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travel outback australia
Species Spotlight: Tasmanian Devil
Devil by Name, Not by Nature. Shelly Lord takes a look at one of Australia’s most misunderstood and endangered marsupials. The Tasmanian Devil is possibly one of our more misunderstood native animals. Early European settlers named them “The Devil” after hearing screeches and growl’s coming from the bush at night. Then later being portrayed as a ferocious, spinning cartoon character called “Taz” that would eat anything in his path. There seem to be many people out there who are fearful of the Tassie Devil, believing it is an aggressive and evil animal. Tassie Devils have the most powerful bite for the weight of any animal, strong enough to crush bones. However, these nocturnal carnivorous marsupials are shy and prefer to run away. Tasmanian Devils have coarse black fur, and most have a white stripe on their chest. Some devils have white markings on their rump, with no two markings on a devil being the same. They are pretty small, stocky animals, with the males being larger than the females. A healthy male devil can weigh between 8-and 14kg while the female will weigh between 5-and 9kg. Although not a very big animal, standing up to 30cm at the shoulders, a Tassie Devil can eat up to 40% of its body weight in one day. Tassie Devils are not fussy eaters,…
Budgeting for The Big Lap
How much does it really cost to travel around the country in an RV? Now on his third lap of Oz, Marty Ledwich shares his tips for budgeting for the big lap and sticking to it. Budgeting for the big lap is one of the most asked questions on caravanning and camping Facebook groups, and for good reason. You need to know how much it is likely to cost before you head off. But how much should you budget for the big trip and how do you stick to the budget? Well, after being on the road now for the last three years and not having gone broke yet, we reckon we have the answer and it is a lot simpler than you could imagine. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? It is almost completely impossible for me to say to anyone how much the big lap is going to cost them for one fundamental reason. My particular situation would be completely different to the next person. I travel with my wife and our three dogs. I have an income but my wife does not. We sold our home and all our possessions so we have no pre-existing bills to pay with the exception of the costs of insuring and maintaining our car and caravan, both of which we own outright.…
Litchfield: Waterholes, Big Buffs & New Camps
Pat hooks into the tracks and surrounds of Litchfield National Park – and comes up trumps ADELAIDE RIVER – COOMALIE AIR STRIP – SNAKE CREEK – TIN MINE – THE LOST CITY – LITCHFIELD – REYNOLDS RIVER TRACK – CENTRAL VALLEY – PINE CREEK – BUFFALO CATCHING Story by Pat Callinan Images by Tommy Salmon Cities on the remote extremities of our nation are oft outward-looking. I’m talking about places like Perth and Darwin. They masquerade as cities but walk through their city streets on a Sunday, and the streets are dead, save for a few touristy pubs. The good people are doing what good people do. Either going to church or exploring god’s church – the Australian bush. Now with a city like Darwin, 4X4s are some type of religion; so when you plant an extraordinary national park just a few hours south, with incomparable swimming holes, then it’s bound to get busy. Some might say too busy. So, the attempt with this adventure is to show you where to go, what to do, and how to avoid the crowds. Sound good? Well let’s get started, shall we?! ADELAIDE RIVER & SURROUNDS Moment captured – the final plane prepares to land at Coomalie airstrip after the war is declared as won An almighty big buffalo called ‘Charlie’ presides over…
Secrets of the Kimberley
Pat heads up to WA’s iconic Kimberley region and discovers there’s more to it than the Gibb River Road. Read on to find out. The Kimberley township of Kununurra can get quite warm. Just ask our cameraman Bernie Kavanagh, who, at 9 am in October, was ferried off to hospital in an ambulance with heatstroke. Yes, you read that right, at nine o’clock in the morning. It was 42 degrees Celcius and Bernie was lugging a big video camera and bigger sticks (code for tripod) in the sweltering heat. I’m sure it had little to do with the eleventeen poolside ales he had consumed the day before… You wouldn’t typically plan to be travelling around the Kimberley in October during the build-up to the wet season, but Covid restrictions had pushed our run late. Was it worth it? Well, you tell me after dialling your focus into these Tommy Salmon images within. Your regular Kimberley 4X4 journey starts at Kununurra and finishes at Broome, running north to Mitchell Falls. But this time around would be different. Producer Paul Waterhouse had sniffed out promising-sounding locations that would keep us within a 100-mile radius of Kununurra. It was a gamble, but one that paid off handsomely. OLD KURUNJIE TRACK The most photographed part of the Kimberley, is undoubtedly the Pentecost River crossing,…
The Triumph and Tragedy of William John Wills
William John Wills was the man behind the success of the epic Burke & Wills story. He is an unsung Aussie hero, but you have heard of him? He is an unsung hero, but you have heard of him. Seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? You mention the name William John Wills in any outback pub, and there will be a bit of head-scratching, but mention Burke & Wills, and you’ll be met with knowing nods and maybe even a deprecating monologue on how foolish they were. But to focus on the few bad choices they made is to do the whole story, and in particular, William John Wills, a massive injustice. Wills was born in Devon, England in 1834 to Dr William Wills, and his wife Sarah. Will’s early life in England saw him attend St Andrews Grammar, and he was also tutored by his father. After school, he worked with his father while undertaking courses at a couple of local hospitals. Like a lot of folks in the UK at the time, Dr Wills had a keen interest in Australia, in particular, the gold mining that was taking the world by storm. An 18-year-old Wills and his brother Thomas both boarded the Janet Mitchell in Dartmouth and set sail for Australia, arriving in Port Phillip in January…