Copacabana; a coastal escape

A forty pack of icy poles, spirited games of frisbee, fluoro pink thong shaped lilos. Sunscreen is lathered on sandy legs, leathery bare feet brave hot sand to buy chips from the store, rockpools invite leisurely walks to the end of the beach. A local kiosk serves surprisingly decent Byron Bay Coffee Co coffee, with the essential Jack Johnson beachside soundtrack and an owner who remembers your name, order and how your day was yesterday. 

A January getaway to Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast is a nostalgic excursion to the simple childhood pleasures of Aussie summers, with icy poles on the beach graduating to cocktails on the balcony.

A sleepy town of approximately four shops, Copa is close enough to Avoca and Terrigal to satisfy any rare cravings for urban shops and amenities, while maintaining the cruisy vibe of remote coastal life. Music, sunshine and good company are the essential ingredients for a revitalising escape from reality; a place where one forgets what day of the week it is, meals blur indefinably between brekky, lunch and barbeques, and spontaneous beach footy games follow dips in the ocean and flicking through magazines on the beach.

Copacabana

Distance from Sydney: 90km
Population (2001 Census): 2,753 

Sydney by Sail

Those who fly into Sydney at sunrise are often rendered speechless by the calm, sparkling city on the verge of a daily hive of activity. The vast ocean that seems to dominate every uneven corner, creeps into every crevice of land, while reminding passengers that Australia is really just an island.

Sydney is a city built around its harbour, and unless one has regular access to a plane, is at its best when viewed from the water itself. It’s a cloudless winter day when we board Sydney By Sail’s three hour social yacht race in Pyrmont. The skipper gives us novices a brief introduction to the boat, the basics of sailing, and our route for the day. We are given the option of being as involved as we’d like, and the keen beans on the boat jump at the chance to learn to sail. We’re ‘competing’ against another novice group, and we’re determined to become pros...

Read about my sailing adventures as the NSW Blogger for lastminute.com

Hunter Valley; where wine taps you on the shoulder and says g'day

"The wines that one best remembers are not necessarily the finest that one has ever tasted, and the highest quality may fail to delight so much as some far more humble beverage drunk in more favourable surroundings"  H.Warner Allen

The first European stumbled across the Hunter Valley by accident in 1797 during a search for escaped convicts, according to an 8am history lesson by the friendly guide from Boutique Tours Australia. Twenty acres of vineyards were planted by 1823, and so evolved the rolling hills and green valleys of the romantic playground region embraced by Sydneysiders and international visitors alike.

Read about my Hunter Valley adventures as the NSW blogger for Lastminute.com.

Wine tasting at Ernest Hill

Lunch at the Cellar Restaurant

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

One of my proudest achievements was my role as a tap-dancing penguin in our school’s year three production of Mary Poppins. As one of many who grew up presenting concerts to amused grandparents about supernatural nannies and charming chimney sweeps, I was intrigued as to how Poppins’ famously impossible feats would be achieved on stage.

The Disney and Cameron Mackintosh production of Mary Poppins at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre is a visual and aural spectacular that will have audiences of all ages convinced of the power of magic. Superb backdrops change within a blink of an eye, a talented cast doesn’t cease to impress, and the special effects are first class. Combined, they present a seamless and enchanting tale of the mysterious nanny who transforms the dull lives of the Banks family.

Verity Hunt-Ballard, Matt Lee and Marina Prior form part of a stellar cast that delights throughout. An opportunity to immerse yourself in an imaginary world full of happiness, enchantment and magic – no matter how old you are.

Read my full review of Mary Poppins on liveeverylastminute.com.au.

With Verity Hunt-Ballard (centre)

When I have time...

How many times have you thought to yourself “when I have a little more time I would love to learn photography / write a blog / read more about politics”.

We’ve considered taking life-drawing classes, dreamed about learning to sail or surf, resolved to reinvent our non-work wardrobe and re-introduce a creative flair. When we have a bit more time.

On Friday evenings at après-work watering holes like Ryan's Bar and Ivy, we blend and mingle in our collars, blazers and celebrate the advent of the weekend. We air-kiss, shake hands and share drinks with like-minded young professionals, the ties loose and the shirts colourful in recognition that we’ve survived the week. We’ve closed the deals, reviewed the reports, turned off the laptops (though not the blackberry – never the blackberry).

