whale watching gold coast

Whale Watching on the Gold Coast’s Humpback Highway

One of my resolutions in 2017 was to spend more time in nature. While I’ve failed dismally for most of the year, I got October off to a flying start by whale watching on the Gold Coast with Spirit of Gold Coast. Sports-mad Melbourne has a public holiday for the AFL Grand Final at the end of September. I couldn’t care less about the Grand Final (shhh), so … Continue reading Whale Watching on the Gold Coast’s Humpback Highway

Photo of Brisbane Botanic Gardens lake

A Visit to Brisbane’s Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens

Planning a trip to Brisbane? Check out my Brisbane Travel Guide for practical tips on things to see & do in Brisbane. Beautiful one day, perfect the next.  The old adage about Queensland holds true in the capital. One of the best things about Brisbane is year-round blue skies and perennial greenery. Brisbane’s seasons may be a little one-dimensional, but if I had to be stuck … Continue reading A Visit to Brisbane’s Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens

The Great Escape: 4 Days in Brisbane, Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast

Stressed? Burnt out? Bogged down in the winter blues? Prescribe yourself an extra long weekend in Queensland. In four days, I got the dose of sunshine, blue skies and blessed humidity that I’ve been missing in chilly, drizzly Melbourne. Before last weekend, I’d never considered squeezing in time in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast in one trip. I live in Melbourne, but … Continue reading The Great Escape: 4 Days in Brisbane, Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast

Cape Tribulation Queensland

37 Photos that will inspire you to explore Queensland

Queensland has more than its fair share of natural beauty. It’s famous for UNESCO World Heritage List heavyweights like the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest but it doesn’t stop there. There are scores of lesser-known islands and beaches just as worthy of your time. There are endless options for driving and hiking trails through rainforests and up mountains.  The stark beauty of the … Continue reading 37 Photos that will inspire you to explore Queensland

SkyPoint: The best views of the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is built on a long, narrow stretch of beach, backing onto a vast network of canals. It’s a little like a sunny Venice, but instead of being lined with colourful, crumbling buildings it’s lined with multi-million dollar mansions. In place of the man-powered gondolas, motorboats and jet skis zip through the canals. You don’t really realise the city’s unique geography, until you … Continue reading SkyPoint: The best views of the Gold Coast

great barrier reef

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef from Green Island

It’s the Great Barrier Reef, but not as you know it. Green Island is a coral cay within the Great Barrier Reef, just off the coast of Cairns. My best friend Chloe & I visited on a day trip from Cairns during our week in the Whitsundays & Tropical North Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the main reasons we were visiting Tropical North … Continue reading Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef from Green Island

A Day Trip to Hamilton Island

When my best friend and I spent a week exploring Queensland‘s beautiful tropics, Hamilton Island was a firm must-see destination on our list. One of the few inhabited islands in the Whitsundays archipelago, Hamilton Island was a little out of our price range to stay on, so we stayed in a backpackers in Airlie Beach on the mainland. We visited Hamilton Island & Whitsunday Island … Continue reading A Day Trip to Hamilton Island

Cape Tribulation: The Only Place in the World…

Cape Tribulation in Tropical North Queensland is the only place in the world where two World Heritage Listed Sites collide. It’s not every day you get to visit a place that is truly the only kind in its category, so walking along the beach at “Cape Trib” was pretty special. I acknowledge the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people as the First Nations owners of the land … Continue reading Cape Tribulation: The Only Place in the World…