“Oops” said Doc. A slight downplaying of our predicament. Stuck in the mud, a 10-15 minute drive from help one way or the farmhouse the other, in the dark, with rain pelting down outside. With …
We’re back on the farm. You might have noticed the absence of stories about the farm over the past couple of years. For reasons I won’t go into I didn’t go down there for a …
I’m very excited. I spoke with the amazing Gemma for her award winning travel podcast “Girls that Travel”. We talked solo women travellers, outback travel, and having a wild dingo in my campsite one night …
We all make mistakes, but some of them can be deadly. Now that restrictions are easing, and people are making plans to travel again, here are some simple tips to help you avoid what could …
Kangaroos, koalas, wombats, echidnas, platypus(es??? – platypodes?), emus, wallabies, and more kangaroos. Everyone loves Australian animals. What’s not to love – they’re cute, cuddly, and they sleep in the shade all day – or swim …
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The Australian outback truly is remarkable. And ever changing as you drive through it.
I left Coober Pedy heading north for the Painted Desert. First stop, Kanku/Breakaways again. Last night I drove in from the highway to the lookout, so today I wanted to drive in via the Moon Plain, and actually into Kanku to see the hills from ground level.
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Permanent link to this article: https://kathswinbourne.com.au/outback-australia-landscapes/
Coober Pedy.
It’s not as I imagined it would be.
Yes, there are a lot of opal mines, surrounded by even more mounds of dirt, looking a bit like crab holes in wet sand. You know how little crabs throw balls of sand all around their hole while they’re digging? Well, that’s what the surrounds of Coober Pedy reminded me of. If we really are in the Matrix, or there is a giant looking down on us, I’m sure that’s how Coober Pedy would look to them.
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Permanent link to this article: https://kathswinbourne.com.au/coober-pedy-the-wild-outback/
Halligans Bay is the only place you can camp at Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre), and I have it all to myself.
Well, not quite to myself. There is a bird who appears to be trying to mate with his reflection in my wing mirror. And there’s the spiders – but more on them later. First, the bird.
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Permanent link to this article: https://kathswinbourne.com.au/kati-thanda-lake-eyre-all-to-myself/
Like most places of interest on the Oodnadatta Track, Coward Springs was originally a siding for the old Ghan railway line. When they were putting the track through, somebody decided that the best way to get water was to sink a bore. Well, they got water – more than they expected. The water gushed out, and flooded the plain.
So now, like Mungerannie on the Birdsville Track, Coward Springs is a man-made wetlands in the desert.
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Permanent link to this article: https://kathswinbourne.com.au/coward-springs-a-desert-oasis/

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft a-gley, [often go awry]
– Robert Burns
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Permanent link to this article: https://kathswinbourne.com.au/the-best-laid-plans/
Everybody knows the Sydney Opera House & Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, Uluru, and the Great Barrier Reef.
But there are many other places that are just as magnificent that you’ve probably never heard of or, if you do know them, haven’t thought about visiting.
Places that are seared into the Australian psyche,but which even locals don’t know. Places where you can have truly unique experiences.
Places that are truly iconic.
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Permanent link to this article: https://kathswinbourne.com.au/the-most-iconic-places-in-australia-youve-never-heard-of/
Make the connections