by Stranger In This Town | Mar 13, 2013 | Australia/New Zealand
Cairns, along the northeastern coast of Australia, is an enigma: by all statistics and definition, it’s a city – but with a small town feel. Lying along the waterfront of the Coral Sea, it consists almost entirely of backpacker hostels, B&Bs,...
by Stranger In This Town | Mar 1, 2013 | Around the World, Australia/New Zealand, Destinations, My Adventures
Take a moment and picture Australia for me. Are you doing it? No, really. Picture it. What do you see? Kangaroos, right? (You’re probably smiling now because you are, in fact, picturing kangaroos.) Koalas? (Now the rest of you are smiling.) The Outback? Red...
by Stranger In This Town | Feb 19, 2013 | Around the World, Australia/New Zealand, Destinations
It’s early. The day is barely 8 hours old, and the sun has already crept into the sky, painting everything a shimmery golden glow. There is no sound of a human-inhabited morning – no chatter, no honking cars, no rumbling trains. Instead, there is the...
by Stranger In This Town | Feb 9, 2013 | Around the World, Australia/New Zealand, Destinations, My Adventures
There’s a reason Queenstown, New Zealand is known as the adventure capital of the world. The town is situated on the glistening blue waters of Lake Wakatipu, backed dramatically by the rugged Remarkables mountain range, but the scenery features far more exciting...
by Stranger In This Town | Jan 29, 2013 | Around the World, Australia/New Zealand, Destinations, My Adventures
The world is quiet. Too quiet. The hum of bees and insects, so common in parks and gardens, is absent. Instead, a pressing silence fills my eardrums and snakes its way around my body, challenging me to take a crunching step and break it. I scarcely remember to...
by Stranger In This Town | Jan 27, 2013 | Around the World, Australia/New Zealand, Destinations
Yesterday we explored Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, where New Zealand’s most famous characters, many endangered and others simply indigenous, safely reside on protected land. Normally, I’m not one to shell out money for zoos when I’m traveling; with...