The port city of Albany on Western Australia’s southern coast, 420km from Perth, has a strong sense of its own identity and, perhaps more keenly than any other Australian community, feels the weight of an ANZAC heritage that pre-dates the Gallipoli landings in 1915. The First Anzacs On 1 November 1914, thirty-six transport ships, escorted […]
The Big Lap – Part 4 The Red Highway
The sun, dust and red roads go forever as we cross outback south Australia The main roads bifurcate on the northern outskirts of Port Augusta, the Eyre Highway branching west and the Stuart Highway veering northward for 2,700km, all the way to Darwin. The latter approximates the route that John McDouall Stuart took when he […]
Another Big Lap
Planning a big trip is exciting in itself Call of the Wild It all started with a phone call, as these things often do. One morning in early January I got a call from old mate Andrew, a long-time friend and fourwheel driving buddy. After pleasantries and season’s greetings, he got right down to business, […]
Rollin’ Down A River
The Clarence River Canoe and Kayak Trail is the longest whitewater trail in Australia On a recent road trip through the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, we had an overnight stop at Jackadgery, where the Gwydir Highway crosses the beautiful Mann River 40km west of Grafton. Apart from the impressive concrete bridge, the […]
Just Chillin’ In The Far East
Byron Bay, 770 kilometres north of Sydney, has the distinction of being Australia’s easternmost town There are many aspects of this small coastal community that make it one of the most attractive destinations in New South Wales. Geographically, the bay is part of the Tweed Volcano caldera that erupted 23 million years ago, leaving a […]