Checking Out Some of Melbourne's Iconic Arcades and Lanes

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Checking Out Some of Melbourne's Iconic Arcades and Lanes

In July 2024 I was in Melbourne for a State of Origin match at the MCG. The next day I decided to check out some of Melbourne’s renowned arcades and lanes. Well known for colourful graffiti and the innumerable cafes and eateries, they are amongst the city’s most popular tourist attractions.

Along with my friend Graeme, we downloaded a map produced by the City of Melbourne entitled Melbourne Walks: Arcades and Lanes. This provides an interesting 2.5 km route. Here’s what we found.

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Queensland's Dinosaur Trail (+ Carnarvon Gorge)

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Queensland's Dinosaur Trail (+ Carnarvon Gorge)

It used to be said that Australia lacked the sort of classic megafauna dinosaurs found in other parts of the world. But in recent decades that myth has been put to rest. And there is no better place to see many of Australia’s most impressive dinosaur fossils than outback Queensland’s Dinosaur Trail. We decided to check it out for ourselves on a recent visit to the region. After all who doesn’t love a dinosaur?

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Adelaide to Alice - A Taste of the Outback

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Adelaide to Alice - A Taste of the Outback

We recently did a 10-day trip from Adelaide to Alice Springs. It was an opportunity to visit the natural wonders of Uluru and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), and to experience a little bit of the Australian Outback. Its vastness means that you can spend months exploring it and barely scratch the surface. And indeed, we saw many people in extensively kitted out four-wheel drive vehicles who were doing this. But if you have limited time, don’t own a 4x4, and just want a taste of the outback, this post will hopefully give you some good ideas.

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Two Short Walks on Queensland's Sunshine Coast

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Two Short Walks on Queensland's Sunshine Coast

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast starts just north of Brisbane at Bribie Island and extends 100 kms to the Cooloola Coast. There are 25 or so National Parks and reserves in the region. The possibilities for walking are enormous. On a short visit to the area we managed to fit in two short walks – one in the hinterland around the base of one of the Glass House Mountains and the other a coastal walk in Noosa National Park with great views and a swim at the finish.

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Vanuatu - Some Travellers' Tips

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Vanuatu - Some Travellers' Tips

If you’ve read our previous post “Vanuatu Diary” you’ll know that we only had a little over a week in the country, visiting just two islands – Efate and Tanna. This hardly makes us equipped to qualify as experts on Vanuatu, a nation of over 80 islands.

However, we did pick up a few things along the way that some might find helpful when visiting Vanuatu. Here is our modest list of travellers’ tips.

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Vanuatu Diary

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Vanuatu Diary

In late June/early July 2018 we had a two and a half week holiday to Vanuatu planned. This would be our first visit to this small Pacific nation. But just a week or so into the trip we had to return to Australia due to an unexpected serious illness of a close family member. However, even this brief contact left us with some good experiences and lasting impressions of the country and the people we met. Here is a short diary of our Vanuatu journey.

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Getting a Footy Fix in Australia's Sporting Capital - Melbourne

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Getting a Footy Fix in Australia's Sporting Capital - Melbourne

The purpose of this post is to provide overseas visitors with a sort of “Dummies Guide to Football in Australia”. Should you be coming to Australia during the football season (March to the end of September) you’ll have the opportunity to partake in one or more of our national sporting obsessions – footy, in its various guises. Yes, we have four footy codes!

The impetus for this was a recent trip to Melbourne with a friend for a footy fix. And whether it’s football or just about any other sporting pursuit you care to name, the best place in Australia to see it is Melbourne. Melbournians love their sport and turn out in big numbers to support their favourite team, especially in AFL

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Sydney for Beginners (and a Few Hidden Gems)

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Sydney for Beginners (and a Few Hidden Gems)

We wanted to do a post about Sydney, where we both grew up. The result is this post which covers some of our favourite Sydney places. Most are very well known, hence the title “Sydney for Beginners” and provides an introduction to Sydney for the first-time visitor with limited time. But we’ve also included a few lesser known spots - hidden gems - that mostly only locals know about.

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