Tag: Australia

R: Road Trains

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For anyone who has ever seen a road train they are essentially very huge trucks. They carry freight on the highways especially in Australia’s outback. Previously these goods may have been carried on trains but over the years the railroads have been closed.

There are many different combinations of road trains. They can have up to 7 trailers attached and can be up to 54 metres in length. This makes overtaking them very dangerous. Our experience was that road train drivers would help guide smaller faster cars to overtake if it was safe to over take by pulling over. We however would do the opposite. Our slide on is heavy and slow so we would pull over to help the road trains overtake us. Due to their sizes they are not allowed on all roads and it was not unusual for car parks to hold the trailers if the road trains needed to go into an area where the road rules didn’t allow the complete structure.

On our travels the longest road train we saw was 50 metres. I was so surprised I took a photo. During our trip to South Australia and the Nullabor we saw so many road trains that it was easy to see why people say that without trucks Australia stops.

Q: Quandongs

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These plants are found in the semi arid deserts in South Australia. Also called wild peaches, they are native to Australia.

When we were in South Australia we were very happy to find some bushes that were also bearing fruit. I had always wanted to try quandongs. Unfortunately, I still haven’t tried a fresh one as I left the ones I saw on the tree for others to enjoy seeing. I did have a quandong pie and quandong jam on scones. I didn’t find any roasted quandong nuts to try. It turns out the quandong is an very versatile fruit with edible fruits and nuts(seeds). We also found some quandong jam and quandong chutney to bring home with us.

P: Penong – Windmill Museum

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Penong is a small town on the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia. For years it was known for its windmills due to the number of farms around that used windmills to pump their water. However, over the years technology changed the farming landscape. The windmills were no longer required. As the windmills dropped off so did the tourists who previously would stop, look st them and spend money in the town.

In order to attract the tourists back, the locals created a free outdoor windmill museum. It’s very interesting. The windmills come in all shapes and sizes. During the creation stage the locals were lucky enough to find a broken down 35ft Comet windmill. It was one of the biggest in Australia and they were able to restore it to working order. Big Bruce now stands pride of place in the windmill museum. I was surprised that windmills came in so many shapes and sizes and were able to do so many different jobs.

N: Nullarbor Plain

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The Nullarbor Plain connects Eastern and Western Australia. Starting at Ceduna, South Australia and finishes at Norseman, Western Australia it is an almost treeless straight drive. In fact, I believe Nullarbor means treeless plain.

It has many free camps spots and everyone is discouraged from driving at night. This is due to the danger of animals crossing the road. The road that crosses the Nullarbor Plain is called the Eyre Highway and is the longest straight stretch of road in the world. (146 kilometres.)

When I was a teenager I drove with my family on the old highway just after it was fully sealed. I remember being fascinated by the straight road. Back in the late 1970’s people didn’t travel like they do today, so we were often the only ones using the road. To entertain ourselves we drove on the wrong side of the road for as long as we could. These days it is so busy. If you are lucky, you can quickly run into the middle of the road to take a photo – that’s it. The photos below are of the original Nullabarbor Roadhouse’s buildings the ones I visited as a child. Of course on the same site are modernised buildings.

The Nullarbor Links Golf Course is the longest in the world. It is an 18 hole par 72 course that covers 1365 kilometres (850 miles) from South Australia to Western Australia. It is on my husband and my bucket when we drive the whole way across. Last time we stopped at the Nullarbor Roadhouse.

L: Lion 360 Degrees

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At Montaro Zoo we gave ourselves a special treat. We joined the Lion 360 degrees tour. This bus tour took us into the lioness enclosure to watch them being feed. We stood under a metal dome. We had 100% access to all the lioness who came up for a feed. Some of our fellow travellers were lucky enough to experience hand feeding them, although to be honest I still haven’t decided if I’m not sure what my answer would have been had I been asked.

Watching them play and eat was amazing. They seemed to enjoy our company and sometimes seemed to play up just for our cameras.

After the feeding we were taken on tour of the lioness and lion cub enclosure. It is a very large space. In the wild lions don’t eat everyday so not all of them come up for a feed daily. They were in various groups and I loved seeing the cubs playing like they didn’t have a care in the world.

K: Kelpie Centre

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Kelpies are amazing working class dogs that can muster sheep and other animals with little or no assistance. The Australian Kelpie is known to be highly intelligent, loyal and tenacious.

Casterton Australia is known as the birth place of the Australian Kelpie. I had wanted to visit since I read a novel based on the history of the breed and realised where they came from. To honour its roll in Australian history Casterton is home to the Kelpie Centre. It is full of all things Kelpie and educates those who visit on the history of the breed.

Unfortunately we didn’t have a lot of time in the area so I plan to one day to go back and explore it more thoroughly.

J: Japanese Gardens

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On a recent holiday to Cowra, Australia we visited the Japanese Gardens. They were spectacular and so serene even in Australia’s hot weather. The day we went it was 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 Fahrenheit). So hot. Yet somehow because of the gardens design, we weren’t hot. There was plenty of wind and shade to keep us cool.

The Japanese Gardens cover five hectares and are on the site of the World War two prisoner of war camp. They were established to recognize and develop the historic and ongoing relationship between the people of Cowra and Japan.

These authentic Japanese Gardens are the largest in the Southern hemisphere and contain a traditional Edo cottage, an authentic open air tea house as well as a Bonsai house. I loved the Bonsai and was fascinated by how small these otherwise really big trees were. Kids could feed the Koi carp in one of the lakes and did because they were huge. I loved that they had left some of the original gum trees in the area to show the connection with Australia.

C: Captain James Cook Statues

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Captain Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770. He came ashore and named it New South Wales. I have known this most of my life. What I didn’t realise until last year was that he was also the first to explore the body of water now known as Cook Inlet at Anchorage, Alaska. At the time he was looking for the north-west passage which he believed joined the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. He never found the passage. To honour this important discovery a statue was built of Cook overlooking Anchorage Harbour. There is also a statue of Captain Cook in Hyde Park Sydney, Australia. According to our guide the Alaskan sculpture was built so that both statutes could look each other in the eyes. I don’t know if if its true or not but if it is it’s a great piece of detail.

B: Benalla

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Benalla is a rural city in North-East Victoria, Australia. It is the Regional Street Art Capital of Australia and it’s slogan is “see art in everything.” My husband and I visited by accident last week and we were very impressed. Everyone we spoke to clearly loved the town and were very happy to help gude us.

The city is covered with around 80 street art murals. They are everywhere and make the place look alive and welcoming. The murals have been painted by recognised national and international artists during multiple Benalla Street Art Festivals.

The city is RV friendly and has a great free camp within walking distance to the city. We parked there early and then went to and fro with the shopping we bought in town. On the Saturday morning we awoke to find the local markets were on, in the carpark next to our camp.

This ceramic tiled mural is on the lake and an amazing structure with many different aspect to it. Unfortunately it is currently under repair so we were unable to fully explore its nooks and crannies.

2025 A-Z Challenge Theme Reveal

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This years A-Z Challenge seems like the best reason to get back to blogging. For anyone who isn’t aware during April a large group of bloggers get together and challenge each other to write a blog post for every letter of the alphabet. Each blogger choses a theme that connects their blog posts.

I have been busy traveling this year so I am going to expand my theme from Australian travel to include all places and things that I have experienced during my recent travels.

While my list is not yet complete complete it could involve travel by road, air or sea. The main areas will be a mixture of Australia, Canada and Alaska although I have also had some journeys in the South Pacific so they may make an appearance.

I hope that you enjoy my travels and I look forward to also taking a virtual journey to the blogs of other bloggers participating in this years challenge.