to see that many cockatoos. And we did. As we traveled around the country, we tried toContinue reading “High Noon Birding Society: Australian Cockatoos”
Traveling the World in the Age of Overtourism
We travel because we have an insatiable interest in other people and places, in what is around the next corner, and in what it is like to sit on the porch and read a book in Adelaide, Australia compared to Wheaton, Illinois or Invergordon, Scotland. We marvel at the beauty all around us. We haveContinue reading “Traveling the World in the Age of Overtourism”
Good to Know About Australia
Impossible to sum up Australia, but some things worked for us and others didn’t. Here are a few tips based on our experience over six months. All my $ figures in this post refer to Australian dollars, currently about US$.70=AU$1 Airbnb: We stayed in eight different Airbnb properties in Australia that ranged from passable toContinue reading “Good to Know About Australia”
Australia: Looking Back
At the end of six months in Australia there is a lot to look back on. Our experiences here have been excellent. We’ve met lovely people, had all kinds of adventures, and saw beautiful land and sea. I have such mixed feelings. There’s a pain in my heart for all that we are leaving behind,Continue reading “Australia: Looking Back”
The Other Giant’s Causeway: Fingal Head, NSW
A year ago we visited Giant’s Causeway, a fantastic natural formation of basalt pillars in Northern Ireland. The rock’s regular shape is very intriguing, unique in all the world–except it isn’t unique. There is another formation of columnar basalt just like Giant’s Causeway at Fingal Head, near Tweed Heads, NSW. Once we heard about theContinue reading “The Other Giant’s Causeway: Fingal Head, NSW”
Dodging Showers at Tweed Regional Gallery
The recent rains are supposedly abating and we planned an indoor/outdoor day to hedge our bets. First stop was the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre in Murwillumbah, a 25 minute drive from our house. Not large, but very lively, this young institution aims to be a hub for cultural activity and seemsContinue reading “Dodging Showers at Tweed Regional Gallery”
Winter Solstice in New Brighton
Welcome to this post on our current home in New Brighton, New South Wales. This is also my 500th post on Llywindatravels.com (Where does the time go?) Thank you for reading and joining me on our travels. I hope you’ll keep coming back. It’s been just over five years since we retired and set outContinue reading “Winter Solstice in New Brighton”
Surfers Paradise?
There’s a charming story of a local entrepreneur whose hotel “Surfers Paradise” opened in 1925 and became the engine of local business success along the shore southeast of Brisbane. The owner of the hotel lobbied for several years to have the area renamed Surfers Paradise, and in 1933, the town of that name was born.Continue reading “Surfers Paradise?”
Moving South
The weather turned colder on our last day in Cairns, accompanied by a notable drop in humidity. That was the end of swimming, and we compounded the effect by moving south, to cooler territory south of Brisbane. The first few days here were gloomy, overcast with rain. The temperature didn’t get to 70 and IContinue reading “Moving South”