Blog

Mar

Adventure beckons: Metung, East Gippsland

Metung jetty at sunset. Pic: Belinda Jackson

Coastal chic meets village vibes on a svelte strip of land that dips into the Gippsland Lakes.

Everything
happens around Metung’s Village Green: from kids on swings to cafe
culture to hopeful fishermen looking for a bite from a bream. The
village is surrounded on three sides by lakes, and the air here is
filled with the chimes made by the riggings on yachts.

Explore
Metung’s lakes King and Victoria on a traditional timber boat (no
licence necessary) and take a picnic to a deserted sand island where you
may spot wild goats, inquisitive seals and the occasional dolphin.

The
lakes’ waters are calm and clear, excellent for lazy-day swims, and are
well guarded from the crashing surf of Bass Strait by a long spit of
low-lying dunes: cross them and you’re on the wild, rugged Ninety Mile
Beach.

For panoramic views, boat to Barrier Landing, moor and
follow the path across the dunes to one of Australia’s great coastal
wildernesses. For an epicurean excursion, the hills above Metung include
the Nicholson River Winery, Tambo Estate and Lightfoot & Sons.

With the kids
Under fives
* Back Beach on Lake King is the place for the buckets-and-spades brigade.
* Press the big green button at the Rain Drop Water Play Area in Metung village’s Patterson Park.

Older children
* Try the new mountain-bike track at Nowa Nowa, a 40-minute drive from Metung.
* The best surfing conditions can be found at high tide at Red Bluff,
between Lakes Entrance and Lake Tyers Beach, a 30-minute drive from
Metung.

Teenagers
* Learn to water ski, wake board or tube ride at nearby Paynesville; aquamania.com.au.

While there Locals head to Bancroft Bites on Metung Road or The Metung Galley, just opposite, for a caffeine fix. Cruisers and day boats are available for hire at Metung Marina; rivieranautic.com.au, bullscruisers.com.au.

Getting there Metung is 3 1/2 hours’ drive east of Melbourne on the Monash Freeway.

Staying there Jetty
Road Retreat cabins at nearby Nungurner sleep four; jettyroadretreat.com.au. For holiday homes, apartments and B&Bs, see
stayz.com.au. Waterfront apartments overlooking Bancroft Bay include The Moorings at Metung; themoorings.com.au.

More information Visit discovereastgippsland.com.au and destinationgippsland.com.au

The writer was a guest of Gippsland Tourism.

This feature by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sydney Morning Herald‘s Traveller section.

Mar

Get going: the cycle of your life

Cycling in Mallacoota, Victoria.

GO NOW

FRANCE
Families get free ski passes this Easter, saving up to $440 a
person, when staying in fully catered chalets in Verbier, Courchevel,
Meribel, Val d’lsere and St Anton. Meribel’s Chalet Christiane sleeps
six, from $1280 an adult, seven nights from April 5. See powderwhite.com.

VICTORIA
Explore Victoria’s Wilderness Coast on a four-day cycling
tour from Mallacoota to Cape Conran, with walks and a half-day kayak
trip, all meals and support vehicle. Save 20 per cent on the March 16
departure. From $1836, twin share. Phone 0428 556 088, see snowyrivercycling.com.au.

Rumba Beach Resort, Caloundra, Queensland

GO SOON
UAE
Soak up two nights in luxe Shangri-La Dubai then take the
limo to its sister hotel in Abu Dhabi, with tickets to the top of Burj
Khalifa and Ferrari World. Save 20 per cent until September 1, quote
“DXB-AUH Arabian Stopover Experience”. From $1560, three nights. See shangri-la.com.

QUEENSLAND

Take a short Sunshine Coast break at the luxe Rumba Beach
Resort in Caloundra. Stay three nights and get $50 restaurant credit, a
morning boat cruise, bicycle hire and free in-house movie. Available
until April 17, from $597 a couple, three nights. Phone (07) 5492 0555, see rumbaresort.com.au.

Casa Angelina on the Amalfi coast, Italy. Photo: SUPPLIED

GO LATER
ITALY
Do the Amalfi Coast in five-star style at the cliff-top Casa
Angelina, 10 minutes’ drive from Positano. Book a four-night stay by
March 31 and get champagne, late check-out and 10 per cent off
accommodation and dinner, May 16-October 27. From $416 a night. Phone 02 9211 6590, see casangelina.com.

TASMANIA
Hike Australia’s most iconic walking trail, the Overland
Track, and save $200 when booked by March 31. Tasmanian Expeditions runs
weekly departures until May 18 with guides, meals and gear included.
Costs $1795 a person, quote “OV0214”. Phone 1300 666 856, see tasmanianexpeditions.com.au.

Tamil Nadu. Photo: SUPPLIED

TOUR WATCH: SOUTHERN INDIA
Tamil Nadu is India’s deep, secret south. Banyan Tours
offers tours of temples, dance academies and mansions as you discover
the region’s past. Tours include boutique hotels, a driver, guide, car
and domestic flights, from October 2014 to March 2015. From $2436 a
person, nine nights. See banyantours.com.

