Taylor Swift shakes my hand, then shakes it again. She grimaces and mimics a girlie handshake, her hand like a delicate cat’s paw with plum-coloured nails. “I didn’t get that quite right,” she says, apologetically. “I don’t want you to think I can’t shake hands properly.” The American singer-songwriter might have 45 million Twitter followers, … Read More
Emma Balfour ushers me into her home, steps around the composting toilet in the hallway, and rummages for some good cups to make tea. Her Bondi bungalow is a study in elegant grunge. Outside, it’s painted sea green – the same colour as when she bought it 15 years ago – and a round window … Read More
Tanya Plibersek has a gift for doing many things at once. “My personal favourite was writing a speech, talking on the telephone and breastfeeding,” says Labor’s 43-year-old MP for the federal seat of Sydney, whisking egg yolks, lemon juice and olive oil into a home-made mayonnaise. It’s lunchtime at Plibersek’s inner-city home and the mother … Read More
I prepared for the birth of my identical twin sons with all the precision of a military operation. I had a roster of friends and family staying with me for three months and a food circle that would keep me in evening meals for six weeks. I hired a cleaning lady, a mowing man, and … Read More
High on the Tibetan plateau, on the pristine shores of Lugu Lake, a snaking line of young men and women dance Cossack-like around a flickering bonfire to the jaunty tune of a wooden flute. China’s Mosuo minority is one of the world’s last surviving matriarchies. Their fire dance is mostly for the tourists now. But … Read More
Qiao Wei hesitates for a moment, then opens the cage. The barking, growling pack bursts forth, charging him in a blur of black, tan and sable. They are mongrel dogs – about 200 cross-breeds – and their unkempt coats sprout in bristly patches, gouged with the scars of street fights and mistreatment. The dogs snarl … Read More
An earthquake in Christchurch comes with a roar or a shudder. It rolls in across the plains from the Greendale Fault. Or it thunders up out of the ground, right below the city. It’s much like the rumble in the belly of a giant, fast asleep and snoring, deep below the earth. It’s been six … Read More
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area rises soft and blurry beyond the Sydney metropolis. On a clear day, you can see the city from its ancient sandstone ramparts and hear aeroplanes banking. How wild can it really be? Very wild indeed. Its southern section (an area of 220,000 hectares that has the Great Western … Read More
THE Australian tourist in the hotel lobby skids across the white marble tiles towards me. He has a boxer’s nose and wears a rumpled suit that pulls across his middle. “Quick,” he urges with a giddy grin. “What was that tip we were given at dinner last night?” A svelte French woman in diamonds and … Read More