In late March and early April of 2016 I travelled up to Corryong for "The Man from Snowy River Festival."

There were various activities over the four days or so, mainly in Corryong: the usual things associated with a bush town: rodeos, cattle dog championships, camp drafting and so on.

As part of the festival, and situated a few kilometres away from town, at the Tom Groggin Station there was a re-enactment of the famous Banjo Patterson poem that begins

"There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around

That the colt from old Regret had got away,

And had joined the wild bush horses - he was worth a thousand pound,

So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.

All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far

Had mustered at the homestead overnight,

For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are,

And the stockhorse snuffs the battle with delight."

The weather remained fine the whole time. Met some interesting characters and found some great accomodation, a house to myself, in nearby Khancoban, just across the border in New South Wales.

For ten days or so in early June of 2017 I travelled with a friend to the Northern Territory.

We took off from Melbourne and flew to Darwin, over the arid but amazingly interesting interior of the country. To my eyes the landscapes below are reminiscent of some of the aboriginal paintings.   In Darwin, we picked up our camper van and then spent several remarkable days exploring Kakadu National Park and then Litchfield National Park.

Before getting to Kakadu, and not far from Humpty Doo  we detoured to Fogg Dam, a stunning wildlife sanctuary. We were greeted by a small crocodile beside the road. He didn't appear to be interested in dining, mercifully.

Kakadu is managed by the local aborigines. It is about half the size of Switzerland, covering 20,000 square kilometres. It is home to approximately 10,000 crocodiles and 250 or so species of birds.

We took an early morning ride on a boat, over Yellow Waters with its birdlife and crocodiles.  As at Fogg Dam there were lots of Jacanas, often called Jesus birds as they waddle about on top of the water.

After getting into Kakadu proper we camped on night at Mamukala Wetlands to catch a sight of the birds in the morning. Not many to see, as it turned out, but a lovely sunrise more than compensated.

We went on an incredibly bumpy ride to get to Motor Car Falls. It was bone-shattering in the van and the noise was deafening. We eventually got to the car park and then walked for quite some time. Though there was no water coming over the falls the soaring rock face and the brilliant, clear pool was worth the effort.