Raduga Tourism – Gay tourism

As promised, today I am sharing some photos taken during my recent trip to Chillagoe, which happened on September 7-9. 6 gays, members of the new LGBT group, took part. Chillagoe is a town in the north of Queensland, about 200 km west of Cairns. The climate there is drier and hotter than in Cairns. It can be said that semideserts start from there. The climate is continental, i.e. often the day is hot and the night is cool.

If you are going to live in tents (which was done by the majority of the members of our group), then it is better to go there in the Australian winter (June-August) or in the second half of autumn or the first half of spring. It’s not so hot. Sometimes I like living in a tent – closer to nature.

Chillagoe was once a thriving mining centre. Now there is a small zinc mine and some marble quarries there. By the way, marble is of high quality and even goes for export, incl. to Italy. In the photo album below you can see a number of large marble cubes.

Currently Chillagoe has a population of about 200 people.

Just nearby is the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park containing limestone caves. It has about 1000 of them. Caves (in three of them guided tours are provided), an impressive karst landscape, as well as the ruins of copper smelters are the main attractions of the region.

By the way, prominent scientist Ian Plimer has said that the Chillagoe region has the most diverse geology in the world.

Here, the nature is beautiful, it is real Australian outback. You can relax and have a quiet holiday.

There are swimming holes here as well – in a river and creek. And the town even has an observatory with a good telescope – I saw clearly through it Saturn with rings, Jupiter with four moons, and various constellations. Regular evening lectures are held ($ 25 per person), which last for an hour and a half. You will be told a lot about galaxies, constellations, planets (some can be observed with the naked eye).

There is even a museum of vintage cars in the open air.

Around are lots of small kangaroos (wallabies), different birds, termite hills … Vast open space …

The most important attraction is the caves. I visited three: Donna, Trezkinn and the Royal Arch. I had seen them earlier, but this time I wanted to explore and photograph them again, especially since Trezkinn had been recently thoroughly re-equipped for tourists.

Another impressive feature is the Balancing Rock. Other sights include Aboriginal rock paintings and Archways (half-open caves) 15 km from the city.

I am intending to create several photo albums for you. Today you will see mostly caves, the Balancing Rock and marble cubes.

Our group:

A bizarre formation, reminiscent of Madonna (Virgin Mary). Hence the name of the cave: Donna.

Balancing Rock:



























In the caves there are bats, snakes, cockroaches and … spiders:

If you enlarge the image, you might see a figure resembling the British Queen Victoria on the right side of the rock. Hence the name of the cave: Royal Arch.

Witch (or as our guide said, sister-in-law):

Marble cubes:



River (almost dry, but if you look around, you can find good places for swimming):



Aboriginal art:

I spent this last weekend on the Atherton tableland. It took me about two hours to get to my destination. I stayed overnight in my friends’ farmhouse. I interacted not only with people, but also with animals and birds, and there were lots of them there. Also, we went to a Sunday market nearby, at Wondecla, where we had some good coffee and bought fruits and vegetables. The farm has a dam (pond) where platypuses live. I did not see them yesterday, but I did see them a few years ago. Finally, we had a three-kilometer walk around lake Eacham, which is a crater lake. I always enjoy my time on the tableland, and this latest occasion was not an exception. You could see some photos down below.

As for other things in my life, I want to mention coffee at my new gay friends’ place. They moved to Cairns from Sydney not long ago. There were 8 gays there altogether, and we had an interesting and animated discussion.

Another event I can’t ignore is what happened 10 days ago in India: the decriminalization of homosexuality (including gay sex). Decriminalization already took place on July 2, 2009 by decision of the Delhi High Court. However, the Supreme Court of India reversed this decision on December 11, 2013. This reversal upset many people, who were also surprised by how strangely the legal system of this huge country worked. To add to the surprise is the fact that India is officially considered the largest democracy in the world! Finally, on September 6 this year, the Supreme Court re-considered the issue and invalidated the relevant section of the Criminal Code, thereby legitimizing homosexuality in India. A long-awaited and happy event, which, I am sure, will have world-wide implications.

Before saying goodbye, I want to mention that I’m about to finalise a photo album (maybe I’ll publish several smaller ones) of my trip to Chillagoe with the new LGBT group (I referred to it before). We went there during the previous weekend (September 7-9). I will share the photos with you soon.

With a Tibetan mastiff puppy

Down below is a selection of photographs of Melbourne, which I visited recently, by transit from Canberra to Cairns. I know this city quite well, because I had been there many times before. However, every time it opens up to me in a new way.