KIDS’ QUESTS

Your kids are just out of kindy, but they already know a
gaucho is an Argentinian cowboy, Bollywood is in India and a Moroccan
market is called a souk, thanks to Lonely Planet’s new World Search
series.

Aimed at five-year-olds and up, the three cartoon board
books, Busy Places, Amazing Jobs and Incredible Animals, have flaps to
lift, stickers to stick, treasures to find and a world to explore.
$19.99 each, lonelyplanet.com.

This column by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sun-Herald newspaper.

Feb

Get going: dreams can come true

Daydream Island

GO NOW

QUEENSLAND

Lie back on Daydream Island and save $180 on a four-night
stay until April 30. Includes return ferry transfers from the Great
Barrier Reef airport and water sports. Kids under 14 stay and eat free.
From $598 a person, twin share. Phone 1800 075 040, see daydreamisland.com.

BALI

Save up to 40 per cent on a Balinese holiday until March 31.
Staying in the three-star Centra Taum Seminyak, get breakfast, Wi-Fi and
a pool-view room on Seminyak’s hippest street, Petitenget. From $274 a
person, twin share, seven nights. Phone 1800 359 769, see lowcostholidays.com.au.

GO SOON

Ayers Rock Resort, NT

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Stay at the Ayers Rock Resort on April 24-27 and get free
entry to the inaugural Tjungu festival celebrating indigenous culture,
breakfast, airport transfers and kids under 15 stay and eat free. Quote
“Tjungu”. From $326 a person, twin share. Phone 1300 134 004, see ayersrockresort.com.au.

NEW ZEALAND

Book two nights at The Rees Hotel, Queenstown, on April
25-27, save 20 per cent and get tickets to the town’s first Blues &
Roots festival on April 26. Includes a jet boat ride down the Kawarau
River, breakfast and late checkout. From $866 a couple. Phone +64 3450 1100, see therees.co.nz.

Lake Crackenback
Resort & Spa, NSW Snowy Mountains

GO LATER

NEW SOUTH WALES

Sick of summer? Plan a winter escape at Lake Crackenback
Resort & Spa in the Snowy Mountains and save $226. Stay five nights
with breakfast daily, three dinners and ski hire and spa discounts, June
6 to October 6. From $1629, two adults, five nights. Phone 1800 020 524, see lakecrackenback.com.au.

VANUATU

Pay just $19 for kids under 9 to stay and eat free when you
book five nights in four-star accommodation in Vanuatu. Book by March 17
for stays April 26 to June 27, July 15 to September 21, October 8 to
December 19. Adults from $655, five nights. Phone 1300 301 711, see creativeholidays.com.au.

TOURWATCH
Top tastes

Discover the best of West Australian produce with a
seven-day Paddock to Plate tour through Margaret River and beyond.
Unearth truffles in Manjimup, take a chef’s masterclass in Denmark,
dine from a long table in a wheat paddock and shop at the Albany
Farmers’ Market. The tour departs June 24. From $4945 a person, twin
share. Phone 0429 385 642, see perthwatours.com.au.

KIDS

PLAY AT PARADISE

The Gold Coast’s Paradise Resort – voted Holidays with Kids’
2013 best family resort in Australia – teams up with Dreamworld and
WhiteWater World to offer a stay-and-play package. Stay five nights at
the resort, with its new ice-skating rink and waterpark, and get a
three-day family pass to the two theme parks, four hours of kids club
each day and discount vouchers, saving up to $640. Available until
December 24, 2014, from $995 a room, five nights. Phone 1800 074 111, see paradiseresort.com.au.

Feb

Sustainable Melbourne

EDIT: I am very pleased to note that this feature, originally published in Honda Magazine, has won the Australian Society of Travel Writers’ 2014 award for Best Responsible Tourism feature.

Little Hunter, 195 Little Collins St, Melbourne

Travel
can be a guilty pleasure for the green-minded, but Melbourne shows how to blend
ecology and exploration without stinting on the good times, discovers Belinda
Jackson.

SHOP SUSTAINABLY

For
clothes with karma, vintage clothing is the classic sustainable fashion option:
what goes around, comes around. Forget
fusty, Melbourne’s top shops yield fabulous finds. Check out one of Australia’s
largest vintage stores, Retrostar,
in the equally vintage Nicholas Building (1st floor, Nicholas Building,
37 Swanston St), while Shag finds all its clothing in
Melbourne (Centreway Arcade) and Circa
Vintage has fashion dating from the Victorian era (1st Floor, Mitchell House, 358 Lonsdale St).
Serious hunters, book your spot on a Melbourne Op Shop tour (0421 431 278

0421 431 278, melbourneopshoptours.com.au).

Don’t want to wear clothes made by small children or
workers in life-threatening factories? Melbourne’s Etiko sources eco-friendly range of footwear and clothing from
owner co-ops in Argentina and Pakistani micro-businesses, so you can look good
outside and feel good inside. Shop online or see etiko.com.au for stockists.

Lisa Gorman designs

You can go green with current fashion: each season, top
Melbourne designer Lisa Gorman releases her gorman organic range, which uses organic and sustainably produced
fabrics produced without pesticides or with non-chemical processing (GPO Melbourne, Bourke
St Mall, gormanshop.com.au).

