Good morning all you beautiful people. I am back from a fantastic 4 days with family and friends (and seeing a few clients), plus eating amazing food. Nice to be home, but wow it was some trip. I'll share some highlights later.
There were lots of surprising moments while in Sydney, like looking up for a moment during a meeting with clients and seeing @skyfire747 's cruise ship Edge docked in the harbour.
The WORST food experience was at the hotel I was staying at. Quite a good hotel where you'd expect good food, but the 2 vegetarian dishes that I tried were not good - one inedible. First, the "Buddha bowl, quinoa, broccolini, beetroot, pumpkin, hemp seed, avocado" was just piles of ingredients, ugh, and it wasn't filling - I was hungry an hour or so afterwards (I can't recall the broccolini). The desserts were good with that meal (I didn't have any, but my companions did).
The other - I don't have the name - was literally halved small'ish eggplants grilled in a way that left them dry and inedible (there were 7 of them - SEVEN!), a large pile of unflavoured black barley, half a bowl of creamy sauce, and 3 sticks of asparagus. I am not sure how you make eggplants so dry. I couldn't eat that dish and had to make do with fries.
Had a great time on Sydney Harbour on Thursday night. A 4 hour cruise on board Glass Island, called Hot Trans Summer as part of Sydney Mardi Gras. 1/2 #trans#sydney#sydneymardigras
Had a great time on Sydney Harbour on Thursday night. A 4 hour cruise on board Glass Island, called Hot Trans Summer as part of Sydney Mardi Gras. 2/2 #trans#sydney#sydneymardigras
Weird, there's supposed to be a thunderstorm later but it looks fine at the moment. I heard from some colleagues at this conference that their flights had been cancelled pre-emptively. Train back to Melbourne looks OK so far!
Images of politicians and tourists seen cuddling the threatened marsupial are ubiquitous. The mascot, usually placed on a stump, has to pose and represent the 'brand' Australia.
Due to habitat destruction the animals are deprived of a living habitat and have to flee. The fragmented habitat they have to negotiate is crisscrossed with roads and dangerous canines.
Here in Bellingen, where Tuckers Nob public forest is being industrially logged, all images cropping up are of disoriented koalas on daytime roads. There will be nothing left to cuddle soon.
I'm here on Gadigal country for a two-day travel industry event hosted by Travmedia. Today it's the Summit, tomorrow IMM (basically speed-dating between travel reps and travel writers). Should be fun. :) #Travel#Sydney
Just another day on the northern fringes of Sydney - a 1.5+m lace monitor (Varanus varius) strolling up a neighbour's driveway just now.
I don't believe they are venomous, but because they are carrion-feeders their mouth and teeth are covered in bacteria that make for a very nasty bite if you get in their way.
Taken on the mobile phone through the car windscreen.
"Former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has called for negative gearing reforms to be put back on the table as part of a wider debate about how tax reform could address housing affordability."
...
“The society today is very different than it was 100 years ago, and the tax system that’s in place today is still reminiscent of that,” he said. “It should be changed in such a way that drives opportunity, and things like negative gearing should be looked at. It could drive supply.
“I’m not advocating one way or another [on negative gearing]. But I’m saying it’s good government to go looking at this issue holistically. Should put everything on the table."
Mapping Sydney’s Microclimates to Combat Impacts of Rising Heat
200 bespoke temperature gauges have been strategically positioned across #Sydney to accurately measure local heat island effects and help prepare the community for hotter summers.
The City of Sydney has set a goal to be net zero by 2035. It aims to increase tree canopy cover to 27%, and green cover to 40% by 2050.
“Sydney is one of the most liveable cities in the world but we need to prepare now for our future climate so we can all adapt and thrive.”