Barbara McAvaney writes of how she began her journey around Australia and what set her to travelling. She traded her for a campervan, loaded up her two dogs and set off from Adelaide around Australia.
To my surprise friends turned up to say goodbye. I met the rest of my family out nearer the northern boundaries of Adelaide. Tears flowed all morning for me but they were tears of happiness.
The future is finally here…
My journey began in April, 2010; a journey of growth, understanding and self-discovery, I will not say it has been easy; far from it. Small steps at first, one day at a time, many trials and tribulations filled with emotional times. Along the way I have upset some people, something I would not normally do, but when you are finding your feet and leading a new, independent life some people are going to get hurt, and to those people I am sorry.
Gradually things do get better as time goes by the hurt is only a shadow of the past, and a new journey is just around the corner. Read more
Working in the city may have its compensations, but looking out the window sometimes we dream of a different lifestyle. Christine Lewis left the corporate world in London and swapped it for a ‘tree change’ in the spa town of Hepburn Springs in Victoria, Australia. Read more
Rather than chasing Happiness, the Buddhist philosophy suggests that we simply let go of that what makes us unhappy.
The very notion of chasing something has a sense of urgency about it. With Urgency comes anxiety, and of course with anxiety comes illness and with illness comes unhappiness.
Sarah writes:
I’ve just completed a 7 day stay at the Golden Door Health Retreat in Queensland and would recommend it to anyone. Read more
Dianne Sharma-Winter writes about her stay in Broome, Western Australia
I haven’t really had much of an exploration of town and around Broome since I arrived here. I have seen the iconic sunsets and the camel trains along Cable Beach, I have witnessed the high speed jaw snapping tail whipping woman eating crocodiles from a safe distance and generally pondered the seemingly infinity of red earth space between here and anywhere else.
Last year in India, I met a woman who worked and lived and loved the Kimberleys. “Broome is my shopping town,” she said when I remarked that a family member had moved there. “It’s only three hundred kilometers down the road.”
Only. Three hundred kilometers of red earth with nothing in between here and there. No petrol stops, no chai stalls, no clusters of villages. Just that wide brown land, an artists palette of gorgeous blues and reds and pink and orange with the odd kangaroo leaping across the road.
I have to admit that it unsettles me. That kind of land could just swallow you up! Read more
Article by By Jodie Munro O’Brien
MEN have been banned from the floor of a hotel in Brisbane, with its owners saying the “Ladies Only” level was inspired by the increasing number of businesswomen travelling alone.
On the fifth floor of the Portal Hotel in the inner suburb of Spring Hill even the staff have to be women, in a bid to improve safety for guests.
Men probably wouldn’t want to check into the rooms anyway as they’re filled with scented candles, flowers, women’s magazines, bathroom products and hair straighteners.
A pamper bar replaces the mini bar and includes beauty products and other pampering items alongside the wine.
Portal Hotel owner Georgie Woods said the decision to make the floor women-only was based on demand.
“These days, women account for around 40 per cent of Australia’s business travellers,” she said. “That’s a lot of ladies travelling alone, often in unfamiliar cities without a good working knowledge of the area.
Adelaide is a great city, good food and wine, beaches and wineries. But I had not seen the bush or kangaroos, and it felt like something was missing. Friends told me that what I needed was a visit to Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary close by in the Adelaide Hills. We discovered we could stay overnight, which seemed like a great option, and though it was winter we were assured the luxury tents structures were warm and cosy. That was there was a chance we could see the elusive platypus in the twilight encounter.
Markets – Beach walks – Almond Blossom Festival – Wine – Galwa – Port Elliot – Cycleways
Markets are HOT in Adelaide and practically mainstream
We are in Adelaide for a winter holiday, but before heading off to our base in Port Willunga, South of Adelaide, we shop up for goodies at the Adelaide Central Market. Two days later we are at the prize winning Saturday Willunga Farmers Market – smaller and more grass roots local growers. Between these markets we barely need a supermarket and our shelves are stocked with great local produce for the next 10 days of holiday. It would be so cool to live here and have it all so close. Read more
Melbourne is one of the cities in the world that still has a fabulous tram service and we decide a tram trip is in order – to St Kilda and the seaside. We arrange to meet Liz’s 82 year old mum under the clock tower at Flinders St Station. It proves to be an excellent central place to meet – there are lots of interesting alleyways of shops to explore, great buskers by the Clock Tower and an information centre right there in Federation Square where we get details about the trams. It turns out that the day we are there all buses, trams and trains are free, so that is an extra bonus because of some problem earlier in the week – very nice they apologise by actually giving something back to public transport users! Read more
While in Melbourne Liz and I are staying with our friend Ruth, and its her birthday. We decide to invite her to join us at The Japanese Bath House for an afternoon of pampering. It’s a great winter thing to do, and I really miss not having a bath at home – the idea of passing a gentle afternoon with friends soaking in a hot bath and sauna sounds like a treat for her and us. Read more
Old is chic – old buildings left to rot on the outside and funky done up inside. We are off on a browsing, eating and window shopping trip in North Melbourne’s funky suburb of Fitzroy. Johnson Street and Brunswick Street here we come!
