Australian Country Towns don’t come much smaller than some of these! But each town on my A-Z list within my Aussie ABC punches above its weight with attractions you probably won’t find anywhere else. My list of HOT Aussie Towns from N-Z here in Part 2 have attractions so COOL you’ll want to see them all.

And if you missed my selection of Australian Country Towns from A – M, then take a look at Part 1 of T is for Towns HERE!

Nimbin, New South Wales

This vibrant village in the heart of Northern New South Wales’ Rainbow Region is a alternative lifestyle magnet – think communes, cannabis and colourful creativity – amidst a spectacular natural rainforest.

Which is still there thanks to a sustained – and successful – protest against logging that reached a head at nearby Terania Creek, now known as Protestors Falls, in 1979.

Orroroo, South Australia

Near the Goyder Line – surveyed to determine the point at which agriculture in South OZ isn’t viable – Orroroo is a stepping off point for the Flinders Ranges.

But detour to nearby Magnetic Hill, described by Wikipedia as a gravity hill optical illusion! It’s not unique to Australia – but the bizarre sensation of rolling uphill on a downhill slope makes it a tourist magnet, haha!

Portland, Victoria

Non-birdos might not find the prospect of seeing the only mainland Australian Gannet colony at Point Danger near Portland – oldest European settlement in Victoria – so thrilling.

Luckily, the other attractions – like the Petrified Forest and Blowholes at Cape Bridgewater; and Enchanted Forest, Yellow Rock and Lighthouse at Cape Nelson – have more universal appeal. And how could anyone resits the Bonney Upwelling Festival?

Quobba, Western Australia

More of a locality than a town, Quobba makes up for its lack of infrastructure with a stunning coastal landscape complete with campground, beach, lighthouse, whales, blowholes (both the rocky AND whale types), wildflowers, monster waves – and one of the best Aussie dunnies anywhere EVER!

Yes, it’s in MY BOOK: Aussie Loos with Views!

Richmond, Tasmania

Nearly every Aussie state has a town, suburb or locality called Richmond. The Tasmanian Richmond boasts Australia’s oldest bridge built in 1823. Between Hobart and World Heritage site Port Arthur, picturesque and historic Richmond makes a perfect base from which to explore.  Especially when you consider its fine collection of eateries!

Besides, everyone’s already got the shot of Australia’s MOST photographed bridge!

Swan Reach, South Australia

One of the first South OZ river ports, Swan Reach marks where Goyder’s Line crosses the Murray River.  It’s 30 km below the first of the 13 completed locks along the biggest river system in OZ.

Explorer Edward John Eyre made his home here, and nearby Big Bend (can you guess why it’s called that?) has the highest cliffs on the Murray!

Tully, Queensland

Tully’s Golden Gumboot shows the height of its annual rainfall. But it doesn’t show the rivalry between Tully, Babinda and Innisfail.  Each year they vied for the ‘honour’ of being Australia’s wettest town and scoring the ‘Golden Gumboot’ award!

With average annual falls of 4000 mm (160 inches) AND highest recorded annual rainfall in a populated area (7900 mm in 1950) sugar town Tully claims the title!

For now …

Useless Loop, Western Australia

Unless you get a job mining the purest salt in the world, you won’t see the Useless Loop township because no tourists are allowed in this closed community, westernmost town in Australia.  But it’s still my favourite Australian Country Towns name!

You CAN access the Shark Bay World Heritage area surrounding the town from closest town Denham.  It’s also the official westernmost town with Australia’s westernmost caravan park!

Victoria River Roadhouse, Northern Territory

A fully self-contained roadhouse with fuel, food, accomodation is what passes for a town in parts of the Northern Territory. With a scenic campground setting below the Stokes Range right next to Australia’s WILDEST river, the roadhouse is worth a stopover.

The Victoria River Roadhouse is a chance to experience wild Outback Australia at its best if you like your scenery full of staggering views and your landscapes with a rugged edge.

Wycheproof, Victoria

It’s not such a long way to the top of Mt Wycheproof, a “metamorphic boss”.  At 43 metres above the plain (237 m above sea level) it is also the world’s (self-proclaimed) smallest mountain!

Visible from Broadway below in the township, the mini-mount is a tourist drawcard.  Especially when coupled with endemic flower Correa Glabra, unique mountain quartz Wycheproofite AND a cool scenic loo.  YES, it’s in my BOOK!

eXmouth, Western Australia

I can’t tell you why there aren’t many OZ towns beginning with X.  But I blame an unimaginative language that fails to use the letter X to its full potential!

That doesn’t mean Exmouth on the tip of North West Cape isn’t worth seeing.  It’s between the ocean and the outback with Ningaloo Reef on one side (guess which!) and Cape Range National Park on the other!

