Probably I should clean my walking shoes. But the smudges of muck and salt from Lake Eyre remind me of the wondrous journey into the South Australian Outback, of unimaginable vastness and sights, and extremely friendly – if few – people encountered along the way. Besides, I knew that snow at home, Boston, would do the cleaning job. Lake Eyre? Nobody was there when … [Read more...] about SOUTH AUSTRALIA ADVENTURE
Australia
POIROT WOULD LOVE THIS TRAIN!
CAIRNS, Queensland, Australia – Is that Hercule Poirot, the debonair detective, seated on the observation platform, mulling over clues and sipping booze – champagne, of course – as endless green waves of sugar cane are parted by the train’s engine? “Should be drinking rum, my dear,” he mutters to his stunning companion, who resembles Agatha Christie. “Bundaberg Rum. Superb … [Read more...] about POIROT WOULD LOVE THIS TRAIN!
IN AUSTRALIA, YOU CAN’T GO FARTHER NORTH THAN THIS
CAPE YORK, Australia – End of the line. Out on a limb is the feeling, although you’re really out on a rock, amid a clutter of them that seem a lineup of toast in a breakfast table rack. One more step – it wouldn’t be wise – and you’ve plopped off the continent and into a rowdy, swirling sea where two headlong-colliding adversaries – the Indian and Pacific oceans – trade … [Read more...] about IN AUSTRALIA, YOU CAN’T GO FARTHER NORTH THAN THIS
THURSDAY ISLAND – ‘THE ONE THAT COUNTS’
THURSDAY ISLAND, Queensland, Australia – A sign over the doorway of a saloon called the Torres Hotel declares modestly: THIS IS THE TOP PUB IN AUSTRALIA. Why? “Because I’m here,” says the barmaid named Tammy, a fetching blonde. A man quaffing a beer at the bar, Bob Gilmour, shakes his head and laughs. “With all respect to Tammy, definitely an asset, it’s geographical. … [Read more...] about THURSDAY ISLAND – ‘THE ONE THAT COUNTS’
NOOSA: NICE AND NATURAL
NOOSA HEADS, Queensland, Australia – One moment you’re sauntering along Hastings Street, peering into high-fashion shop windows littered with Italian-labeled throw-me-ons of insubstantial life expectancy but substantial price. Maybe you’ve had a swim in the South Pacific, near enough to sometimes flood Hastings, the town’s main artery. And followed that by brunch on the … [Read more...] about NOOSA: NICE AND NATURAL