A wander through Glenelg

Before the weather turned sour, I wandered Glenelg for the day, getting piccies for a client. A little project I am helping them with, which I'll tell you more about soon.

I REALLY want to live close to the beach - but my dream is to live by a surf beach. That way, I can walk down with board under arm. BUT, Glenelg has the vibe. I love the cafe culture that is popping up. There is good coffee. There is alternative 'healthy' food. There are activities for young and old. It is no wonder it's a tourist hotspot. 

Taking that vibe and plonking it next to a surf beach would make my dream come true. I could then open up a gallery for locals AND tourists, go surf every day (when there is surf) and, at it's most basic, feed my soul. I'd be one happy chappy. 

Anyway, here are a few pics from my wander. Thanks so much to all the businesses I visited - you make awesome subjects. :)

The Moseley

Pure Coffee

Zest

Goodlife Pizza

Zucca

The Oyster Bar

Esca

Chick n Chip

The Beachouse

The Organik Cafe

10 'meh' places I've traveled to...

By 'meh' I mean places that didn't grab me, I didn't enjoy, didn't live up to expectations... If I went again, I might think differently. My experience, my story - not factual.

I wanted to come up with 10, but couldn't. I am appreciative of all the places that I have been, and can always find some positives, but here goes.

1. Karon, Phuket - found the staff at the hotel and restaurants to be not very helpful, got stuck up a mountain for five hours with a baby and toddler due to a tsunami warning (absolutely not Phuket's fault), itchy sea water, not much shopping but concrete city feel. Wouldn't rush back - but rather go to the outer lying areas of Phuket or a different part of Thailand.

2. Tuban, Bali - grey sand, right near the airport... you get the idea.

3. Venice - WHAT? You say. Well, the experience I had there of dark and grey waterways left me somewhat 'is that all?' I also got lost one day and had to walk a very long way back to the cruise liner I worked on. We also picked a lousy restaurant to eat at. I'd give Venice another go, though. 

4. Nadi, Fiji - I'd stay a night if I have to, to get to where I want to go. Although I did find the market interesting to meet locals, there wasn't much else here for me. Let me know if I missed something. 

5. Kuta/Legian, Bali - seems like I'm dogging down on Bali, but I'm not. Just getting fussy. I call this area concrete city with bogans. Lots of hawkers (that I can handle), tourists walking around with a beer in hand first thing in the morning, tourists being crude, tourists being rude...

6. Cruise ship ports - although I've never been a tourist on a cruise ship, I have worked on one. It sounds dreamy, cruising the Greek Islands through Croatia from Venice. But, the reality of being in port with thousands of others for a short amount of time is far from idyllic. If I got off the ship, I would always head in the complete opposite direction to the guests. I like to discover the different things and not be in a crowd of tourists. 

7. Surfers Paradise, Australia - ok, so I have never stayed here, but I did venture through here while holidaying a few suburbs south. It's too built up, too commercialised for me. 

Where is your 'meh' place?

Exhibitions....

I had a dream the other night... 
I was taking photos over a high dam wall. It was a beautiful scene with blue water, rolling hills. Photogenic. I was with someone else, and we decided to go back and get another shot. I had my camera on the tripod, trying to get it up high enough to see over the wall. When I looked through the viewfinder, all I could see was water. I wondered for a bit, and then realised it was a great wall of water coming towards us. 

We ran, we ran back across the bridge we came from and looked for higher ground. I said 'as long as I don't get my camera drenched'. Strange that I thought about my camera over my life. We found higher ground, slightly, on steps and waited.

The water came, but only as a trickle. What was most upsetting was the people running with it. Running from the wave and it's destruction it had left across the other side of the bridge. Wailing mums and grandmas scrambled in front of me. They were sobbing out words, trying to tell me what and who they left behind. I wondered 'would it be ok to take a photo and document this?' I went into photojournalist mode but held back because I was there for a different purpose. I didn't want to upset the people that had invited me in to take pretty pictures by taking photos of their torment and agony. But I am a photographer - and I had the urge. In some ways, I felt responsible to document the event.

The dream ended, so I'm not sure what I decided. But I still remember this dream days on. Is it a little prod - telling me to do something? Perhaps it's a next exhibition idea - emotions and life. I'd like to help tell people's stories. 
Let me know if you have any ideas...

In the meantime, I am in another exhibition called Skrambled Eggs. A fab group of pro photographers taking photos with their iPhone and electronic devices. If you want to be wowed with what can be done with such a device, head to De La Liff over the Christmas break. You never know, you may even nab yourself a Christmas present while there. :)

Don't forget about day tripping it down to McLaren Vale to visit Salty Stories at Red Poles either... no excuse needed. Kids love running around in the pit, parents love the wine and beer, and everyone loves the food. 

What's happening with camping?

Caravan, camper trailer or tent?

We stayed at the caravan park in Port Elliot for the October long weekend. It got me thinking. Camping, and they way we do it, has changed in my lifetime. When I was young, I remember tents being the norm. Nowadays, caravans and camper trailers are the norms. Tents are few and far between. 

Why is that?

Are we getting snobby? Can we not afford hotels and holiday houses but still want comfort? Do we hate camping out in tents now? Are we trying to keep up with the Jones'? Or is it that prices are rising, and people that would normally get a holiday house or stay in a hotel are being pushed out of that market. At $75 plus a night for a grass site over a holiday period, consider the cost of a holiday home - maybe that is the case. All prices are rising. 

I love to rough it - or more correctly, I used to. My idea of real camping is packing the basics and heading to nature. No gourmet meals, sometimes not even chairs to sit on. A sleeping mat - ha, only when required. I would pack a salad, chickpeas, baked beans, sandwich stuff (gluten free at the moment - grr). No sauces or herbs and flavourings, keep it plain. But I haven't done this in years. Hubby likes to eat yummy stuff. I don't blame him, most people do.  

We have had a camper trailer for about five years but are now nearing the (nearly inevitable) debate of upgrading to a caravan or selling it. It doesn't get that much use, and we figure for the $ we could sell it for, we could pay for cabins when we want to go to a caravan park. And I do love a caravan park holiday with kids. 

It's common to find in caravan parks...
Patchy prickly lawned sites (if they have grass sites)
Boozy holidaymakers are drinking first thing in the morning or getting rowdy after dark
Toilets that need a key or code. 
Kids waking before the crack of dawn (normally mine)

But you also find...
kids having fun with new friends
lots of relaxing
not needing to lock up your tent
and an overwhelming strange sense of 'everything is good' and letting your children out of your sight

You don't often get one without the other - in peak season at least. Perhaps this is a discussion for around the campfire?

Just out of interest, who remembers paying $20-25 a night for sites? I do. 

Why can't we dream big? And get it.

Abundance. We can all get it, if we want it. Why can't we dream big and get there? Not all celebrities were born famous? Some had a dream, and went for it. The same goes for everybody else, particularly in the first world. We have the resources, we have the freedom, we have the option. So what is stopping us?

Why is travel so addictive?

I had my first overseas holiday in 2012 - with my mum, cousin and Aunty. We went to Bali and stayed in Legian. A very different Bali to the country Aussies visit now. 

I then lived in Brazil for a year. Then went on an around the world six-week trip. Then lived in various parts of Europe for over a year. I've also had lots of holidays to exotic destinations over the years. Yes, I've spent lots of money on travel. But what cost can you put on the experience, cultural learning and fun? 

Travel is something that will last a lifetime, unlike the newest iPhone or TV. I'm happy to go without some 'luxuries' to save my money for travel. I'll even trade presents for a trip. Any day (or year). 

What do you give up to travel?

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