With the world’s biggest rock AND largest monolith*, Australia’s the land of the ultimate ROCK – or at least the coolest Australian rock formations! But where’s a keen rockhound to go once they’ve seen Mt Augustus (biggest rock) and Uluru (biggest monolith)??

Check out a few more Australian Rock Stars – otherwise known as distinctive and unusual Australian rock formations – with this handy guide to 12 HOTTEST Rock spots from all around OZ!

1 Bald Rock via Tenterfield, NSW

This 750m x 500m monolith around 25 north of Tenterfield in New South Wales’ Granite Belt isn’t Australia’s largest monolith. But it’s Australia’s largest GRANITE monolith!!

Thrill seekers and the time-poor can take the short, steep exposed route straight up the face to the summit – 200 metres above the surrounding plains. Those wanting a more relaxing experience (read: more cowardly) can take the longer, more scenic route through the bushland up the back. Either way, the exposed summit has spectacular views over two states – and a spectacular drop down to the bottom!

MORE about Bald Rock National Park

2 Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island, SA

The remarkable shapes of these rocks sculptured by wind, water and weather at the southern end of Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island off the South Australian coast are a real clue to what their ultra-imaginative name actually means

Australia’s 3^rd largest island – an intriguing blend of superb natural attractions, wildlife, gourmet treats and beaches – is South Australia’s answer to the tropics.

But whatever their reasons for visiting Kangaroo Island, sooner or later, most visitors head for the all-natural Remarkable Rocks – where they’ll take a photo remarkably like the one above!

MORE about Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island

3 Balancing Rock & Caves – Chillagoe, QLD

I’ve still got the cool Serpentine (I think) egg I bought from a Chillagoe shop on my only visit 20+ years ago, but it’s Balancing Rock and the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park tour I remember.

Outside, the dramatic jagged edges of the reef housing the caves tower above the classic outback landscape.

It’s just as dramatic inside – a separate, subterranean world of limestone in intriguing formations, weathered caverns and towering columns.

Back outside and the self-guided walks to the historic smelter sites, Aboriginal rock art are interesting, but it’s the amazing Balancing Rock that’ll get you snapping!

MORE about Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park

4 Tessellated Pavement, Tasmania

I’m such a sucker for names that when I heard about an attraction in a place called Pirates Bay near the township of Eaglehawk Neck on the Tasman Peninsula, it didn’t matter what it was. I just HAD to go see Tasmania’s Tessellated Pavement – one of the best known examples*** of this complex geological phenomenon involving rock fractures, polygonal blocks, erosion and sea salts. If you’re not a geologist, this is probably enough information. If you ARE a geologist, then you’ll already know WAY more than this!

At low tide, the tessellations (like mosaic tiles) make an interesting patchwork on the flat rock platform just above the water level. But make sure your cool pavement shot isn’t ruined by slipping on the wet rocks!

MORE about the Tessellated Pavement

5 Mirima National Park, Kununurra

Tiny Mirima National Park on the outskirts of Kimberley town Kununurra, with its wildlife, walks and wheelchair access, is a chance to experience the MUCH bigger West OZ attraction Purnululu (aka Bungle Bungles) in miniature.

Formed by the same process as its larger counterpart, Mirima’s sedimentary rock layers glow in the early morning and late evening light. And with the right angle of perspective and the right level of concentration, a more skilled photograper than I could ALMOST convince viewers that the shots were taken elsewhere!

But I had no time for photographic trickery – I was more interested in avoiding the 3 metre snake!

MORE about Mirima National Park

6 Devils Marbles, Northern Territory

Snapping a killer sunset or sunrise in what is arguably Australia’s most intriguing rock pile without other people in your shot can be a challenge!

But the complicated geological theory involving weathered layers of sandstone and granite that’s the standard scientific explanation for the almost perfectly spherical shapes doesn’t quite do justice to the magical setting and extraordinary light.

So forget the ‘facts’, settle back, and drink in the magic of Karlu Karlu with the story of the Rainbow Serpent. According to this Indigenous legend, those spherical shapes are the Rainbow Serpent’s fossilized eggs!

