Places near Portland we hope to visit over the next two days. Portland Bay is the only deep sea port between Adelaide and Melbourne offering a sheltered anchorage against the often wild weather of Bass Strait. It services the grain and timber industries as well as the local aluminium smelter. Alcoa Portland is Australia’s third largest aluminium smelter, with a capacity … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 25 – Portland
Telford Scrub Conservation Park protects remnant native vegetation in a region that is now mostly extensive pine plantations and dairy farms. A track meanders through a swamp gum woodland with an understory of austral bracken fern … …. before continuing north over vegetated sand ridges through a brown stringybark open forest. Grey fantail on a bracken … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 24 – The South of South Australia
Robe was described by a local as a quaint drinking village with a fishing problem. There is also a lot of history. Robe was founded in 1846 and became South Australia’s second-busiest international port, after Port Adelaide. Robe’s trade was drawn from a large hinterland that extended into western Victoria, and many roadside inns were built to … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 21 – The Limestone Coast
We leave Murray Bridge and take a back road to Wellington before a ferry crossing, one of two for today. Wellington Court House complex was built in 1859 and has become a landmark in the township. It contains two courtrooms, two rooms for the magistrates and constables, a telegraph room and the two old jail … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 20 – The Coorong
Genealogy South Australia at Unley, just south of the city centre, is a leading resource for South Australian family history information. We both have family ancestry in South Australia from the 1840s to the late 1800s so took the opportunity to expand our knowledge. There is an extensive library at the centre. I was in … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 15 – From Genealogy to Glenelg
We are now in Adelaide, capital of South Australia and consistently ranked in the world’s ten most liveable cities. The city centre is ringed by parkland and has a mix of historic building and not-so-high highrise. University of Adelaide South African War Memorial on North Terrace (also known as the Boer War Memorial) is dedicated to the South … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 11 – City to Semaphore
Today a big day in South Australia with big things, big lakes, big river, big cliffs and big wetlands. Coots on Lake Cullulleraine – an artificially expanded lake that was once an ephemeral wetland that filled when the Murray River flooded. Darter (male – they are much darker than the female and with the chestnut … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 9 – Big Day in South A
First up today is a walk around the Port of Echuca, once a busy and vital port for paddlesteamers on the Murray River. The multi-level wharf caters to level changes in the river. PS Adelaide A barge used to transport River red gum logs Barges historically transported wool bales before road transport took over. Bee … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 7 – Echuca to Swan Hill
The morning is spent on the floodplain of the Murrumbidgee River with the highway never far from the river for about 200km. A short drive south from Griffith to Hanwood brings us to McWilliams Wines and its Big Barrel. By the way, what did the contestant of the Griffith Edition of The Bachelor say to … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 6 – The Long Paddock
This morning we head west to Texas (as in Texas, Queensland, Australia). But first a visit to the Big Thermometer at Stanthorpe – do we agree that this is the best Big Thing around these parts? Well, to a certain degree. The Celsius scale was named after Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician Anders Celsius who, … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 2 – Deep in the heart of Texas
The state we’re in! After the trials of 2025, the Grey Naumad and the Red Rover are taking to the road again for another journey in this great land for some more grey no-mad-ness. We will take roads less travelled wherever possible. So, we will attempt our first vacation in nearly two years starting in … More The State We’re In 2026 – Day 1 – Down and out through the Downs
Big Apple at Spreyton. I went for a walk last night and there was an Apple pie, Apple strudel and Apple Charlotte on the ground. The streets were strangely desserted. The Big Spud at Sassafras. This guy once had a chip on its shoulder. Despite being skewered in the …. well, I’m not an expert … More Big Things of Tasmania
