Sydney with Robert

Once the decision was made to spend my short, sweet holiday in Sydney, I promptly bought tickets to see Robert Forster at the Sydney Theatre. He was performing his first solo concert in Sydney for many years as part of the Sydney Writers Festival.

J and I had front row seats and were so close to the man himself that I could see what brand of water he was sipping (San Pellegrino, in case you were wondering).
At the beginning of the concert, he told us that about a week ago, when he was thinking about the gig, he decided to do 'Fifteen songs of Sydney'.

He then proceeded to play a suite from his back catalogue, as well as one new song, which all have Sydney references or significance.

Between each offering he told us stories behind the songs or stories of the time they were produced. These stories each had a Sydney slant, and offered a wonderful insight into the lives of The Go-Betweens and Robert himself. We heard stories of road trips with Grant McLennan, midnight walks through Darlinghurst and origins of lyrics.

The consummate gentleman with wonderful onstage presence, he was resplendent in his suit and leather shoes. He showed his finger firmly on the pulse when, with his grateful return for an encore, noted being influenced by Vampire Weekend after seeing them live in Brisbane recently. He is wonderful. *sigh*

Up in the air

Despite the fact that I adore living in Darwin, I am conscious of not being here forever and endeavour to squeeze as much out of my time here as possible. There are many places to see while I'm here, and I've collated a list of to-dos while living in the Top End. There's the road trip to WA; Bali for the Ubud Writers Festival; Gunlom Falls; and another wintery desert getaway to Uluru. So for M's birthday, I decided to give him an experience; a flight over Kakadu. We drove out on Saturday afternoon, and attempted to cross the wet roads to Ubirr but failed, so did a steep walk up Mirai Lookout. The walk hurt, yet it was worth it for the spectacular view and experiencing the complete stillness of being so high up. All we could hear was the birds and the distant rumble of a car driving through the national park. We checked into the hotel, in the belly of a crocodile at Jabiru. Then early the next morning we drove to the Jabiru airport and climbed aboard a tiny plane to embark upon a one hour flight down the Arnhemland plateau, taking in Jabiru, Nourlangie Rock, Jim Jim and Twin Falls. It was a truly amazing way to experience Kakadu in the wet season when most land-based activities are closed.