Author: Tom Rooney

A Kiwi Experience

The South Island of New Zealand, dear reader, is one of the world’s most beautiful travel destinations. While most of the population and industry are concentrated on the North Island, mother nature has blessed the South Island with an abundance of natural beauty. In fact … …

The land of the long white cloud

I crossed the Tasman Sea on a three hour flight to reach destination Auckland, the largest city of our closest neighbour and great mates from New Zealand. The country of four million people is blessed with sublime natural scenery, friendly people, superb tourist infrastructure and … …

I love a sunburnt country

Perth is the most remote capital city in the world, dear reader. If you cast your eyes east the vast expanses of the Nullabor Plain stretch to the South Australian border and way beyond; if you cast your eyes west the vast expanses of the … …

Way out west where the rain don’t fall

The far north of Australia is one of the most remote places on Earth, and every day in the top end features stunning scenery and a sense of wonder at the vast distances travelled. There are three major towns stretching from the East Coast to … …

Let’s go off the beaten track

Sumatra is a travel destination that few people are knowledgeable about, and even fewer people visit. It is, surprisingly, the sixth largest island in the world and well and truly off the beaten track. The previous journal left off in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, … …

Volcanic eruptions in Java

There’s so much more to experience on the Indonesian archipelago than just paying a visit to Bali. Australia’s nearest neighbour to the north is home to 220 million people, and the world’s largest archipelago has 1700 islands which span more than 5000 kilometres. Mind you, … …

The little big guy!

Singapore is an intriguing country that has always fascinated me. To use a sporting parlance, the country reminds me of the little guy who is always punching well above his weight, the guy who gets extraordinary results despite what seems to be overwhelming physical deficiencies. … …

Truly Asia

Malaysia is an unheralded destination on the South East Asian backpackers trail, and definitely fits the description Truly Asia! I flew in from Sydney to land in Kuala Lumpur on the Peninsula Malaysia, kicking off a backpacker trip in the most populous part of the … …

The power of of forgiveness

The United States dropped more bombs in the Vietnam war than were used during the entire course of World War ll, and it’s not too much to assume the Vietnamese would harbor a great deal of resentment toward foreigners. However, it’s amazing to experience nothing … …

The buddha pose

There is an indefinable quality that makes Buddhist countries superb travel destinations, and possibly the most famous of these is Thailand. Tourists flock to this Asian paradise from all over the world, and when it comes to the tourism industry the Thais do things better … …