Tunnel Creek National Park Archives - Australia by Red Nomad OZ https://www.redzaustralia.com/category/tunnel-creek-national-park/ go-see-do guide for adventurous travellers Wed, 20 Nov 2019 06:36:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.redzaustralia.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cropped-Site-Icon-1-1-32x32.jpg Tunnel Creek National Park Archives - Australia by Red Nomad OZ https://www.redzaustralia.com/category/tunnel-creek-national-park/ 32 32 TOP 10 All-Australian Adventure Hot Spots for World Toilet Day! https://www.redzaustralia.com/2019/11/australian-adventure-hot-spots/ https://www.redzaustralia.com/2019/11/australian-adventure-hot-spots/#comments Wed, 20 Nov 2019 06:12:37 +0000 http://www.redzaustralia.com/?p=4522 NEW from RedzAustralia!

World Toilet Day was November 19, and I forgot. Bummer! Forgetting the biggest event on the loo lover’s calendar is a dunny detective’s disaster! A toilet tragic’s tragedy!! A convenience chaser’s catastrophe!!! BUT … … then I think about the 4.2 billion people without safely managed sanitation facilities and the 673 million people worldwide who practice open defecation. The 2[...]

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Classic Aussie Dunny, Quobba Blowholes, Western Australia
Classic Aussie Dunny, Quobba Blowholes, Western Australia

World Toilet Day was November 19, and I forgot.

Bummer!

Forgetting the biggest event on the loo lover’s calendar is a dunny detective’s disaster! A toilet tragic’s tragedy!! A convenience chaser’s catastrophe!!!

BUT …

… then I think about the 4.2 billion people without safely managed sanitation facilities and the 673 million people worldwide who practice open defecation. The 2 billion people whose drinking water is contaminated with faeces, the 432,000 diarrhoeal deaths per year, and the children in conflict zones 20 times more likely to die from sanitation-related illness than violence.

That makes my dunny disaster look like a s**t-storm in a teacup.

World Toilet Day

Check out the World Toilet Day official fact sheet HERE for some even more scary facts that’ll make you realise how lucky we are in Australia.

So while you’re admiring 10 All-Australian amenities, with the 10 amazing All-Australian adventure hot spots that go with them, spare a thought for those for whom doing their ‘business’ is SO not a pleasure. Then keep reading for ideas about how YOU can help!

Timber Creek Pontoon Loo with a selection of Victoria River Crocodiles!
Timber Creek Pontoon Loo with a selection of Victoria River Crocodiles!

1 Timber Creek, Northern Territory

Afloat on a small (and relatively unstable) structure surrounded by crocodiles on Australia’s wildest river is enough to make you want to – well, YOU know! Luckily, this croc-proof (we hope!) purpose-built pontoon has ALL the amenities to survive a Victoria River Crocodile Cruise – drinks and snacks while enjoying a Northern Territory sunset AND crazy-cool crocodile cruise conveniences if nature’s call gets a little bit too much.

That’s a relief in more ways than one!  Read more about cruising with crocodiles HERE!

The Neck from Truganini Lookout, Bruny Island, Tasmania
The Neck from Truganini Lookout, Bruny Island, Tasmania

2 Bruny Island, Tasmania

Bruny Island isn’t just the last stop off the Tassie coast before Antarctica! Dress up in some (REALLY unfashionable) heavy weather gear for a wet and wild ride over heaving seas, through keyhole rocks, past rugged islands adorned with seals and right under the second highest sea cliffs in the southern hemisphere before reaching the Great Southern Ocean!

En route to the cruise departure point, don’t miss this loo on the Neck (are you wondering why it’s called that?) far below Truganini’s Lookout!  Discover Beauty and the Beasts on Bruny Island Cruises HERE to see why it’s one of my favourite Australian adventure hot spots!

