With average maximum temperatures of 26 degrees, Glen Innes is the perfect place to visit in the Australian summer. There is so much to see and do in the Glen Innes Highlands, although its the people and the community that make this place a must to visit.

Everywhere you go in this town, you are welcomed with open arms. The town is proud of its heritage and has an overwhelming sense of community spirit. You cannot help but walkaway singing its praises to anyone who will listen.

A four-day visit only scratched the surface of this beautiful region as there are many attractions within the Glen Innes Highlands. Your Glen Innes holiday can be as busy or as relaxing as you make it, here are some suggestions;

1. Honour Australia’s Celtic past with a guided tour of the Australia Monument Standing Stones.
   
2. Slurp on a strawberry thick shake at the Super Strawberry or tuck into some traditional strawberries and cream.
   
3. Appraise contemporary art pieces by internationally acclaimed artist Lloyd Hornsby Gawura along with guest artists at the Gawura Gallery.
   
4. Get back to nature by visiting the local National Parks of the Glen Innes Highlands including; Kings Plain, Washpool and Gibraltar Range.
   
5. Step back through the town’s history at the Land of Beardies History Museum, this place is full to the brim of memorabilia, artefacts and celebrates Glen Innes’ colourful past. 

Make sure your first port of call when arriving in town is to visit the Visitor Information Centre. The friendly welcoming committee will have you walking out with a long list of things to do in this diverse region.  While you’re there take a sneaky look at a range of local sapphires at Reddestone Sapphires, they are beautiful you will just have to buy one.

If you are travelling with your caravan, why not book a shady site at Fossicker’s Caravan Park. The park is right in the heart of town and walking distance from the historic main street, despite being on the highway the park is quiet and set in a natural setting.

Glen Innes is certainly upping its food game with a wide-range of options to suit all dining experiences. While in town make sure you visit;

• The Railway Bistro Tavern serves amazing pub-fare with a modern flair served with old-style country hospitality – the Baileys cheesecake is an absolute must!
  
• The Hereford Steakhouse chars a mean steak, using locally-sourced beef and fresh ingredients you won’t be disappointed.
  
• The Crofters Cottage is a great stop to refuel after exploring the Australia Standing Stones, the brownie and macadamia slice were absolute delicious.
  

Glen Innes is perfect for the romantic weekend getaway or a week-long holiday with the family and it is perfect all year round; Winter, Autumn, Spring and even Summer too.

 

We are thrilled to be planning our first ever trip to the beautiful island of Tasmania.

This will be a quick fly and drive trip towards the end of twenty-seventeen.

We are sure we will fall in love and be back to the apple isle with the caravan in a few years time but this trip is going be about one week max.

Here is our start to the brainstorming:

Hobart

• MONA
• Salamanca Markets

Port Arthur

• Convict Settlement
• Tasman Arch
• Tessellated pavement

Strahan & Queenstown

• Gordon River Cruise
• Sarah Island
• Huon Pine Mill
• West Coast Wilderness Railway

Stanley

• The Nut Chair Lift

Launceston

• Tasmania Zoo

Cradle Mountain

• Pumphouse Point
• The Boat Shed
• Dove Lake
• Lake St Clair

Wineglass Bay

Callington Mill

It would be great to know what you all think is a must for our first Tassie adventure.

What are your tips for us?

 

S & S 

 

We are super excited and thankful to be nominated for the 2017 travel blog awards.

If you could spare a moment to follow the link below and vote for us we would really appreciate it.

https://mrpromocode.com.au/awards/travel-blog-awards-2017/

Thanks to everyone who reads our blog, follows our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/norrisaroundaustralia.com) or follows us on Instagram (@norrisaroundaustralia) , we are forever grateful.

S & S

It is only one week until we hit the road. So very excited…….

4 weeks of travelling around Outback Australia again. We get to visit some of our favourite remote Australian destinations and some brand new places that we have never been before.

We have some bucket list items to check off and some Australian history to indulge in.

It has been over 12 months in the making and so worth all the planning, saving and researching.

We have spent today; packing and sorting, fixing and repairing, organising and shopping. Our house-sitters arrive this week so we have some cleaning to do as well (no fun). Our beloved Billy the bush cat knows something is amiss, cats really do know when things are changing.

In case you don’t follow the blog; our big secret was the purchase of a drone. Shaun has been testing it out all week and we cannot wait to share some epic videos and photos of Outback Australia with you.

We have a busy week ahead; study, packing, a wedding and the we hit the frog and toad.

This time next week we will be sitting in our camping enjoying the great outdoors.

Bye for now.

S & S

 

Our next trip is fast approaching and we are super busy with trip preparation and general life activities.

The next few weeks are jammed full with a concert, several family visits and a wedding. Plus we somehow have to cram in work, study and most importantly trip preparation.

