February 2015 - Woman Going Places

Di Morrissey – My Top 5 Places in Australia

Rosalie Zycher

Di Morrissey is one of Australia’s most successful writers. She has written 24 best-selling novels and 2 children’s books.

Before publishing her first novel Heart of The Dreaming in 1991, she travelled the world as a journalist, television presenter and producer, actor, and diplomat’s wife. What followed was not only extraordinary success as a writer, but also a long-standing activism on behalf of the environment.

Each of her novels is anchored in a particular place that inspires her writing.

” The place chooses me. There’s generally a circumstance or I’m invited to go somewhere. I went toad-busting in the Kimberley. And I began to see what was happening in the Kimberley and went, ‘No, no. I have to write about this.’ “

Di trained and worked as a journalist in Sydney and London. When she married her first husband, Peter Morrissey, a U.S. diplomat, they were posted to Hawaii, where she began a career as a television actor.

When her marriage ended, she returned to Australia and for eight years appeared on Channel Ten’s Good Morning Australia. Risking all, she left this job in order to write – a desire she had nurtured since childhood.

Many of Di’s books portray the challenge of a woman breaking the mould and striking out to explore her identity. They also integrate key social, political and cultural issues into the narrative. They are all Australian stories, even when their settings are elsewhere, e.g. Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia or Vietnam.

Like many of us, Di was more familiar with foreign destinations than with Australia. That changed when she began filming stories and travelling with Good Morning Australia. In her own words, she “ fell in love with ” her country and realised how special and important it is that “ we look after our country.”

Those feelings led her to join writer Tim Winton in their successful campaign to save the Ningaloo Reef (read WomanGoingPlaces on Ningaloo Reef for Women Travellers) as well as her involvement in many other environmental issues.

She also actively campaigned for the release of Aung Sang Suu Kyi, which led her to Burma (Myanmar) and the subject of her book The Golden Land in 2012. She established a school outside Mandalay and set up the Golden Land Education Foundation in order to raise funds for the school.

To read more about Di and her books go to her website: http://dimorrissey.com.au

To find out more about Di’s school in Burma go to: www.goldenlandfoundation.org

Di’s Top 5 Places:

Broome

I passed through Broome in 1983 when filming for the TV programme Good Morning Australia and found a sleepy, far flung dot on the Kimberley coast, proclaiming itself to be an international pearling centre. In the time I was there it made an indelible impression on me – not just the dramatic scenery, but the historical aura that surrounded it still alive with the remains of an old pearling lugger in the mangrove swamps, the pearling masters’ latticed and distinctive homes and the still existing Chinese and Japanese influences. The old pearling sheds had been turned into pearl shops selling the magnificent pearls produced by the local pinctada maxima oyster in the pristine, warm azure waters just off the coast. There is no more perfect pearl in the world than Australia’s South Sea Pearl – a product of technology and nature.

Now the old world is married to upmarket tourism where the magnificent Cable Beach stretches for miles and where camels led by Afghan cameleers now carry tourists along the sunset beach. The blue sky is extraordinary as are the turquoise waters. A coastline of blood red rocks and sand record that it was where dinosaurs once walked.

It’s always been a town that welcomed travelers, those getting away from it all and those whose lineage is woven into the local multicultural heritage. In Broome you feel you are in another world, far from mundane realities.

There’s a definite magic on the northwest coast which inspired Tears of the Moon and Kimberley Sun.

The Kimberley

Mitchell Plateau & The Kimberley

The Kimberley in WA is a vast area of stunning beauty sheltering one of the last pristine wilderness areas on the planet. The magnificent gorges, rivers, waterfalls and plateaus are not only spectacular scenery but home to the world’s oldest art and sacred sites. The many indigenous tribes of the Kimberley, although some no longer living on country, respect and observe traditional ceremonies. I spent time with Ngarinyin elders on the Mitchell Plateau, learning about their culture and visiting secret sites of Wandjina art which was a huge privilege and evolved into my novel, The Songmaster.

A lot of places are difficult to access, some require permission from traditional owners, some are best seen by helicopter, but it is an unforgettable experience to travel the Gibb River Road. Like so many precious places in Australia, you should see it before mining interests ruin it.

Heron Island

The Great Barrier Reef is our best known natural feature, and the one most seriously threatened by overdevelopment.

Heron Island is one of the few islands in north Queensland that is actually part of the reef and is a naturalist’s wonderland. It’s always been a modest, simple place that attracted nature lovers. It’s the sort of place which had no loud nightlife, little communication with the outside world and where people went to bed early to get up before dawn to watch the magnificent green and loggerhead turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. Months later the hatchlings make their perilous dash to the sea.

