Jim Fidler writes this month’s Surrey Hills blog. Jim was born and raised in Launceston. Educated at the University of Tasmania with a teaching degree majoring in geology, Jim began teaching at Burnie and was also Principal at Waratah Primary School from 1984-87. Jim moved to Beijing in 2000 where he initially was a Lower School Principal and then a High School Humanities teacher at the International School, Beijing.… Read more
As we entered south-east Queensland for the summer period, and before we do some house-sits during the summer school holidays, we decided to return to Hervey Bay for a couple of weeks.
We stayed at the same caravan park and same site we had during the 12-week COVID lockdown period.
In September’s travel blog I shared our experiences with the local antechinus who would entertain us each dusk as they were out and about feeding.… Read more
I recommend a 4wd historical adventure drive located mid-way between Mt Isa and Cloncurry south of the Barkly Highway in the Argylla Ranges. You drive through Rosebud Station and a pretty good quality dirt road. The cast of Crocodile Dundee used the road during filming.
Three ghost towns sprang to life in this area just before World War I and disappeared not long after.… Read more
As you travel north from Winton to Cloncurry along the Landsborough Highway, you see spectacular open Mitchell grass (Astrebla app) plains with their distinctive golden colour under the relentless sunshine. I had heard about these magnificent plains but had no idea how extensive and beautiful they really are.
After McKinlay, you start to see a change in the soil from the black-grey clays to the red mineralised earth soils.
