australia Archives - Books And Travel

Travel In A Vast And Diverse Country. Australia With Pamela Cook

What are the truths behind stereotypes of Australia — and what are the things that might surprise you? Pamela Cook talks about rural places, diversity of people and landscape, and the attractions of the city in this interview.

Pamela Cook writes rural and contemporary Australian fiction featuring complex women and tangled family relationships and is a podcaster at Writes4Women.

Show notes

What might surprise travelers about Australia
Attractions of the rural Australian life
Observing life in smaller towns and being inspired to write about them
Highlights of Sydney and the ease of public transport
Thoughts on post-pandemic travel
Book recommendations set in Australia

You can find Pamela Cook at PamelaCook.com.au

For more on Australia, check out Sacred Australia and the Northern Territory with Amanda Markham, and Outback Nights and City Days, my personal experience of Australia.

Sacred Australia And The Northern Territory With Amanda Markham

Unusual Places

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In today’s episode, we’re heading for the Northern Territory of Australia as Dr. Amanda Markham talks about some of the Aboriginal Dreaming stories of the area and how the vast landscape impacts living and working there, as well as the best places to visit if you’re traveling. Amanda is of Wiradjuri Aboriginal descent and speaks an Aboriginal language, so it’s fantastic to get her perspective.

We recorded this episode before the bush fires swept the country and I talked back in episode 20 about my own experience traveling around Australia and then living there — I mentioned that it’s the weather you have to watch out for, not the snakes or spiders — and Amanda emphasizes again how important it is to prepare for the reality of the outback. We both love Australia and particularly, the Northern Territories — it’s one of the places I would love to go back to — so I hope you enjoy the adventure in this episode.

Dr. Amanda Markham is an archaeologist and anthropologist in the Australian outback, as well as a travel writer and award-winning author of speculative fiction.

The three different climates of the Northern Territory
Exploring the Top End with Aboriginal guides and some of the Dreaming stories in the landscape
Language differences above and below the monsoon line
The myths and reality about danger in Australia
The Alice Springs Beanie Festival and what makes the outback culture unique
Stargazing in the Northern Territory
Recommended books set in outback Australia

You can find Dr. Amanda Markham at traveloutbackaustralia.com and at AmandaMarkham.com

Outback Nights And City Days In The Lucky Country. Australia With J.F.Penn

Travel Memoir

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Australia is truly a land of two halves. There is nature in all its diversity — from the vast outback to ancient rainforest, from the coral reef to the desert; and then there are the great international cities, from Sydney’s Harbour Bridge to Melbourne’s coffee culture, where multi-cultural Aussies work and play in the Lucky Country.

It’s also the land of opportunity, with golden-haired surfers riding the waves on white-sand beaches, a rich mining industry and a great standard of living; but it also has a dark history of oppression, resulting in racism and inequality that still pervades the country.

In this episode, I explain my complex relationship with Australia, what I learned from living there for five years, and why I had to leave. It’s hard to encompass such a vast place but I also include some thoughts on where to visit, what to eat and how to navigate some of the Aussie cultural differences.

Australia gave me escape — for a while. Travels in the outback.
The dark side of the Lucky Country
Australia changed my mindset around what I could achieve
Australia taught me about home
Other aspects of culture, food, and drink Down Under
Recommended books

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