Christmas Lights.

Hi! Just popping in to say I hope you had a loverly Chrissy! AND a loverly New Year’s, AND a loverly Straya Day if you are in Oz – I was going to post this before the end of the year, but didn’t. Hey, I’m only a month late! It’s been pretty hectic around here – a few…

Bloomin’ Fantastic!

Since we got back from New Zealand a few people have been asking me when’s the best time to head over for skiing. To which I helpfully answer I dunno. Although the South Island has pretty good snow throughout the season, generally it gets the best dumps of snow either at the start of the season (July) or towards the end (September)….

Wana Walk? (Diamond Lake, NZ.)

Wanaka, Day 2. Not sore from snowboarding for the first time EVER!! … Miracles do happen! Could be thanks to that (SO GOOD) soak in the spa yesterday. Those things should be compulsory in all holiday houses, like toilets. Spent a lazy Sunday morning sitting on the balcony soaking up the spring sunshine with a cuppa tea and boysenberry jam…

The Journey From Sandgroper to Snowfaceplanter. (Cardrona, New Zealand)

nb for the non-Strayans out there a ‘sandgroper’ is another name for a West Australian. It’s quite an agreeable nickname really, considering we call Queenslanders “banana benders”, South Australians “crow eaters” and New South Welshpersons “cockroaches”. I’ll never forget seeing snow for the first time. It was 1994, I was 19, and on my first trip overseas, visiting Mosey who…

Mosey’s Berfdy Bonus Brag Book!

This post is for you Mosey! AKA that annoying awesome sister of mine – Justine, who had a big birthday recently! I’ve been AWOL from here for over a month because I’m making her a rather large photo brag book. It should come in handy as  her memory is no doubt starting to go. (Mosey this is…

The Wilds of Suburbia: Burleigh Head National Park, QLD.

Disclaimer: Not sponsored. But you know that by now. Burleigh Heads is a little town on the Gold Coast that’s like a ‘best of’. It has everything on the Goldie in one place (well, except for the theme parks) but on a smaller scale; gorgeous beaches and surf breaks, a wildlife park just up the road, cafes and restaurants, parks…

ACDC on the ATCT: Abel Tasman Coastal Track, New Zealand.

Disclaimer: This post wasn’t in the slightest bit sponsored, unfortunately. (I did get a hot lunch on our flight to Enzed but I think everyone got one.) We enjoyed our New Year’s 2016 in one of my favourite places on the planet; Abel Tasman National Park, on NZ’s South Island. Unlike our previous South Island beach holiday destinations it’s right at…

Silent Night, Holy SHIT It’s Hot.

Merry belated Christmas! It was the second Christmas for us this year: a while back the boys and I travelled via Jetstar DeLorean to Ballarat (henceforth B-Rat) for Christmas Day 2015 Take One. It was lovely and we had a great time but OMG it was so hot it wasn’t just the turkey’s arse that got roasted. It seemed a typical B-Ratty summer; we arrived on…

On This Day…

I’ve been working my way through this enormous book for the past ten months called The Assassin’s Cloak. It sounds like a badass historical thriller, but is actually an anthology of badass diary entries. From the 1660s to the 1990s, grouped together for every day of the year. There’s all kinds of shit going down – 25 January 1851 Leo Tolstoy wakes up…

SWELL; Just Swell!

Currumbin is awesome. There’s two beaches; the main one’s best for boogieboarding and  brunch, and the Alley is best for playing in the shallows, learning to surf, and scrambling amongst the boulders. One day soon the boys will be big enough to climb Currumbin Rock with me too. So much to love! One sunny day 13 years…

10 Things I Miss About Exmouth.

I’ve been reluctant to write these last couple of posts on my Exmouth trip, and as a result I’ve been doing some Olympic-level procrastinating. But I have to say goodbye to Exmouth sometime. I’ve loved writing about it – sharing it with you has helped alleviate my Holiday Adjustment Disorder – but this is my twelfth post about this trip and you’re probably thinking Jesus, woman, move…

Whale Sharks Down Under 2: Dinki-Di Rinky Dinks.

My Ningaloo whale shark experience wasn’t over yet… In Exmouth I’d happened to be shacked up opposite Ecocean researchers who were in town for the whale shark season, led by an international man of mystery bent on global conservation. After I got home I joined his worldwide organisation and became a whale shark boffin. YEAH BABY! Being on my own I found the Ecocean crew to be great company… I…