Back in uni days, with time on our hands to write the blank pages of our future, we kept up to date with the latest fashions and invented our own. We experimented with music, discovered bars off the beaten track and supported friends’ bands playing at dodgy RSLs. We found excitement and difference down random lanes and sketched drawings of the characters that we found there. We volunteered for charities, learned about other cultures and looked forward to the future. We were all exploring, discovering and creating our individual worlds, in our own way.

Five to seven years later, and we have all chosen different paths. Those of us in the corporate world have been both thrilled by new intellectual challenges and bored by monotonous days in the office. We can walk the walk, click our heels in the lobby, make PC jokes and small talk with executives in the lift, and look fabulous in a suit.

We still love music, but haven’t had as much time to listen to the new band our friends are tweeting about. Absolutely love reading, but have banned ourselves from picking up novels until we’ve passed the mandatory technical exam for work. Can’t really justify spending as much on quirky fashions when five days a week demand classic and tailored “business casual”.

And after five years of focusing on our careers, we’re starting to realise that parts of ourselves have been neglected. That we could have another 30 years of working ahead of us – but there is more than that. The creative spark, the other dimensions of our personality, the colour – they’re still there. Lying dormant, slightly neglected, but slowly reemerging. We remember that life doesn’t have to be confined to evenings and weekends, that Wednesday wasn’t always a hump day.

I have friends who have recently quit jobs for a variety of reasons - pursue photography, start their own business, spend a few years travelling. For those of us who enjoy our jobs but know that there is more to us than just a square in a suit – how can we find a balance?

Life is too short to drink bad wine

“Ahhh love… it’s sunshine in a bottle” says the elderly gentleman at McGuigan’s winery in the Hunter Valley, pouring each of us a generous tasting glass of their Moscato. It’s not much of a stretch to imagine drinking the sweet wine with a dash of bubbles with friends at a summer barbeque, or by the beach with some cheese and crackers. Or better yet, give in to the temptation to settle in the sunshine in the winery’s garden, overlooking vineyards, and crack open a recently purchased bottle…

Only a 2.5 hour drive from Sydney, a spontaneous weekend escape to the Hunter has inspired a feeling of relaxation, peace and freedom, taking the place of a weekend otherwise jam-packed with pre-arranged brunches, bbqs and drinks. We forget how easy it is to break from routine and step out of the ordinary, temporarily abandoning reality to reflect, escape or just have fun. The rolling green hills, the birds calling to each other over the vineyards, the occasional sighting of a rabbit or a kangaroo, create a world far removed from the frenetic pace of the Sydney CBD. It is a gentle reminder to slow down, with smiling locals referring to Sydney as the big city where people are constantly in a rush.

Each winery that we visit has its own charm and character, with rustic cellar doors welcoming visitors in for a taste and a chat. At Emma’s Cottage there are bright original paintings by a local artist lining the walls, with the dessert wine named Perfect – “simply… because it is perfect. You’ll understand once you’ve tasted it”, says the lady behind the counter. Brokenwood Wines’ mission statement of “Make great wines and have fun” has led to the creation of an entire vineyard known as the “Cricket Pitch”, with blended wines sampled described to us as ideal for an afternoon at watching the sport (or any opportunity to sit in the sun and drink wine). Draytons Family Wines has rebuilt its cellar door since the 2008 fire that led to the tragic death of winemaker Trevor Drayton, and there is a sense of pride that the 100% family owned winery is continuing the tradition.

'Perfect' dessert wine... simply because it is

The hosts at each place delight in sharing their knowledge about the wine, and take their time with each explanation and tasting. Every experience is about savouring the moment, enjoying the quality of produce and appreciating the effort that has gone into the creation of each indulgence. In addition to wine, there are cheeses and dips, olive oils and jams, olives and freshly baked bread. The restaurants and cafés serve food sourced from the local area, and the emphasis is on freshness and flavour.

The Hunter operates by a different clock, with everything happening in its own time (including a cabbie who was late because he had stopped to place a bet on a horse on the way there). A watch is merely a quaint accessory, and the open space and fresh air allow you to unwind, relax and absorb. As Robert Louis Stephenson wrote, “wine is bottled poetry”, and there is nothing like a weekend in the Hunter Valley to bring that to life.