Jack Charles is one of Australia’s highly regarded performers. An Aboriginal elder who pioneered Koorie Theatre in the early 1970s, he founded the first Aboriginal theatre company in Australia, Nindethana. Jack is an actor, musician, potter and gifted performer, but in his nearly 70 years, he has also been homeless, a heroin addict, a thief and a regular in Victoria’s prisons. A member of the Stolen Generation, Jack has spent his life in between acting gigs, caught in the addiction/crime/doing time cycle. In Jack Charles v The Crown, Jack returns to the stage to tell the story of his life with humour, warmth, song, truth and forgiveness.

I was thinking this show could be about Aboriginal culture, but rather it’s about the contemporary lifestyle of Aboriginal society. Jack Charles puts forward some strong points towards the Australian society, and I could see similarities within the Sri Lanka society and problem of total denial of any social issues.

Jack Charles v The Crown will be performed at Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse daily till September 10. Go to the event page for tickets and more details.

Brisbane Festival 2011 – Jack Charles v The Crown is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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Mortal Engine is not just another dance performance. It is a dance, video, music and laser spectacular. More than the intriguing performance, I was amazed by the perfect marriage between art and technology.

Mortal Engine uses cutting-edge technology for movement detection and sound responsive projections. This triggers light and sound patterns based on dancers’ movements, and creates kaleidoscopic patterns and optical illusions. In this interview on InFrame.tv Mortal Engine’s Artistic Director Gideon Obarzanek explains the inner mechanics of the show.

Mortal Engine will be performed at Playhouse, QPAC daily till September 10. Go to the event page for tickets and more details.

Brisbane Festival 2011 – Mortal Engine is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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Beautiful Noise is a stylised aerodynamic performance by Brisbane’s Raw Dance Company and Sydney’s Legs On The Wall. It is a truly spectacular production where performers scale the walls and flying acrobatic dancers draw all eyes up to the night sky, rhythm masters of tap set the beat, while hip-hop artists smash the stage.

I was so into the performance, I wouldn’t have bothered to take photos or video if I had a camera, (and no photography at the venue). Checkout this video to get the feel for it.

Beautiful Noise will be performed at QUT Festival Theatre, Plaza, Brisbane Powerhouse daily till September 10. Go to the event page for tickets and more details.

Brisbane Festival 2011 – Beautiful Noise is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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Here is the unedited long version of Riverfire 2011 videos.

There is lot more events and activities during Brisbane Festival 2011. For more details on other exciting events throughout the Brisbane Festival 2011, check out the official website. You can also follow Brisbane Festival more closely with frequents updates on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.

Brisbane Festival 2011 – Riverfire is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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Brisbane Festival 2011 will take place from September 3rd to 24th. The event packed three weeks of Brisbane Festival 2011 will kick-start tomorrow, Saturday September 3rd with the Sunsuper Riverfire. On September 3rd, more than half a million people will converge on Brisbane’s riverbanks to watch the city sky ignite in a continuous burst of spectacular colour, music, and special effects.

South Bank, Kangaroo Point Cliffs, and Victoria Bridge are popular places to watch Sunsuper Riverfire. I was on Victoria Bridge last year and it was hard to find a place to put my tripod, even at 3pm in the afternoon. I guess, I would go even earlier this time, either to Kangaroo Point Cliffs or to South Bank.

Photo: Copyright Brisbane Festival. All Rights Reserved.

There are so many activities during Brisbane Festival, including many free events around the city. I would probably miss out on most events as I’m travelling back home this month, but I’m still planning to catch up few events before leaving to Sri Lanka. I’m looking forward to the Beautiful Noise show, a stylised aerodynamic performance that is premiering during the Brisbane Festival 2011. I’m also interested in the Jack Charles vs The Crown show, that could shed some light into the Aboriginal culture and history.

For more details on other exciting events throughout the Brisbane Festival 2011, check out the official website. You can also follow Brisbane Festival more closely with frequents updates on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.

Here comes Brisbane Festival is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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We got on a Caboolture train from Central station and there were connecting shuttle buses from Caboolture station. We reached Farm Fantastic by noon. What’s a better way to start than with a lunch. We had some delicious burgers at the Outback Eatery with a flavor of Aussie country music. Some of us choose to top it up with some ice cream for dessert and my choice of passion fruit was ‘different’.

For the next couple of hours we had to roam around Farm Fantastic, looking through a great range of exhibitors and entertainment and stopping by at few.

We had a great time at, I think this is a great way to link the country life to the outer world.

Brisbane International Student Ambassadors at Farm Fantastic 2011

Find more details on the Farm Fantastic website.

