I didn’t exactly have an Australian wildlife checklist for my trip but I was hoping to see some of the classics. Kangaroos and so on. And see them I did. Sadly, I don’t have a telephoto lens so snapping wildlife has been tricky but here are some of my highlights… Swamp Wallabies that bounded up to us at various points in the trip, sometimes with Joeys in pouch! I also saw rock wallabies, redneck wallabies and many, many mobs of kangaroos. Some friendly Australian blokes point

The night market in Cairns opens at 4pm and closes around 11. Why? It’s a night market because, in the dark, its creepy products will have the most impact on unsuspecting tourists. “Ten bucks”, says my friend upon my arrival in Australia, “the first kangaroo you see will be dead by the side of the road.” As it turns out, the first one I saw was dead, skinned and on sale as a rug in the night market. Some of the other horrifying items were kangaroo scrotum keyring, umbilical c

Usually I’m a fan of overland transport. It’s easier, cheaper, more scenic and way more environmentally friendly. Often, you can just show up to the bus station, buy a ticket, hop on and you’re off. Flights involve checking in, baggage restrictions, waiting around, and, usually, at 30000 feet, a distinct lack of view. Plus, when you finally arrive, you find you’re not in the actual city, you’re still a costly taxi ride away from anywhere of interest. As it turns out, however

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I love Australian names: Great Sandy Desert, the Sunshine Coast… No one could ever wonder what they are, what they mean. There’s no etymology, no history to decode. The Sunshine Coast was formerly known as the Near North Coast and was renamed in the 1950s and 60s in an attempt to promote tourism. Cos who wouldn’t wanna visit somewhere called the Sunshine Coast? Actually many of these names are similar to Aboriginal naming systems. These associated places with aspects of the e

Apparently Southern Pacific Humpback whales have incredible eyesight, brown eyes that can see up through the water. When they launch themselves out of the water and spin in the ai, or breach, they are thought to be checking they are travelling in the right direction. They are attracted to bright colours and are friendly enough to swim up to a boatload of tourists even when local laws insist that the boats must not motor within 100 metres of the whales. Once up close, they see