Blog

Jul

Hotel Review: Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, Greece, Dream by Luxury Escapes magazine

The dream assignment: go to Greece, stay at the new Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, on the Peloponnese coast. Reader, I acquiesced.

The hotel is about 3.5 hours’ drive south of Athens – hello, hire car/wrong side of the road/wrong side of the car dramas! But I’d seen the photos of this luxury hotel, and I knew I could survive Athens’ traffic jams to get there.

It was worth it. The location, its history and its mythology pervade all aspects of the first Mandarin Oriental hotel in Greece, from its spa to the ultra-Hellenic breakfasts, even the hotel’s architecture. Despite being a global group, it’s as Greek as yiayia’s meatballs.

I wrote about the new hotel’s opening for Luxury Escapes magazine, take a look.

For more great travel inspo, head to https://luxuryescapes.com/inspiration/

Jul

New hotels, cruises and a Qantas tie-in: why you should holiday in Oman, Australian Financial Review

I first visited Oman way back at the beginning of my crush on the Middle East – at the time, the country was little known to Australians, and to beat an impending group of journalists visiting, two of us opted to go early. Which is how I came to be sitting in a desert, looking at the thermometer touch 50 on our Toyota 4WD.

My most recent visit was not in the height of summer – happily, it was in the relative cool of spring, and this time, I was high up in the mountains to watch the country’s brief and beautiful rose harvest.

You can read more about it in this story for the Australian Financial Review, where I get to rave about my love of desert fortresses, rose terraces and frankincense.

I’m heading off to the Middle East again shortly; everyone asks if it’s a good time. The problem with the ME is that when there’s trouble in one area, the whole region is tainted with the same brush. No-one ever avoided London if there was a crisis in Romania (or even, say, Paris). Oman is the standout in the region as stable, peaceful and neutral; I’m always calling it the Switzerland of the Middle East. If that’s not a reason to holiday in Oman…

Click the link below to read my latest story on Oman:

https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/travel/new-hotels-cruises-and-a-qantas-tie-in-why-you-should-holiday-in-oman-20250410-p5lqpq

And you can always search back through this blog to read more about this fragrant, happily overlooked jewel of the Middle East.

Jun

How can we protect Africa’s wildlife from poaching? Go on safari! The World Awaits podcast

How can we protect Africa’s wildlife from poaching? Go on safari! Australian author Tony Park is my guest on The World Awaits travel podcast this week, chatting about safaris in southern Africa, where he lives on the edge of Kruger National Park, and his whodunnits all have a strong conservation theme.

We’ve teamed up with Tony and publisher @macmillianaus to give away five copies of Tony’s latest novel, Die by the Sword, to be released on 29 July!

To win:
Follow @theworldawaitspodcast on Instagram or Facebook
Like this post https://www.instagram.com/p/DKlUKNIp654/?igsh=NHhkZHEwMGYzNTlw
Tell us in the comments below where you’d like to travel to next, and tag your favourite travel buddy!

“Southern Africa is very hard to describe; for many people, you get bitten by something, or you breathe something in, and you become hooked,” says Tony.

Speaking to us from his home just north of Kruger National Park in South Africa, Tony shares his vast experience about going on safari in southern and east Africa. From the Kruger to the Kalahari, we’re taking self-drive safaris on a budget, which regions are better for different wildlife and wildlife poaching.

“The best way to tackle poaching is to uplift the communities and the people, who feel that their only option is to turn to wildlife crime,” he says. “So the best thing for wildlife is to visit Africa.”

Tony has published 22 novels set in southern Africa; his 23rd, Die by the Sword, is out at the end of July, and like all his novels, it has a strong environmental and wildlife conservation angle. You can read more about his 23rd novel, with a synopsis and behind- the-scenes author notes at https://www.tonypark.net/sword.html

T&Cs: Australian addresses only. Winners announced on the podcast on 26/6/2025 and notified by email.

