What you'll learn in this post:

We pulled out of the animal reserve and into the town of Nowra.… Read full post »

THE MANY DEATHS OF THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORER 

      When it comes to animals, Australia is in a league of its own.  Forty million years of isolated evolution will do that to you.  Like New Zealand, Australia is short on native placental mammals, but has… Read full post »

            “Could I get a number five and a regular coffee?” I asked.  The waiter penned down some notes and stared back up.

            “What kind of coffee was tha/… Read full post »

Few places survived the onslaught of construction that occurred in Australia in the mid-20th century, and fewer still are older than the part of Sydney cleverly named “The Rocks” on account of its rocky geography.   It is here that the original convict settlers did most of their/… Read full post »

 [Author's Note:  It was my intent to only do one post today, but considering this recent news from Australia, I thought a discussion on their 10 billion rabbits was appropriate.]

      After a few repeated attempts, we put Canberra in our… Read full post »

The town of Kiama has two real claims to fame, both of which are about five feet apart from one another. One is the Kiama lighthouse, and the other is Kiama’s blowhole. Both are situated on a beautiful grassy peninsula right outside of the town.

The… Read full post »

It Took Less Time To Put A Man On The Moon Than To Build An Opera House

Eighteen years after Captain Cook landed on Australian soil, and ten years after the explorer’s death, another Englishman arrived, Arthur Phillip.

Unlike Cook, Phillip’s crew wasn’t of the highest caliber. They were the result of an odd bit of political ingenuity. England, the aristo… Read full post »

When Captain James Cook sailed into Botany Bay in 1770 and saw the exotic landscape before he put his hands on his hips and proudly said,  “what a fantastic spot for an airport!” 

Either that or it’s owed to coincidence that thousands make their first step onto Au… Read full post »

            At the Sydney aquarium in the 1930s a recently captured shark swam around in his cage for a day or two, fell ill, and then--much to the surprise of spectators and caretakers alike--spat up a human arm.… Read full post »

“Excuse me, are those fish up your skirt?”

     This was, I suspect, what was said after a customs official at the Melbourne airport heard “flipping” noises coming from underneath a woman’s dress.  Upon further investigation it was discovered t… Read full post »