Blog

After spending nearly a month and a half in Australia, it was hard to believe we still hadn’t really seen Sydney, save for one day back in the middle of February (between visiting the Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe … Read More

When determining how to best split up the remaining weeks of our trip, we had initially planned to spend a couple days in the Blue Mountains, a range of mountains west of Sydney. Upon discovering an inexpensive, little self-contained apartment, … Read More

The penny does Australia: If you are wondering why there aren’t more pictures of the penny posed in iconic national scenes, it’s because I am supremely overprotective of the precious coin (probably bordering on some type of disorder). Pulling the … Read More

Welcome to Volume 4 of the Birders’ Digest. A few brief facts before we get to the gallery: The restless flycatcher is also called the “scissors grinder” or “razor grinder” for the very odd, grating call that they have. You … Read More

Located on Kangaroo Island’s Stokes Bay, Paul’s Place is a sprawling, 1200-acre farmstead of rolling green pastures, vegetable gardens and paddocks. When you pull up to the home, you begin to notice that this isn’t an ordinary farm, as five … Read More

Our week on Kangaroo Island was spent at Blue Hills, a quaint little farmstay nestled in the island’s heartland. One of the most rural parts of KI, the central farming region was secluded and tranquil, and we rarely spotted another … Read More

This is a short story about a little menace named Jack… [Warning: The following may contain strong language and partial nudity. Viewer discretion is advised.] Upon eagerly arriving on the shores of Kangaroo Island, Stephan and I decided to go … Read More

A mere 70 miles southwest of Adelaide, and just 10 miles off the coast of South Australia, sits Kangaroo Island, a land of unspoiled wilderness and a haven for Australia’s wildlife. With more than one-third of the island designated as … Read More

With less than one-third the population of Sydney or Melbourne, Adelaide’s city center is a much more compact hub of activity. Staying in the southern suburb of Seacliff, we were about a 25-minute drive from the popular downtown district. Our … Read More

The renowned McLaren Vale wine region lies about 40 minutes (25 miles) south of the coastal city of Adelaide, in the state of South Australia. Having enjoyed several wines from this region back home in North Carolina, we knew we … Read More

From the end of our Great Ocean Road excursion in Port Fairy, we headed north to Adelaide and the neighboring wine country, famous for tasty shiraz and cabernets. We were familiar with some of the reds from the McLaren Vale … Read More

Our overnight on Victoria’s iconic Great Ocean Road was spent just outside Yuulong, in the spare room of a modest little farmhouse that Stephan stumbled across on AirBnB. The house was set perfectly at the edge of one of the … Read More

Torquay to Yuulong Running along Australia’s southern coastline in Victoria, the Great Ocean Road is considered one of the world’s most picturesque drives. The official length of the route is 151 miles, from Torquay (about an hour southwest of Melbourne) … Read More

Between our journey over to Tasmania and the start of our Great Ocean Road drive, we spent some time tootling around our hub of Melbourne. A lovely coastal city in southern Victoria, Melbourne reminded us a bit of Boston (with … Read More

The weather at Cradle is notoriously unpredictable, but we woke up to scattered clouds and a beautiful, golden sunrise, so we had high hopes for our hike and summiting Cradle Mountain. Our drive towards the park did little to sustain … Read More