Now … isn’t that a FAR more satisfying explanation for this geological phenomenon?

MORE about Devils Marbles (Karlu Karlu)

7 Island Rock, via Kalbarri, WA

According to the tourist information brochure, Island Rock, one of the more spectacular of Kalbarri National Park’s Coastal Cliff attractions, ‘can be enjoyed from the safety of the lookout enclosures’!

But it doesn’t explain how safely walk the coastal trail atop the sandstone cliffs so high above the pounding sea below it’s almost impossible to fit them into a photo! Perhaps that’s why many tourists opt for a visit to the park’s best known rock formation, Natures Window!!

If you can tear your eyes away from Island Rock and the amazing sculpted cliff face, so treacherous to ships and bumblefooted tourists, you may be lucky enough to see whales far out to sea. But if the sheer drop gives you vertigo, turn and face inland – and you’ll see one of Australia’s most scenic loos**!

MORE about Kalbarri National Park

8 Sawn Rocks, via Narrabri, NSW

It’s an easy walk from the car park to the dramatic Sawn Rocks – Australia’s best example of the columnar jointing phenomenon more commonly called organ piping located a few kilometres from Narrabri in the shadow of Mt Kaputar National Park. Best viewed in the morning when the sun (if it’s out!) strikes the rock face, bringing out the amazing colours and shadows.

Standing underneath the soaring rock face can be awe-inspiring – until you realise that those enormous Greek temple ruinous rock columns all around can only have come from one place.

Yep, directly above!

MORE about Sawn Rocks, via Narrabri, NSW

9 Hollow Mountain, Victoria

You can’t swing a brush-tailed possum in Victoria’s Grampians National Park without hitting some kind of rock. So much so that walking through the park could give you a serious case of rock overload that only a fix from the awesome Halls Gap Bakery could cure

But I’m betting even the most jaded rockhound couldn’t fail to be impressed by Hollow Mountain, in the Northern Grampians. Exploring the wind-sculpted caves, caverns and crags can actually be more fun than reaching the summit!

And I’m not just saying that because I’m exercise-averse! No, REALLY!!

MORE about Hollow Mountain and Northern Grampians

10 Balls Pyramid – via Lord Howe Island, NSW

For pure rock star awesomeness, there’s not much to beat the 552m high spire of the world’s largest volcanic rock stack, out in the middle of the ocean and one of the only points of the mostly submerged continent of Zealandia still above sea level.

It’s an achievement to even get there. A 700+ km flight from Sydney to Lord Howe Island in a small plane that, depending on wind and weather conditions, may or may not be able to land. Then a 23 km boat journey that, depending on wind and weather conditions, may or may not actually depart as scheduled.

Once you’re on the boat, it’s easy. Unless you suffer from seasickness, in which case the hardest part of the trip is NOW!

MORE about Balls Pyramid, via Lord Howe Island

11 Bunda Cliffs, South Australia

Is it possible to have TOO much limestone??

If you’re not sure, head down south and drive the Nullarbor Plain skirting the Great Australian Bight. There’s nothing much between the road on the southern edge of Australia and Antarctica – except the majestic Bunda cliffs, ranging from 60 – 120 metres high and stretching for ~100 km.

That makes them the longest unbroken line of sea cliffs in the WORLD!

If that’s not quite enough limestone for you, then factor in the 270,000 km² of the Nullarbor Plain itself – World’s largest limestone karst formation!

MORE about the Bunda Cliffs and Nullarbor Plain

12 Mount Moffatt, Carnarvon National Park, Queensland

Mount Moffatt, 220 km north of Mitchell, part of the Carnarvon National Park and containing Queensland’s highest plateau (the Consuelo Tableland) is worth the long drive – and the flat tyre we got the instant we drove into the park many years ago!

Its remoteness made it the ideal hideout for the bushrangers, including the violent Kenniff brothers and notorious cattle duffer Harry Redford (sometimes known as Captain Starlight), who operated in the area. And the local Bidjara people, who refused to be ousted from their land, left a legacy of rock imagery throughout the park.

