The Park Hyatt in Sydney is a hotel I’d always wanted to stay in. It doesn’t loom tall over the city but curves by the water. Balconies set in sandstone hue walls blink into the sea. My friend and I […]

Having decided to travel to New Zealand for the first time I felt compelled to include a train trip. Confining myself to the North Island on this visit I consulted the Man in Seat 61 and found the Auckland to […]

Music is all about us.  It is a mood altering substance of infinite beauty, variety and challenge. I grew up learning classical piano from a passionate, eccentric, somewhat intimidating wild haired former Russian princess who had a son famous for living […]

Stepping off the Ghan at Darwin in the early evening, the difference of the place was immediately obvious in the close tropical humidity of the air. Coming from a part of the country with more temperate climes and indistinct seasons, […]

At any stage of life, first sleep overs can bring a rush of emotions. A heady mix of excited anticipation and nervous apprehension. You’ll either be relieved or disappointed to find that this new thing isn’t a confessional tale of exotic […]

This one was an attitude as much as anything else. The idea being that even if I was going somewhere I had been before I would try to find a different route. In this way, a drive to visit friends […]

Rotorua in New Zealand is a place famous for the natural phenomena of gases beneath the crust wafting out of holes and craters and the distinctive aroma of sulphur. It is certainly not something I’d ever experienced before and a […]

Much art is to be found in large institutions. It inhabits vast spaces in impressive buildings. The most famous works and exhibitions are peered at amidst a throng of visitors. More stumbled upon than noticed from afar, are all the […]

This one grew somewhat accidentally from my night of hardcore music in the southern suburbs of Sydney when I decided to stay overnight nearby to avoid travelling home late. It led to my taking the chance when I could through […]

My seduction by lighthouses began while staying in the heritage lighthouse cottages on Kangaroo Island. It wasn’t that I hadn’t visited a lighthouse before but this interest was completely new as were the experiences it brought and the way I […]