#theworldawaits #podcast #travel #travelpodcast #southafrica #wildlife #conservation #africa #africatravel

Jun

It’s a flower-powered Frida (Kahlo) fest in Bendigo. Canberra Times

“I’ve come to see Frida,” I overhear a woman telling another, as she admires a collection of perfume bottles. It sounds like she’s popping over to see a friend, not a woman who died more than 70 years ago, and who’d probably never, ever heard of Bendigo.

The speaker could be excused for her familiarity with Mexican artist Frida Kahlo; the latest exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery, Frida Kahlo: In her own image, is at times so intimate you’d think it was your bestie’s drawers you were rifling through.

My latest story for Explore Travel, in the Canberra Times, Newcastle Herald and regional Australian family of newspapers, goes to the Victorian town of Bendigo. Here, its excellent art gallery has hosted exclusive exhibitions on Elvis, straight from Graceland, and Grace Kelly’s style and fashion extravaganza from the Victoria & Albert Museum, so Bendigo’s got form, and does its current exhibition, an exclusive retrospective from Mexico, proud.

To read my feature, visit https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8968858/discover-frida-kahlos-life-at-bendigo-gallery/ or see CANBERRA TIME Frida Kahlo – Belinda Jackson

I will say: some visitors have said they were disappointed there weren’t more works of art by Frida Kahlo – I say they’re missing the point. Her art was everywhere – in her clothes and in her hair, in her house and even on the plaster casts that held her broken body together. An indomitable spirit in the face of genuine, heartbreaking adversity. Go see the exhibition, if you can!

Jun

Strauss has Vienna in a spin, again; 200 years of the waltz in Vienna Austria: Australian Financial Review

Erotic, rebellious, scandalous. A dance to induce ecstasy, an exuberant resistance to state oppression. Yes, it’s that saucy dance with the devil, the waltz.

A staple in today’s reality TV dance competitions, the waltz was a simple peasant dance until the cosmopolitan Viennese gave it an urbane makeover in the early 1800s. Women fainted, welded-together couples scandalised – the ‘wicked’ waltz of Vienna’s 1800s was a fast and furious dance.

This year, Vienna celebrates 200 years since the birth of its ‘Waltz King’, Johann Strauss II, best known for Vienna’s unofficial anthem, The Blue Danube.

I spent a few weeks exploring Vienna, the grandest little European city, which is once again in Strauss’ grip, and wrote about it for the Australian Financial Review newspaper. To read my story in the Australian Financial Review, visit https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/travel/how-the-dance-of-the-devil-s-violinist-came-to-define-this-city-20250417-p5lsny or see AFR Austria, Strauss

For a quick recap: Strauss was born and died in Vienna, and this year the city celebrates his bicentenary. Even if you weren’t a mad classical music fan, his life story is so full of drama (fought with his jealous dad, jealous brother burnt his original manuscripts, wives with seven children of dubious parentage, rewrite of his history by Nazi Party etc) and the digital exhibitions so good, you’ll be hooked on waltz as a political statement against authoritarianism. There are several new galleries and exhibitions in Vienna, including the interactive New Dimension exhibition, I also visited the nearly new House of Strauss, took in a dinner & rather cheesy, but fun show at the Prater. There are 65 productions and 3 exhibitions at 71 different locations throughout the city in 2025. https://www.johannstrauss2025.at/en/

For more Strauss events, visit-
Johann Strauss Museum – New Dimensions: The shiny new permanent city centre exhibition, which opened last November, is a fascinating multimedia deep dive into Strauss’s private life and loves. He once wrote 150 love letters to Olga, who he dumped after his mother disapproved. He had three wives, Jetty, Lily and Adele, and no children. Brothers Josef and Eduard were involved in the business but in a tragic twist Eduard burnt hundreds of Strauss manuscripts. Don GPS-enabled audio headphones and compose your own waltz with technology https://www.johannstraussmuseum.at