Photographs by: Leong Ming En

Another day out with friends: Farm Fantastic 2011 is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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I’ve been to few places around Brisbane; Glass House Mountains National Park, Springbrook National Park and handful of beaches up and down the coast. Yet, I’ve never got a chance to experience the real Australian wildlife.

Last week I got a chance be part of an Australian wildlife tour with some Brisbane International Student Ambassadors. It was with Ronda and Darren of Araucaria EcoTours, covering a three-day Wildlife Tour and the Tamborine Mountain day-tour, in one day.

I was partly awake after a sleepless night at university/office, but I manage to bounce back as the day progressed (I guess). Our first stop from Brisbane was Daisy Hill. The start was a bush-walk, through the eucalyptus and tea-tree forests while learning about the different types of flora and fauna native to Australia. We weren’t lucky enough to find any wild koalas that day, but we spotted a wild red-necked wallaby. We spent another half-hour at the visitor information center and for a short coffee/tea break.

Our next stop was for a walk to a waterfall, but the rain was not kind enough to let us continue with our plans for a picnic lunch in the national park.

We stopped next at the Skywalk on Tamborine Mountain, and a stroll through the tall forest floor to giant trees and mountain streams. After the Skywalk excursion, we found shelters for lunch at the Jubilee Park in Beaudesert.

Kooralbyn was our last stop for the day. It was rather a drive through into the wallaby and kangaroo land. There were plenty of red-necked wallabies, whip-tail wallabies and eastern grey kangaroos. They were roaming around houses like domesticated animals. We stopped near an airstrip for a relaxing chat before heading back to Brisbane.

Araucaria Ecotours also provides many wildlife tours such as bush-walking, wildlife-viewing, bird watching, rainforests/glow-worms night tour, and Coochiemudlo Island tour to name a few.

Check out their website at http://www.learnaboutwildlife.com/ for more details on the available tours and Australian ecotourism. You can also get in touch with them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AraucariaEcotours

Into the Wild with Araucaria Ecotours is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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Koalas are one of the unique animals of the Australian continent. Lone Pine is the world’s first and the largest Koala Sanctuary, with over 130 koalas. Its main attraction for tourists and visitors is cuddling Kolas and photos with Koalas, which is a first time for me. Koala have a very low metabolic rate and rests motionless for about 16 to 18 hours a day, sleeping most of that time. So most of the koalas we could find were like soft toys on tree branches. Also the keeper mentioned that the male and female koalas are kept in separate areas to control reproduction, which I think they like next to sleeping.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is not just for Koalas. It features a large variety of Australian wildlife, including Kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils, Wombats, and various species of birds and reptiles. We spent quite some time in feeding kangaroos. The Sheep Dog and Sheep Shearing Show, and the Bird of Prey Flight Show, are highlights of the day which were enjoyed by everyone. The day ended with feeding wild lorikeets and some of managed to feed from our heads as well.

So when you are in Brisbane or Gold Coast, make sure to visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary for an unforgettable wildlife experience. Entrance to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is by a nominal entrance fee of AU$ 32 for adults, while students (with student ID card) and backpackers (with YHA, VIP etc. card) get a concession fee of AU$24.

For more details on wildlife, shows and activities, and visiting information visit: http://www.koala.net/

A visit to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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Thursday 22nd April

Leaving Sri Lanka: It’s always emotional when leaving home for a long period, but I was able to handle it without making it too dramatic. Many friends came to send-off, and even helped me in carrying my 40kilos + 10kilos.

Friday 23rd April

To Singapore: The flight to Singapore was so empty that I could sleep on 3 seats after eating the inflight dinner (the parata and chicken on Singapore Airlines is good… ).

12 Hours in Singapore: Landed in Singapore at around 7 in the morning and Praitheesh came to receive me at the airport. After messing up with the terminal, went to his place in train for breakfast. Then came to city again at around 11 and spent some time roaming around and searching for the Merlion.

The whatever coffee at BurgerKing was a mistake, but we later had fairly good lunch with another friend Bala. Spent some more time around the city and got back to his place at around 5 on bus via Little India. We took the airport bus at around 6 as I had to be at airport at 7.30. Had a light dinner at McDonald’s at airport as I had to keep some room for the flight dinner.

To Sydney: The flight to Sydney was on a Airbus A380, and I was on the main deck (which is the lower deck of the double-decker). The flight was full and the dinner was OK. It was a 7 hours long flight, but I couldn’t sleep much except for the 2 hours before breakfast. The in-flight breakfast was fairly good.