3 Mt Kosciuszko, New South Wales

Australia's Highest Public Toilet
Mt Kosciuszko summit view (bottom left) and (clockwise from top left) Rawsons Pass Loo; Loo from summit; Loo close-up

Climbing Australia’s highest mountain is embarrassingly easy – you heard it here first!  It’s only 2228 metres (7310 feet) above sea-level, making it lower than the height above which lots of people live! BUT … ‘mountaineers’ like me who climb it can bag their first (and in my case only) ‘Seven Summits’ peak.

Although I don’t know from personal experience, I bet it’s the ONLY Seven Summits peak with a view over the highest Public Toilet in the land!!  But I’ll let the REAL mountaineers prove me wrong!  Go HERE for more about how I climbed Mount Kosciuszko!

Head of Bight Loo View with Whales and Cliffs
(Clockwise top left) Head of Bight Loo; Bunda Cliffs and Bight; View from Loo; Whales

4 Head of Bight, South Australia

Head of Bight – highest point of the distinctive bite-shaped coastal curve along the southern Australian coastline – isn’t easy to get to. But you’ll drive right past it on the 4100+ km (2500+ mile) road trip across the Nullarbor Plain between Sydney and Perth! At the 2300 km mark, just over half-way from Sydney, take a pit stop to watch whales cavorting with their calves under the longest line of sea cliffs in the world!

And visit the Head of Bight loo that overlooks it all!  Check out my story about seeing the Whales at Head of Bight HERE!

5 Point Quobba, Western Australia

View of the Loo (that black speck!) from the Lighthouse against the Quobba Blowholes, Western Australia
View of the Loo (that black speck!) from the Lighthouse against the Quobba Blowholes, Western Australia

Killer king waves, shipwreck stories, blowholes and extreme water sports make Point Quobba one of the wildest stretches of rugged, rocky coastline in Oz (above and top) – and one of the most picturesque!

If action adventure with a massive dose of danger isn’t quite your thing, just find a vantage point (away from the edge!) and you’ll probably see a whale.  When you’re not being distracted by the thrill-seekers getting a drenching at the blowholes, that is!

Alternatively, just take in all the action from the vantage point of this classic Aussie dunny overlooking the famous blow hole.  I promise that you won’t miss anything while you’re doing your business – because the door doesn’t close!

The famous Quobba Blowhole at Quobba Point is just one of the many superb Australian Coastal and Beach Holiday Destinations you can read about HERE!

6 Mt Hotham, Victoria

Mount Hotham Loo View and Features, with early autumn daytime temperature!
Mount Hotham Loo View and Features, with early autumn daytime temperature!

Whether it’s summer or winter, the view over this part of the Australian Alps is white.  Visible in summer, the white-bleached tree trunks killed by bushfires outline the many-layered mountain ranges surrounding Mount Hotham. In winter, they’re covered in snow.

It’s likely to be significantly cooler than the plains below at any time of year, so when you get there, admire the white view from the ski lift transit lounge loo AND appreciate the civilised conveniences plumber who installed just one tap – HOT!

Read all about the Mount Hotham loo (and surrounds!) HERE!

7 Richmond, Queensland

Richmond Fossil Field Coprolite 'Drop' Zone with (from top left) View of Loo; Fish Fossil extraction; Richmond Pliosaur
Richmond Fossil Field Coprolite ‘Drop’ Zone with (from top left) View of Loo; Fish Fossil extraction; Richmond Pliosaur

If you’re a keen prehistoric fossil-fossicker, the chances of striking it lucky on the Outback Queensland Dinosaur trail are better than average.  Especially at Richmond, where the soft Toolebuc formation on what was once an inland sea under 30-40 metres of water has given up world famous fossil relics like the Richmond Pliosaur, Minmi and Kronosaurus.

Even the dunny gets in on the act – but while you can make your ‘deposit’ at the future coprolite drop zone (aka the loo), chances are good you won’t be around when it’s unearthed as a fossil!

Discover more about Queensland’s famous Richmond fossil fields HERE!

