Bali’s charm reveals itself in an instant
IT TOOK just 60 minutes to discover Bali‘s charm. Within an hour of having left the airport and made our way to the Novotel Benoa Bali, we were dining on a candlelit beach. The waves seemed to keep time with the four-piece boy band belting out request …
Time to fly to the Great Barrier Reef
It’s 7.30am in Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef awaits. Just for today, I’ve deliberately bypassed the buffet. It’s not that I’m worried about the consequences of what might happen if the flight is bumpy, it’s got more to do with another weighty issue. …
Turtle Island life reveals itself from the air
THE seaplane slowly edges towards the water surrounding Turtle Island. With six guests and a pilot it’s a bit of a squeeze. Not all that comfortable for a big bloke, but it’s only a 30-minute flight from Nadi to paradise. From the air, Fiji‘s famous Turtle Island looks …
What is the best trip you have taken?
IT IS the hardest question I get asked and the question I get asked most: What is the best trip you have taken? I find it very difficult to answer because every trip, and every part of the world, is so memorable for so many …
How to survive a Friend-cation
I SURVIVED a friend-cation. Perhaps survived isn’t the right word. It wasn’t at all traumatic. In fact, like Katy Perry, I liked it. I do have one guilty confession to make – but I will leave that for the end of the story. A friend-cation, …
Time for a Whitsunday Hayman Island feast!
I’M on Hayman Island sitting at the Fontaine Bench in the kitchen of one of the island’s exclusive restaurants and I’m starting to struggle. The food is the problem. Not the quality, rather the quantity. The Fontaine Bench is set so two guests can dine …
Something in the air at Venice Beach
THERE’S a lingering smell filling the air as we cycle along the 35km South Bay bicycle trail to Venice Beach. It’s not the smell of the Pacific Ocean, as you would expect. Or even the wafting flavours from the myriad exotic diners and inventive fast-food …
Truth about the Dead Sea
THE Dead Sea is the lowest place on Earth. That’s just one of its many claims to fame, though. Here’s the truth about the Dead Sea Driving through the Judean Desert toward the Dead Sea, it is difficult to comprehend that an oasis of mineral-rich …
Naturally wild about Kangaroo Island
Visitors to Kangaroo Island can savour its rugged isolation in fine style, writes Brian Crisp THE bitumen road disappears not long after we leave Penneshaw, the gateway to South Australia’s Kangaroo Island. For a little while, at least, it is replaced by a concrete carriageway that takes us towards Cape …
Byron Bay Bliss at Watego’s Beach
IT’S hard to believe that this is winter. The air is warm – 24C – and Watego’s Beach, 25 steps below our balcony, is buzzing. Surfers and swimmers, mostly without wet suits, traipse across the sand and into the ocean, greeted by a procession of …