The Bungle Bungles

Before Western Australia is left behind, I thought I’d mention that I have gotten back. On my third trip to Australia, I enjoyed a remarkable trek across an even wilder and more remote landscape than before, when I traveled through the Kimberleys, an area about three times the size of England located at the top [...]

Talking About Writing

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Paula B. on “The Writing Show.” We talked about nonfiction writing, as I’ve not only done a great deal of it, but I’ve also taught it to a few people. If you’re interested in hearing a little about the world of publishing, my “Five Rules of [...]

Last Day in WA

It had been three weeks since a Greyhound bus had carried me across the border from the Northern Territory into the far north of Western Australia. I’d certainly covered a fair bit of territory in those three weeks, from the top of WA to the bottom. There were still things I’d like to have seen—things [...]

Wave Rock

As noted in earlier posts (most especially the post on Standley Chasm), much of what you see in Australia, as far as landforms are concerned, has been formed by erosion. From the sea-battered coastlines to the rain- and wind-sculpted interior, this place is paradise for those who like nature-carved rocks.
Near Perth, I had the opportunity [...]

Victoria Wildfires

With news coming in hourly about the rising death toll in the current, horrible fires sweeping across much of Victoria, I could not bring myself to post a cheerful little entry about some pretty spot I visited while touring Australia. I’ll start that again in a few days, but right now, my mind is filled [...]

Cockatoos

Australia is sometimes called the Land of the Parrot, and wherever I went, from the tropics to the deserts to chilly mountaintops, I could always find (and was always delighted by) at least a few species. I’ve already written of the stunning crimson rosellas and nearly ubiquitous galahs in earlier posts, but there are vastly [...]

Perth’s Old Mill

There is a saying I’ve heard that sums up comparisons between the United States and Europe: Years in Europe are like miles in the United States. That is, they have vastly more centuries of history; we have vastly more space. The same comparison could be made to Australia—another big place where “ancient history” is 200 [...]