Stephen Blyth's Blog

It’s not quite the desert around here, but I surely have found an oasis. Needing to swap my book, get a copy of Saturday’s Age, buy some replacement tent pegs and hook up my iBook I’ve found all this and more in Alice Springs within half an hour of arriving. Ferdinand, who runs the Green [...]

While waiting for the 12.15pm bus into Katherine Gorge I set off to wander around town. On my travels I came across the Djilpin Arts Corroboree: they were putting on a special day-time performance. The group had travelled 100 km from Arnhem land to do the performance, which is going to be performed for tourists [...]

I’ve just got back from my 4-day camping trip in Kakadu National Park and uploaded a few photos to the Australian Travels photo album. It was a great trip: a really on to it tour leader, great group with an average age of 30, and the rock art and environment were beautiful. I’ll add a [...]

I’ve found a quiet corner of the Darwin Public Library that’s cool and peaceful. It’s a relief to be out of draining heat. The seasons are on the turn, from wet to dry, so it’s still very humid. I must say, I’m moving really slowly – trying to take the advice on the tourist pamphlet [...]

On Friday night Simon and I went along to the launch of “Radical Melbourne 2″ at the Trades Hall Bar. The place was packed with young and old toasting the book’s brother and sister writing team, Jeff Sparrow and Jill Sparrow. Although we missed the speeches, there was no mistaking the air of celebration. The [...]

A few weeks ago Andrew asked if I could recommend a few cheap things to do in Melbourne. This is my preliminary, non-definitive list, not in order of priority. I could probably write a book. Without further ado, here goes: Ceres. There’s plenty to see at the environmental education centre: displays, windmills and other renewable [...]

It was a relief today to come across a creek with water flowing. Despite rain over the last few days, I’ve barely seen any moving water in the Grampians National Park about 250 km west of Melbourne. While I passed many boulder strewn creek beds suggesting that water flows, they were dry. The route up [...]

Double futon, wooden base, deluxe mattress, AAA+++ condition, $280 ono. Brunswick. Ph 934*****. Yep, that’s my ad in the next edition of Melbourne’s Trading Post. I’m moving out, packing up, going on the road. There’s a lump at the back of my throat as I write this. Anyway, if you know anyone who wants a [...]

A shortage of basics like bread, cereal and milk means I’m eating breakfast out for the second day running. I’m sitting here at Mule in Sydney Road listing to Radiohead, Verve and some other britpop bands. The whoosh of the espresso machine interrupts madly. There has been heavy rain over night so the gutters are [...]

All the way up to Confest at Gulpa Creek, near Echuca on the Murray River, we expected to see a line of slow moving Combi vans and housebuses. But there was no sign of either a queue nor many hippy vehicles. Rattly, mobile wrecks were outnumbered by new Holdens, suburban assault vehicles (SAVs) and the [...]