simoncrerar.com :: Simon Crerar's website

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair 2010 kicks off

simon — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:02:20 +0000

This weekend in Cairns you can watch dancers from the tip of Cape York, hear the National Indigenous Children’s Choir, and buy artworks made by artists based as far away as Brisbane, Cardwell, Thursday and Mornington islands.

Kicking off tonight at Tanks Arts Centre with an exciting opening party, this year’s Cairns Indigenous Art Fair is a wonderfully diverse celebration of the best Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and crafts from across Queensland.

Read the full article at Cairns.com.au

Check out my pics at Facebook.com

Carlsberg don’t do commutes, but if they did…

simon — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:01:38 +0000

In London it took me anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour to get to work and the same to get back again. In Cairns I push my bicycle out of my driveway shortly after sunrise and am at my desk 10 minutes later. If I get really held up, usually by an interesting bird or a beautiful photo opportunity, I might take 15 minutes.

Read more on my Posterous…

Exploring the Daintree and Cape Tribulation

simon — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:00:33 +0000

Where Earth’s oldest rainforest meets the greatest coral reef. The only place on the planet where two World Heritage areas join.

Our first visitors (Zoe & Scott) arrived from Sydney and brought the winter weather with them! Well, wasn’t exactly cold, but we did get rain in biblical abundance, which was pretty acceptable really as our weekend trip was a jaunt up to the Daintree rainforest, which looks at its best when it is bucketing.

We had lots of fun Jungle Surfing and Crocodile Expressing, spotting beautiful birds and butterflies, scaring ourselves with spiders and bearded dragons on a night walk and marvelling at the truly marvellous, ancient wonder that is the Daintree.

All the pics over on Facebook…

La Suite, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

simon — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:19:48 +0000

Cultured owner Francois-Xavier is a former bigwig at the Paris Bourse who regularly holidayed in Rio – France’s relationship with Brazil is almost as old as Portugal’s, and much more like a mutual admiration society.

Eventually Francois found the lure of the city impossible to resist. He has created a stunningly situated cliff-hugging haven beneath São Conrado, the vertiginous birthplace of hang-gliding in Brazil.

All rooms overlook the Atlantic Ocean, and blend baroque influences, sumptuous white oak panelling and luxurious Granado toiletries with modern touches such as pre-programmed iPods. Blissfully there are no televisions…

Read the full review at TravelIntelligence.com

La Passion Hotel, Cartagena, Colombia

simon — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:31:16 +0000

There are hundreds of reasons why you should visit Cartagena – and almost all of them are clustered together within the 16th-century walls of the most perfectly preserved colonial city in the Americas.

Perhaps the most compelling motive of all is the beautiful boutique hotel La Passion: the perfect place for any discerning visitor to base themselves while delving in to the stunning shops, restaurants and bars than make Colombia’s cultural capital one of the most sensual cities in South America.

Read the full review at TravelIntelligence.com

Blowing my own trumpet in Cairns

simon — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:59:17 +0000

One week after it kicked off in Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium, the World Cup has been defined by one word above all others.

Vuvuzela.

Until a week ago, I had never heard of this 60cm long African hunting horn, now the biggest threat to The Beautiful Game since 1980s hooliganism.

When I flicked on my television for the tournament’s opening fixture, an intense monotonous drone assaulted my senses, drowning out commentators and crowd.

At first I assumed there must be something wrong with SBS’s broadcast. I spent the first 10 minutes of the match frantically adjusting my TV’s volume settings. Apart from turning it off, the only solution appeared to be standing at the other end of the room.

The 90,000 fans at the game seemed to be having fun, but what about the millions watching?

Read the full story at Cairns.com.au

Home Sweet Home, 385 Draper Street

simon — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:00:25 +0000

We’ve moved into my our home!

The house is exactly what we’re looking for, a beautiful Federation-era, century old wooden Queenslander on stilts. We have palm trees out front and a big garden out back. We have three bedrooms, so lots of space for visitors.

Our address is 385 Draper Street, Parramatta Park, Cairns. QLD 4870. Australia. All letters, postcards, care packages, flowers, cases of wine and other house-warming gifts gratefully received!

Our little slice of paradise: hidden away

You can check out where we are at bit.ly/DraperStreet

First few weeks in Cairns, Far North Queensland

simon — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:11:48 +0000

Cairns has palm trees everywhere, a beautiful boardwalk and the widest streets you’ve ever seen. Everyone is happy! Might have something to do with the temperature which, at the start of winter, has averaged 28 degrees since we landed. Check out the snaps over on Facebook.

Sri Lankan stilt fisherman Life in the Day from Sunday Times Mag

simon — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 23:01:11 +0000

Priyanta Rh, 44, is a stilt fisherman off Sri Lanka’s south coast. I talked to him about growing old, the tsunami and a threatened way of life.

“No matter what time I fall asleep, I always wake at the same time: before the sun comes up, around 5am. I’ve never had an alarm clock; my body does a good enough job. Sometimes I’d like to sleep more, but I have to go and fish.

I live a little inland from the beach, across the railway line and through the forest. First, I’ll make myself some tea. Then a smoke, usually a bidi, a tobacco leaf wrapped around sweet Sri Lankan tobacco. My wife won’t rise until after I’m gone. I leave quietly so as not to wake her and our four children.

I don’t go to my stilt every morning, only the days when the fish are running…”

Read the rest of this article at www.thesundaytimes.co.uk (registration required)

Our Final Destination: Cairns FNQ

simon — Tue, 25 May 2010 08:00:06 +0000

After long and careful deliberation, we have decided to relocate to Cairns, Far North Queensland…

Yes, Australia! I have accepted a job as Online Editor for The Cairns Post, the local News Limited-owned newspaper that covers the city and the broader region. It was a real curveball being offered the position while we were Down Under, and a fantastic opportunity. To work as a journalist with the Great Barrier Reef and world’s oldest rainforest on my doorstep is a dream come true. I’m looking forward to non-stop nature, perfect blue skies and a five minute commute to work, plus swimming outdoors every day! Dreamy.

My new workplace: The Cairns Post, Abbott Street

Being in Australia, Cairns is well located for Rachelle’s business, a three hour flight from agency and warehouse in Sydney and within easy reach of China factories too. We’re very excited about home-making in the tropics, and already researching native exotics for our lush new garden, plus hammocks for our veranda (average daily high is a balmy 29 degrees).

The Lagoon: Cairns Esplanade

Of the other contenders, we were very tempted by Thailand. Chelle had great success with bags sampled there and I had a good offer from the Bangkok Post, but the country is tearing itself apart and we eventually decided the ongoing civil unrest makes it too risky an option.

Elsewhere, I was offered a job in Mumbai (too intense and chaotic), plus regular freelance work at the South China Morning Post, but we feel Hong Kong is too expensive to enjoy a decent lifestyle without a proper salary, and anyway Chelle spent much of her twenties there.

Mexico didn’t live up to our expectations and the drug war makes it a dangerous a place to be a journalist. Beautiful Bocas del Toro appealed the most in Latin America, but we’re not ready to shelve the careers and set-up a boutique hotel-cum-bookshop quite yet!

I was offered a tempting job in Sydney too, but at this stage we’re much more excited about the tropical exoticism of Far North Queensland. It’s a stunning part of the world. Come visit!