B: Benalla

Benalla is a rural city in North-East Victoria, Australia. It is the Regional Street Art Capital of Australia and it’s slogan is “see art in everything.” My husband and I visited by accident last week and we were very impressed. Everyone we spoke to clearly loved the town and were very happy to help gude us.

The city is covered with around 80 street art murals. They are everywhere and make the place look alive and welcoming. The murals have been painted by recognised national and international artists during multiple Benalla Street Art Festivals.

The city is RV friendly and has a great free camp within walking distance to the city. We parked there early and then went to and fro with the shopping we bought in town. On the Saturday morning we awoke to find the local markets were on, in the carpark next to our camp.

This ceramic tiled mural is on the lake and an amazing structure with many different aspect to it. Unfortunately it is currently under repair so we were unable to fully explore its nooks and crannies.


A: Artic Circle

To start this years A-Z Challenge I thought I would take you to the top of the world. Or at least that’s what it felt like to me when I visited the Artic Circle last year. I was so excited. I live in Newcastle, Australia which has a latitude of 32.9283 degrees South. The Artic Circle is 66.33 degrees North. To me that is hugely different.

We went in late September and to my surprise there was no snow or ice on the ground. I’m sure however it wasn’t far away. We flew from Fairbanks, Alaska and landed in Coldfoot above the Artic Circle for lunch.

It is a small community 34 people at the 2020 census. With lunch I enjoyed having a beer in the Farthest North Truck Stop in America.

We then boarded a bus to the Artic Circle sign. It felt so special and almost unbelievable.