What's in the NOVEMBER 2008 issue....

Places to go...

Bowen's the place to relax With white sands and blue bays to entice you to slow down, the north Queensland town of Bowen is the perfect place to unwind.

Things to do...

Sky high See Australia from a different perspective when you're flying through the sky.

First Fleet memorial Beside the New England Highway in NSW is a memorial garden dedicated to the people who sailed with the First Fleet.

Rabbit-proof fence In 1907 a fence was built in a hope of stopping the rabbit invasion in WA.

Campsites...

Dalrymple Tourist Van Park, Charters Towers, Queensland

Rainbow Pines Tourist Caravan Park, Old Adaminaby, NSW

Numurkah Caravan Park, Victoria

Sea Breeze Caravan Park, Gladstone, Queensland

Nature...

Wildlife connections With an incessant drone that can become deafening, cicadas let everyone know that summer is on its way.

Not-so-wild photography A few tips and tricks can help you to capture wonderful wildlife photos.

Caravans & Motorhomes...

3 Dog Camping Rover The Power family offer a true to life evaluation of the camper trailer that has been their home on their four-month long, around Australia trip.

Just for readers...

Rigs on the road A home built caravan is the perfect way to get exactly what you want.

My Favourite Place Ken and Anne recommend the creeks and gorges of Boodjamulla National Park as their favourite place.

Cooking...

Get the camp oven out for a good, old fashioned feed that the whole family will enjoy.

Bowen's the place to relax

By Catherine Lawson, photography by David Bristow

In 2007, the making of Baz Luhrmann's movie Australia turned this laidback, old-worldly seaside town into Bowenwood. Thankfully, the town hasn't let fame go to its head. It remains a beautiful, often overlooked beach holiday destination with white sand shorelines, granite boulder headlands and calm, blue bays that are perfect for fishing, paddling, snorkelling and swimming.

With a scenic interpretive centre and cafe on Flagstaff Hill, a bustling marina, breezy, beachside cafes and plenty of caravan parks, Bowen boasts just enough sophistication without spoiling the scene altogether.

Head for the hills

By Rod Faithful

I was enjoying a beer or two with a couple of mates when the conversation turned to caravans and the intrepid travellers known as Grey Nomads. My companions were a little anti-caravan, so it was with some apprehension that I announced my wife and I were taking our van up the Great Alpine Road from Bairnsdale to Omeo in Victoria.

The entire road is sealed from Bairnsdale in the south, up over Mount Hotham and on to Wangaratta in the north - 312km of magnificent High Country touring. Looking from the summit of Mount Hotham I doubt that there is a place anywhere in Australia where you can see so much country in one eyeful.

Not-so-wild photography

By Stephanie Jackson

If you are like me, you want to return home from every trip with a swag of photographs to ensure that your experiences are immortalised forever on film. Sure, you take photographs of people, of the landscape and of city and rural architecture - but what about the wildlife? Too hard, you say? You think you need a heap of expensive equipment? Well think again, for in many situations that is definitely not the case.

Stunning landscapes and architectural treasures are everywhere. You just have to point and shoot to capture them. People can be politely asked to pose but photographing wildlife, is, I have to admit, not quite so easy, although with a long lens, it does become a less daunting task.

The magazine for Australian travellers by Australian travellers