‘Hi. I’m Casey from the Bondi ukuleles tribe.

It’s nice to finally meet you.

I have a feeling we’re going to get on like a house on fire.”

So reads the card attached to the ukulele gig bag which has just arrived in the post.

Another “Casey”?

Just what I need. Not.

Regular readers may know that I already have one Casey — my opinionated, “luxury orientated”, sometimes cantankerous suitcase Casey. My constant companion.

Not only do I NOT need another Casey, but I daren’t even mention to my existing luggage that there’s an impostor in the building.

HAWAII

In my defence, there are not only ukuleles.

There’s a handsome handmade steel-stringed country guitar and a classical classic, a violin-bodied and a Fender Precision bass, a few electric guitars, a mandolin and even a banjo.

But, yes, there are ukuleles — two sopranos and a tenor.

Sometime in recent years, ukuleles apparently slid from cool to uncool (having previously slid from uncool to cool). It’s a confusing world.

But I think the soprano ukuleles are still the easiest and best stringed instrument to pack in a suitcase (even my Strumstick, a sort-of version of an Appalachian “picking stick”, is too long).

And I rate one of my soprano ukuleles as probably the best keepsake I’ve ever bought, because I bought it in Hawaii.

The ukulele is quintessentially Hawaiian because, although it was invented in the 1880s by Portuguese immigrants (adapting it from a small, traditional Madeiran instrument), native Hawaiians quickly embraced it. They gave it the name “ukulele”, which loosely translates in local language to “jumping flea”. It is the heart of local music in Hawaii.

My uke was handmade in Hawaii by the KoAloha company. KoAloha is a renowned, family-owned Hawaiian uke maker which was founded in 1995 by Alvin “Pops” Okami.

The ukulele has the famous five-point KoAloha crown headstock, bigger-than-usual “musubi” soundhole . . . and is made from solid Hawaiian Koa. KoAloha ukes are used by professional players worldwide and valued for their vibrant projection.

Some readers might recognise Koa timber from one of Taylor Swift’s favourite, big guitars — a Taylor Presentation Series PS-24ce Grand Auditorium made from Hawaiian Koa, which she used for songs on the albums Fearless and Red.

My ukulele has that classic KoAloha bright clarity that reminds of maple and the warmth of mahogany. And it has the pretty, three-dimensional Koa grain.

I bought it in Waikiki, Hawaii. It sounds and looks like Hawaii, and that is a wonderful souvenir to live with — and travel with.

I have tucked the uke in Casey many times — from a trip on a houseboat on the Kerala Backwaters and trips through WA’s deserts.

A soprano is generally about 53cm long and light to pack.

I also have the original hard case (actually cardboard, printed to look like leather, but sturdy) that the uke came in. We also have a bulletproof (probably literally) Marue hard case which is strong enough for airline check-in.

But I have always wanted a soft but sturdy gig bag for the uke. Something sort-of tapestry which looks trendy.

And the Bondi Movima Tribal Ukulele Gig Bag is just that (and there are lots of other designs.) Soprano size is usually $156 but currently reduced to $109. It is padded, has a soft black lining, overlock stitching, a handle and a backpack harness. It also has a front pouch — but, as I want it as neat as possible and don’t want to carry much to do with the uke, I used my stitch picker to carefully get it off.

On fabrics, just be aware that they vary. The Movina Tribal is a woven fabric and the Yarramundi is more of a canvas.

But I like the Movina a lot.

I like it a lot.

BondiUkuleles.com

MARGARET RIVER

The other soprano and the tenor ukulele were made in Margaret River by luthier Scott Wise. (Scott also made two of the guitars and the wandoo mandolin.)

And they are not the only Wise ukuleles at home. He also made a soprano uke mostly from peppermint for Virginia.

But my uke is truly an instrument of the world — a global souvenir . . .

The body is Acacia melanoxylon from the Otways in Victoria. The neck is Toona ciliata — Australian red cedar. The fingerboard is WA Wandoo. The head veneer is Jarrah.

The top binding is from Kerala, in south-west India, the bridge is from Madagascar and the nut is from Mozambique.

Interior braces are Sitka spruce from Canada and the skin brace under the lower bout is Sequoia sempervirens from an old Fremantle skirting board.

The neck block and glue linings are bunya pine and the tail block is desert sandalwood.

The feel and sound of the world.

ON THE ROAD

So, those are my packable soprano ukuleles.

And these are their journeys . . .

+ In the Kerala Backwaters in India, I noodle out tunes on a houseboat. These houseboats are based on the rice barges which ply these calm waters in south-west India. Thirty eight rivers flow from the Western Ghats into the Kerala Backwaters, and then out into the Arabian Sea.

+ We pack up the four-wheel drives and head out into the Great Victoria Desert, all preparing for “Blues at the Junction”. For Virginia, Grady Brand, Lesley Hammersley and I have imagined and set our sights on the crossroads of the Anne Beadell and Connie Sue Highways at Neale Junction. The two dusty tracks are named for the wife and daughter of surveyor Len Beadell. Between 1947 and 1963, Len’s Gunbarrel Road Construction Party made more than 6000km of dirt tracks through the GVD, to fulfil his contract to atomic test sites and establish new and important scientific stations. When we arrive at Neale Junction, we tune up (sort of) and play our little blues concert . . . to no-one else at all.

WHY WHY WHY

There are times when we travel, when it’s good to create time to just be. To stop and just appreciate where we are.

But in those moments, I still like to have something to do.

Music. Stringed instruments.

When I am home, I pick up and play a stringed instrument every day — and I miss that when I’m away.

And so, having a soprano gives me that music everywhere. It greatly improves the downtime on a trip. It gives moments to rest and play and even interpret a place.