We arrived at Mather Campground on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon, set up camp, fed the troops and managed to put our feet up before dark (sunset’s not until around 8pm in these parts in midsummer). The fire ban due to high heat, dry vegetation and the resulting threat of…
En route from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon South Rim, we made a couple of stops at some cool places recommended by our local insider, Uncle Robert. Jerome, AZ Jerome was the first. It’s about 160km north of Phoenix, and the township, an old copper mining village, hugs Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley below.…
It was Father’s Day here on Sunday so the dads and kids went off to see the Han Solo movie while Rach and I did a bit of shopping. In the evening we headed to McCormick Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale where there’s a little train to ride around the park. Yesterday we…
Crowdy Bay National Park stretches along the NSW coast north-east of Taree, from Harrington in the south to Laurieton in the north. To be honest, I’d never heard of it before my brother-in-law suggested it as a possible camping location a couple of weeks ago. We hadn’t booked anywhere and wanted to get away in…
If you’ve found yourself in Huay Xai, Laos, you’ve most probably crossed over the border from Thailand and you’re just beginning your Lao adventure. If that’s the case, don’t jump on a slow boat bound for Luang Prabang just yet. Take a couple of days (or more) to explore the Huay Xai area – there…
We were well overdue for a family adventure when school holidays rolled around last week. Our twins are halfway through their first year at school, and I’ve had two crazy terms in a new teaching job, so a little escape from the daily grind was in order. In our typical last-minute fashion, we found a…
The last couple of Easter long weekends we have found ourselves out in the wild, gazing into a campfire and sleeping under the stars. Well, in a tent under the stars. My sister and her family are our camping buddies, and going bush seems to have become a bit of a tradition for us. There’s just…
When holidaying on a tropical island surrounded by reef, it’s hard to pass up the chance to head into the deep blue for a dive, so on our recent trip to Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, I was keen to get into the water. If you’re not familiar with Raro, it looks like this: The…
Steve and I have always enjoyed a hike, and we’ve tried to find a track or two on our adventures at home and on our overseas trips. Hill tribe trekking in Thailand, climbing Mt Kinabalu in Borneo, scaling volcanoes in Costa Rica, and hiking the Inca Trail in Peru – we’ve smashed them all. Okay,…
One of the activities we were told is a must when visiting Rarotonga is a cruise on the lagoon at Muri. A couple of operators run daily glass bottomed boat adventures, which include snorkelling, musical entertainment, a barbeque lunch, and a “coconut” show, including palm tree climbing and coconut husking. It all sounded very package…
Raising Explorers 