Yowah, Queensland

This remote opal mining town shares its name with the Yowah Nut, a geode-like nut shaped rock with an opal core found nowhere else on earth.

They’ve got matrix opal too.

Come for the opal festival and find yourself a Yowah Nut either on the opal field or at one of the many opal outlets.  Or just experience the awesome Aussie outback at its best!

FitZroy Crossing, Western Australia

Visit during the dry season and you’d never guess that the Fitzroy River has the highest volume of water in Australia. That’s when it’s in flood with an estimated 30,000 cubic metres per second flowing along a 15 km wide flood plain.

When it’s not being flooded out, visit Fitzroy Crossing for the awesome Geikie Gorge, the closest mainland Australia has by way of icebergs!

Well, that’s just a tiny town teaser! With thousands of small Australian Country Towns there are a LOT more to discover out there.

And if you want to discover them for yourself, take a look at some cheap flights to get you started!

Want MORE?

• T for Towns Part 1 A-M
• Australian Towns, Wikipedia
• MORE Photos of Australian Towns on Flickr
• MORE Aussie ABC 

The post Aussie ABC: T is for Towns Part 2 appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

‘Shark! Everyone out of the water!!’ he yelled, and I involuntarily jumped back from the guardrail high above Eagle Bluff, my movement triggered by that most primeval of Australian fears: Shark Attack!!

The amphitheatre of crumbling white rock plunging down into the green shallows of the bay below from the tourist brochure HAD to be trick photography, I’d thought upon seeing a photo of Eagle Bluff in Shark Bay. The sea around Denham, closest town 20km up the road from the bluff, was blue. And the distant dunes and cliffs were red!

But the view from the boardwalk was exactly like the pictures – except for the shark, cruising lazily across the glinting green waters of the gigantic lagoon below the bluff. The young man hadn’t been joking about that – but the chances of losing a limb to THIS shark were negligible. The boardwalk upon which we stood was WAAAAAY too far above sea level for anything but a non-existent wingless shark to negotiate.

The young traveller who’d sounded the alarm was grinning like an idiot at the consternation he’d created. At least I wasn’t the only one torn between two bluffs, looking like a fool.

Although I’m not so much of a fool as to take the snorkelling tour into those shark-infested waters …

It doesn’t require a great leap of imagination to figure out why the Shark Bay World Heritage area is known as Shark Bay!

Although the heritage listed graffiti carved on a rock that announced the 1858 arrival of Captain Henry M Denham, namesake for Shark Bay’s largest town, is no longer above Eagle Bluff. Threatened by erosion, it’s part of Pioneer Park in the Denham township.

The view goes further than the shallow green waters below the bluff. Past the line where the green gives way to the darker blue and deeper ocean, birds nest on the offshore Eagle Islands, once mined for guano. Also visible on a clear day are the mountains of salt awaiting export from Useless Loop, its name derived from Havre Inutile (Useless Harbour), the original name bestowed by French explorer de Freycinet.

Beyond Useless Loop, it’d be a lie to say I could see Steep Point – westernmost edge of mainland Australia – through the heat and salt haze. But it’s out there somewhere! And this is as close as I got – this time, anyway!

From the boardwalk running the length of Eagle Bluff, sea creatures like dugongs, rays, turtles and sharks are clearly visible in the waters far below, should they deign to appear. And appear they all did on two separate visits – although we actually spent more time observing the deeply fascinating human behaviours of visitors to this startlingly scenic spot.

Perhaps keeping up with social media IS more important than taking in the astonishing coastal panorama and nearly endless parade of wildlife swimming below. But if that’s the case, why bother coming?

And I didn’t think my Australian accent was so incomprehensible that ‘dugong’ could be mistaken for ‘shark’! But somewhere back in England, a young tourist is probably right now showing off his ‘shark’ photos, his audience none the wiser about the true identity of the dugong shaped blob in the water …

We’ll never understand why we were the only ones to take the rough, but clearly marked track from the car park to a vantage point with magnificent views up and down the coastline. Or why reading interpretive signs has become a lost art. And is getting a photo really worth stepping off the boardwalk onto the eroded and crumbling cliff edge, risking a plunge to the green, shark-laden depths below?

I see a stint as the tour guide from hell in my future … and although the Shark Attack Alert bluff at Eagle Bluff threw me for a (Useless) Loop, that won’t stop me from paying it forward next time I’m in Denham!!

Want more information?

• Shark Bay Attractions
• Shark Bay World Heritage Area
• Denham, Western Australia
• Useless Loop
• Steep Point (Mainland Australia’s westernmost point)

The post What to see at Eagle Bluff, Shark Bay, Western Australia appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.