• Inspirational Travel Quotes

    Having a dream is fantastic but making it a reality can be very daunting. If you need a bit of inspiration to push you to act and bring you one step closer to making your dreams a reality, read on. Do you have a favourite quote that really inspires you? Please share it in the comments.

  • Secret Western Australia

    Western Australia, covering almost a third of Australia’s landmass, is the largest state in Australia. Here are some of the lesser known highlights. There are some obvious reasons to visit this impressively varied state. The whalesharks that visit Exmouth each year are a huge draw as are the whale-watching opportunities in Albany, read more about both places here, but this post is about secret WA. Having lived here for two years now I hate to admit it but before coming to WA I had never heard of these places. Now I know them fondly as unique attractions in the local area (which, I should probably point out, is a rather…

  • Brampton Island, Queensland

    If a visit to the Great Barrier Reef is on your agenda and you want to spend some time on one of the islands Brampton is a great choice. It offers a variety of fun activities and spectacular scenery for those more focused on relaxing. Situated in the Whitsunday Island Passage, Brampton Island is near the infamous Whitsundays but is not actually part of them. It is 50 kilometres south of Hamilton Island and 30 kilometres offshore from Mackay. Originally occupied by Aboriginals, the first European settlers arrived on the island in 1916. It has since had a colourful history with the opening of the resort in 1933, the establishment…

  • Hiking Cinque Terre

    One of the many reasons people visit Cinque Terre is to enjoy exploring the tiny villages that cling to the seaside cliffs in the area. Walking the coastal trail that links the five villages rewards with spectacular views of the Mediterranean. To walk the entire coastal trail you have to start either at Monterosso al Mare or Riomaggiore, the farthest south of the five villages that make up the Cinque Terre region. From Riomaggiore train station we wandered through town, enjoying the views into Riomaggiore and over the sea. It doesn’t take long to get into the centre and suddenly there are shops, cafes and restaurants on each side of…

  • 6 Reasons to write your bucketlist

    Bucketlists mean different things to different people. To some they represent a shopping list of places to tick off their travel hitlist, to others they offer the chance to fulfim dreams, meet people and learn and embrace new cultures. How do you view them? It’s good to have goals Modern life comes with lots of pressures and we are encouraged, expected even, to have goals and ambitions. Why not have some travel goals? Travel is one of those things that does not usually happen unless you intend it to. Make it your goal. Focus If you want to travel you need to make it your priority. The difference between those…

  • Inspiring Travel Quotes

    Many people have had their say about travel over the years. Although travel has developed since many of these quotes were first recorded, the principles behind them remain. The following are my favourite travel quotes and the ones I find most inspiring. What are yours? Do you have a favourite travel inspiration quote? Please share it in the comments below.

  • Queensland Turtles

    With the Great Barrier Reef just offshore the Queensland coastline is home to many marine creatures. Turtles are one of the most commonly seen and you don’t even need to get wet to see them. The beaches at the southern end of the reef, between Bundaberg and 1770, are popular breeding grounds for various species of turtles, including Loggerhead, Flatback and Green Turtles. The largest turtle rookery in the South Pacific is at Mon Repos Conservation Park, which is 14 kilometres from Bundaberg. Between November and February each year adult female turtles come ashore after dark to dig nests, lay their eggs and cover them before heading back to sea.…

  • Tuk-tuk Tales

    Bangkok is a big, crazy, polluted city, so what better way to see it than to get right in the middle of things and take a ride in a tuk-tuk? It is certainly a unique experience. Nervous about using a tuk-tuk Being aware that I would struggle to communicate clearly I was wary of accepting inexpensive tours of the city from tuk-tuk drivers, anticipating a time-wasting tour of dodgy commission-earning jewellery haunts, rather than the places I actually wanted to see. So when I got talking to a tour guide outside Wat Pho and he hailed a passing tuk-tuk and told me the driver would take me to the places…

  • Driving adventures

    Driving is one of those life skills that makes travelling easier. Being able to drive provides freedom and opportunities. It can also lead to many amusing adventures. Here are a few of mine. Driving in Turkey Moving to Turkey in my late teens introduced me quickly to driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. I learned to drive on the left, but suddenly I was driving on the right. Not only was I consciously trying to remember to drive on the  correct side of the road but the mountain roads had sheer drops on one side and often a rock wall on the other which was quite frightening. While…

  • Top 10 Things to do in Broome

    Broome is a quirky little outback town on the Dampier Peninsular along the dramatic Kimberley coast of north-west Australia. It is a beautiful pearling centre with a complicated and unique history. Before visiting Broome I knew very little about the town and what to expect of the place, other than it being somewhere Western Australians visit during their winters and rave about. It didn’t take long before I fell for Broome too. Willie Creek Pearl Farm The Willie Creek Pearl Farm lies at the northern end of Cable Beach, 35km north of Broome and offers a fascinating insight into modern pearl farming, as well as explaining how pearls are cultivated.…