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Sussex Singlet

March 31st 2009 06:10
Sussex Inlet (or 'Sussex Singlet' as my children call it) on the South Coast of NSW is still virtually undiscovered by 'big tourism' and thank goodness for that. It is as daggy* as Budgewoi was in 1982 (voted most daggy holiday destination in the all-important Dolly magazine.)

Daggy it may be, but pristine is another adjective I'd use. You can see from these recent photographs Sussex Inlet could easily be confused with a tropical island. Clear blue water, fine white sand and very few tourists.

Sussex Inlet is a full to the brim with retirees and service clubs. If a $10 bistro meal is your idea of heaven, the Singlet is for you. But, if you're like me, you could still love Sussex despite the clubs. The thing to love about Sussex is going back in time. When life was slower. No such thing as a fancy holiday, just a caravan or a fibro shack down the coast. It's as Aussie as cracking open a beer, while fishing in your tinnie**.


After a recent diet of five star resorts, I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the family holidays to Sussex (or Budgewoi - they were much the same.) Lying about on an old lounge, reading a book. Going for a swim, watching the cricket, having a BBQ with friends and family. The kids, out riding their bikes, nowhere to be seen till dinner time.

It's the art of doing nothing. Bliss.

* daggy - uncool
** tinnie - can mean an aluminium boat, but can also mean a can of beer


Sussex Inlet, NSW
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live for the now and not yet

December 8th 2008 00:37
What would you do if you found out you only had a year to live? How would you spend your time?

My father died when he was 56 and even before that, he was 'dying' for 10 years. In the back of my mind, I've never wanted to leave 'living' till I retire, just in case early death is hereditary.

The answer to the question of how to live your life when time may be short, is complex and confronting. I want to see the world. I want to enjoy time with my family. I want to make a difference - leave a legacy. But how does all that play out amongst the detritus of life? It's hard to make every day count when the washing basket is overflowing, your children are fighting over the remote and the Aussie dollar is sliding faster than bald tyres on black ice.


Australia is one of the most work-obsessed countries in the world. Apparently we work longer hours than most other developed countries and yet, no-one ever includes work in their list of things to do in the last year of life. It's as if we have all become trapped on an endless airport travelator and can't find the exit.

About this time of year, we start to think about New Year's resolutions. What will I do this year that could reduce the discrepancy between what I say is important to me and how I actually live?

In 2009, in fact, right now, I'm going to start living as if this is my last year on earth. That way, I can always feel I've lived my life without regret.

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Remembrance Day - Cowra Breakout

November 11th 2008 00:55
Remembrance Day is so important. As the years pass and the number of World War One and Two veterans decreases, it's possible to lose touch with the enormous sacrifice these men made for Australia. Since then, many more soldiers have fought bravely in wars, some of which were extremely unpopular at home. This does not lessen the need to honour men and women who have fought to maintain Australia's freedom.

But what of those we fought against? We see in the popularity of Gallipoli tourism, that in post war times, we must engage with those who were once our enemies. Australians and Turks together maintaining a site of great significance to Australians.

But Gallipoli is thousands of miles away. What of war sites right here in Australia? The highlight of recent family holiday was a visit to the site of the Cowra Breakout. A sombre reminder of the great cost of war to both sides.

In the 1940s an Internment Camp was established on the outskirts of Cowra, in western NSW, to house Italians and other nationalities deemed to be on the wrong side of the war. As the war progressed, the site became a Prisoner of War Camp, holding Italian and Japanese soldiers who had been captured.

Just before 2 o'clock in the morning on 5 August 1944, about 1000 Japanese prisoners of war launched an attack on the armed garrison. We call it a breakout but it was more like suicide - it seems the Japanese prisoners knew they would not escape. 231 Japanese prisoners died and 107 were injured. Four Australian guards were killed in the attack. All the other escapees were recaptured.

The remains of the camp lie in a field on hill above Cowra. Ruins of the camp's buildings dot the landscape. A simple track winds through the site. My children wandered through the ruins, amazed at what had taken place in such a serene-looking place.

So today on Remembrance Day, I remember all who have fallen in war. And I remind myself that evil happens when good men (and women) do nothing.

Cowra Breakout


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Western Plains Zoo - Dubbo

October 23rd 2008 04:04
Doesn't every child love the zoo? Apparently not.

We'd been planning to visit Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo for years, and finally we made it these last holidays. The only other time we'd been there was BC (Before Children) and we remembered it fondly as a day spent riding bikes around a big open zoo, looking at exotic wild animals


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refugee camp in my city

September 22nd 2008 02:22
My parents were fond of reminding us of the starving children in Africa whenever we wouldn't eat dinner/wanted a new toy/ were generally unhappy in life.

The refugee camp set up by Medicin Sans Frontiere (MSF) or Doctors without borders, in Martin Place this week, was much more effective than my parents nagging. The idea of the 'Refugee camp in your city' is to raise awareness (and money) about the plight of the millions of refugees in the world


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I can't break free at Sydney Breakfree

September 11th 2008 03:41
Appalling is how I'd describe my night's sleep last weekend at the Breakfree on George, in George Street, Sydney. I admit I'm a bad sleeper. I love to travel but rarely sleep well when I do. Hence, I take over the counter medications to help sleep along.

But even with a dose of medicine, sleep was almost impossible on level one of the Breakfree on George. The front of the hotel faces George Street and the back faces Sussex, so no matter where you are, the noise is inescapable. The windows were so ineffectual, I could hear entire conversations being carried out on the street. Not only that, but the street sweeper or garbage truck that came past at 5am was actually inside my room. I'm sure of it


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wanderlust

August 26th 2008 05:03
It's only a month since my last holiday and already I've got itchy feet. Whenever I get home to my own bed, I think: "That trip will last me for ages!" I guess 'ages' must be a month then. About as long as it takes to finally unpack my bags.

To be fair, my last solo trip was nearly two years ago. I've started to look longingly into the travel agent window on my way up to school. A girl has to dream. I've also taken to actually reading all those travel email newsletters that clog up my inbox


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Pint-sized Picasso

August 12th 2008 04:10
Still feeling virtuous after my visit with the kids to the Boone Gallery for children in Los Angeles, I've done it again. If I keep this up, I'll be the envy (or something worse) of the mothers at school after my latest art appreciation exploit.

On a recent trip to Brisbane, again as a single parent, I needed activities and plenty of them. Even someone who was sent out of art in Year 7 (me) has heard of Picasso, so when I saw that his work was on show at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), I was keen for a look


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Sea World - more than rides

July 29th 2008 00:57
Here's a tip - try not to break your arm the day before going to a theme park!

We all know that going to theme parks is a favourite holiday acitivity for most children (and parents like me.) The build up lasts for weeks, if not months. "47 more days till we go to Sea World." You know the drill. For the computer literate, hours can be spent on the website, checking out the best rides, planning the trip and generally getting excited


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The Southern Highlands region of NSW, an hour from Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra, is a book lover’s dream. An ideal day out to escape the heat of summer or to huddle by an open fire in winter, the secondhand bookstores of the Highlands are the places to stock up your bookshelves in style.

First stop, Berkelouw Book Barn and Coffee House, situated on a farm just south of Berrima. The two story book barn carries everything from popular fiction, to American literature and renaissance history books. For less than $50, I walked away with six books - two fiction and four non-fiction works


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