You can walk around the island, whale watch, swim, dive and snorkel amongst the magnificent coral, take a boat outside the reef to fish and yet because it is so low key you feel you have the place to yourself. There has been a University of Queensland research station on the island for fifty years. I spent time with marine biologists and researchers and it was especially exciting to be there the night of the coral spawning when the sea turned crimson as the coral released millions of spores into the sea to hopefully form new coral clusters and cays over time.

Heron Island is the setting for my novel The Reef.

Dorrigo National Park

Bellingen NSW

I was looking for a small, pretty, peaceful town for the location for my novel The Road Back. A place where there is an interesting, caring community, where the beautiful environment is treasured, a place where residents hold memories of idyllic childhoods, neighbours who look out for each other, where heritage homes are restored and gardens made showplaces – an oasis place in this troubled world.

I lived for many years in beautiful Byron Bay, but its ethos changed as money moved in and the colourful characters (an attraction in the town) were moved out. Driving between Byron and Sydney I always made a stop to see friends in Bellingen. So I went back recently and stayed and explored the area of Dorrigo plateau, the country surrounds and the rainforests. The lovely Bellinger River is perfect for swimming, fishing, kayaking, rafting, birdwatching, or a picnic.

There’s a lot of old history in the area and its scenery has been painted, photographed and filmed. It was used as the setting for the film ‘Oscar and Lucinda’ and the little church at Glennifer was instantly recognisable. There are a lot of cute B&B’s both in town and out in the picturesque countryside and plenty of good food. The place is so idyllic that it seems too good to be true and yet just a few minutes for bustling Coffs Harbour with its myriad of facilities.

Manning Valley – Flat Rock lookout

The Manning Valley NSW

The green, green valley of dairy farms dating back to pioneer days, and even earlier times when cedar logging sustained the infant colony of NSW, is a magical place to me. The beautiful Manning River which rises in Barrington Tops in the Great Dividing Range flows down through the valley in a massive delta system and out to sea.

The historic town of Wingham in the valley is where I was born and the house my grandfather built is little changed from those days. I had been living for many years in Byron Bay, but on a return visit to the valley walking through Wingham a lovely old man stopped me in the street to say, “I went to school with your Mum, love.” I realised this place holds my earliest memories and my roots are still deep in this valley, so I moved back in 2007.

There are wonderful scenic attractions from Ellenborough Falls on the Elands Plateau, the villages around Wingham and riverfront Taree. The river runs through the heart of the valley, an artery that refreshes us and is great for fishing, boating and kayaking, or, as in my case, a place to sit and dream, to remember and to find inspiration.

My book The Valley is set here.

Travel Tips:

* Don’t buy cheap luggage, it’s not worth it.

* Same with a good travel agent.

* I always carry a pashmina or a sarong and basic toiletries and spare reading glasses (and a book!) in my hand luggage.

* Do your homework about the place you’re going to before you leave.

* Choose gifts that are small and light.

* And talk to people along the way!

Woman In…. Esperance, West Australia

Jacinta Agostinelli

Our Road Trip

Esperance is a seaside town on the south-eastern coast of West Australia. To get there, my daughter and I set off on a road trip from Perth, and in one day, drove 730 kilometres through the lower belly of West Australia.

On our journey on National Route 1 and on smaller local roads, we passed through a great inland sea of wheat, salt lakes and remote towns.

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My daughter has lived in Fremantle in Western Australia for the past three years and will be returning to Victoria later this year, so before leaving the west she was keen to see more of the state. I work from home as an editor and at the time I had no looming deadlines so I was free to join her. So we decided to visit Esperance and Cape Le Grand National Park.

In spite of the air conditioning being on its last gasp, ‘Olivia’, my daughter’s trusty old all-wheel drive Subaru was in good mechanical condition, a must for travelling the roads of West Australia. We had extra water and snacks as a precaution. Even though we weren’t going to be travelling in extremely remote areas and the roads were all sealed, it’s always wise when driving in rural West Australia, to take extra water and food in case of emergencies.

Picnic at Yilliminning Rock

Our first stop was Narrogin where we bought lunch and decided to stop along the way to have a picnic. About 20 minutes from Narrrogin we pulled onto Birdwhistle Road to follow a sign to Yilliminning Rock, where sure enough there was a concrete picnic table and an information board. Keeping an eye out for snakes and our feet up on the bench-seat away from large hungry ants, we ate our lunch in a cocoon of heat and bush silence; I took my first long, relaxed breath since leaving my home in Melbourne five or six hours earlier.

Yilliminning Rock is a granite rock rising about 50 metres from the surrounding farmland. The 10-minute climb afforded a lovely 360 degree view of the plains through which we had travelled and were yet to venture. Tiny pins of heat stung the skin on our backs, somehow finding their way through the threads of our clothing. It was time to get back in the car, with a change of driver.

