On 6PR Weekend Wrap Up, I found myself sharing the airwaves with John Burgess, an icon of Australian television and radio. A tv game show host legend and a radio dj when dj’s were gods of the airwaves. It was very cool to laugh our way through stories about sports tourism.
From callers with tales about naked West Indian cricketers to iconic events and venues around the world and close to home, with a lot of laughter we covered more ground than the MCG.
Enjoy listening to the first half of the show in the file below. Just like a Grand Prix driver, we go off track from time to time but we got to the finish line in style!
It was lots of fun to learn where our best bakeries are. Heats in Cockburn was a surprise that many callers say have the best donuts. Rottnest Bakery wasn’t a surprise nomination and it’s a great example of what we like about our favourite bakeries when we travel. They’re part of that rite of passage moment that defines your arrival. You haven’t really arrived on Rottnest until you’ve been to the bakery.
Williams Woolshed has a sausage roll that will get you through the day and Mount Barker with its range of gourmet pies was a popular choice.
A good bakery can be a reason to travel or it might just be the traditional break on your way to somewhere down the road.
The cream bun at Rottnest Bakery will give you the sugar rush you need to cycle around the islandWilliams Woolshed sausage rolls have become a reason to stop in Williams for my family (pic Williams Woolshed)Many bakeries are on the main streets of country towns. The Toodyay Bakery has a balcony veranda overlooking the Main Street, perfect for watching the world go by as you wait for your cottage pie to cool down.
On 6PR with Rusty, we swam with dolphins, watched some bilbies and even made time to debate whether a cream bun should have mock cream or real cream.
Enjoy listening to the show on the bar below. Let me know if it inspires you to head down to Dryandra or Rockingham or anywhere that’s got an animal experience you can be a part of.
On 6PR on a recent summers weekend on the airwaves, we took to the skies to discover how getting into the air can inspire your travel or be an exciting part of it. It was also an opportunity to reflect on my air moments.
I used to love accompanying dad out to the Narrogin airstrip when his patients needed to fly out with the Royal Flying Doctor. I’d walk around the gliders and light aircraft, imagining I was a fighter pilot waiting to hear the call to “Scramble! Scramble!”.
I love that my kids have enjoyed getting into the air. Tom has ziplined, parasailed and been in seaplanes and even done ifly indoor skydiving. Matilda has ziplined and been in helicopters and even flown up the coast in a Tiger Moth, one of the worlds most beautiful and gentle aircraft.
Astronaut Michael Collins’ wife wrote out the aviators poem High Flight for him to take into space. In his book, Carrying the Fire, Collins remarked that he wondered what Magee would have written if he’d experienced space and not just flying a Spitfire through the blue summer skies of wartime England.
Even the most non religious pilots enjoy putting their hand up to the sky and murmuring…
‘And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod, the high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand and touched the face of God”.
Magee posted a copy of the poem to his parents and not long after was killed in a flying accident.
Flying a glider and looking for thermals in the air to stay in the airFlying a Spifire above the green fields of KentHot air ballooning on a cold Avon Valley morning Falling with style onto Palm BeachZiplining with Tom off Matagarup BridgeZiplining with Matilda down a mountain in South AfricaTom takes to the sky … indoorsMatilda takes to the skies in a Tiger Moth, used to train Empire Training Scheme pilots in World War IITom and I parasailing off the Fremantle coast … some big fish down there!Even a big plane is an adventure in the air
Astronaut Michael Collin’s once wrote that he wondered what John McGee, author of every aviators favourite poem, High Flight, would have written if he’d been able to go into space. I wonder if my own words, far less grander than High Flight, would improve with more height. I don’t think so. Gliding above the flat, wide landscape below me was a remarkable experience that I’m happy to share with you in the published story below.
On ABC Statewide we took a drive down our favourite roads. From Broome to Cape Leveque in the far north, to the roads of the Midwest during wildflower season, the big loop from Perth to Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Albany and back to Perth and how about the Zig Zag Scenic Drive up on Gooseberry Hill?
Personally, I still think an unsealed road in the Wheatbelt is hard to beat but the Broome to Cape Leveque road (back in the day) was a great experience.
Broome to Cape Leveque – couldn’t be redder, couldn’t be bluer, couldn’t be happier.
I’ve had a spectacular summer presenting a travel show each Saturday afternoon as part of the Saturday Catch Up.
We explored so many topics from adventures in the air, staycations here at home, roadtrips, ferry’s around the world, train travel around the world, festivals a whole lot more.
Ever wondered what I sound like? Have a listen to the audio below and hopefully you don’t run screaming from the room!
One of our best ever Hidden Treasures stories of all time! With special guest star, global writing superstar Molly Schmidt, we explored local books and the use of local locations and how they inspire our travels.
Listen to our chat below and learn not just what our favourite Western Australian books are but how important those local locations can be:
The Main Street of York is full of history, cafes, books and lollies
Growing up in a country town, the main street was a great place to walk down on a Saturday morning to see who else was out and about.
Main Streets of Western Australia continue to define the life of their communities. It might just be to go to the butcher or grocer, pick up the newspaper (maybe a copy of Have A Go News!) or some rope from the trading post. Or it might be that you’re on a road trip and want to buy the best sausage roll in town or look through a local museum.
Main streets are great reasons to get out and explore regional communities at any time of year.
Below is a story I recently had published about some of the best main streets in WA, and the best reasons for a walk down them:
Chris Parry Writes For Us 