Outdoors

There's a brisk, chilly winter breeze on the Macquarie River in Dubbo in the Central West of New South Wales. Stagnant fog hangs above the water as far as the eye can see and the silence of the river...

Grant Houniet was once one of the fastest snowshoe runners in the world. But these days he travels at a much slower pace as he takes walkers on his guided snowshoe tours in the high country of...

The Jatbula Trail connects Katherine Gorge, at the south-west of Nitmiluk National Park, with Edith Falls in the west of the reserve. In a long arc the track loops around the Seventeen Mile Valley,...

Watching the sun set on the Timor Sea is nothing short of spectacular. Emma Cartwright reckons there’s no better view of it than from the beachhouse balcony at Dundee Beach after a solid...

 Camps along the Murray River are one of the true joys of Australia. Motor along the Murray any time from December 1 – when the season for Murray cod opens – until Easter, and you...

 A silver-haired outback magician, Roger Henwood flourishes a finger at the heavens. “It will appear about there and go to about there,” the Facilities and Security Coordinator for...

  The altimeters strapped to the wrists of the experienced skydivers count out the height – 1000 metres … 3000 … 5000 – as the plane spirals upwards. Greg and Elaine...

Spiny freshwater crayfish look as though they must have been a prototype for the very first living creature ever assembled. It’s as though they were put together from any old hardware that God...

Every year people perish in the outback, their vehicles bogged or broken down, and left as they search for help. Few people can understand why they wander off from their cars, often leaving water...

With a determined rev and a throb of their diesel engines, the vehicles charge down the earthy slope and plunge into the Macquarie River not far from Dubbo, NSW. As they plough through the chilly...

PEOPLE have been making the most of Lake Lefroy for the past 40 years, capturing the wind in their sails and reaching speeds of more than 100km/h. The salt lake that borders the small towns of...

With the weather warming up, anglers around the country are gearing up. When it comes to fishing, Australia definitely is the lucky country with endless opportunities in secluded estuaries, along...

ROGER MILES is not called the ‘Cod Hunter’ for nothing. The bloke thinks like a Murray cod – or, at least, it seems like he does and it’s no stretch to say that the resident...

The adventure begins before the group has even left daylight. One by one, each of the 12 people walk tentatively to the edge of a large hole, about 10 metres deep and several dozen wide, to be hooked...

The fabulous fishing along the eastern side of the Gulf of Carpentaria has been well documented for years, thanks to easy access at places such as Weipa. However, the western side, off the Northern...

Bar Antarctica, Australia is the world’s driest continent and South Australia its driest state. Paradoxically, it provides enthusiasts with some of the best inland aquatic adventure...

Despite the fact that Australia is one of the driest continents on earth, there are still hundreds of streams and rivers to explore. Ranging from fast-flowing, high-country streams through to slow,...

The mighty Murray River is the quintessential Australian waterway and one of the best ways to experience it is in a canoe, floating downstream between the river red gums. As the tiny vessel slices...

The Australian bass is a favourite among anglers thanks to its highly aggressive nature and good looks. Like many other natives it all but shuts down during the cooler months with peak fishing time...

The most remarkable thing about South Australia’s Mount Remarkable National Park is not its eponymous mountain but the colourful gorges to its west. Sliced into the dry slopes of the southern...

At Snowy River Horseback Adventures, Danielle Ternes and Glen Dixon are building a life for themselves around delivering a taste of the Man from Snowy River to the world. They’re both hugely...

Feral pests are a significant threat to the Australian environment and every year governments spend around $720 million in an effort to control them. The bad news is that much of this cost is taken...

The bar at the Ebor pub is not much bigger than an average lounge room, but it is packed, and all the talk is of fly-fishing. It’s a small pub in the northern New South Wales town of 60 people...

As the Christmas holidays draw near many are planning to leave the inland and head for the coast. Minds previously focussed on stock and fodder turn towards the chance to hook onto a big one. One of...

The European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was introduced to Australia from England in the mid-1800s for recreational reasons. Fox-hunting was already popular in England and it was hoped that the foxes...

As a sportfish, Spanish mackerel (also known as a mack or Spaniard) have got the lot. Their silver, streamlined body, built for speed, makes them impressive to look at. Their cavernous mouth houses...

There are few things more enjoyable than wading a shallow sand flat flicking lures about in search of flathead. Since they are prolific around most of the country, particularly in the southern half...

Just near Smoky Cape, on the shores of Trial Bay, the small NSW town of South West Rocks (SWR) is renowned for being the gateway to some very rich fishing grounds. It is roughly 500 kilometres north...

The intrinsic value of nature is that it’s a resource for well-being – you can’t measure that in simple economic terms,” explains Mark ‘Darvis’ Davis. Founding...

In pig hunters’ dreams the quintessential trophy boar is a big, black, mud-encrusted razorback with needle-sharp tusks protruding more than three inches from the bottom jaw. Mounted heads of...