Our remaining trip specific preparation involves:

• purchasing some last minute items
• servicing our vehicle
• packing the van
• finalising some travel details (pending last minute wet weather changes)
• rotate vehicles and wheel alignment
• making lists and checking them off again

In other news we have a secret and cannot wait to share it with you. It is a nice addition to our travel adventures and is going to create even more great content for us to share with you all. We hope it will bring you as much joy as we get creating it. So make sure you stay tuned.

19 days till departure.

S & S

 

Our 2017 trip is fast approaching so it is time to dust off the keyboard and get crack-a-lacking on reinvigorating the blog.

We are in full-on trip prep mode. Vehicle and van prep is well underway. Shaun has spent the weekend servicing our Holden Colorado tow-vehicle. Plus he installed Boss Air-Suspension airbags to assist in keeping everything level while fully loaded and towing.

The saving strings have tightened buh-bye daily work coffee and buh-bye weekend breakfasts but hello, hello, helloooo trip countdown. A little bit of sacrifice always pay off.

Our 2017 trip is weather dependent but includes exploring the rivers and ranges of NSW, VIC, SA and QLD. More trip details to come.

S & S

 

 

 

Heya N.A.A readers,

We have been a bit a quite of late but never fear we are still kicking along. Currently, planning another outback adventure for 2017. We cannot wait! Stay tuned for where we are off to on our next outback adventure.

In the meanwhile please feel free to visit my new Etsy store and Facebook page where I celebrate outback Australia by means of my paintings and photographs.

https://www.facebook.com/sarahnorrisart

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/SarahNorrisArt

It has been quiet on the Norris Around Australia.com front of late.

As I type this morning I am surrounded by not a lot. There is furniture missing, piles of mess and overflowing boxes. There is a move in the pipeline and it is coming up quickly but slowly. We are excited beyond belief! However, there is still quite a lot to organise and still what feels like a lot of time so we are also anxious, overwhelmed and not getting too ahead of ourselves.

Our travels around Australia have been all about change and evolution. How we travel has evolved over time. When we began our travels we set off in a tent and swag and travelled for 6 months without working. From there we bought a camper trailer and began the next few years of working and travelling the Outback! Over the last two years we have based ourselves in one location and began to travel at every opportunity with flexibility and ease. We recently purchased our off-road caravan and it is time for another change.

Our travels have taught us many, many things and one of these is WE LOVE TRAVELLING! We love the freedom, experience new places, meeting new people and we have a deep love of LIFE! We always talk about living a life you love and creating a life that you don’t need to “escape” from and the time has come for us to continue to build that life.

We are about to start living a life we do not need to escape from, a life where we do not NEED a vacation every other week. A life where we still want to travel and still want to explore but a life where we enjoy each and everyday living somewhere we want to.

There will be travels still, day-trips, weekend-warrior stints, holidays and BIG trips. We are evolving. But it is okay because baby, things change!!

Stay tuned for more information our pending SEA-CHANGE.

What is everyone tips for moving?

Ours is don’t keep TOO MUCH STUFF!!!

 

 

 

The humble camp-fire.

A place to gather with fellow travellers.

A place to cook the most delicious winter meals.

A place to heat the billy for a nice cup of tea.

A place to soak in the warmth of the coals.

A place to toast a marshmallow or two.

Bring on 2016 winter camping.

Where are you going this Winter?

 

 

We all know it. We all forget it. We all need to remember it.

Life is short.

Our life is but a fleeting spec in the universe. Yet we all get caught up in the drama of what is going on around us and forget to live from within.

I believe this time we have on Earth is the most precious gift we have. No matter what our individual beliefs are, we all share life on Earth. That is what is known. Don’t worry about the unknown. We may all end up in “heaven”, we may all burn in hell, we may just all be buried in the soil 6 feet under. There are many “mays” but the known is we are here and we should appreciate it.

We all have the power to design our own lives. We do not have to fit into any pre-made cookie cutter molds. Life is precious and one should be able to live out their dreams (providing these dreams don’t hurt anyone of course.) From a travellers perspective we spend all our “leftover money” on travel. We want to see the world and at this particular phase of our life, we want to see Australia. This is the life we choose. Yet we have many people tell us that we are acting foolish. That we should have a big mortgage and be a family of four by this stage of our life.

No matter the type of life you lead, it is inevitable that at some stage you will feel stuck. Yes even us gypsies get that bogged down feeling. That feeling where you are standing on the edge of something big, a change, a new chapter but you do not know what that “big” thing is. And you definitely don’t know how to make it happen! It is one of the worst feelings. It feels like you are on a merry-go-round. Not going forward, not heading backwards but staying in the same place or going round in circles. Don’t let yourself stay in your stuck state for too long. Life is too short and too precious for that. To get yourself out, start digging.

How to dig yourself out:

1. Don’t focus on what you cannot control. Let it go.
2. Plan around the things you can control.
3. Look at how far you have come in the past 12 months. It will be further than you think.
4. Move forward constantly. If you take a step back, step forward again.
5. Appreciate the simple things.
6. Make a change. Even a small change can be enough to pull you out of your rut.