A date with Midnight Oil in Adelaide provided the impetus for a road trip from Sydney to Adelaide, taking time to explore along the way. Ignoring warnings to “book everything before you go” because Australians are “holidaying at home”, we…
Where many only see disaster, Amorelle Dempster finds opportunity. Four years ago, as a founding member of Slow Food Hunter Valley, she was horrified to learn that tonnes of storm damaged pumpkins would be ploughed into the ground, as they…
There are only seven painted silos in New South Wales and Portland is home to one of them. Less than half an hour from Lithgow, where we are staying, a drive to see the towering Portland Silo Artwork is high…
Get a map of places of interest from Lithgow Visitor Centre
“Are you looking for food?” asks Avam as we walk past his bar at Hill End’s Royal Hotel to the bistro. “My cook hasn’t turned up and there are no meals tonight” he adds. What’s for dinner? Besides a bag…
“I’m from Mudgee not Mosman” explains the bumper sticker on a dirty ute. The driver sees me chuckling and smiles. Mudgee is in farming country. Wine country to be exact, but there’s more to the town than great wine and…
“Sofala was dead. Everything was closed” says a friend. “I couldn’t even get a cup of tea” she adds. With her comments front of mind, my expectations are low as we drive into Sofala. Perhaps that’s why I’m pleasantly surprised….
Razor wire lies coiled on top of the thick high sandstone walls. Taking a deep breath, I pull into the carpark of Maitland Gaol. This maximum-security jail, closed since 1998, once housed some of New South Wales’ most hardened criminals….
Needing a break from COVID imposed time at home, I recently spent a few days exploring Maitland and historic Morpeth, a less than two-hour drive north of Sydney. Not having spent time in Maitland, I was interested to discover more…
Two young men walk into a pub. They wear new royal blue work shirts with khaki pants. It’s early autumn evening and the Oriental Hotel in Tumut is filling up with dinner guests. (This story takes place before COVID and…