Tag Archives: travel

Holiday, Outback NSW

Outback NSW – Walgett and Lightning Ridge – Part 1

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We’ll continue on our December 2022 road trip and drive further north. The next town we passed through was Walgett. It didn’t have any real architectural marvels, but it was a busy, sizeable town. And it had a bit of art with a painted silo and a little art gallery.

Beyond Walgett, we drove on a very straight and flat road, and saw evidence of the Q4 2022 floods in the surrounding coutry-side.

We arrived at Lightning Ridge late in the afternoon, in time to view the sunset. Lightning Ridge is an opal mining town and proper outback country, and we’ll explore it in the following post or two.

central nsw, Holiday

Taralga and the Southern Tablelands

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We concluded our trip with a visit to the Southern Tablelands directly south of Abercrombie Caves. Lots of gentle landscapes here, west of the Dividing Range. We stayed in the middle of it near the hamlet of Laggan.

We took little drives around the area, visiting the slightly bigger village of Taralga. Taralga was a pretty sleepy place, but it had some nice architecture of varying vintages along its main street.

That’s all for our drive around Central NSW that took place back in December 2021. Almost two years have passed since then, so I’ve got a lot more of NSW to share. I’ll be back next time with another drive around this lovely state.

central nsw, Holiday

Hill End – Part 3

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The most delightful buildings for me in this little town are its little historical cottages. They come in different shapes and sizes, and some look as if it’s been little changed since the Gold Rush.

Hill End Village
Hill End Village
Hill End Village
Hill End Village
Hill End Village

As you can probably tell, they’re pretty well maintained and some are even lived in. Although I suppose if you’re a resident you’d have to tolerate tourists like me taking snapshots of (potentially) your washing.

Holiday, Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island – Views of the Lagoon

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Lord Howe is an island, foremost, so let’s have a few more views of the water. We stayed on the western side of the island and hence got our fill of views of the Lagoon. No name, just Lagoon, since it’s the only one.

It is the most southern reef system in the world, and it is beautiful to look at and swim in whatever the weather, since there is no sewage or storm-water run-off to pollute its clean waters. The uniqueness of the marine environment obviously helped gain the island a UNESCO world heritage listing.

In the middle of the lagoon, about 700m off-shore, is Rabbit Island (officially, Blackburn Island), which produces a lovely focal point to the view. It might have been overrun with pests like rabbits in the past (hence its name), but after the big clean-up, it’s now pristine.

There are lots of snorkeling opportunities on the Lagoon, as well as lots of fishing opportunities. Hubby brought his fishing gear all the way from home and was eager to cast a line. It’s certainly a scenic place to do it.

And on the shore, there were interesting details to examine while I waited for hubby to land a catch (he did eventually, by the way).

Holiday, tasmania

Hobart

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Well, it might have taken me awhile, but we’ve finally come to the final chapter of our 2019 Tasmanian trip – a short visit to Hobart. On this visit, we stayed in the historic inner city suburb of Battery Point. It is on a hill and so affords a good view of the Derwent River.

Battery Point Walk

While wandering around the local park, hubby was happy to find out that it had had a famous scientific visitor in the past.

Battery Point Walk

Wandering around Battery Point and its neighbouring suburb, Sandy Bay, we were happy to see a lot of colonial era houses still in good condition. Probably not surprising since they’re two of the most expensive suburbs of Hobart.

That’s all from Tasmania. But I’ve done some travelling since then, so I’ll be back with more adventures soon!

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Victorian Trip Round-Up and In Memoriam

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From Mansfield, we headed on home, taking the scenic route through the Alps via the little town of Corryong, home to the real ‘Man from Snowy River’, Jack Riley.

Man from Snowy River

It was 35C that day – not very alpine weather! We spent the night in Tumut and got home the next day.

I had sketched regularly during the trip, and here are some of them.

Alice Barker House pond

Stringybark

Delatite Winery

This was to be the last car holiday we’d make with our dear beagle, Bridie. She passed away in mid-August after a short illness. We were glad that she got to travel all the way to Victoria – she loved a drive and a sniff!

Going Home

Rest in peace, old girl.

Enjoying the view

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Chiltern

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20km south-east of Rutherglen is the small town of Chiltern. It’s half the population of Rutherglen, but just a quaint.

Chiltern

Chiltern

Like Rutherglen, the beautiful buildings came courtesy of the Gold Rush in the 1860s. Like this old Bank of New South Wales.

Chiltern//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Chiltern

There was even a bit of Chinese history in the town.

Chiltern

You know you’re in country Australia when you see sights like these.

Chiltern

Chiltern

Stubbies and thongs may represent the Australia of the past, but I think a cup of coffee (with a bit of coffee art) represents the Australia of the present.

Chiltern

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Rutherglen

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Our first stop was the town of Rutherglen. An hour out of Albury and close to the Murray River, it’s a quaint North-East Victorian town with lots of lovely architecture.

Rutherglen

Rutherglen

The second picture is of our bed and breakfast – that allows dogs! So Bridie was happy.

An early morning walk took me to the paddock around the back of the B&B, where I encountered some ladies having their breakfast.

Rutherglen

Rutherglen

Rutherglen is famous for its wines, and we sampled a few (Pfeiffer, Andersons and Cofield are just three). The wines (both sweet and table) were delicious, and since all the wineries are generally small operators, we even got to talk to some of the wine makers. And for those contemplating a road trip with their furry friends, many cellar doors even allow dogs.

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The Road to Gundagai

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We’re starting a new journey today. Last December, we took a road-trip from Sydney to Central Victoria and back.

Our first leg took us through the town of Gundagai, with its quaint old buildings and brand-spanking-new pavements.

Gundagai

It was a chance for everyone to stretch their legs, including our old beagle, Bridie. Note the sign in the park – we’re definitely not in the city anymore!

Gundagai

There were a few monuments in town. We didn’t see the famous dog and tucker box statue as it was out of town, but we did stumble past Dad, Dave, Mum and Mabel, along the road to Gundagai.

Dad, Dave, Mum and Mabel

But the monument that was most touching was the tribute to two Wiradjuri men, Yarri and Jacky Jacky, who saved the township during the 1852 flood.

The Great Rescue of Yarri and Jacky Jacky