My entire trip to the Northern Territory was built around visiting Kakadu National Park. I booked the 2 day camping tour before I settled on airfares, hotel rooms, or any other activity. I had a few reservations about my backpacking tour, which was with the same company that I booked the Litchfield tour through, and it wasn't just having to spend the night in a rented sleeping bag. Tom and Dan were convinced that they offered the best tour available, and said sneeringly that the AAT and APT tours should stand for "aged arthritic" or "aged pensioner tours". Their advice to buy one or two (??!!) bottles of wine to take with me to save money on the expensive wine available where we were going so that I "could enjoy the full experience" was a little ... read more

One of my first overseas trips was to Vietnam, in December 1996. Like much of my travel, it was a somewhat random decision and I hadn't done much in the way of research beforehand. So I was open to lots of advice. As it turns out, all the advice I received was from people who had never been there, but all assured me confidently that I was bound to get ill, it's too hot, and I would most certainly lose lots of weight. I could almost guarantee coming back slimmer and trimmer. As it turns out this was absolute nonsense. The food was sensational, like nothing I'd had before. Bursting with flavour, it was fresh, delicious, not to mention more-ish, and not wanting to miss out on the incredible array of new culinary delights I tucked ... read more

Tasmanian Devils and other animals Driving down to Port Arthur you go through the small town of Dunalley, just before crossing a narrow isthmus and heading further down the Tasman Peninsula. It was only as we got to the small township that I remembered that this area was in the direct path of some fearsome bushfires earlier this year. We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw the devastation left from the fires, which destroyed the town. There were around 80 homes lost, leaving just lonely brick chimneys, or sometimes a washing line standing in an empty field. The fire reached all the way to the water. It seemed in-congruent, the charred trees overlooking the sea. I remembered seeing photos in the newspaper of families in the water, surrounded by billowing clouds of smoke and flames. ... read more

One of the great things about living in a new city, and one as big as Sydney, is that every weekend I can visit somewhere new and enjoy a new adventure or experience. At times even just supermarket shopping can offer a different experience - cue the time I got excited and bought kangaroo steak for dinner! Day tripping around the city and beyond helps keep alive the dream that living in Australia is one big holiday. Clearly I'm delusional.....but bring it on I reckon. I've had some fantastic discoveries, whether near or far. Recently I took a day trip to the Royal National Park. I'd bought a one day tour with Understand Down Under (UDU) Tours through a voucher site, so I was a local joining the real tourists - or so I thought. Turns ... read more

The view was the real draw card in deciding to rent my apartment, and this view came into its own on New Year's Eve. I had invited some friends to dinner and this turned out to be the perfect way to see in the new year - good food, friends, plenty of champagne - not to mention having an excellent view of the festivities. I particularly liked that unlike thousands of others, there was no queuing for hours in the sun for a decent spot, and for me, no need to fight for a taxi on the way home. I knew that the city was mad for their fireworks, they seem to have random fireworks for no good reason several times throughout the year. Sometimes I wonder if they are simply celebrating my arrival home from ... read more