Author - Catherine & Dave

Journalist, author and adventurer, Catherine Lawson travels full-time with Photographer/Cameraman Dave Bristow and their daughter Maya. Captivated by wild places and passionate about their preservation, these storytellers advocate a simple life and document their outdoor adventures to inspire all travellers, but especially families, into the world’s best wild places.

100 Things to See in Tropical North Queensland

This is the book I needed 20 years ago when Dave Bristow and I threw our backpacks into the boot of our tiny hatchback and fled north to the Daintree. Deep in the rainforest, we rockhopped up silvery creeks in search of cassowaries and tree..... . .

Wet & wild in Karijini

Wet & wild in Karijini: Gorge Out on this Red Rock Playground

Lost in a labyrinth of soaring red rock, Karijini adventurers quickly lose their shoes to shimmy along twisting waterways and plunge through sculpted chasms into tantalising, ‘dare-me’ waterholes.  In Western Australia’s vast spinifex-covered..... . .

Sri Lanka’s South Coast: 5 Best Places to Unwind

Tangalle to Galle Strung out in a swaying hammock, fresh frangipani buds in one hand and a rum coconut in the other, I while away the hours before dinner, too unwound to even pick up a book. I could be surfing or boating amongst blue whales, or..... . .

Cycling Java’s Secret South Coast

Escaping Jakarta Cycling out of Jakarta is pure madness: the surging crush of motorbikes and buses, trucks and taxis, all racing and suddenly braking through impossibly slender streets. We dive into the mayhem before we lose heart, hoping like hell..... . .

Maya Bristow Youngest Australian to trek to Everest Base Camp

Youngest Australian reaches Everest Base Camp, aged 6

Meet our gusty six-year-old daughter Maya Bristow who in May 2018, walked herself into the record books as the youngest Australian to trek independently to Nepal’s Everest Base Camp. Our pint-sized adventurer from Cairns, Australia, reached the foot..... . .

30 Free things to do around Cairns

If you can do it outside, you can do it in the tropics and this list of top outdoor adventures from Cairns to the Tablelands and Daintree National Park is oh-so-budget-friendly, guaranteed to fill your days and mothball your wallet. All your need is..... . .

Maratua Island – Indonesia’s Paradise Found

Snorkelling along the edge of the reef, Maratua’s sheer wall of coral disappears into the blue, a swirling mass of tropical fish dazzling me at every turn. Suddenly the turtles sense my presence and peel off the wall in synchronised..... . .