TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Belgica in the ice. 1897. Photo: Adrien de Gerlache   Y ou wouldn't ordinarily think of cats and penguins together in the same image but that's what I found myself creating when thinking of an idea for my next painting. I have painted penguins before as part of my Australian Animals series from the early 2000's, and I have a couple of cartoon  penguins (that you can see in a very old post, Designing Formal Penguins ) I created for a Yeti skateboard graphic, so, I didn't just randomly think, 'penguins'. Recently I had a revelation about my art, in that I don't simply paint pictures of cats, I paint 'relationships'. Almost all of my paintings of cats feature two or more cats, or a cat with something, such as a butterfly, bird, fish, goat... and why not a penguin? However, I didn't want to just paint some random cat with some random penguin. I wondered if there was ever any real cats in history that may have a reason to meet a penguin? Turns out, on...

The Glenelg Giant Wheel. T he Glenelg foreshore and Cafe/Shopping strip (Jetty Road) at the end of the tramline from Adelaide, South Australia is arguably one of the must visit tourist regions of the city. It particularly has a lot to offer families with, not just the beach, but quite a number of playgrounds and grassed reserves as well. My partner booked us a post weekend, two night (Sunday and Monday), getaway in Glenelg by way of some discount vouchers she secured as part of a promotion encouraging people to visit the region over the Summer. Glenelg Motel The recently refurbished rooms of the Glenelg Motel raise your expectations from what the exterior of the rooms themselves suggest, which is a very 1970's vibe of your standard motel with parking right outside your front door (and not much else). Our room was spacious, and the modern furnishings were easily to the standards of any hotel we've stayed in over the last few years. The rooms look very modern with everything you...

D espite being in the middle of Summer, and experiencing some record temperatures across the state, we got a perfect day for the South Aussie leg of Jimmy Barnes' Working Class Man 40th Aniversay Tour. Lightly overcast. Almost no chance of rain. The cloud cover taking all the edge out of the sun, which was still quite fierce during the brief moments when it did break through the clouds for a little while. Guest artists supporting the show included, Jon Rooney, Kate Ceberano, Ian Moss, and Ice House.  Unfortunately, while my partner and I had every intention of being at the concert  when the show actually started, so did quite a lot of people. We didn't quite anticipate the traffic getting into the venue, Peter Lehmann Wines, Barossa Valley, and we certainly didn't expect the 5-10 minute hike from the carpark to the concert area itself. Kate Ceberano By the time we found our seats, Kate Ceberano was already part way through her set. Prior to this concert, I certainly knew w...

The Bruce Railway Station. Now a private residence. V isiting the almost forgotten town of Bruce reminds me of visiting Silverton back in 2007, except Silverton has been revived into a kind of arts town with a very famous pub. Bruce, on the other hand seems a little too spread out, and a bit too out of the way to make a similar 'arts' kind of revival. Bruce's Pub appears to be an art studio with signs of restoration work in progress. The main part of town appears to be the Bruce railway station (now a private residence) and a pub, also privately owned and possibly was, or still is, and artist studio. Other buildings and homesteads are set fairly wide apart, and are mostly privately owned homes. You don't get much sense of being in a town as such. I'm told there are approximately 14 local residents/families? Once earmarked to be a commercial centre, Bruce fell by the wayside after successive floods and drought in its early years. Obviously the railway line is no lo...

Tasman Bridge as seen from The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. C ontinuing on with my partner (Enigma) and I's return to Hobart, Tasmania, it's day three, and a Monday. Enigma was hoping to see snow on top of Mount Wellington this trip however, so far we'd had nothing but fine weather. A little on the cool side maybe, but not enough to put snow on the mountain. Which you can check with Summit Cam's live feed from the mountain top. So we decided to fill our day with Hobart's other bus tour... Red Decker Hop On/Hop Off Bus Tour The Red Decker Bus. The Red Decker bus tour is a 90 minute loop tour of the main sights within Hobart. While you can just stay on the bus the whole loop the idea is to get off the bus at any key location you may like to further explore and then rejoin the tour when the next available bus comes along to your nearest timed stop. Tickets last for 24 or 48 hours, giving you plenty of time to explore without being rushed. The bus website tells ...

Tasmania's Tall Ship, The Lady Nelson. T he last time my partner and I visited Hobart, Tasmania was March of 2020, around about the time half the country was on fire, and just before the pandemic shut the world down. While we still had a great time then, this time we're in Hobart at the tail end of Winter. The weather is still cool but the sun's been out for the most part so far. Customs House Hotel This trip we were here for six days. Last time it was a one day stop as part of a cruise. Our accommodation is at Customs House Hotel , right along the waterfront, and conveniently located for the various ferry's and other ports. Our room on the first floor is pretty standard hotel fare but relatively large, with a particularly large bathroom. From the window we can see a nice view of the side of Tasmania's Parliament House and garden. Our Room, Customs House Hotel. Included in the price is complementary breakfast each morning in the hotel restaurant, which has been ver...

A s someone who has written a travel diary about driving across three states of Australia , and owning a frog van that became very much a character in touring my own state of South Australia at sometimes well below 80ks, I have some affinity for Meredith Schofield's book, Around Australia at 80k's . I'll definitely tip my hat to Meredith and her husband Sean for going way further in a bright yellow, unairconditioned, mid 70's kombi van, than they were ever designed for.  Also kudos to them for traveling with their dog Bandit. My partner and I have also taken our dogs on our holiday adventures and, even though South Australia is likely the most dog friendly state in Australia, it's still a challenge planning a trip where you can all stay together. Particularly, your dog will keep you out of most national parks. Meredith's book is a road trip adventure across five Australian states, NSW, SA, WA, NT, and Victoria (technically four states and one territory I guess)...

The Amanda Rose.  F inal full day of our trip to Perth. Enigma and I headed over to my sister's house, to pick her up, and then meet my brother and Mum at Amanda's Garden Fete in Gosnells (not far from Southern River road). Luckily we got parking right opposite the gate when another car pulled out at just the opportune moment. About 5 or so minutes later my brother and Mum arrived, also managing to find parking not far from the gate. Amanda's Garden Fete is an annual charity event that takes place on a weekend, toward the end of October, raising funds for meningococcal disease awareness, support and research. Aside from being able to explore a beautifully maintained private garden there are Devonshire teas, a sausage sizzle, musical entertainment, seek and find game for kids, and stalls selling plants and other bric-a-brac. Entry is $5 per person. Overview of the plant buyers section with many flower varieties on offer. If you're particularly about buying plants then y...

Doctor Who Police Box at Dr Russell's Imaginarium. This one wasn't bigger on the inside. T he second last day of our Perth trip was a Saturday, and turned out to be another day my partner, Enigma, and I could spend doing our own thing. Dr Russell's Imaginarium Museum Since it wasn't too far away we headed out to Guildford in the morning to visit Dr Russell's Imaginarium Museum and Toy Museum that had been closed when we attempted to visit with my family a few days earlier .  We were a little surprised to discover there was actually $2 entry fee, for which you get two penny coins to use in the old style Peep show machine (mostly vintage photos of topless ladies), and moviola machine, which is a giant flip book type affair using photos to create a movie scene. I think it had a story but I wasn't able to follow it very well. Also, if you make a purchase your entry fee is deducted from the price. Entrance to Dr Russell's Imaginarium. You can see the Police Box ...