Features Archive

  The beautiful rural Hunter Valley region has become a playground where Australia’s deadly Carbon Games are played all year round, local Sue Abbot reports The fog edges to the very seams of dawn and dutifully the morning light retreats to the sidelines to …

Baobab trees stand in abundance with lush yellow grass swaying at their trunks. Grey Loerie birds float between trees in the clear blue air while insects faintly hum from the earth. The bushveld: home to the Big Five, a place of enchantment and …

On May 17, Food Revolution Day took over schools, workplaces and households across the world to spread a message: eat good food. It seems simple but it has been one of the hardest messages to convey. An initiative of famous foodie Jamie …

A young woman in a wheelchair slumps over and loses consciousness as people rush to her aid. She is taking part in a half -dozen Lyme awareness events around the country. Mandy Shuker is a Lyme disease sufferer and her condition and …

“CALIPO, CALIIIIIIPO, Coca Coooooola,” shouts the Brazilian backpacker, carrying a small ice box filled with chilled delights. “CAALLLIIIIPO!!” she screams. Lying face down on your towel and doing your best to avoid her eye contact, you become distracted by another sound. A …

Let’s get this straight. I’ve always been an avid indie music listener – that is, independent music – ever since high school when I discovered the irony of Morrissey, the curious sex appeal of Japan’s David Sylvian and the moodiness of Ian …

I stared at my reflection in mild disbelief. A girl wearing heavy black frames gazed back owlishly. Behind them were brown eyes covered with prescription contact lenses – which I had switched to several months ago because I was tired of wearing …

Australia’s Got Talent’s  Matthew Shields shot to fame overnight for his creative Aboriginal dance style on the pole and his performances have encouraged men to get involved in the female-dominated pole dance. But not many people know he now has a dance partner. …

GEOFF OSTLING IS often asked to name his favourite flower. The plants he likes best are big, fleshy flowers such as the hippeastrum, or showy, exuberant plants that pop with colour. As Geoff opens the front door of his Petersham home and …

Natalie* is 20 years old. She used to have blonde hair. Now it is fading to brown and thinning. She was 15 when she first contemplated suicide. The urge became so intense she was hospitalised. What she went through no-one should have to …