I am very susceptible to flattery. If you invite me to your media launch because you like my blog, I will go. Hell, if you have even heard of my blog, I will fawn all over you and titter like a chorus girl from The Mikado. That’s how I wound up at the rugby on [...]

I have always had a problem with the word yes. ‘Would you like to work on this new project?’ Yes. ‘Wanna catch up for a drink?’ Yep. ‘Can you help me out on this job?’ Sure can. No is not a word I use very often. The problem is that I have said yes to [...]

You know that look people get when they’re really, really relaxed? That unfocused middle distance gaze with droopy eyelids and a slack jaw? That’s how I looked after every spa treatment I had in Thailand, give or take an oil sheen and some smudged mascara. I tried three radically different spas; one city, one island [...]

The short answer is the most disgusting national dish in the world. The long answer is that Surströmming, otherwise known as soured Baltic herring or Scandinavian rotten fish, is a northern Swedish dish . Surströmming is sold in cans, which often bulge during shipping and storage, due to the continued fermentation. When opened, the contents release a strong and [...]

Legend has it that the fountain of youth is hidden away somewhere in Florida. But I think whoever wrote that was wrong. I’m putting my own theory out there. If there is in fact a fountain of youth, it’s in Byron Bay. In Byron, everyone is young, everyone is on vacation and everyone is ridiculously [...]

Step one: Purchase marquee-sized tent online. Step two: Book pet-friendly campsite. Step three: Travel to Mollymook. Erect enormous tent. Attempt to manage hyperactive, free-range pets. Cue: Rain. This is the summary of our weekend camping trip to Mollymook, with the exception of all the fun bits; the BBQ’ed breakfasts cooked by our early-rising friends, the [...]

Imagine if all the children of a small seaside town dressed up as blue-skinned Na’vi, beauty queens or gumnut blossoms and hoisted themselves up onto parade floats. Some of these floats will have an easily identifiable theme (Avatar) while some will be an awkward mish-mash of intertextuality (I knew I would get to use that [...]

Rolling green hills, magic mushroom sunsets and cows. Lots and lots of cows. Welcome to Milton, NSW. We drive into town after five hours stuck in The Long Weekend Exodus; traffic that crawls along the Princes Highway making you question your decision to leave Sydney.   For once, we are grateful for the snail’s pace [...]

I am completely in love with Orange. I never expected this. I am from country NSW and I never thought I would want to go back. But Orange has bewitched me. I am in love with its gold, ruby and claret autumn leaves, it’s graceful heritage cottages and its dynamic food and wine scene. Everyone [...]

Packing for a trip is never a fun task. No matter where you go you will always have luggage limitations; if you’re backpacking, you have to roll your clothes into little logs and pray that everything fits. If you’re hotel hopping, you have limitations on both your suitcase and muscles; where does that holiday super-human [...]