Think it is a little kitsch to visit a museum that invites visitors to wear illuminated hard hats as they explore fake underground caves? Perhaps, however the impressive private mineralogical collection on display at the Crystal Caves in Atherton Queensland is world class. Wearing a hard hat as we discovered beautiful crystals and fossils added…
With its year round balmy days Cairns Queensland is a town that deserves a water park. The recently renovated Sugarworld Waterpark, in the the southern suburb of Edmonton fits the bill providing space, and slides for big and little kids to cool off. I am going to be honest here and say that I did…
As a child, long before I ever met an Indigenous Australian I would ask my parents if they could take us to the William Ricketts Sanctuary. The sanctuary consists of a serene, ferny nature reserve 45 minutes drive from Melbourne in the Dandenong Ranges. Among the eucalypts and ferns are displayed over 90 clay sculptures…
Note to self: Next time I take my young son to see a flower that only blooms for three days every seven years, don’t tell him that it is “sort of like a magic flower”. I did this while waiting in line to see the Titan Arum at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. When it was our…
December to February in Cairns is the hottest, wettest time of the year. What a blessing to have an indoor activity to take children to during these months. Little by Little Through Wonderland is an interactive art exhibition by local artist Hayley Gillespie on display at the Cairns Regional Gallery. Described by the gallery…
The Holiday Season has drawn me to my hometown of Melbourne and while most of it has been spent in the ‘burbs’ we are loving living it up in the city for a couple of nights. The Melbourne Docklands is considered a developmental white elephant by some Melbournians so we did not venture there…
I am into historic railroads at the moment. The reason is that my baby brother Ben stars in the AMC drama “Hell on Wheels” about the building of the first US Transcontinental Railroad. “Hell on Wheels” was the name given to the town that followed the building of the the railroad, and, if the show…
My favourite childhood book was The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Its fantasy setting and narrative that incorporates beautiful themes of forgiveness and redemption struck a chord. I must have read it fifteen times at least. I am currently introducing my sons to the world of Narnia, reading them the original C.S Lewis book…
What do you do if you have hundreds of old fashioned, non politically correct taxonomic specimens? The Melbourne Museum has displayed them in room with white, clean, modern lines and is promoting an environmental message via computers that teach visitors about endangered species. The specimens are just part of their permanent exhibit “Wild. Amazing…
My beautiful baby brother Ben was married a week ago to his long-term sweetheart Natalie and his wedding drew our family back to my hometown of Melbourne. I spent two weeks ensconced in the familiarity of my parent’s home in the eastern suburbs however we stayed downtown the weekend of the wedding. This provided the…