The Land Down Under is more than just kangaroos, koalas, and rowdy beer drinkers. The only continent, which is also its own country, is home to one of the most unique cultures on the planet. Most of the population lives near beach, the land is both beautiful, as it is hostile, and the indigenous people have maintained a presence that has lasted for many millenia. Not bad for a country that began as a penal colony.
Welcome to Newtown, Sydney! Sometimes, when you’re out for a night on the town, ya gotta go off the beaten path away from the tourist trade and have some fun. In Sydney, why head down to the Harbour or the Opera House when you can find your own fun in the neighborhood of Newtown. Just a short distance from the hubbub of downtown Sydney (the Central Business...
Being a die-hard South Sydney Rabbitohs fan from New York in Sydney, I am indeed a rare sight to behold. Whenever I walk the streets in Australia’s largest city, I definitely turn heads. But I would I perk up their ears? Being on the radio works! On a partly sunny day in Chatswood, a lovely suburb of North Sydney, a pair of lifelong Rabbitohs fans, Brad...
And so, 2015 hath come to a sudden if not abrupt end. This year just flew by, did it not? And in the time it did came another year of exciting adventures to many wonderful places; some near and some far. Before this year expires and we transition into 2016, let us recount the top ten highlights of 2015 and all the most memorable moments, shall we? 10) Amagansett...
A 15 minute ride aboard the Sydney light rail took me from my hotel near Pyrmont Bay in Darling Harbour to the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt North. I wandered for a few minutes around the charming neighborhood looking for the Leichhardt Oval stadium. I was most impressed by how lovely the houses looked, not to mention how green and lush the park where the stadium was...
“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...