Town Beach, Guichen Bay, Robe, SE South Australia

Happy New Year.

I trust that 2011 will bring you many blessings and enjoyable times.

I have enjoyed sharing with my many readers some of my adventures as I have travelled the wonderful country of Australia. My articles here have been a little spasmodic over the last three years as I’ve struggled with the demands of my Master of Arts degree and with some health issues. Now that’s behind me, I hope to be able to share with you many more travels in the coming years.

New adventure

A few years ago my daughter inspired me to accompany her on a trek through the Himalayas. You can read about my adventures in my archives called Travels in Nepal. Later this year she will be teaching overseas for a semester. My wife and I are planning to visit her and so you can look forward to many photos and articles about our travels in Africa. Stay tuned.

In the meantime come back here often as I plan to update this site at least three times a week.

Happy New Year.

My daughter taking a photo of me, Sydney Fish Markets

I hope you like it. My son does all the design work and maintenance on my sites.

The photo used in the banner at the top shows me with Mt Everest in the background. You can read all about my trek there by clicking here.

Ama Dablam, Nepal

Giraffe at Monarto Zoo, South Australia

I’m back again after quite a lull in postings here on my travel blog. Truth is, I’ve been very busy working on my novel for children over the last few months. I wrote the story last year, but more recently I’ve been trolling through it over and over to get it just right. I’m now up to the 8th draft and it’s almost ready to go off to a publisher. You can read about how I went about writing the story by clicking here.

My novel is set in the beautiful country of Nepal. You can read about my travels in Nepal by clicking here.

I’ve recently been on a road trip to Sydney to spend time with family, especially my new grandson. Over the coming weeks I’ll be sharing photos and writing about that trip, so stayed tuned.

Mongolian Horse, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

The Mongolian Wild Horse, or Przewalski’s Horse was once very common throughout much of central Asia. It is thought that they became extinct in the wild, but conservation efforts by zoos like Monarto Zoo in South Australia have been instrumental in reintroducing this species back into its natural habitat.

The breeding programme here at Monarto just a few minutes’ drive from my home has been very successful, and quite a few horses from the zoo herd have been returned to Mongolia. It is conservation efforts like this that make me pleased to be a supporting member of the zoo.

Further reading:

• You can read more about this horse by clicking here.

• To read more about zoos around the world, go to my son’s web site called ZooChat Forums. It features almost 1000 zoos and over 100,000 photos of zoos and animals.
• To read more about my visits to zoos, click here.
• To read about birds in zoos, click here.

Mongolian Horses, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Mongolian Horses, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Mongolian Horses, Monarto Zoo, South Australia

Information Centre and Art Gallery, Tintinara

Tintinara in the upper south east of South Australia is a delightful rural centre. As the sign on the information centre (photo above) indicates, this is the heart of national parks in the region. On my recent visit I spent some time exploring the town. This was deliberate as I had the time to do it. Normally we just drive straight through on our way elsewhere.

If you look carefully at the building shown above (click on the photo to enlarge the image) you can see that the locals have an interesting sense of humour. An artist has painted a couple sitting there waiting for the train. The building now used as the information centre and craft gallery used to serve as the town’s railway station. The trains to Melbourne and Adelaide still pass through here but the passenger service is very limited.

In the park a few metres away are some public toilets. The same artist has been at work here too.

Artwork on toilet wall, Tintinara, SE South Australia

I wonder if you can guess which way to go to the men’s toilets, and where the ladies’ toilets are located. I took some close up photos to help you. If you’re still not sure, click on the photos to enlarge the image and look for the standardised toilet symbol sticker on the wall above the figures.

Artwork on toilet wall, Tintinara, SE South Australia

Artwork on toilet wall, Tintinara, SE South Australia

Hotel in Pinnaroo, South Australia

When I visited Pinnaroo in eastern South Australia recently I realised I had never actually driven into the the town, nor had a good look around. Normally we have just driven past without stopping; the main road by-passes most of the town. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised.

Pinnaroo appears to be a vibrant rural town with many fine facilities and a good feel about it. I did stop for a morning tea treat from the local bakery. Outlets like this in country towns in Australia are always worth checking out. I was not disappointed; my chocolate coated donut was delicious.

Just like so many country towns in Australia, Pinnaroo boasts several beautiful buildings, including the two pubs shown on this post. I didn’t have the time nor the inclination to test out what they were like inside. Knowing the kind of hospitality such towns exude in abundance, I’m sure I would have been made most welcome.

Hotel in Pinnaroo, South Australia

Laughing Kookaburras

Christmas greetings to all of my loyal readers. I hope that you have a wonderful day.

May you also have a great New Year and I look forward to sharing more photos and accounts of my travels in the coming year.

Eden, south coast of New South Wales

War Memorial, Mt Macedon, Victoria

Today is Australia’s most sacred non-religious day: ANZAC DAY.

On this day we remember those who served our nation in the theatres of war.

For my special tribute please go to my writing blog.

Over the last three years I have posted well over 500 articles about places I’ve been. Most of these feature photos as well.

I have covered many parts of Australia as well as holidays to Thailand and trekking in Nepal.

For new readers, here is a short list of links to special features on this blog.

• Travels in Nepal - many posts relating my experiences while trekking in Nepal.
• Travels in Thailand
• Visits to National Parks
• Travels in New South Wales
• Travels in Victoria
• Archives – a complete list of every article to appear on this blog.

Ama Dablam, Nepal

River Angus, Strathalbyn, South Australia

Happy New Year to all of my loyal readers.

I have really enjoy sharing my travel experiences and photos here over the last year. I hope that my readers have also enjoyed my blog.

Let me know what you think by using the comments section below.

Posts here might be a little sporadic over the next week or two. I am travelling in NSW and Victoria and getting plenty more photos to share here. Until then – a few favourite shots from the last year.

Paris Creek, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia

Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra