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”
Tag Archives: Attractions
Amanda and Jim’s Cairns Adventure
Amanda and Jim are just ending their two week visit with us. We’ve packed a lot of new experiences into this short time. It gives you a snapshot of what there is to do in and around Cairns. Day 1: Leaving Los Angeles at 11 pm Friday, they arrived in Cairns at noon on Sunday,Continue reading “Amanda and Jim’s Cairns Adventure”
Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef
Floating in the water over coral stacks around 20 feet tall watching a cloud of tiny blue and orange fish darting around my hands, I forget what it took to get here. All I can think of is how mesmerizing this view is, I want to remember it clearly. The sun has been in andContinue reading “Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef”
Rainy Day at the Cairns Botanical Garden
Despite on and off drizzle, the Botanical Gardne was at its best. The rain washed all the leaves clean and gave a bit of shine to all the plants. Outdoor plantings are complemented by the indoor collection of bromeliads, orchids, and butterflies. We also saw the weirdest mushroom I’ve ever seen. It grows a littleContinue reading “Rainy Day at the Cairns Botanical Garden”
Opal Hunting in Coober Pedy
I wanted to hunt for opals. I like rocks and minerals, have years of experience poking around in the dirt as an archaeologist. If anyone can find them, it should be me. True, thousands of other people have hunted for opals over the years and most of them have not become rich. I don’t needContinue reading “Opal Hunting in Coober Pedy”
Hot Days in Darwin
It doesn’t ever get very cool in Darwin, you have to seize the day and then duck into the shade, so that’s what we did and our ten days flew by. The park adjoining our deck continued to yield new birds, from tiny crimson finches to orange legged scrubfowl, a brown chicken-sized bird with longContinue reading “Hot Days in Darwin”
Meeting friends in Sydney
We had a sociable week getting together with friends and family in Sydney, a week in which we met up with new friends from birdwatching, visitors from home, and finished up with the arrival of our daughter, Lyra. For us this was more festivities than normal and we had an unusually good time. We metContinue reading “Meeting friends in Sydney”
Sydney from the Opera House
For us, the Opera House is the heart of Sydney. We made our first pilgrimage to this icon by bus to Circular Quay, then a stroll toward the point where rounding a row of apartments, the Opera House is revealed in all its glory. On a sunny day the roof tiles create a dazzling reflection.Continue reading “Sydney from the Opera House”
Movies in Melbourne
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image is right in the middle of Melbourne, on Federation Square across the street from the main train station. This vast center(re) offers a schedule of movie screenings every day, along with permanent galleries, and temporary exhibits. We spent all day there and ended up with visual overeload whileContinue reading “Movies in Melbourne”
Tasmania high and low (temperature)
I started to summarize our month in Tasmania and couldn’t remember anything but this week’s weather. One day the temperature is in the 90s, the next day the high 60s, changing more than 30° (F.) in twelve hours. Yesterday, I swam in the ocean, today’s forecast is 54° with smoke. Yo-yo temperatures and huge firesContinue reading “Tasmania high and low (temperature)”
