“Yahoo, didgeridoo! Blinky Bill and all his crew! Nutsy, Flap, and Marcia too, and Splodge the kanga-, Splodge the kanga-, Splodge the kangaroo! Sing this to any American and they will give you such a strange glance. Sing it to any Australian, especially one who grew up as a kid in the 1990’s, and you will be greeted with a look of utter joy that one...
After being invited into the red and green warren that was Dangar Dave’s home, it was time to see more of this bucolic slice of paradise in New South Wales. David, his lovely wife Rowena, and their cat, Lucy, were prepared to show me around their island neighborhood. We began with a little trip to the beach which was just behind their home. It just lovely...
Our tinnie coasted up the Hawkesbury River towards the pier at Dangar Island. The last time I saw this part of the Hawkesbury River was back in 2013 when I rode the ferry around the river. Suffice it to say, I was really excited to explore more of the Hawkesbury on foot. With the exception of Wondabyne and Brooklyn, I hadn’t seen much of the region other...
There’s nothing like being in the middle of nature. It reaffirms your senses, reconnects you with what lies beneath your feet, and gives you a sense of comfort. Once more, it also tests you. Anyone can walk on two feet and venture off, but it takes both courage, conviction, and a heightened sense of where you are to really see what you are made of. If you...
If there are two things that I always make time for whenever I am in Sydney, one is the Hawkesbury River and the other are the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Of course, the former exists up north between Manly and Newcastle while the latter sits below downtown Sydney near Mascot, Coogee, and Redfern. Where the twain shall meet is on Dangar Island, a small residential...
My eyes light up with the same amount of wonder that a child could only muster on Christmas morning. Or Easter or their birthday. My knees go weak. I practically levitate down the stairs from the top of the bay inside Allianz Stadium. Although I was deep in the seedy underbelly of the Roosters home stadium, there was a very bright spot in the ugly swath of red...
As I walk uphill from Darling Harbour on Druitt Street towards Town Hall and the Queen Victoria Building, I take in every little bit of my familiar surroundings. The cool, morning wind blows in from Hyde Park towards Cockle Bay and refreshingly hits my face. The smell of that mid-morning breeze on a Sunday just takes me back. They say that smell is the sense that...
Six and a half years ago when I made my first visit to the Australian icon known as the Sydney Opera House, I was impressed, to say the least. In fact, that is an understatement as I was awe struck by how beautiful it was. I mean, the way it gleamed in the sunlight was quite something. Its shape was so perfect; the curves of the sail-shaped roofs looked even more...