Clare Valley, South Australia
The Clare Valley is known for its wineries and the Riesling Trail. The trail follows the old railway line and the old station signs can still be seen along the way. It was the longest walk I've ever done in one day, my new hiking shoes had a fault in the sole and by the end of the day they developed little holes so my feet sank into them. The soles of my feet had red lumps all over them like chicken pox.
I have a thing for old headstones in graveyards. You can learn a lot about a place by reading the words on them. On the Riesling Trail we stopped to look at a small graveyard and I nearly trod on a shiny brown snake.
I've just written a short story set in a graveyard called Midnight. There isn't a snake and it's set at night, but the mother in the story is afraid of snakes and she reads headstones. My trip to Clare sparked the idea.
Vietnam
Hanoi (where we stayed in a street where all the men sawed and chipped grave headstones until late at night. There are whole streets where they sell handbags or shoes and other things, but we had to stay with headstones!
The dancer was in Hoi An, where cars are forbidden in the city centre because of the old buildings. You have to walk, which is great because you see so much more.
The third picture on the right is the famous Halong Bay.
That's me on the far right, trying out a pole which had a basket of bananas each end that the young woman was selling. It was really heavy - after a few hours of carrying that around the streets, you'd have a dent in your shoulder.
Krabi, Thailand 2009
I decided to be brave and snorkel in deep, warm ocean (picture 1 on the left). There were fish all around me, and although it's difficult to yell with a snorkel in your mouth, I managed to shout, 'Help! Fish are biting my bum!' - then felt really stupid when I realised that the tickling I felt was from a loose strap on my life-jacket.
The temple is at Tiger Cave and I walked up over 1200 steps in the heat, then wondered how I was going to get back down. When I was half-way up I took some photos and felt my backpack moving. I turned and found a monkey sitting on the railing, unzipping my pack to see if I had any food in there.
And at a national park, I swam in spring water with friends and a bunch of local kids, who were as at home in the water as the fish.
Castaway & Mana Islands, Fiji 2010
You can write anywhere - even by a pool in a tropical island! The vivid colours and strange environments of foreign places can stir the senses and imagination. Mana had fantastic snorkelling, and it is the first time in my life that I was so entranced by the sight of clear blue water that I leapt in fully clothed for a swim. It was so hot that I was dry in a few minutes. We managed to sandwich this trip in between a storm and a cyclone. The island was evacuated two days after we left.
Mulu & Kuching, Sarawak
The things I do for research and to glean ideas! Hiking in the tropics, sitting in wooden boats. The little dark brown furry fellows with glinty eyes were regular visitors to our balcony. I'm not sure what freaked me out more - that there were bats just outside our door or that David thought they were 'cute'.
Victoria, Australia
I've begun researching a book that involves history, travel, South Australia, Victoria, someone getting stuck down a wombat hole, a near-miss when someone was cleaning a gun that was loaded (and shouldn't have been). I can't tell you much about it yet, except that the sign post on the right frame gives a clue.
Penang
In 2011 we went to Penang. Hiked, got lost, thumbed a ride back on a boat, visited the butterfly house, the museum and I got background for the third
Raven Lucas book.