Walking by a rivulet in a rainforest

The cold is well and truly here in Sydney and winter has officially begun, which is why I am looking back at pictures of wonderful weather and of wearing bare minimum clothing. Here are some photos of our road-trip during a long weekend, leisurely exploring national parks, walking by rivulets, looking for waterfalls, drinking chilled beer and wearing block print wisps as swimsuit cover-ups.

Can you tell I don't do winters well? Ah well! Planning our next sojurn to the city of lights will have to keep my mind busy and away from the thoughts of puffer jackets and thermal underwear!

The versatile block print chunni wrap

Cotton hand block-printed chunnis (or duppatta, what ever you may choose to call it) with traditional folk motifs earthy colours are one of the most versatile pieces of clothing. The soft cotton weave is large enough to be the perfect oversized scarf, vest, skirt, beach towel, shawl, sarong or throw and it only gets better looking with repeated use.

I've had this one for ages and it is a part of a kurta, salwaar set that has long since been misplaced. The chunni or dupatta is a necessary wardrobe item for a desi woman back home. Normally worn as a long scarf, draped over one or both shoulders with a kurta or kurti, it is usually a flourish of color for any outfit.

I have worn it here as a swimwear cover-up to wade about in the shallow waters of a rivulet that weaves it way through a rainforest, culminating into a spectacular escarpment water-fall. Traditional fabrics and water-falls seems to be a theme on this blog that I am in no hurry to change. I genuinely feel the most content around water-falls with loved ones. What's your happy place?

Tropical waterfalls on road-trips

Happy 2017! Here are some photos that make me happy, from a fun road-trip we went on last month at the beginning of summer.

On our meandering trip exploring the highlands south of Sydney we came across this impressive escarpment-leaping waterfall. The scenic bush walks, lush valley and deep gorges made the place just magical, the best part was we could get in the water and look over the edge down the towering cliff. It was a dizzying but breathtaking experience that I am in no hurry to forget.

Weekend getaway from Sydney

We got slightly tired of the urbanscape and escaped to the Southern Highlands in NSW for a weekend. It was a glorious weekend of exploring tiny little country towns, eating fresh produce, walking/ driving along dirt tracks and rivers, splashing about in waterfalls, spotting wildlife, drinking the local beer, exploring markets, buying plants and generally having the most tranquil break from the hectic end of year rush.

I wore easy breathable cottons over bathers with either a pair of flip-flops or my trusty Palladiums, carrying just two pairs of shoes is an achievement for me. I used to be someone that packed a bunch of unnecessary stuff when travelling and I think I am getting better at packing stuff I actually use and not much else.

Here I am wearing my favourite hand-block print fabric shorts and men's shirt with a simple leather cross-body and my boots that I can walk/ hike for hours in. The landscape around the area was stunning and trust me the pictures don't do it justice. There were miles and miles of rolling meadows, quaint farm-houses with farm animals and wild kangaroos, stunning cliff faces with massive waterfalls dotted with myraid colours of wild birds plus the colours of the land and the greenery were straight out of a painting. Seriously beautiful stuff that is being sorely missed now that I am staring out at a construction site!

A road trip around lush tropical rain-forests, watching the sun-set behind undulating landscape and chatting with friendly locals (while cuddling their furry babies) have to be some of my top favourite things to do. And the best part was, a lot of the holiday decor was beautiful, earthy, hand crafted and lacking the tackiness of plastic baubles flooding Sydney right now. I came back refreshed, rejuvenated and with some great ideas for holiday decorations.

What are your summer weekend away favourites?