A chef’s widow is a term used to refer to a person who is married to a chef. Chefs spend so many hours in work, at antisocial hours, that their wives and partners barely see them. I am married to a chef, a blog post about life, work, travel, and kids as a chef wife. …
It’s not unusual to attract wildlife when you’re camping in Australia. Living in the tropics involves plenty of up-close wildlife interaction. We’ve had wallabies and possums visit our tent more than once. But did you know kookaburras like to snatch your food too? I’ve seen them snatch chicken legs directly from somebody’s hand down south, …
A weekend camping on Lake Tinaroo. A great chance to catch Lake Tinaroo redclaw yabbies and mess around on Tinaroo dam. There’s loads to do up on the Tablelands, from playpus spotting to chocolate tasting, but first catch your yabbie. The Tablelands lie to the west of Cairns and Port Douglas in Far North Queensland. …
There are plenty of things to do in Ubud Bali, for families or with kids, or for me today in 2026, as an over-50 female traveller. But should you visit Ubud? Will it be right for you, or is it spoiled forever? Ubud is our favourite place to stay on the island, still, and we …
We just had a couple of days camping in Cooktown. It’s about 3 hours north of Port Douglas in Far North Queensland, Australia. That’s along the beautiful coast road, only suitable for four-wheel drives for most of the way. There is a sealed road further inland, but it takes slightly longer and, arguably, isn’t nearly as …
12 Reasons to take a round the world trip (RTW). Only 12? There are far more, but I’ve tried to condense them into an even dozen. Our primary reason for travelling is education, learning, and understanding. I’ve always been driven by my thirst for knowledge in the areas that interest me, this is why I’ve …
Travel is amazing, but it’s time to ‘fess up. I have a few travel horror stories to tell. Sometimes travel sucks. It can be hard, exhausting, dangerous, boring or just plain icky. If you are squeamish or don’t like reading about matters lavatorial, maybe this isn’t the post for you. Here are some of my …
There are quite a few options in Port Douglas if you are interested in helicopter rides and charters. We live in Port Douglas, but tourists are just as likely to take a helicopter ride here in Queensland too. Taking helicopter rides is one of the more expensive things to do in Port Douglas, but there …
Most people worry about flying with children. I used to, but now I don’t know why I ever did. We’ve done it many, many times including flying the seriously long-haul UK to Australia routes with kids. It holds no horrors for me and hasn’t for years. No, my children are not angels, far from it, …
Some people just don’t understand homeschooling at all. That’s OK, its not something that most people have ever come across or researched. It’s not “normal”, school is the best thing for kids in the conventional mindset. Surely it’s compulsory? It’s not compulsory, it’s a choice, parents have a legal obligation to provide their children with an education. …
Stinger season Cairns, Port Douglas, the Great Barrier Reef area and the whole of Far North Queensland is something you need to be aware of. Insider knowledge on how to be safe, for you and your kids is essential. We live up here and work on the Great Barrier Reef, we can tell you about …
People often don’t associate South Africa with taking a safari or visiting a game reserve. I always think of Kenya and Tanzania, but there are plenty of wildlife parks in South Africa, the mighty Kruger and dozens of smaller game parks. We took our then very young children to a few of South Africa’s game …
This post was written and titled “Living in Port Douglas” when we were planning to escape Port Douglas over a decade ago. We have lived in Port Douglas on and off since we emigrated here from the UK. We owned a beautiful house there, but we left to travel the world for several years in …
We saw an Australian animal that less than 10% of all Australians have ever seen near Cairns, the fantastic, and surprisingly tiny, platypus. That’s wild platypus, not in a zoo. If you’d like to share in this incredible experience, check out the Atherton Platypus Park near Cairns at Tarzali Lakes. You can visit for the …
Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas, was closed a while ago by a 4-meter saltwater crocodile. He didn’t do much, just swam along the beach about 20m from shore. A crowd gathered and watched, that’s about as exciting as the day got. It made me think though, not many people have the experience of sharing their home with …
Koh Samet (also known as Ko Samet or Ko Samed), is maybe the easiest of the Thai Islands to access if you are visiting Bangkok. It is just 220 Km from the capital and 7km off the mainland. The island is very popular as a weekend destination with locals and is full of backpackers, independent …