I spent an evening there on August 27 and half-day on the 28th. Had an evening walk not far from the hotel, and the next day took a walk through the city center, along the Yarra River, in the territory of the War Memorial, and in the Botanical Gardens.

On the plane back home, I was surprised to see a good friend of mine who lives in my neighbourhood. She was also in high spirits, after a wonderful (and eventful) week in Melbourne which she spent with her daughter and grandchildren who came to Australia (this time only to Brisbane and Melbourne) from England.

By the way, England won’t not leave my “agenda”. The other day, after a three-week trip, the leaders of our new LGBT group, Dan and Mark, returned from England. They attended the wedding of Dan’s sister, and also visited a number of interesting places: architecture, beaches, rocks and even … a prison-museum. For this weekend, they are organising a trip to Chillagoe, a town 200 km west of Cairns, with impressive limestone caves. I’ve been there many times, but why not go there again, in a nice gay company.

And the leaders of our “old” gay social group Graham and David are now visiting their relatives in England. They will be back soon after a two-week trip.

And now you can have a look at my photos of Melbourne. I hope they reflect the good time I had there.

As promised, here are some pictures of Canberra. Only three, and two of them were taken from a window of the airplane. As I said, it was a working visit: for me the main places this time were the hotel and the translation office. I did not have enough time and energy for the rest. However, I admired the sunset from the plane. The sun over the clouds is impressive!

Recently, on August 27, I participated in a translation/interpreting workshop in Canberra, the Australian capital, which houses the headquarters of the main official agency regulating our profession. We had a fruitful discussion.

There are no direct flights between Cairns and Canberra, so I flew there via Sydney, where I stayed for a couple of days in transit, and back – via Melbourne, where I spent less than one day.

The flight from Sydney to Canberra was delayed for technical reasons and I arrived on the 26th late at night. In the morning, I had little time – only for the Internet, e-mails and breakfast. So I did not explore Canberra this time: my experience was limited to a taxi, a hotel and the office where the workshop was held. It’s OK, I’d been to Canberra there many times, and I know it quite well. The main thing was a successful workshop.

It’s interesting to note that I came there after Australia had just changed leaders.

On the day of my departure from Cairns, August 24, as a result of internal squabble within the ruling coalition, Scott Morrison became the new prime minister of Australia, after Malcolm Turnbull, the previous prime minister, was removed from power by inner-party voting (almost like a coup).

Turnbull belongs to the left wing of the Liberal Party, and Morrison belongs to the right wing. Turnbull was for the equality of gays, and under his government a law on same-sex marriage was adopted, whereas Morrison is a homophobe. They have different positions on other issues too.

The new political mess did not please the Australian people. Instability, inner-party fighting both within the coalition (consisting of the Liberal and National parties), and inside the Labour Party, impressed nobody. Over the past five years we have had five prime ministers! As if it were a banana republic. Power greedy politicians are making an indecent circus, and the latest change of leader may have become the last straw, and next year, when the federal elections are held, the coalition is likely to lose, along with Morrison. The homophobe will be ruling no more, and a progressive Labour government will come to power. The Labour have been demonstrating stability for the last five years in the opposition and seem to have learned from their turbulent past. In addition, they are for LGBT friendly, and are promising to help our community further.

In Sydney, I had the opportunity to walk around the city, visit various interesting places, and meet a number of gays. You will see today my photos of Sydney, and I hope they reflect the good time I had there.

Soon I’ll also place a few photos of Canberra, separately – there are not many of them, and two of them were taken from the air. As I said, I did not have the opportunity to wander around our capital this time.

In the near future, I will also place a selection of pictures of Melbourne, where I managed to walk in the evening and in the morning. This selection will be accompanied by a small report about Melbourne.

Here in Cairns, we are preparing for the Tropical Pride, which will take place on October 12-14. A number of LGBT activities will be held. This is a local long-standing tradition.

Our everyday gay life is not stagnant either, but the Pride stands out for its intensity and enthusiasm. It really brings the whole LGBT community together. Only a short time to go before it happens.

Today is the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere, including Russia, Ukraine, USA and Spain, and the first day of spring in the southern, including Australia and New Zealand. An important day for many people.

My best wishes to all of you for this new season! Love, excellent health, prosperity and a happy gay life!

Bronze statue of Mars [Roman city of Zeugma, Anatolia, Turkey]

Soldiers with Axes, and Trees Branches, in the Expedition of Queen Hatshepsut to the Land of Punt. Relief from her mortuary temple at the Deir el Bahari, at Luxor. 18th Dynasty, ca.1507-1458 BC. New Kingdom.