8 Warraweena, South Australia

For a taste of what’s on offer in one of the top Australian adventure hot spots, the ancient wonderland us South Aussies call the Flinders Ranges, head out to the privately owned Warraweena Conservation Park.  In the less well known northern Flinders Ranges you’ll find rugged 4WD tracks, mountain climbing, wildlife, stunning scenery, historic sites and eco-tourism all in one handy location.

Sliding Rock Mine Loo and Visitor Information Centre, Warraweena, Flinders Ranges
Sliding Rock Mine Loo and Visitor Information Centre, Warraweena, Flinders Ranges

You’ll also find the only combination scenic public toilet/visitor information centre I’ve ever seen at the historic Sliding Rock Mine site!

But that’s not all!  Go HERE for a LOT more things to do throughout the amazing Flinders Ranges.

9 Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

This tiny sub-tropical paradise 600 km (370 miles) off the east coast of Australia has so many world exclusives it’s hard to know where to start. First up, there’s Balls Pyramid – highest volcanic rock stack in the world. Then there’s only golf course on earth on World Heritage turf and world’s southernmost tropical reef. Even the wildlife gets in on the act with the endemic Lord Howe Island Woodhen and Phasmid, a large stick-insect.

Scenic Public Loo, Lord Howe Island
Scenic Public Loo with Mounts Lidgbird and Gower in the background, Lord Howe Island

And then there’s this awesome view – clearly visible from what has to be one of the most scenic loos downunder! Australian adventure hot spots don’t get much better than this!  A Lord Howe Island Holiday can be awesome – read about mine HERE!

10 Tunnel Creek, Western Australia

Tunnel Creek (lower left) with Boab Tree (right) and Carpark Loo (top), Gibb River Road, Kimberley
Tunnel Creek (lower left) with Boab Tree (right) and Carpark Loo (top), Gibb River Road, Kimberley

Although the Gibb River Road has claimed countless tyres, axles, windscreens and suspensions over its 660 km (410 miles) length full of tyre-shredding rocks, perilous creek crossings, red dust and bone-jarring corrugations.  But it’s still a popular Aussie road trip, most likely because of the stunning Kimberley natural attractions scattered along its length!  Take a short detour to Tunnel Creek and go underground for a different perspective of the Kimberley Region.

And while you’re there, detour into the even more welcome attraction you’ll find under the rocky cliffs.  There’s more about the amazing Kimberley region HERE!

Self Portrait: the most Glamorous Little Outhouse in OZ!
Self Portrait: the most Glamorous Little Outhouse in OZ!

We’re very lucky down here to have so many Australian adventure hot spots with amazing attractions and awesome amenities in some of our most remote and adventure-filled locations.

So while it’s easier for us (read: me!) to forget World Toilet Day even though it’s been an official UN day since 2013, we can contribute to the impact it’s having around the world on any day!

How to get involved:

World Toilet Day is about working together to eliminate the life-threatening hazards caused by poor sanitation in places where the ‘adventures’ many people face in doing their business are a lot less welcome.

If you’re not sure how you can help, here’s a few ideas:

  • Who Gives a Crap:  Buy your toilet paper (and/or tissues and kitchen paper) from this innovative company, and 50% of profits are donated to building toilets for those in need (the other 50% mostly goes to growing the company).  Get in quick and you could order the wicked Gift Edition Loo Paper to make Xmas REALLY fun!
  • Toilet Twinning:  Your £60 donation (about $AUD114 on 20/11/19) funds a community loo project, and you’ll get a pic and the coordinates of your toilet ‘twin’ to hang in your own amenities! Can’t afford that?  Check out the website for other fundraising products and ideas.
  • Sanitation First:  Send a Shitty Gift (their words, not mine) for any occasion – check out the graphic range of gift cards – and you’ll be helping this organisation tackle poverty one toilet at a time (again, their words, not mine)!!
  • TEAR Australia:  Sanitation is just one of several initiatives this organisation has to reduce poverty.  Check out their collection of Really Useful Gifts!
  • World Toilet Day official website: more information and ideas, don’t forget to mark the date on your calendar for next year.

Got more ideas?  Put them in the comments below!

 

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