Feature

• Add comment

New Norcia

In the dusty Western Australian wheat belt, New Norcia sticks out like a basketball player in the cast of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It is Australia’s only monastic town, and is still run by the Dominican monks that call it home.

What makes it particularly striking is the gorgeous Spanish architecture in the schools and chapels – it looks like it belongs in Salamanca or Toledo rather than an obscure corner of the Australian bush.

The Harold Holt Swim Centre

There’s nothing obviously unusual about this leisure centre in Melbourne. It has a 50m outdoor pool, a 25m heated indoor pool and various fitness classes.

What does make it a bit odd is who it’s named after. Harold Holt was the former Australian prime minister who went missing on the Mornington Peninsula in 1967. Rather tastefully, given the centre that was named in his honour, he is presumed to have drowned.

---------------------------

About the writer:

Since winning the Guardian Student Travel Writer of the Year award in 2001, David has been published in newspapers and magazines across the world, including the Sunday Times, Sydney Morning Herald and the Boston Globe.

• Add comment