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I had heard Newcastle mentioned a lot and was vaguely aware that it was a city north of Sydney, but that sums up all my previous knowledge of it. I was intrigued to see what it was actually like and it was only when I started reading about its history that I learnt that Newcastle had had Australia’s most destructive recorded earthquake in 1989. However, the city took that opportunity to rebrand itself. This former steel town (where the worst-behaved convicts were sent!) is the largest coal export harbour in the world. It certainly has a very industrial feel to it and the coal industry is very evident (in fact, yesterday’s newspaper stated that the coal boom is causing traffic jams) but the various rejuvenation projects have paid off.The city has flair and an up and ... read more

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Neither of us had been to Picton before so it was a long overdue visit. It’s a super friendly dropzone with a great setup. We did a couple of jumps – one freefly jump to blow out the cobwebs and a wingsuit jump with our friend Sarah. Unfortunately Sarah’s helmet wasn’t done up properly and she lost it as soon as we were out of the plane. We’re just glad everyone's safe. As Sarah said, it only hurt the pride and the pocket. Thanks Sydney Skydivers for making us so welcome for a couple of days. It was great to see familiar faces and meet new friends.... read more

First of all, many congratulations to my fabulous sister Yvette for completing her degree in biology! What an achievement.Nice work sis! Thursday 22 March has been a much anticipated date as it’s the day that we met up with my great friend Peter, who came over from the States for a conference in Sydney. We managed to time our arrival in Sydney perfectly with the last day of the conference and immediately drove out to the Blue Mountains for a weekend camping trip. We set up camp in the Bents Basin State Conservation Area at the edge of the Blue Mountain National Park. Nice work, boys, for putting up the tent in the dark! It was beautiful waking up to the morning mist and dew-covered spider webs. What’s more, the blue skies promised a lovely sunny ... read more