Sightseeing in Australia - 9

Fruit and custard tarts were all the excuse I needed to visit the single cafe in the tiny village of Macedon, just off Calder Highway, between Melbourne and Bendigo in the Macedon Ranges. A post office opened here in 1859 and until 1870, it was known as Black Forest. When the Ash Wednesday bush fires swept through in February 1983, many of the town's homes were destroyed. Today the population hovers around 1450. Woodend is not far from Macedon. It's a much bigger though and I visit most years to see family there. It's a pleasant spot about an hour north of Melbourne and conventiently, on the Melbourne-Bendigo commuter line so the big city is a leisurely train ride away. I use it as a base for my forays into the Victorian countryside.

The popular spa town of Daylesford is another Victorian gem; and it's here you'll find the grand old Convent Gallery, close to Wombat Hill and the Botanic Gardens. It was originally built in the 1860s as a private residence for the Gold Commissioner and was later sold to the Catholic Church in the 1880s. They set it up as a convent and boarding school, which operated for almost a hundred years. It lay deserted for some time after that, until artist, Tina Banitska discovered it and took on the astonishing renovation project, which now stands completed. The Convent today features several art galleries and shops, the Bad habits Cafe, the Altar Bar, ghost tours and a wedding function centre.

I discovered the tiny Southwest Queensland town of Eulo in 2008, when I visited Cunnamulla, 67km to the east. Little more than a pub, a general store and a huddle of houses, it's home to around 70 people. Every August though, people come from near and far for a day out at the Paroo Lizard Race Track, which is marked by this distinctive statue of a giant frilled lizard, proving yet again, that the Aussies will bet on just about anything.

Sightseeing in Australia - 3

This, people, is the famous Hanging Rock of the book and movie fame, "Picnic at Hanging Rock." It's located close to the Victorian town of Woodend, about an hour north of Melbourne, that I visit every year to see family. While the story in 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is fictional, there is definitely something about this place - or maybe it's because I found it hard to separate the fiction from the fact. Either way, the first time I visited, I kept walking around and up the mysterious rocky outcrop half expecting to see the ghosts of schoolgirls. The school that features in the story by the way, is based on a real school not too far from the rock. Today there's a large domain here - and a racecourse - and it's a popular family picnic spot, complete with numerous quite tame kangaroos that hang about. Back in 2008, I took part in a camel wagon trek in the Southeast Queensland Outback area, in and around the tiny outback town of Cunnamulla. It was the beginning of one of my best trips to Australia. I've written about the trek several times already on this blog (put Cunnamulla, outback or camels into the search box for more) so I won't prattle on about it again - other than to say, if you ever get the chance to get into the Outback don't miss it. It's where you get to meet the 'real' Australians, the ones who have taken that vast, ruthless land and tried to tame it for their own - and their country's ends. It's an endless battle of wits, stamina and hard labour that breeds a special kind of crazy, raw, hilarious bunch of people that I loved.

When I visited Brisbane last - also 2008 - I was stunned to see how the city had grown since my previous visit. Construction was in full swing and there were cranes at work all over the city. There was a very positive vibe about the place that I found quite energising - and fresh out of the Outback, I was a little dazed and awestruck by both the vast numbers of people and dwellings. I can't imagine how the city must look now, after the recent devastating Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi's aftermath, but hopefully, the resilience of those Queenslanders will have the place looking bright and sparkly again soon. It's not as though they're strangers to the tyranny of weather after all.

Adelaide 2007 - another terrific trip. I'd heard so much about Adelaide for so many years, I never knew what to expect. But I adored the place. It's such an easy city to get around. It's small and very very cosmopolitan. Factor in its proximity to vast wine regions, the Adelaide Hills and the stunning Fleurieu Peninsula and there's every reason to put it near the top of your Australian Must-Visit list.

Pub Crawl

Clockwise from top left: Cunnamulla, Southwest Queensland; Daylesford, Victoria; Castlemaine, Victoria; Adelaide, South Australia.

2007-2008.Ajr.

When Australian chef and brewer, Scott Watkins-Sully decided to embark on a journey around Australia, travelling from pub to pub, everyone he knew threatened to quit their jobs and join him. Watkins-Sully had hit upon the dream job. He shut down his own brewing operation and hit the road with his wife and two young kids. Over “25,000 kilometres, 300 counter meals and 200 tantrums” later, he could be forgiven for having imbibed more than his share of cold beers. He should also be applauded for producing “The Australian Crawl” (Piccadilly Books), a comprehensive guide to Australia’s regional pubs that shows the Aussies love nothing better than a few cold beers and a good yarn down at the pub. From an architectural and sociological point of view the grand old Aussie pub is about as iconic as it gets. I love them and every time I go to Australia I add to my collection of photos. The embellished corner establishments (and they’re almost always on corners), have been written into Australian culture and whether you’re roaming the sun-baked outback, cruising through small-town Australia or city suburbs, you’ll find a pub with a great story.

It's a Sign!

Cunnamulla, Queensland, Australia. 2008. Ajr
I photographed this whacky little road sign outside the Cunnamulla cemetery in the Australian Outback in South West Queensland when I was there in April. I never saw a single turtle the entire time I was there but I like the idea of them bringing traffic to a standstill. That would be a photograph worth waiting for.

A Bird in the Hand

Emu. Cunnamulla. April 2008. Ajr

I was told by the Cunnamulla locals that if you lie on the ground and wave your leg about in the air, you'll arouse the curiosity of emus and they'll come over to see what's happening - giving any keen photographer the chance of the perfect shot. I wasn't prepared to try the trick but Robyn Reid waved her white hat out the window and these crazy birds certainly came close enough. It's not the perfect shot but it's as close as I came without a telephoto lens.

Camel Encounter

Camel Wagon Safari, Cunnamulla. April 2008. Ajr

There is much more to come when it comes to camels but here is my favourite camel photograph to get you started.

Red Roads To Nowhere

Red roads, Australian Outback. April 2008. Ajr

I have to confess – I became quite compulsive about photographing red Outback roads going nowhere. The striking contrast between the huge, vibrant blue skies and the endlessness of the rudimentary red dirt roads stretching far into the distance completely captured my imagination. I wanted to follow them all but, in the absence of time, I photographed as many as I could instead. Now, back in the chilly temperatures of an early Christchurch winter, my red-road preoccupation seems a little over-zealous to say the least and I feel bound to find a brilliantly creative use for one hundred and one red roads.