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Mary Jane Walker
Mary Jane Walker

376 Followers

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Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·4 days ago

Paradise! The Real Top of the Lake

Past Queenstown to the head of Lake Wakatipu and beyond, with lupins in the springtime — THE other day, I drove from Queenstown to the top of Lake Wakatipu, as I do from time to time. …

Queenstown

5 min read

Paradise! The Real Top of the Lake
Paradise! The Real Top of the Lake
Queenstown

5 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Nov 24

Wellington Once More

Another city I never tire of is New Zealand’s mini-capital of Wellington: its harbour, its history, and its surprisingly wild nature — ATOP the rather Dalek-like political offices called the Beehive, lame-duck Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was awaiting his marching orders this November, following the defeat of his Labour coalition in the 14 October 2023 general election, While we awaited the final results, I popped into an almost equally famous pub across…

New Zealand

11 min read

Wellington Once More
Wellington Once More
New Zealand

11 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Nov 17

Litchfield National Park

Back up north again, to a land of waterfalls and uranium just south of Darwin — DEPARTING from Alice Springs, I hit the road once more for the 1,500-kilometre drive back to Darwin. The worst part is the drive from Alice Springs to Tennant Creek, as this part of the Stuart Highway crosses a very thinly populated desert region where one of the best-known localities is…

National Parks

8 min read

Litchfield National Park
Litchfield National Park
National Parks

8 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Nov 8

Uluru

A visit to the central Australian outcrop also known as Ayers Rock — WHILE I was in Alice Springs, I decided that I couldn’t miss a visit to Uluru, or Ayers Rock, even though it was a surprisingly long drive, more than 440 kilometres even when you are starting from the Alice.

Australia

7 min read

Uluru
Uluru
Australia

7 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Nov 4

Alice Springs

An Oasis in Australia’s ‘Red Centre’ — AT LAST, after driving nearly 1,500 km from Darwin, slightly less than the distance from Auckland to Queenstown by road and ferry, I made it to Alice Springs. The town known locally as the Alice, or just Alice, has a population of just over 25,000, making it the largest town…

Aboriginal Australians

8 min read

Alice Springs
Alice Springs
Aboriginal Australians

8 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Nov 1

From Katherine to Alice

Heading down the Northern Territory’s Stuart Highway — a long, fascinating way! — AFTER Katherine, I embarked on a long trip south — nearly 1,500 km in total from Darwin — to Alice Springs. This railway map that I saw on a wall is an excellent guide to some of what’s on the way, whether you go by train, bus, or car.

Aboriginal Australians

9 min read

From Katherine to Alice
From Katherine to Alice
Aboriginal Australians

9 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Oct 28

Katherine

A lovely town with gorges, gallery, and museum — KATHERINE, a sizable town of more than six thousand, with lots of cafés and street art, was a good place to relax for a few days after my actually rather adventurous times in Kakadu National Park.

Northern Territory

9 min read

Katherine
Katherine
Northern Territory

9 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Oct 20

From Kakadu to Katherine

Heading southwest along the Kakadu Highway past the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Yellow Water Billabong, and the Jim Jim Falls — AFTER Jabiru, I decided to head southwest along the Kakadu Highway to Pine Creek, and from there southward along the Stuart Highway to the town of Katherine. This would take me through another part of Kakadu National Park, and on down past another national park called Nitmiluk National Park, which…

Aboriginal Australians

8 min read

From Kakadu to Katherine
From Kakadu to Katherine
Aboriginal Australians

8 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Oct 18

Three Days in Kakadu

Birdwatching at Kubara, a boat trip on the East Alligator River, and ancient Rock Art Sites — Saturday: Birdwatching at Kubara There are 300 species of birds in the Northern Territory, and birdwatching tours are popular. In fact, it was the local birdwatching festival week. And so I chose to do a birding tour, with NT Bird Specialists, in a sandstone area called Kubara.

Birds

9 min read

Three Days in Kakadu
Three Days in Kakadu
Birds

9 min read


Published in

A Maverick Traveller

·Oct 14

The Arnhem Highway to Kakadu

Heading east from Darwin into nature, before I head south — AFTER DARWIN, I set out to explore the natural parklands to the east of the city. The following local tourism map, which I photographed in Darwin, doesn’t show everything: but it does do a very good job of showing where I went, along the Arnhem Highway to the Corroboree Billabong…

Northern Territory

9 min read

The Arnhem Highway to Kakadu
The Arnhem Highway to Kakadu
Northern Territory

9 min read

Mary Jane Walker

Mary Jane Walker

376 Followers

Traveller, journalist, author of 18 books and of 300 blog posts on Medium and on my website a-maverick.com.

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