About Briar
Briar Jensen is a Sydney-based freelance travel writer. Her blog covers travel tips, reviews, insights and inspiration, travel accessories and gadgets.
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Meet Solomon Wiseman, pioneer, inn keeper and ferry master, after which this tiny town on a bend in the Hawkesbury River is named. He is the inspiration and main character of Kate Grenville’s novel The Secret River. I loved learning more about him and the area in Grenville’s companion book, Searching for the Secret River, which describes her research. And the ferry service he started is still going! #wisemansferry #kategrenville #hawkesburyriver @visitnswWhat’s around the next corner? Kayaking up Webb’s Creek, off the Hawkesbury River at Wisemans Ferry I couldn’t help but think of Kate Greenville’s book The Secret River. How remote this must have felt for the early settlers. Thanks to @hawkesburyhouseboats, who also hire kayaks and runabouts, I was able to explore the creek for a couple of hours in the company of ducks and a white-faced heron. So what’s around the corner? More of the same! #hawkesburyriver #ilovesydney #kayaking #astw_incAlways love this view of the Hawkesbury River from Hawkins Lookout before the descent into Wisemans Ferry. Twisting and turning more than 120kms to Broken Bay, the river was known as Deerubbin by the local indigenous people, meaning wide, deep water. So close to Sydney it offers an ideal weekend getaway. #wisemansferry #deerubbinSay hi to Bib and Bub, gumnut babies, found in the garden at Nutcote, the #sydney harbourside home of Australian children’s author and illustrator May Gibbs, which I passed on my recent walk from Taronga to Kirribilli. Now a beautiful museum, the home sheds light on May’s life and work. The home was also used in the film Ladies in Black as Magda’s harbourside house. #nutcote #maygibbs #ilovesydney #astw_incThe views of Sydney Harbour on the Taronga to Kirribilli walk range from vignettes to vast vistas. Such an easy an interesting walk. @sydney #ilovesydney #sydneyharbourFantastic #harbourwalk from Taronga Zoo to Kirribilli along the waterfront. So many beautiful parks, like Anderson Park, with these majestic #palms. #ilovesydney #astw_inc- My Tweets
Author Archives: Briar's Travel Beat
Toe-tapping retro fashion fun in the Blue Mountains
Love retro fashions? Like a bit of toe-tapping on the dance floor? Enjoy lingering with friends over delicious regional food and wine? Then you’ll love the Roaring 20s Festival. Held in Sydney’s Blue Mountains this year’s event takes place on … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Events, Fashion, festivals, Food & Wine, New South Wales, Sydney
Tagged Blue Mountains, Blue Mountains Vintage Cadillacs, Charleston Challenge, Charleston for Charity, Charlotte Smith Collection, Charlotte Smith Fashion Collection, Dress up, fashion, festivals, Food and Wine, Hydro Majestic, Hydro Majestic Long Lunch, Plate Up, retro fashion, roaring 20s, Roaring 20s fashions, Roaring 20s Festival, vintage cadillacs
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Sydney’s QVB turns 120 – share your story to win
Since moving to Sydney 20-odd years ago I’ve come to love the elegant Queen Victoria Building, which occupies and entire city block. But like many of the shoppers and commuters that pass through her colonnaded walkways and underground passageways, I’ve … Continue reading
Whale of a tale – on Australia’s Gold Coast
Sometimes the tale behind an image is as breathtaking as the image itself – this time literally so. I was enthralled by the image on the cover of the latest issue of Where* Gold Coast magazine this month. The juxtaposition of … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Australia, Photography, Travel
Tagged Blue Dog Photography, Gold Coast, humpback whales, photography courses, whales
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Pack It! Part 2 – Five tips for buying travel packing cells
So after reading Part 1 Five reasons to use packing cells you’ve finally seen the light and decided to purchase some packing cells? Congratulations! But how do you choose the ideal packing cells (or packing cubes)? We all travel with different gear, … Continue reading
Pack it! Part 1 – Five reasons to use travel packing cells
Packing cells have changed my life. That’s a big statement, I know. But they have made my travelling life so much easier I wonder how I ever travelled without them. I just wish I had cottoned on to packing cells … Continue reading
Tai Chi with the locals in Bangkok
Apparently, tai chi is all about internal energy flow, but the only energy I’m channelling is nervous energy. How much of a goose (or perhaps that should be crane?) am I making of myself? But I don’t care. I feel … Continue reading
Posted in Accommodation, Bangkok, Thailand, Travel
Tagged Lumpini Park, Sofitel So Bangkok, Tai Chi
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10 Travel-themed homewares
Just because you are stuck at home, doesn’t mean you can’t dream about travelling. Part of the joy of travel is reminiscing about past adventures and planning new exploits. So surround yourself with travel memorabilia as a reminder of holidays past … Continue reading