Through the Wheatbelt and a Milkshake at Lake Grace

For most of the 730 kilometres we were shoulder to shoulder with straw coloured walls of wheat, the West Australian wheatbelt. While some might find the kilometres of wheatfields tedious, I didn’t. I was fascinated by the very largeness, the weight of blue sky, and the silence, and I entertained myself imagining what life on the land would be like. I enjoyed the memories from childhood of similar journeys my father took us on into the Australian bush. We stopped for a close-up look at the wheat, and the dry, red aridness dispelled any romanticism. A kind local woman stopped to make sure we were OK, as we were pulled over on a dusty road in the middle of nowhere.

We drove on stopping for petrol and coffee and a milkshake at Lake Grace. We visited the gallery next door to the café and discovered that the town had a vibrant arts and crafts community. The locals had been busy knitting and a gush of red knitted poppies filled the median strip dividing the highway running through the town.

About nine hours after leaving Perth we arrived in Esperance, and found our accommodation, a barn-like holiday flat called Doo Drop Inn. Quaint, but it had everything we needed.

Esperance and the Whale

Esperance is a small seaside town with comfortable accommodation choices. You probably won’t find five star rooms, and certainly not five star restaurants but you will find hospitality and somewhere to fill your tummy at the end of the day.

We discovered three highlights of Esperance (there would be more but we only had a short stay). The first was the development of the waterfront, including a path winding through low indigenous planting. Even in its incomplete stage the path was interesting and relaxing to walk. It was the local jogging and exercise route.

The second highlight was a beautiful sculpture of the tail of a breaching Southern Right whale, at the centre of this redevelopment and at the entrance to the Tanker Jetty. The piece stood meters high and was made from steel and wood, inlaid with coloured glass. We later met one of the artists, Cindy Poole, at her studio, Section Glass Gallery, (a must visit) who told us the story of the sculpture. The brief was to incorporate the elements of the local area and she and another artist decided on a whale to represent beauty and the migrating whales that pass the town, steel and wood for industry and the port as well as fishing vessels, and glass to reflect the colour of the area. The sculpture is one of the most beautiful pieces of public art I have ever seen.

The third highlight was a coastal route that takes you past some stunning ocean scenery and swimming beaches. We stopped for a swim in the aqua waters of a Twilight Bay, just out of town. On our return we stopped on a cliff top to watch a storm approach over the ocean. We longed for the cool and wet of the storm, and hoped it would reach the dry fields inland.

The next day we would leave for Cape Le Grand National Park.

Cape Le Grand National Park and Frenchman’s Peak

At 50 kilometres south-east of Esperance, Cape Le Grand National Park is an ideal day trip, or if you have camping gear or a camper van you can stay as long as you like. At Lucky Bay camping ground, where we stayed for one night, there was an outdoor kitchen, BBQs, clean amenities (toilets and showers) and ample sheltered space for tents, with a separate space for camper vans. There is no power and you will need to bring your own drinking water. There is a small charge per night.

On our way into the park we stopped to climb Frenchman’s Peak (262 metres). I resorted to crawling on hands and feet for a short section early on, however the rest of the climb, while needing endurance, wasn’t difficult. The rock faces could get slippery so I wouldn’t advise this climb during or just after rain. Having said that, it rained lightly while we were at the top so we took extra care on our descent. The 360-degree view from the summit is beautiful. On one side we watched the rain approach. From the height we could see the perimeter of the rain cloud, and it moved like a swarm across the land, over us, then out to sea. Looking in the opposite direction, the colours and formations of sea and sky mirrored each other and we could not tell where one started and the other stopped.

After setting up camp we used the clean outdoor kitchen to cook dinner. More campers arrived during the evening, many of them young people and families from overseas. There is a ranger’s cottage nearby the camping area, and even without this we felt safe and comfortable. Lucky Bay is famous for kangaroos that come down to the beach, and it was very strange seeing kangaroos lying around on the sand. We saw a group of people who had been four wheel driving along the beach to get to remote fishing spots, but most people were there to bushwalk. There is a main 15-kilometre walk (one way) that can be done in a day, or broken into smaller walks, which are around three hours one way. We kept our activity to beachcombing as we only had one night available.

Before heading the 800 kilometres back to Perth, I woke early for a walk and to watch the sun rise over this natural, unspoilt corner of Australia.

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Photographs – Jacinta Agostinelli

Jacinta Agostinelli is a Melbourne-based writer and editor. She also works pro bono on the management committee of a local community organisation, cares for her granddaughter, and grows vegetables and raises chickens using organic and sustainable methods. She enjoys spending time with her family of five daughters and husband, especially in far away places.