Tag: travel
-
Three Jobs if Money Didn’t Matter
List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter. If money were no object, I’d choose work that feels less like a job and more like a way of honouring what matters. Each of these roles is about restoration—of stories, of people, of things we might otherwise lose. The Story GathererI imagine a workstation…
-
Many Strands of Heritage
What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in? When I think about my cultural heritage as an Australian, I don’t immediately go to music, food, or fashion. I go to politics—not the bickering kind, but those rare, defining decisions that have shaped the fabric of our nation. There are…
-
Ziggy’s Party
Yesterday we celebrated Ziggy’s 6th birthday. Ziggy, for those who don’t know, is a cavoodle who has left paw prints on the heart of our college since the day he arrived. His story is already legendary: at just 12 weeks old, his owner was encouraged to let him sleep outside. The fences were secure, but…
-
Lighthouse Keeper
Do I see myself as a leader? Yes, though I would describe my leadership differently from the way many might picture it. I have led churches and not-for-profits for the best part of forty years, but I am not the loudest voice in the room nor am I constantly chasing the next opportunity. My style…
-
My Ideal Week: A Musical Passage
Monday – The Overture (Maestoso)The curtain rises, and the score begins with steady, determined chords. Monday is planning day, where the motifs of the week are laid down. Meetings cluster like brass fanfares, decisions gather like rolling timpani. It is fresh and expectant, but also weighty—anticipating all that is to come. Tuesday – The Allegro…
-
Terra Incognita
The furthest I ever traveled from home was everywhere.A round-the-world ticket—you can’t really get further away than that.I left with research in my bag and Duke Universityas my compass point. Duke was extraordinary.Magnificent buildings, gothic archesdesigned to look older than they were.Exceptional students and world-class teacherswalking polished halls that had been paid forby Methodist tobacco…
-
The City of the Future
When you step out the door in this city, you don’t face traffic. You face a courtyard. Each cluster of apartments, terraces, or townhouses opens inward, toward a green square where people naturally meet. Streets and cars exist, but they’re pushed to the edges. The courtyard is the neighbourhood’s beating heart. During the day, children…
-
A Name Given by the Tribe
You don’t name yourself, not really.That’s not how nicknames work. They arrive unexpectedly, quietly—like a stray dog that decides to follow you home.You might not even notice it at first.But the people around you do.They see something, say something, and suddenly, there it is: a new name.And if it sticks, it sticks. For me, it…
-
The Accidental Paradise
When we were newly married and living in the Northern Rivers of NSW, holidays were simple by necessity. We didn’t have much money and were a long way from family, so our usual approach was to throw a tent in the car and see where we ended up. One January, we decided to head north,…
-
What I Hold
Every so often, I find myselfreaching for the map again,not the one with borders and rail lines,but the one folded somewhere in my chest—creased with names I’ve never spoken aloud,warmed by places I haven’t stood inbut already miss. I hold England like an heirloom—my grandmother in Leeds,the streets she might have walkedwith a loaf under…
-
Kindness, with a Key
For me, it would be my car — a 2006 Honda Accord.It’s coming up for its 20th birthday next year and has 250,000 km on the clock. I’m the third owner. I bought it from friends I know well — the kind of people who are fastidious with everything they own. I’d dropped in to…
-
Where It All Began
Today we began the drive home after two weeks in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. It’s been a beautiful holiday—sunny days, cool nights, slow mornings, and long walks with the dog along beaches where she could run free. She was wonderful company, curling up contentedly each night after her seaside adventures. We…
-
One Traveller
One traveller booked the flight because it was cheap.One traveller booked it because his heart was heavy. One traveller packed three books and didn’t open a single one.One traveller read poetry aloud on a bus in Croatia. One traveller could sleep anywhere, even on cold airport floors.One traveller needed two pillows and a fan to…
-
Using Your Time Off to Draw Near
“What’s the one luxury you can’t live without?” It’s a question that often pops up in interviews or icebreaker games—lighthearted, maybe even fun. But the more I sat with it, the more uncomfortable I felt. The premise behind the question assumes a world of excess. It normalises indulgence as necessity. Yet the vast majority of…
-
Grandad’s Guide to Changing Your Name
Turns out, if I ever need to vanish—say, into a witness protection program, or just a quiet caravan park outside Dubbo—my grandfather’s got me sorted. Now, this is a man who spent most of his pay packet at the pub and left my grandmother with sixpence to feed three hungry boys for a week. Classic…
-
Antarctica: Our Greatest Expedition
Our favourite holiday wasn’t a holiday at all. It was an expedition.In February this year, after sixteen years of planning, we spent two unforgettable weeks in Antarctica. The distinction matters: a holiday is predictable, comfortable, designed for relaxation.An expedition is something else entirely — about discovery, challenge, and growth. It stretches you, surprises you, and…
-
Back to Basics
Camping brings life back to basics.It’s not just sleeping in a tent or cooking outside. It’s learning to live simply, move flexibly, and enjoy whatever comes. Camping teaches you to enjoy the unexpected.Like when we pulled into a caravan park at Mon Repos in Queensland without a plan, only to find ourselves next to a…
-
Bucket Lists and Buffett Lists
There’s something intoxicating about a bucket list. The name itself is cheeky and rebellious—do these things before you kick the bucket. It suggests urgency, vibrancy, life-before-death. Bucket lists seduce us with a sense of possibility: Swim in Icelandic hot springs. Walk the Great Wall. Eat something unpronounceable in a night market at midnight. The irony,…
-
The Quiet Ones
As an Australian, it almost feels like swimming is part of our DNA. We’re a coastal people—literally. Around 87% of us live within 50 kilometres of the coastline. All of our major cities hug the shore. That’s over 22 million people who call the coast home, and when we talk about the “classic Aussie holiday,”…
The Afterword 