Saturday 24th April

Landed in Sydney: The flight reached Sydney at around 6 in the morning and I was received by my uncle and cousin at the airport. We went straight to his place and I feel asleep till afternoon. Went out for some shopping in the evening.

Sunday 25th April

Anzac Day: It was a long weekend and the shops were closed in the morning. So went out in the evening, to Homebush. It is known as an Asian suburb and famous for its spice shops and many Sri Lankan shops. The funny thing is they even sell the Sri Lankan soft drinks such as Cream Soda, Portello and Orange Barley here. I also bought a pre-paid SIM (Lebara Mobile Australia gives cheaper international call rates, almost same as the calling cards), so now I have a Australian mobile number.

Monday 26th April

Day out in Sydney: Went to UNSW and met Sanchayan, Went to Coogee Beach and spent nearly 3 hours and enjoyed photographing around, Went city and Opera House, Met Hesavan near Darling Harbour, Return by train.

Tuesday 27th April

Lazy Day: Got up late, Went to another suburb with many Tamil shops, Online check-in and additional baggage on Qantas, Went to airport early, Board at 8.45pm take off at 9pm from Terminal 3.

Queensland: Land in Brisbane Airport at 10.30pm, Pick up by Pathmanathan Uncle at around 10.45pm and reach his house in Samford by 11.30pm.

Wednesday 28th April

QUT: Slept a little longer, Went to QUT by 10.30am, The ID card machine was not working, Meet ISS counselor, Went to QUT Higher Research Degree office and filled up the enrollment forms, Went to Information Security Institute (ISI) and meet main supervisor and some other staff, Return by train to Ferny Grove and to Samford.

Thursday 29th April

Travel from Samford: Went to QUT on train via Strathpine to Central, Meet accommodation officer, Meeting with supervisors at ISI, Bought a Go Card ( It’s a travel card which can be used to travel seamlessly on bus, train and ferry services in Brisbane.), Got my QUT Student ID Card, Found a contact accommodation from the Accommodation Services web sire and arranged for seeing the room on Friday, Return by train to Strathpine and to Samford.

Friday 30th April

Accommodation in Brisbane: Went to Brisbane on train via Strathpine to Central, Saw two rooms in Petrie Terrace and St James Street and gave advance for the later, Got money from HSBC ATM from my Sri Lankan account (good thing is the ATM fee is much less and this seems better than bank transfers considering the fees), Meet some UoM seniors who are doing their PhD in Structures, Walk around the city in the afternoon, Return by train to Strathpine and to Samford.

The One Week Diary – From Samford, Queensland is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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A short message from Bhagi on Facebook was the start. He suggested a photography trip during the last weekend of November. First plan was a one day trip to Bundala and Yala, and as my new DSLR was sleeping in my closet for sometime, I instantly said “I’m in”. But due to some reason, it didn’t work out as planned. I called up Bhagi on Friday and we decided to go to some place along the Southern Coastline of Sri Lanka, but we didn’t finalize on a place that day and as usual I went to sleep around 3am on Saturday.

My got up on Saturday with the wake-up call from Bhagi around 10.30, and he asked, “Shall we go to Unawatuna or Hikkaduwa, we can take some good sunset shots there?”; “When?”; “Today, around 11.30…”. I was not sure about this instant trip plan, but thought at-least I could spend a Saturday without sleeping all day. When it was 12.30 we were on a C0lombo – Kataragama (yeah, its no more Katirkamam) bus, from Wellawatte to Unawatuna. According to Chamin, whom I talked in the mean time, it would be a 3 hour journey on road.

Unfortunately we had to stand for 3 hours with our backpacks, and when we reached Unawatuna little later than 3 in the evening. We had no plans whatsoever, and didn’t know where we could find lunch. So I called Chamin and he asked us to meet him near Wella Devalaya. It was a 10 minutes walk towards the beach and we waited there till 4, and clicked few shots of the beach in the meantime.

One important fact I noticed is that Unawatuna is a pretty expensive place for locals, specially with food. We couldn’t find a good place around for lunch, so we went to a small restaurant in Magalle with Chamin. And when we came back to the beach around 5, we almost missed the sunset…

We spent another 2 hours there, until its too dark, and took some photos around the beach. Bhaghi managed to take few good shots of the sunset, and I experiments with manual modes. We had to comeback that night as there was a assignment for Bhagi.

Though it was an unplanned trip, and we didn’t do much there, it was a good chance to learn few things. One, even unplanned trips, plan to some extent. Two, I know too less about my camera. Three, learn and practice night photography. May be I should plan for another trip down south soon…!

Bhagi’s Photos from Unawatuna // My Photos from Unawatuna

An afternoon trip to Unawatuna is a post from: Nimal's Weblog

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