Heading east from Ongula, on a surprisingly good road, we stopped for the night at a lodge on the river that forms part of the Namibian/Angolan border. The Rio Cubango rises in Angola's highlands and heads south-east to form that border for a while, before being joined by the Cuito, another Angolan river, and later... Continue Reading →
Far North Queensland
This time last year I was lucky enough to spend a week in Far North Queensland, exploring the Cairns area with my daughter. I've always wanted to visit this area, largely because of the interesting birds that can be found there. The first day started well, with a new species (White-breasted Woodswallows) before I'd even... Continue Reading →
That was 2017, part 1
Way back at the beginning of January 2017 I was planning to be diligent about posting on my blog this year, envisioning at least one post a month. That idea fell by the wayside rather quickly. In my defence, we have had a bit of a crazy year, what with selling our house, moving, travelling... Continue Reading →
The heart of the Nullarbor
The Nullarbor is most definitely well-named, from the Latin words Nullus arbor, meaning No trees. The seemingly endless flat plain covers an area about the size of the State of Victoria. Once a shallow sea-bed, the Nullarbor is the world's largest karst landform. South of the Nullarbor is the Great Australian Bight, essentially a very... Continue Reading →
Eyre Highway
First stop on the Eyre Highway after Fraser Range was Balladonia. The golf hole here is named "Skylab" in homage to the bits of the NASA space station that scattered its bits all over the area in 1979. The Balladonia Motel includes a museum with some interesting displays and information, and provided a decent cup... Continue Reading →
Crossing Australia with golf as a distraction
Just over a year ago (yes, I know, I'm a bit behind), we began our trip driving across Australia from Perth to Canberra. Wave Rock, one of Western Australia's iconic tourist attractions, was our first overnight stop. Not one of the easiest things to photograph effectively, the wave is the eroded northern face of the granite... Continue Reading →
Birds and buffalo
Satara is a lovely camp - we all wished for more nights there. What should have been a post-lunch siesta time was spent stalking birds, like this lovely Mourning dove, in front of the rondavels (the round thatched huts typical of Kruger). I wish I managed a better shot of the Green Wood-hoopoes; they were... Continue Reading →
Mountains and mountain passes
There are plenty of mountains and mountain passes in the Western Cape. One of the more interesting passes is the Tradouw Pass, which crosses the Langeberg between Swellendam and Barrydale. Completed in 1873, it was built by convict labour under the direction of road engineer Thomas Bain. During rebuilding in the seventies, several lay-byes were... Continue Reading →