Hubbie and I left home at 10am this morning, in company with another 29 "seniors" in age range from late 50s to mid 90s for a six hour bus coach ride to Jindabyne. This is a private tour arranged from the complex in which we live, so we are all known to each other and … Continue reading Jindabyne Group Tour September 2022
Australia
Cars and Trains and Planes. So many ways to see Australia. It’s all in this section, including Sydney to Broken Hill on the government train (my most popular post) and crisscrossing Australia on the epic Indian Pacific or Ghan (both now privatised).
Click on the drop-down boxes if you are interested in a specific state or tour.
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Full Day Cape Leveque Adventure & Kooljaman, Western Australia, May 2016
We are just home from a friend's 88th BIRTHDAY, at which one of the guests talked about hopes to travel to the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. Which put me in mind of the day we travelled to CAPE LEVEQUE. Many of you commented at the time, but I thought it worthwhile revisiting our big … Continue reading Full Day Cape Leveque Adventure & Kooljaman, Western Australia, May 2016
Wonderfully Wacky White Cliffs
It’s not a lack of ideas that have kept me from blogging in recent weeks. I have been hectically busy for reasons which may become apparent at some time, and then again, maybe not. But a recent comment on a six year old post warmed the cockles of my heart, and prompted me to reshare it – even those many of my regular followers have read it before. But! What a thrill when a relative of who you have written about takes the time to comment, and praise what you have said. As a writer, for me, that is the biggest reward of all.
Day 6 of our Broken Hill adventure (lunch and after)
Whoever said you should “never judge a book by its cover” might have been thinking of White Cliffs, home of Australia’s first commercial opal fields.
On the surface, despite the pretty blue of the sky, the landscape seems a wasteland, a moonscape dotted with craters:
Opal Pseudomorph, source http://whitecliffsopal.com
Below the surface though, are some of the most magnificent opals available, including the unique speciality, the “pineapple opal“, whose correct title is a pseudomorph.
The other thing you will find underground is the people. Not just while mining. Under the surface is where most residents choose to live, in homes they call dugouts (self-explanatory really). Life underground is a year round 22’c (71’F), while up top, temperatures can range from freezing to 50’c (120’F).
Some businesses must operate above ground though, and we stop…
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GWEN WILSON, Author, aka The Reluctant Retiree 