Author Archives: Ursula

Ever since my brother gave me my first camera just before my first major overseas adventure (a very long, long time ago), I have loved traveling and loved taking pictures. It's only recently, however, that I've been able to really indulge my passion for both. Living in Bangkok for many years gave me access to some wonderful photographic teachers and mentors, as well as allowing me opportunities for travel that I'd not had before. Although I've moved back to Australia, I am still traveling a fair bit - and I'm loving every minute of it!

One of the many joys of Byron Bay Bluesfest, that annual Easter long-weekend festival of blues, roots, and just about every other kind of music, is – for me – the very range of styles packed into five days, and the depth of talent offered up on the five+ stages. Although Americans tended to dominate the […]

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It looks like such a short drive:  From Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur in Tariat, Arkhangai Province, in Mongolia’s central west, it is just 203 kilometres through the Tarvagatai Mountains to Tosontsengel, in the western province of Zavkhan. That is about three and a half hours “without traffic” – and we expected none. Plus, we had the bonus of paved roads […]

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With the radio cranked loud, I spent most of last week driving down New South Wales backroads, trying to not tap the beat too hard on the accelerator. The annual Easter-weekend Bluesfest music festival in Byron Bay had finished late Monday night, and I was on the way home with songs in my head and music in my heart. I love […]

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You are taking a chance in the tropics during the wet season! Bali, that volcanic tropical paradise just eight degrees south of the equator, is in the path of the west monsoon from October to April, with heavy rains typical from December through March. But, there are a lot of reasons to love Bali, any time of year. The window of opportunity for my husband and […]

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It’s hard to imagine how the Wachau Valley could be any prettier! “The Wachau” is the name given the narrow gorge where the Danube River runs between the Bohemian Massif on the northwest, and the Dunkelsteiner Woods to the southeast. For roughly fourty kilometres between the Lower Austrian cities of Melk and Krems, the hilltops are dotted with castle ruins and the hillsides are covered […]

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