Kings Canyon is located between Uluru and Alice Springs. It is outside of the Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park (where you find Uluru and Kata-Tjuta (the Olgas),) and is a 3.5-hour drive from Uluru. It is a lesser known tourist attraction but many tourists who see ‘the big three’ (Uluru, Kata-Tjuta and Kings Canyon) will say […]
Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
February 24, 2019 By 12 Comments
Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) is situated within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and located about 30kms from Uluru (Ayers Rock). Kata Tjuta means ‘many heads’. It is believed these ‘heads’ were once all one formation, however, through weathering, today Kata-Tjuta is made up of 36 boulders. These boulders consist of a conglomerate of basalt and […]
Sails in the Desert
February 17, 2019 By 17 Comments
Sails in the Desert opened in 1984 and was originally owned by Sheraton. Less than 10 years later Sheraton sold the hotel which today is owned by Voyages. In 2012 Voyages spent $43 million refurbishing the resort that included the development of a conference centre. Voyages has a commitment to increasing Indigenous staff numbers; in […]
Ayers Rock Resort
February 10, 2019 By 16 Comments
Ayres Rock Resort is not a resort. It is an area made up of many types of accommodation including a very large campground, apartments and hotels. While that provides a broad range of options, every option is owned by the same company, Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, creating a monopolistic situation. Voyages is based in Sydney […]
Uluru (Ayers Rock)
February 3, 2019 By 31 Comments
It’s hot at Uluru in January. That’s why sensible Aussies visit in the cooler months. We were there mostly with tourists from the Northern Hemisphere wishing to escape the depths of their winter for a warmer climate. They can tick the achievement box on that one. We knew it was going to be hot but […]
Vale Rosie
May 13, 2018 By 34 Comments
We knew the day was coming but that hasn’t made the loss any less bearable. Well done to my sweet Rosie who gave us every day of her nearly 17-years of life. One of Ruby’s six puppies and the runt of the litter, Rosie had a sweetness, a fragility, and an innocence that was so […]
How to fast-track a passport in less than 48 hours
May 4, 2018 By 21 Comments
The following words don’t come with any guarantee but I promise this will be your best possible chance of fast-tracking a passport. Sydney’s passport office offers an express service where you pay an emergency fee of $178 (burglary) on top of $282 (highway robbery) for the cost of a passport. That’s pretty much the first $500 […]
A Travel Tip for Bali
April 14, 2018 By 24 Comments
The events of the last 24-hours have confirmed to me that I am an amateur/novice traveller. An amateur can further compound their limited knowledge/experience by travelling on Friday the 13th. Don’t do that. Organising an extended family holiday to celebrate my father’s milestone 80th birthday has been about a year in the making. Many ports […]
When Your Dog Gets Dementia
November 9, 2017 By 44 Comments
Getting old is inevitable and there’s little hope of getting through it unscathed. Probably the worst affliction on the old is cognitive decline and it is not only a percentage of older humans who end up with dementia; I’ve recently come to understand that our canine friends can also be caught in the net. To […]
How to Make an Elephant Cake
October 16, 2017 By 32 Comments
A few weeks ago I was looking online for inspiration for making an elephant cake and found there really aren’t that many available. Sure, there is a plethora of nursery-styled ‘Jumbo the Elephant’ type cakes, but I wanted something more authentic. The occasion was my father’s 80th birthday and the celebration was to be a […]
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