But it’s the sandstone formations we came to see – an awesome array of arches, ‘chimneys’ and monoliths scattered decoratively around the park. There’s no doubt about it – these rocks ROCK!

MORE about Mt Moffatt, Carnarvon National Park

That’s just a sample – and I bet I’ve missed YOUR favourite HOT Australian Rock Formations!  Tell me below!!

Want even MORE?

• My Aussie Alphabet so far: Aussie ABC A-Q

* According to www.answers.com HERE

** Yes, it’s in my book HERE

*** According to Wikipedia HERE

The post Aussie ABC: R is for Rocks appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Searching for Australian campsites or caravan parks that we won’t regret in the morning adds that little frisson of uncertainty that makes road-tripping round Australia so exciting.

Although sometimes it’s a little TOO exciting when darkness is falling and we’ve got NO clue as to where we’ll spend the night. That’s why we take time each trip on a reconnaissance mission for the next one! And that includes scoping out future campsites.

But sometimes, after a long day on the road, it’d be nice to find somewhere COOL to stay with the facilities we want and directions on how to get there.

And now I can with the FAAAAABULOUS new Explore Australia Camping Around Australia app (available for iPhone & iPad)!

I’d already picked out these 6 HOT campsites to stay at one day – but who knows how long before we re-visit them? And whether they’ll still be operating when we DO get there? Using the app will not only tell me that, but it’ll also suggest alternative Australian campsites to try if I find we’ve missed the boat!

And you can too!

So check out these 6 COOL Australian Campsites at the top of my list – then try the Camping Around Australia app from Explore Australia!

1. Caroline Pool, via Halls Creek, Western Australia

The unbelievably scenic Caroline Pool (pictured above) just south of Halls Creek would’ve made an ideal campsite IF:

• a) our camper trailer had high clearance (it doesn’t);
• b) we were ready to ‘ROCK’ along the rugged dirt track out towards Old Halls Creek (we weren’t);
• c) we hadn’t already travelled 367 km since leaving Wyndham that morning (we had); and
• d) we didn’t care about its lack of facilities (we did)!

Besides, any extra driving would’ve eaten into my photo time at China Wall, a 6 metre high quartz vein that bisects the landscape just like a miniature of its namesake!

But there’s always a next time, right? Although judging by the number of rigs already set up when we dropped in for a look, maybe the word’s already out!

MORE about Halls Creek

2. Yarrie Lake, via Narrabri, New South Wales

Whether or not the circular Yarrie Lake was formed by a meteor way back in the dim, distant past is kind of irrelevant if you’re looking for a peaceful and picturesque campsite with powered sites, hot showers, toilets and laundry facilities.

Oh, and a great birdwatching, water-sports, walking, relaxing and photography spot!

About 30 km west of Narrabri, the gateway to magnificent Mt Kaputar National Park, with its amazing Sawn Rocks it sounds too good to be true.

So next time we’ll check it more thoroughly for hidden flaws!!

MORE about Narrabri

3. Point Sturt, via Goolwa, South Australia

On the last leg of its long journey through three states from headwaters high in the Snowy Mountains, the mighty Murray River enters the Great Southern Ocean at Goolwa. But not before passing through Lake Alexandrina which, along with Lake Albert is the centrepiece of South Australia’s Lower Lakes region.

Near a water-bird wetland (aka ‘swamp’) and overlooking the dunes of the amazing Coorong National Park across the lake, Point Sturt is superbly situated to appreciate the 360 km²(138000+ acres) body of water.

And who needs facilities in a cool camping spot like this?!?!

MORE about Lake Alexandrina and Goolwa

4. Barcoo River camping area, via Isisford, Queensland

A long time ago, one of the most feared creatures on the planet started its quest for world domination right here in Isisford! Fossils of Isisfordia duncanii – also known as the mother of all crocodiles – were found nearby and are now on display at the Outer Barcoo Interpretive Centre.

But ancestral crocodiles aren’t the only attraction in this small outback township south of Longreach.

One of the most bizarre and intriguing town signposts I’ve ever seen greets travellers from the east before crossing the Barcoo to the campground on the other side complete with toilets. Showers are available in the town park – if you can get past the beautifully restored pub!

