The FAAAAAABULOUS colours of OZ make the life of a downunder blogging, photographing, writing traveller with a penchant for bakeries REALLY easy …

Getting a good pic from right in front of a spectacularly AWESOME panorama, a weird and wacky BIG Thing or a KILLER sunset is what’s called, in the technical photographic terminology used by us amateurs, a SURE THING.

It’s SO easy, in fact, that worrying about my eventual exposure as a photographic fraud just makes me break out in capitals all over!

So when the wonderful Linda of Journey Jottings tagged me to enter this year’s Capture the Colour competition sponsored by TravelSupermarket, my heart sank momentarily. Because not only am I a loud & proud photographic AMATEUR, the impact of my photos very much relies on the stories I tell about them.

Just FIVE photos? In Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and White?? That STAND ALONE???

Yeah … I can do that! Kind of!! Let me show you my FIVE colours of OZ as captured in FIVE very different Australian towns!!! Towns I haven’t before shown you!!

BUT … because I struggle with brevity AND I’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell of winning anyway, I’ve backed up each town with another photo to help show its true colours!

RED … Marree, South Australia

These days, thanks to roads now mostly sealed in recent times, this little outpost on the edge of the remote South Australian Outback is less than a day’s drive – 685 km – from Adelaide.

But that wasn’t always the case. Once the rail head for the Ghan railway, then an important link on the now defunct rail route to Alice Springs, but only accessible over a LOT of gravel, like in this photo, Marree was once considered WAY beyond the Back of Beyond!

And that’s also the name of a documentary about Tom Kruse, legendary Outback mailman who for nearly 30 years battled extreme temperatures, dust storms, sand dunes, floods and breakdowns to deliver mail in this RED 1936 Leyland Badger mail truck along the 519 km of the notorious track from Birdsville to Marree.

The truck now rests at the old rail yards across from the Marree Hotel – which ironically offers scenic plane and helicopter flights!  And why not? You wouldn’t want to miss Lake Eyre and Marree Man now, would you?!

MORE about Tom Kruse and Marree

BLUE … Brunswick Heads, New South Wales

An ecstatically happy combination of beaches, river, cafés, historic buildings, markets, shops, restaurants and other good stuff, Brunswick Heads is often (unaccountably) bypassed in favour of its bigger and WAY more brash neighbour Byron Bay, just down the coast from the Queensland/New South Wales Border.

And did I mention the bakery?

A vibrant community set amidst some of the most beautiful scenery in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, whether you’re a surfie, fisherperson, yuppie, grey nomad, tourist, trendy, backpacker, retiree or hippy there’s always something interesting to do at Brunswick Heads! And I’m not just talking about the bakery … although that’s SO fine, it’s worthy of visiting in its own right!!

Surrounded by the sea (see 1st photo above), the Brunswick river, and the hinterland behind, it’s hard to imagine Brunswick Heads featuring any colour but BLUE!

Sigh … I’m going to stop writing about it RIGHT NOW, so I can save it ALL for myself …

MORE about Brunswick Heads

A thirsty traveller on the Windorah Sand Dunes (see below) … Outback Queensland

YELLOW … Windorah, Queensland

Actually, small town Windorah, a great base from which to explore the Barcoo shire, is better known for its RED! SO red they hurt the eyes (see above), the incredibly photogenic local sand dunes just west of the township within cooee of the well known Coopers Creek are a tourist attraction in their own right.

BUT despite that – or maybe because of it – I couldn’t help noticing this YELLOW Backhoe (? can anyone enlighten me??) just off the highway in a Windorah backyard.

Actually, the matching toy backhoe right next to it is really what caught my eye …

And while yellow is an aberration in this Outback Queensland town dominated by the strong reds, greens and blues that typify the region in a good year, it’s a story in the making!

I wonder what the toy-owner will become when she or he grows up?!

MORE about Windorah and Coopers Creek

GREEN … Shepparton, Victoria

Nothing says ‘Shepparton’ or ‘Goulburn Valley Food Bowl’ better than an individually decorated life-size fibreglass cow – part of the MOOOOVING Art project – right??

Well, this one DOES have a GREEN agricultural bent …

For several generations of Aussies raised on Goulburn Valley products, the large regional town of Shepparton is worth a visit. And not just for the factory outlets such as Campbells and SPC Ardmona either!

Check out its natural attractions, wineries and walking trails, restaurants and – yes – bakeries, including the award winning slices of Tatura! But for my money, a morning walk around Lake Victoria is hard to beat – and it’s also GREEN!

MORE about Shepparton

WHITE … Carnarvon, Western Australia

Carnarvon will always be remembered as the town where Pilchard & I first spotted Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) – an interloper native to Sub-Saharan Africa, but on the official Australian Bird List nonetheless. We take our ‘Lifers’ where we find them …

And … celebrate with copious quantities of chocolate coated frozen banana and mango – just two of the fabulous treats on offer from this Western Australian food growing region on the banks of the Gascoyne, 900 km north of Perth. Just check out the plantation produce stalls and the Gascoyne Growers Market if you don’t believe me …

Then check out the Heritage Precinct with One Mile Jetty and the Tramway (check out that WHITE fence!) to really get a feel for this beautiful town! And, like me, plan a return trip to finish off the bits you missed …

MORE about Carnarvon

They’re MY true colours!  But there’s PLENTY more colour in Australia’s colourful country towns!  Check out my other TOP Aussie Towns HERE!  Or better still – visit some and see what I mean for yourself!!

The post Capture the Colours of OZ Country Towns! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.