The smell of fresh flowers in the air, the call of birds outside, and the need to feel the powerful Australian sunshine on my skin, recently brought me back to one of my favorite beaches, along with many others.

I also decided to take up the challenge of walking from one beach to another, which involved getting around a deceptively wide rocky point.  It’s a task I’ve attempted in the past but always been turned back by a rising tide and what is probably an unreasonable fear of getting swept into the harbor.

But I decided to face my more reasonable fears of bloody toes, a lost lens cap (both of which almost happened) and the possibility of needing to be rescued by a family whose small children make the rocky scramble weekly, and headed toward the point.

All the barefoot scrambling and rock balancing with my camera in hand was going fairly well until I reached a point where what lay ahead was the rapidly closing in tide on one side . . .

. . . and imposing sandstone on the other.

I have no idea how close I got to the other beach, but alas I was turned back by the forces of nature.  I have all of spring and summer ahead of me now to make the rest of the journey.  I’ll let you know if I find a pot of gold around the next bend, assuming an Aussie dad and his five year old haven’t gotten there first.

You can see the rest of the photos from my journey on flickr.

One month it has been

Since Marglish received my love

Haiku for lost time

From over the sea

A visitor to fair Oz

Time to show it off

Down to Jervis Bay

Whitest sand in the whole world

Water clear but cold

I have a new job

Which combines my passions for

Design and nature

Fall is coming now

Goodbye to sun soaked beaches

I’ll see you next year

You can see more photos from Jervis Bay on flickr.

It’s sound advice.  You don’t need to be pinned by a rock for 127 hours to have something bad happen to you while you are hiking alone.  The bushwalks through most reserve parks in central Sydney are fairly even paths, but there are no shortage of snakes, spiders, ticks and other animals that could do anything from give you a mild rash to cause paralysis.  Even walking face first into the web of a harmless arachnid, is no picnic.  And if you are anything like me, you are very likely to sprain your ankle on a tree root.

Most newbies to Australia heed every bit of advice and take every caution they can when venturing into the bush.  They wear close toed shoes, long pants, plenty of sunscreen, and bring enough water to last for days.  But once you have lived here for a while you realize that most sydneysiders treat a bushwalk like any other sidewalk, and will conduct them under any number of circumstances, occasionally even barefoot.

So when I left my apartment this afternoon, with nothing but my camera and my keys, I figured there was no harm in checking out a reserve in my neighborhood.  Wearing short pants and thongs (a.k.a. flip flops) only encouraged me to step lightly.  And though I did trip on a tree root, typical, I came out of the bush entirely unscathed.

The only real problem occurred once I had finally left the reserve, via an incredibly steep staircase, and found myself confronted with this view.

Lovely, but that bushy green island to the right had been my intended destination.  Somehow I had wandered myself to the opposite side of the bay, and now had a fairly sizable body of water between me and my apartment.  So what did I do?  I called a friend with an iphone and asked him to tell me where I was and how the hell to get back to where I had been.  Within minutes, my problem was solved and I was on my way back to a nice hot shower and cool glass of water.

So what did I learn from my sojourn into the wild today?  Don’t just hike with friends, hike with friends who have google maps on their phones.

You can see the rest of the photos from my journey on flickr.

I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year has in store.

This small piece of Sydney history is just a short walk away from my apartment, placed between a sports oval, a busy hospital, and a buzzing highway.  Nonetheless the cemetery is a quite piece land, being slowly reclaimed by the nature it was built upon.

Ferries and Flowers in Lavender Bay

Runners in the Royal Botanic Gardens

Kookaburra Family on Bradley’s Head

Madness in Luna Park

Afternoon sun in the Anzac War Memorial

Boats in Broken Bay

Got Smashed on Saturday

Yesterday I was privileged to bear (bare) witness to one of Sydney’s record setting events.  During the annual AIME Strut the Streets, the world record was set for largest gathering of people wearing Budgy Smugglers.  If the term Budgy Smuggler is unfamiliar, you might want to check out the Urban Dictionary definition, before scrolling through the rest of these photos.  Consider yourself properly warned.

The event, which Gabe with his love of being semi-nude whenever possible was happy to participate in, was certainly a site to behold.  But if anything says welcome summer in true Australian style, it’s a show of proud Aussie flesh.

There were budgy smugglers of all shapes and sizes,

which people accessorized with class and whimsy.

And though some adjustments were necessary,

the event was thoroughly enjoyed by participants and confused audience alike.

You can bare witness to the rest of the event by checking out my photos on flickr.

Into this theater set!

And it was all done from the comfort of my livingroom floor.  This truly takes working from home to a new level.  Wrangling these fridge sized blocks used up a lot of elbow grease, encouraged a few dangerous encounters between bare feet and dropped knifes, and covered my carpet with snowy pills of foam that would stick to anything within a wide static cling radius.

I also used my expert illusionist skills to turn much more manageable sized pieces of foam into the materials our budget couldn’t afford.

The fun didn’t stop there.  I also constructed all the props, which involved covering a number of odd items with brown paper.

Did you know that when a ballon covered in paper, still moist with glue, pops in your hands it makes quite a mess.

I addition to all the glue sniffing I did at home.  I also spent a fair amount of time being a diligent shopper, ignoring the stares I got as I elbowed my way through all the beige clothing at the local op shops, and politely refusing offers of help at the hardware store.  “No, I’m not lost.  I just like to go up and down every aisle.  You never know when you might find a random piece of industrial tubing that could be turned it a fashion accessory.”

All in all, I’d say my literal blood, sweat, and tears was worth the result.  Wouldn’t you?  

You can learn more about this set from immmagination.com and see the rest of the photos on flickr.  I’ve since recovered from all the paper cuts, hand cramps, and have managed to scrape most of the glue from under my fingernails.  Though, I think there are still a few snowballs of foam hiding under the couch.  I’ve more news to catch you all up on so keep your eye on the page for an increased frequency of creative rants and travel-logs.  In the meantime, I’ll be vacuuming under the couch again.

After having been immersed in my work for quite some time, or otherwise locked indoors by the incessant rain of a Sydney winter (which always seems to start falling when I’m about three blocks away from home) I was happy to celebrate a break in the clouds with a trip to yet another undiscovered corner of Sydney.  With the last day of Sydney’s Biennale as an excuse, we took the ferry out to Cockatoo Island, one of the Sydney harbor’s many tiny islands of history and mystery.  This former site of a prison, school, reformatory and gaol is now a heritage site, park, campground and, on this occasion, home to art installations both impressive and not.  But what the art lacked the environment was able to inspire.

You can see the rest of my journey in the flickr photos.  A little art, a little industry, some welcomed sunshine and some inspiration to photograph.  What better way to spend a Sunday?

Now, I’m going back to two different places that I’ve called home for most of my life and I wonder if all the commonplace everyday things that I once took for granted are going to stick out like the peaks of the Opera House.  Will the LA traffic finally seem as ridiculous as I know it really is?  (although Sydney has its fair share of congested arteries as well.)  Will NY actually seem like the densely, jam-packed pickle of an island I had once been so accustomed to?  Will I experience a sense of relief at finally no longer being the one with the accent?  At least no one will think I’m Canadian.

I’ll report my findings upon my return to the land of Oz.  Until then, I’ll be enjoying a literal change of season. Cheers!