But Isisford is memorable for other reasons.  Because a few years ago, on our one and only day trip there, it was the very first spot EVER where I was given a Senior’s Discount.  INCORRECTLY, of course – I’m not THAT old!! But you knew that, right?!?!?!

MORE about Isisford

5. Borough Huts, via Halls Gap, Victoria

We just can’t seem to get past the Halls Gap Caravan Park on our regular visits to the Grampians – jewel in the Victorian National Parks crown!

Perhaps it’s the proximity to the Halls Gap bakery – the perfect destination for an early morning constitutional!

But every time we drive past the excellent Borough Huts campground on Fyans Creek around 10 km south of Halls Gap on the Dunkeld road, we vow to stay there.

Next time!

There’s a lot to be said for staying in the middle of the Grampians National Park right next to your very own scenic public toilet and within cooee of many of the excellent hikes and drives that make a visit to the park so memorable.

If only we could tear ourselves away from that TOO-FINE bakery …

MORE about the Grampians National Park

6. Devils Marbles, via Tennant Creek, Northern Territory

As well as the location of one of my favourite Scenic Public Toilets; a killer sunrise AND sunset photo spot; AND a site significant to the local Aboriginal people, Karlu Karlu – colloquially known as the Devils Marbles – also boasts what must surely be one of Australia’s most picturesque campgrounds.

However, ever since we discovered Wycliffe Well – Australia’s UFO capital – on our first road-trip foray north of Alice Springs in 2008, the Devils Marbles campground has always been left for another day.

BUT … it’d be handy to be right on site at sunrise and sunset to capture the magical light that paints the Marbles with classic Central Australian Outback colours.

And test out that Scenic loo …

MORE about the Devils Marbles

If you’d like to have around 3000 MORE Australian campsites at your disposal, check out the Explore Australia Camping Around Australia app (iPhone and iPad compatible) – and I’ll see you on the road somewhere!

And for photos of some of the GREAT Australian Campsites I and others have discovered all around OZ, visit my Pinterest Board – Cool Australian Campsites!

AND … check out my post about Australia’s 10 BEST Camping HOT Spots!

The post 6 MUST-visit Aussie Campsites appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Australia Telescope Compact Array

At the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the future of Southern Hemispheric radio astronomy was in my hands, at least for the next 30 minutes or so.

Staggering advances in technology channel radio signals from deep, DEEP space through the 6-Dish Australia Telescope Compact Array.  The dishes work together to simulate a much larger antenna. However, the advances were apparently not quite advanced enough to drown out the rather weak signal emitted by my mobile phone.

The thought of death by Optus* was strangely appealing. Because that’s apparently what would happen to whatever radio signal data was filtering its lonely way across the aeons of light years separating earth from the nebulae and galaxies behind the sheltering sky above if I left my phone on.  I made an uncharacteristic decision to play nice.

So I switched the mobile off. Danged thing wasn’t receiving a signal anyway.

More importantly, I didn’t know if anyone was watching.  Or recording my actions and movements.  ~400 astronomers use the Compact Array and other Australian radio telescopes each year.  And any of them could have been lurking over in the unmistakeably government-issue buildings behind me.

The sinking sun silhouetted five of the massive parabolic dishes, each 22 metres (~72 feet) in diameter and weighing 270 tonnes, against the clear evening sky. I was lucky.  They could have easily been in a different configuration along the 3 km (1.86 miles) of track that separates them from the 6th dish, fixed in position at its western end.

I lined them up for a full-frontal Compact Array shot. Sweet.

Yes, size DOES matter!

The Loo at the end of the Universe

I got a massive thrill from nailing a rare** 5-dishes-in-a-Compact-Array-at-the-end-of-the-universe shot.  But it ALMOST distracted me from the unobtrusive white structure between the Car Park and the Visitor Centre.

When this blog was taking its first uncertain steps towards the fame and fortune that still eludes it, I naively dubbed Scenic Public Toilet #4 ‘The Little Public Toilet at the End of the Universe’.

