17 Sep 2019
Home for me is… Sydney. We live in Sydney and have for 10 years, but growing up we lived in Port Noarlunga in South Australia. That was home.
I grew up… on the beach. We used to play cricket there, I played footy, I was part of nippers there...we grew up jumping off the jetty and playing in the sand dunes. It was a great lifestyle. Those were the days you could jump on your BMX in the morning and you didn’t come home until the sun went down. It was a very carefree childhood and I have great memories and would like to end up there again one day.
When back home in South Australia… I always go back to get the best steak in the world at Gaucho’s restaurant (Gouger Street, Adelaide)...it’s just the best. We always go to Port Noarlunga, too. We hang out there all day long. We have a house there so the kids go and swim down in the river...we bring our dog home, too. We go for a bit of a body surf, jump off the jetty, or a swim. We spend the majority of the time there, it’s just a great lifestyle.
The best thing about South Australia is… From the city, it’s only an hourdrive to the Barossa Valley, and it’s a 40-minute drive down to the Fleurieu Peninsula where I grew up by the beaches and McLaren Vale, too. There’s no tolls and there’s no traffic - it’s just a beautiful state. We’ve also got Adelaide Oval, too...the sporting events in South Australia are amazing.
As a child… we did a lot of travel. We stayed in South Australia mostly... we would drive to Blanchetown in the Riverland, or we would go to Ardrossan and go crabbing and camping. I was born in Loxton, so we have still got family members up there that we would visit, too. My aunties and uncles still farm on the land up there so we go up and see them every now and then.
Road trips as a kid… were always a lot of fun. Dad would get a bit stressed out sometimes...I remember on one trip, the car overheated and dad decided to take the radiator out and it blew up between his thighs and he still had to drive the next two days with these blistered thighs. That was a highlight of one of the trips. A few laughs were shared at dad's expense!
My family loves... to grab the car and travel a bit. We’ve just come back from Queenstown in New Zealand, but we travel a lot in Australia, too. We’ve travelled down south to Huskisson beach, and up north to Newcastle and Port Macquarie. We love to hit the road and New South Wales is such a beautiful place...there’s so much to see.
Our favourite beach is… Hyams beach in New South Wales, but there are so many along the coast here.
The most important thing about travelling as a family… is that these are memories that kids have forever. You can do so much with kids, like kicking the footy or going to see a movie, but they’re the memories they don’t remember. It’s the places you go and the laughter that you share along the way that’s ingrained in their memories forever. Our kids love travelling...our family loves to get up early and go to bed early, too. We embrace the day, get up, and walk and look around. Our kids talk about it all the time.
One of our favourite family destinations is… Port Douglas. We love it there. There was a waterfall that we went to last time we visited that will blow people’s minds. It’s called Trevathan Falls, and I’d recommend everyone go there.
Our family car is… the Mitsubishi Outlander. We’re getting the new hybrid that’s coming out in 2020, so that’s exciting. It’s something we’ve always been interested in. I’m really keen on helping the environment. Size is really important to us with the car, because we pack everything but the kitchen sink with us when we go away. There’s a lot of blow up things, balls, frisbees...you name it!
When packing the car… I’m in charge! It’s like a puzzle. It might take a few times for me to pack, but it’s like a rubix cube - if you can be patient, you can get it all in. If not, there’s suitcases on the kids' laps in the backseat.
Our road trip playlist… We have a range of things. Dad likes rock ‘n’ roll, mum likes eighties disco, and the boys listen to everything they can get their hands on. There’s a ‘Fitzy’s Family Road Trip’ playlist on Apple music you can access that has Fleetwood Mac, Paul Kelly, Talking Heads, The White Stripes, You Am I, Bad Dreems…. all sorts!
On our bucket list is… Kakadu. I really want to go there and explore because everyone says it’s breathtaking. I’m going up to Darwin soon to see my friend who’s a croc-wrangler. We’re taking the boys up to do some barramundi fishing and see the crocodiles.
I love working in radio… I’ve been very blessed to have the career path that I have. I’ve been at Nova for 15 years now and it still feels pretty new to me. I love meeting new people and getting to travel the world with Nova...I’m very lucky in that respect.
If I wasn’t in radio… I could still be making seats for cars! I worked at Mitsubishi Motors as a young man...I was 18 and I worked there for three years in the seat section making seats. That’s why I’ve always loved the 'three diamond' family. It was only when I got drafted to go play for the Sydney Swans I had to hand in my resignation. But I’m so glad I get to work with the company as an ambassador again now.
If I’m not at work... Our life now revolves around junior sport, because both my boys play footy and do athletics. We just like to spend family time together on the weekends around the kids. Every now and then I like to go and watch live music, too.