The House of Strauss – a museum and also a concert space, where the Strauss family used to perform. The museum tour is narrated by Thomas Strauss, the great-great-great-grandson of Johann Strauss II; https://www.houseofstrauss.at

Johann Strauss Exhibition: This vibrant exhibition which opened in December at the Theatermuseum Vienna showcases the glamour of the Strauss era. Original objects from performances are on display and include the score from Die Fledermaus. Until June 23. theatermuseum.at

Wien Museum: Reopened in 2023, it has a chronological tour of the city including Strauss connections, free. wienmuseum.at

May

A river cruise through Laos & travel inspo from the movies: The World Awaits podcast

“The best way to see the Mekong is slowly,” says travel journalist Michael Turtle, speaking to me on this week’s episode of The World Awaits travel podcast.

He takes us on a cruise down the Mekong river in Laos on board the beautiful new boat Boheme. With only 13 cabins, it runs between the royal city of Luang Prabang and the capital, Vientiane, connecting you to the lifeblood of the country, all while exploring Laos’ cuisine and visiting its villages.

To listen to the podcast, visit its website https://theworldawaits.au or listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or most other listening apps.

Please check your feed, the data was entered incorrectly.“Watch longtail boats, see temples… on a river cruise, you see the river at all times of the day, while people are fishing or swimming,” says Michael of the six-day sailing journeys.

For more about the Boheme, visit mekongkingdoms.com and add a stay at the Avani+ Luang Prabang, avanihotels.com And to follow Michael, see timetravelturtle.com

Also, what’s the world’s most beautiful airstrip? This list of ravishing runways will have you fighting for the window seat. https://www.allcleartravel.co.uk/blog/the-worlds-most-beautiful-airport-landings/

And finally, tap into the set-jetting trend and get your travel inspiration from movies and TV series. We’re talking Thailand, Malta and the UK – tune in to see what’s filmed where.

This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com

READING RECOMMENDATIONS

If you’d like to read my story on the young woman shaking up PNG’s traditional drumming scene, published in Paradise, the inflight magazine of Air Niugini, visit airniuginiparadise.com

May

Visiting Vietnam’s underrated regions: travel tips, budget airlines and hot hotels: Canberra Times

This trip to Vietnam, I’ve turned my back on the big cities – Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang; even tourist-loving Hoi An, and definitely Ha Long Bay.

Instead, I’ve begun my exploration of Vietnam’s waterways in the imperial city of Hue, in central Vietnam, continuing south to the fishing village of Ke Ga, and further south again to Can Tho, in the Mekong Delta.

For a floating breakfast with a difference, I’m on a boat cafe in the Mekong Delta, continuing my exploration of Vietnam’s breakfast soups. This morning, it’s a bowl of bún nước lèo, a deep broth with prawns, calamari, noodles, shredded banana blossom – to name a few things – on a pink boat at Can Tho’s early morning markets.

In Hue, I take a step back to 1930s Vietnam, where whitewashed columns and geometric tiles meet claw-foot baths and four-poster beds at the Azerai La Residence. There’s a flair and love of embellishment here that sings to me – the round windows and curved balustrades, the high ceilings and dark timber floors. We’re on the Perfume River, home of the last imperial family of Vietnam, which the sun sets over as dragon-headed longboats sail by. Yep, it’s hot. This is low season in central Vietnam but, selfishly, I’m ok with that.

And for the most beautiful tropical modernist hotel, try the Azerai Ke Ga Bay, on Vietnam’s southern coastline. It’s only 180km east of HCMC, but once off the freeway, the pitted local roads are a danger to loose molars.

To read more, see my feature for the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age newspapers’ Traveller section, visit https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/i-skipped-the-big-cities-for-vietnam-s-charming-less-visited-waterways-20250423-p5ltq9.html

If you’re after more Vietnam travel tips, I’m also sharing my great hotel tip, which offers cultural tourism without the hefty price tag, and another budget tip of new flights from Melbourne into Hanoi with Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet, azerai.com, vietjetair.com – you can hear more on this episode of my travel podcast, The World Awaits – just click on this link or the player below.

