Australia Zoo is one of the best known zoos in Australia, known in recent times as the home of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin and his family. The zoo was established in 1970 by Steve’s father, Bob, when it was known as the Beerwah Reptile Park and only covered a couple of acres. Since then…
Contrary to popular belief, we do have winter here in Queensland. Granted, it doesn’t last long and it’s unlikely anyone will die of cold hereabouts but temperature is relative. When we go to the beach in winter we’ll be wearing jeans and jumpers and we’ll see lilywhite folks in bathers lying on beach towels soaking…
Pete and I and our friends drove 60km south of Cairns to the little town of Babinda. It’s right on the Bruce Highway and I remembered noticing the sign that said ‘this way to the boulders’ or words to that effect as we’d passed through. We turned west from the highway and drove through a…
Last weekend we decided to go for a drive, to get out of town for a little while. We found a place on the map we figured might be interesting – Coalstoun Lakes, not too far from Gayndah and Biggenden, about 140km away. We’d never been there, and maybe there’d be, you know, a lake….
Cyclone Debbie has certainly cut a swathe through the holiday islands of the Whitsundays and their gateway, Airlie Beach. Bowen and Ayr bore the brunt of the storm and that takes nothing away from all the smaller places in the way. Cane fields, vegetable crops, and banana fields were flattened, destroying farmers’ incomes for at…
Would you believe not all of Australia’s animals are cute and cuddly? You would, wouldn’t you? The place is crawling with lethal snakes, deadly spiders, murderous little octopuses, excruciatingly painful jellyfish… It’s all true, of course, but it’s pretty much a case of if you leave them alone, they leave you alone. But not salt…
Palm Cove is the northern-most of Cairns’s northern beaches, most of it strung along a picturesque esplanade hugging the beach. The first thing we noticed is the way the massive paperbark trees are incorporated into the landscape – and the buildings. There’s no doubt the land our building was built on was reclaimed from a…
We’ve just come back from FNQ (Far North Queensland), after spending a week at Peppers Palm Cove resort, just north of Cairns. Normally I’d write about the trip and what we saw and experienced, but this time, I’ll start at the end, because the trip was cut short. You see, Debbie decided to visit. When…
Unfortunately, much as I hate cities sometimes they can’t be avoided. They are concentrations of many things apart from people. Or maybe because of people. Restaurants, hospitals, cinemas, live shows, shops. Pollution, traffic snarls, noise. Sigh. But yeah. Medical specialists tend to work best in the city setting. All the equipment and required facilities are…