Why hold world-class white water rafting championships at Tully? Watching all the adrenalin pumping action on the first day of the 2018 Pre-World White Water Rafting Championship on 11 May was certainly a highlight of my five-week house-sitting stint in Tully. Before visiting Tully, I knew the town of 2390 people and located 140 kilometres […]
Let’s discover chocolate: is it really a fruit? Chocolate lovers rejoice – the love of your life is a fruit! Well, that is according to Chris and Lynn Jahnke’s light-hearted theory. “Chocolate is made from seeds of cocoa fruit, so in my mind, that clearly makes chocolate a fruit,” joked Chris. “And are we not encouraged […]
Anthropologist finds her groove making Comfort Bears Unemployed anthropologist Vickie Hartland has found her groove up-cycling old jeans to create Comfort Bears for people around the globe. “Making Comfort Bears is my accidental business,” Vickie said when I met up with her at the Cairns Esplanade Markets in June 2017. “When found myself out of […]
Pure Spirit of adventure on the waves For a landlubber more used to hoofing it across cow paddocks than sailing, when ‘Captain Awesome’ spoke of jibing, I thought he was into dancing. You know, jiving! That’s the international ballroom dance style that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1930s and was […]
Discovery Festival: Rock Around The Croc When the 2017 Discovery Festival at Cooktown kicked off, even the wildlife put on a stunning show to welcome the deluge of visitors. Spotted on a bank of the Annan River just south of the town in Far North Queensland was Blackie, the five-metre male crocodile that rules the […]
Discover Cooktown in Far North Queensland There’s no shortage of things to do at Cooktown where in 1770 James Cook landed after his ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef. The old adage “Seen one rainforest, seen ém all” certainly doesn’t apply. Exploring Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula was just a blip on my travel […]
Fishing shack transformed to a modern beachside home It’s hard to imagine the stunning beach-side home of Keith and Daphne Buhr in Hervey Bay was ever a little fishing shack. The original owner, if still alive, would never recognise his former cottage. Even a subdivision of land has changed the street number. Keith from Core […]
Fraser Island Native Title Consent Determination Cheers and tears of jubilation filled a temporary federal courtroom on Fraser Island (K’gari) on October 24, 2014, as Justice Berna Collier officially recognised the Butchulla people as the island’s native title holders. It was an emotional day for the 450 Butchulla people who gathered to witness the historic […]
Toogoom RSL opens restored Vietnam shed A shed destined for the Vietnam war is now basking in the Queensland sun after 45 years in storage at the Wallangarra Army base on the New South Wales border. The shed that was to be used as a soldiers’ mess hall on the battlefields of Vietnam now stands […]
Turia Pitt brings a message of resilience to Maryborough Turia Pitt, who lived when she was expected to die from horrific burns to 65% of her body, shared her story of survival, courage and optimism with Fraser Coast people at the Brolga Theatre in Maryborough on June 6, 2015. Her visit, courtesy of the Rotary Club […]