But … I was wrong.

How can a remote Outback spot compete with an obscure New South Wales location in the Namoi Valley’s agricultural belt near Narrabri? Even if it does resemble a moonscape!

I put aside all thoughts of black holes, and other unsavoury astronomic phenomena.  I couldn’t help appreciating the weird juxtaposition of the symbols of humanity’s lowly response to nature’s call; and the ultimate pinnacle of humanity’s search for meaning in the universe.

The afternoon light was fading and the stars beginning to appear, so we left the Compact Array Visitor Centre for nearby Narrabri.

And I turned my mobile back on.

* An Australian mobile phone network carrier
** Well, do YOU have one??

Want MORE?

• More about the Compact Array
• Narrabri, New South Wales
• Australian Scenic Public Toilet #4
• Other Australian Scenic Public Toilets

The post Australia Telescope Compact Array – Loo #36 appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

Risking it all at Sawn Rocks!

‘You’d be REALLY unlucky to be underneath when a rock column fell,’ the Grey Nomad to his wife as I stood, camera pointed up at the rock face directly above me, waiting for the sun.

They laughed merrily.

It’s not like the Grey Nomads were exaggerating either. Strewn all around me in the rocky creek bed lay a mess of great fallen columns.

The lichen and moss softened the edges, but could hide the unmistakeable size and shape so readily matching what hung from – what, exactly? – so high on the cliff above me.

The dearth of Greek temple ruins on the Narrabri plains in central New South Wales where the Sawn Rocks are found, meant the fallen columns could only have come from one place – the rocky wall above.

And the culprits? Plants growing in the fissures high above!

Organ Piping

The phenomenon geologically known as ‘organ-piping’ is caused when a lava flow cools slowly and evenly so the forming crystals align perfectly, with the uniform shrinkage causing cracks that join up to form the columns. It’s also known as columnar jointing!

But lest you think I’ve added ‘geologist’ to my ever expanding array of talents, and therefore that ANYONE can be a geologist, think again!

I’ve paraphrased from the information boards along the 750 metre walk from the carpark to the rocks!  Too easy!!

Where to find Sawn Rocks

In the shadow of Mt Kaputar, rising 1510 metres (4954 ft) and what’s left of the Nandewar Shield Volcano that ruptured into virtual oblivion back in the dim distant past, the Sawn Rocks – rising high above the trees and plunging a reported 60 metres (196 ft) into the ground below – ROCK in the morning sunlight of a clear winter’s day.

At least they did until the clouds rolled in, just as I reached the best vantage point after clambering up the dodgy staircase formed by a few of the organ-pipes’ fallen comrades.

So I waited for the clouds to roll away, and admired anew the clean lines of the rocks offset by the shadow at the base of each column that had fallen away. There was something soothing about the repetitive lines, colours and shadows that seemed familiar.

Was it too fanciful to compare it to petrified corrugated iron?

The similarities were astounding. And the irony of a corrugated iron admirer being killed by a falling column of rock bearing an astonishing similarity to it didn’t escape me either.

The Grey Nomads left, bored of waiting for the fickle finger of fate to strike me down.

So there I was, in the middle of a deadly stand-off.

Would the sun come out before the deadly forces of karma struck and silenced my shutter forever??

Mt Kaputar National Park

Exploring this section of Mt Kaputar National Park had been a long time coming for Pilchard and I.

We’d driven through the region several times, and even stayed over once or twice. But while we’d checked out the Narrabri bakeries and even been to the Mt Kaputar summit, Sawn Rocks remained elusive.

But now, in June 2013 the planets aligned and we were finally here. So perhaps meeting my fate here would be fitting …

And then, just as my thoughts were starting to sound positively depressing, the sun came out, I roused from my lethargy and my trigger shutter button finger went berserk!

All without a single rock fall …

So maybe those morbid thoughts just mean I have a LOW boredom threshold, right?

Want MORE?

• Sawn Rocks
• Mt Kaputar National Park
• 1000 Words About Corrugated Iron

The post Sawn Rocks, Narrabri, New South Wales appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.