Apr

Mainland, not mainstream: hotel review Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino: Sydney Morning Herald

The blue eye dangles from my key ring as I drive south from Athens. The mati, as the amulet is known in Greece, wards off envy and jealousy.

Almost four hours later, I’ve driven across the much overlooked, history-making Peloponnese peninsula and, pulling my little rental car in to the Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino’s porte cochere, the view is initially underwhelming. But stepping out of the blinding sun, I realise we’re on a hilltop, and walking into the open-air lobby reveals a perch worthy of a goddess.

I recently had the chance to review the Mandarin Oriental’s first foray into Greece and guess what, it’s not on an island.

To read my story in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspaper’s Traveller section, click here:

https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/forget-the-greek-islands-paradise-exists-here-on-greece-s-mainland-20250321-p5lle7.html

Mar

Train travel through Greece & Bulgaria with Eurail

Dream assignment: train travel through Greece and Bulgaria with the sole purpose to eat, think and travel deeply and slowly.

This journey started in Athens and ended in Ploviv, Bulgaria, with European rail pass company Eurail. With chef Ella Mittas and photographer Sarah Pannell, no mouthful went uninspected or undocumented. Also with us on the trip was videographer Paulo Magalhães , who has just released the trailer for his upcoming documentary about the furthest corner of eastern Europe. We visited restaurants, farms, vineyards, villages and the primary and secondary towns of the neighbouring countries.

The short for Paulo’s upcoming documentary is now out, and I love it! To keep the story going, Ella cooked a menu inspired by the journey for a group of media here in Melbourne at Julie restaurant in Abbotsford Convent last week, using trahana, a fermented grain and yogurt and a fabulous moussaka, which as its own, fascinating backstory.

You can also get a taste of our travels from my recent story for adventure.com https://adventure.com/off-the-eaten-path-slow-food-bulgaria/

Mar

The best things to do in Sofia, Bulgaria

For streets paved with gold, what to eat and 7000 years of history, I give you my list of the best things to do in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Crossing the border from Greece, I exchange my euros for a fistful of Bulgarian lev, which I’ll spend gleefully on banitsa, a flaky breakfast pastry that in its simplest form is filo stuffed with eggs, feta and yoghurt. You might have tried bougatsa, the custard-filled Greek pastry born in Thessaloniki – it’s just one of many demonstrations that these two countries share an ancient past, evolving to add their own twist. Isn’t it funny that when we think of Greece, we think of western Europe and all its familiarity, but just cross the border and eastern Europe is a whole different approach for travellers. Is it safe? Is it poor? Is it interesting?

Take a look at my latest feature for the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers to see if I’ve answered all these questions. I can recommend a great little art hotel in the embassy district to make your base, thoroughly recommend Bulgaria’s potent distilled fruit spirit, rakia, centuries-old churches and mosques, hundred-year-old markets and maybe you’ll also fall in love with the jaunty yellow trams that cross Sofia. The last time I visited Bulgaria, it was still shadowed by its Soviet past, so it’s fascinating to see how it tells its Communist story, from 1944 to 1989, to a new generation of travellers – see redflatsofia.com

And for disclosure, I travelled to Bulgaria by train from Greece as a guest of Eurail. From Athens, I travelled north to Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki, and then across the border to Sofia and onward to Plovdiv, using the European rail pass, Eurail. See eurail.com

https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/nine-must-do-highlights-of-sofia-bulgaria-20250214-p5lc49.html

And for a deep dive into Bulgaria’s food scene, you can read my piece written for Adventure.com , see https://adventure.com/off-the-eaten-path-slow-food-bulgaria/

And if you’re heading to Thessaloniki, I’ve written a ‘best of’ for that awesome city, as well – see https://globalsalsa.com/best-things-to-do-in-thessaloniki-greece/

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