Odds and Ends

Internet Access In Country WA

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Finding internet access is easy enough in cities and popular tourist spots, but what if you need to check your e-mail in less-visited country areas, where tourist facilities may be scarce? In Western Australia, telecentres are a useful solution.

The WA state government provides telecentres so that rural folk can have access to educational computer facilities and high speed internet like their city cousins do. They are often the access points for government services like Centrelink or TAFE, and also offer services like printing, photocopying, fax and videoconferencing.

Although originally intended for residents, travellers are welcome to use them too. The benefit for travellers is that a large number of widely scattered small towns - many of which don’t have mobile phone coverage - have somewhere that internet can be accessed for prices comparable to city internet cafes. Some, particularly in towns more popular with tourists, also allow copying of digital photos to CD.

The telecentre at Mukinbudin

The telecentre at Mukinbudin

Opening hours vary widely, because the telecentres are often incorporated into a visitors centre, library, school, or some other government agency whice may have its own restricted hours. For example, late opening, early closing and lunchtime closures may be encountered, and some may not open every day - the smaller and more isolated the town, the less likely long hours will be. If your need for internet is important and your time in a town is limited, it could pay to ring ahead and check availability.

Details of WA’s telecenters are available from www.telecentres.wa.gov.au. At the time of writing, a location map and a list of addresses and phone numbers could be downloaded - a useful addition to the travel kit of anyone touring the back roads of Western Australia.

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About Maps, And Update Frequency

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

This is just a quick explanatory note about a couple of aspects of this website.

Maps

I like to include basic maps showing the locations of places I write about on this website. Not for navigation - anyone touring the area can get free detailed maps from visitors’ centres - but to provide context and indicate the general area.

So far I’ve used Google maps. With the ability to zoom in, scroll around and switch to aerial photos, it seemed the ideal solution for a website.

Unfortunately, creating Google maps has become painfully slow and troublesome. Components either don’t load, don’t work, or else they take an extremely long time, or numerous attempts. The time I’ve wasted following Google’s troubleshooting tips has been fruitless, therefore I’ve given up on Google maps. I simply don’t have the time to waste on their fault-ridden product - the time would be better spent writing content.

I’m looking at alternatives that don’t take all day, and actually work. In the meantime, I apologise for any lack of maps.

Update Frequency

I began this website with the aim of adding to it twice per week if possible, but was happy with an average of once per week. Things have dropped off a lot recently!

The reason - I’ve been juggling a demanding combination of work and study which has consumed nearly all my free time. It won’t always be that way, but there may often be periods when busyness precludes regular writing. Also there will be times when I’m travelling and therefore offline.

My desire to build this website into a large and useful resource remains, however it is a long term goal (ie many years). In the short term, don’t be surprised if my writing is sometimes irregular.

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Travel Tip - Seek Out The Least Promoted Areas

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

When researching a holiday, you might notice that some areas are far more heavily promoted and visited than others. Usually it is because these places are worth visiting - but that doesn’t mean that the less popular and less advertised places have nothing to offer. On the contrary, if you have the flexibility to choose your own route, you might uncover hidden gems if you:

Identify the areas least promoted in tourist literature - then go there.

While it’s true that lack of appeal to visitors can be one reason for a lack of promotion, other common reasons include:

The road past Great Lake is no tourist hot-spot, but it leads to some fine sights

The road past Great Lake is no tourist hot-spot, but it leads to some fine sights

Lack of promotion to tourists doesn’t necessarily mean there is nothing to see. If you make the effort to explore a less promoted region, any attractions you find can be enjoyed with fewer crowds, a more relaxed atmosphere, and the accommodation will probably be cheaper thanks to less demand.

The Maniototo region of New Zealand is a fine example. While this area does promote itself, such promotion is minuscule compared to that of the more popular areas, and it is not on the mainstream tourist itineraries. Because of this, I went there - and found a gorgeous region made more beautiful, in my mind, by the absence of mass tourism.

Another example is the central plateau of Tasmania around Great Lake and Arthur’s Lake, which doesn’t conveniently fit into the traditional tourist loop of Tasmania. With no significant tourist sites and limited accommodation, one travel guide described it as a bleak area with poor roads, of interest only to hardy trout fishermen. This only encouraged me to go there and see what others are missing - a landscape that is unique in Australia, with a subtle beauty defying the superficial bleakness. And because of the lack of publicity, I was able to enjoy it all without crowds.

If you’re fortunate enough to be planning a holiday, why not check a map and work out which areas are least promoted or not part of the popular touring routes. You never know what unexploited treasures may be hidden there.

Maniototo - not promoted much, but not crowded and not without charm

Maniototo - not promoted much, but not crowded and not without charm

Note: this post has been adapted from one which first appeared on my other website

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Delightful Place Names Of Tasmania

Friday, December 12th, 2008

Australia has some weird and wonderful place names, and investigating colourfully-named locations can be a great excuse for wandering off the main roads. I’ve done this in Tasmania, which has its fair share of odd and quaint labels.

Names like Fern Tree or Flowery Gully are straightforward, as they describe what you’ll find there. I didn’t spot the hollow tree which I assume Hollow Tree was named after, but I did see a penguin at the town of Penguin.

Near Paradise, Tasmania

Near Paradise, Tasmania

Some names are alluring, almost begging to be visited. Are the localities of Paradise, Plenty and Promised Land as attractive as they sound? They looked pretty good to me, as they obviously did for those who named them. Is Adventure Bay as much fun as the name suggests? How would you feel in Snug? I did feel snug in the town of Snug, but haven’t yet made it to Adventure Bay.

Other names may arouse curiosity. What have the people at Detention Point been up to? How much suffering really goes on at Cramps Bay? Some names have historical explanations - Eggs and Bacon Bay might be where Lady Jane Franklin (18th century governor’s wife) once either ordered or was served eggs and bacon. But how Nowhere Else got its name is something I’ve yet to learn.

My favourite place name belongs to Flowerpot, a rural community on the coast south of Hobart. I love the quaintness of the name, and find it amusing to think that some people are able to say “I live in Flowerpot”. The drive through the area was very enjoyable, but gave no obvious reason for the name. Perhaps I’ll stop and ask someone about it on my next trip … as well as satisfying my curiosity about Adventure Bay and Nowhere Else.

Eggs and Bacon Bay, Tasmania

Eggs and Bacon Bay, Tasmania

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