Out of the CBD grid, make like a Melburnian and jump a
tram for the fashion label, shop and café that is Social Studio for limited-edition garments handmade from reclaimed
and up-cycled material (126-128 Smith St, Collingwood, thesocialstudio.org). On Saturdays, dig for handmade treasures at
the artists’ haven of Rose Street
Markets (60 Rose St, Fitzroy).

ON THE TABLE

You know organic
and sustainable production are on trend when the quest takes you to some of the
city’s top tables, including Vue de
Monde, for its salt-cured wallaby (Level 55, Rialto, 525 Collins St) and the signature smoked trout broth at Attica,
recently voted number 21 in the world’s top restaurants (74 Glen Eira Rd,
Ripponlea). Even old-school can go new school, as Italian dining staple Cecconi’s has demonstrated, becoming
the first restaurant to compost its food waste through the Closed Loop system:
the compost is used to grow vegetables on its Bellarine Peninsula farm (61
Flinders La).

Head underground to a recent Melbourne edition, Little Hunter, tucked away beneath city
streets, and order up on beef from the remote Tasmanian locations of Cape Grim and Robbin
Island or tiny Chatham Island’s Blue Cod with seagrasses.
Chef Gavin Baker sources all produces from farmers committed to organic
production and humane treatment (downstairs, 195 Little Collins St)

Melbourne’s café
scene is justly famous: check out the winner of the 2012 Tourism Victoria
Sustainability award, Silo by Joost, a
café that doesn’t have garbage bin. Everything is recycled, renewed or
composted, including the bench you’re sitting at (123 Hardware St, 03 9600
0588). Meanwhile, newcomer Dukes
Coffee Roasters is pushing toward a carbon-neutrality with its emphasis on
minimising waste and off-set power, with organic and ethically produced
products. What does that mean for you? Seriously fine coffee (247 Flinders La).
And shoppers at Melbourne Central can grab a cuppa at social enterprise STREAT Café, which has so far trained
60 young homeless and at-risk kids into a hospitality career (Cnr Elizabeth
& La Trobe St and 5 McKillop St).

Kinfolk cafe, 673 Bourke St, Melbourne

Kinfolk is a rare bird: it is environmentally sustainable and also socially
responsible, its staff training volunteers to run serve local, organic,
good-tasting food. A private enterprise by young entrepreneur Jarrod Briffa,
its high overheads are eased by the generosity of its patrons: coffee is
donated by crop-to-cup pioneers Di Bella, while meat is from renowned Barossa
organic producer Saskia Beer (673 Bourke St).

And
finally, self-caterers can find local produce at Queen Victoria Markets, which also has a section devoted to organic
fresh fruit and vegies (513 Elizabeth St).

PLAY NICELY

A night
on the town can also be good for your conscience when you start (or end) with a
drink at Shebeen, Australia’s first
not-for-profit bar. All profits go back to the countries where their drinks are
sourced: think Chilean wines, Sri Lankan beer, South African cider, (36
Manchester Lane).

Melbourne is also a playground for ‘green’ brewers. Pope Joan pours beers from Victorian independent
breweries such as Victoria’s Secret Hoppy Wheat Beer from North Melbourne and
Moondog ‘Love Tap’ Double Lager from Abbotsford (77 Nicholson St, Brunswick
East). Get on your bike into the Mountain
Goat Brewery for real beer and pizza (Wednesdays & Fridays, 80 North
St, Richmond) or tram it to Monkey for local, organic and biodynamic wine, beer and
cheese (181 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North).

Alto on Bourke hotel

ECO-EXPLORE

Take a walking tour of the
city to orientate yourself (1300 311 081

1300 311 081, melbournebyfoot.com)
and uncover the city’s vivid street art scene (03 9328 5556

03 9328 5556, melbournestreettours.com) or to get under the city’s skin, through its literature and laneways
(0407 380 969

0407 380 969,meltours.com.au) Hit the shops with hunters of high quirk
(03 9663 3358

03 9663 3358, hiddensecretstours.com) or discover the city’s Aboriginal heart
(03 8622 2600

03 8622 2600, koorieheritagetrust.com)

SLEEP EASY

Alto on Bourke is Australia’s first carbon-neutral hotel
and winner of domestic and international sustainability awards. The 4-star
hotel uses 100 per cent renewable energy, harvests its rainwater, recycles and
uses energy-efficient cars. There are even beehives on the roof, as part of
Melbourne’s rooftop honey project: see the results on the breakfast buffet
alongside the fairtrade coffee (rooftophoney.com.au) There are 50 hotel rooms from petites to
three-bedroom apartments with full kitchenettes, employing the best environmentally
aware technology including LED lighting, low-water showerheads and an electric
Goget hire car on site, with free parking for all hybrid cars (1800 135 123

1800 135 123, altohotel.com.au)

GETTING AROUND GREEN
The best start to a green escape is to offset your airline flight, which
costs around $2 per flight. Melbourne’s CBD grid is a walker’s paradise: you
can cross the city by foot in about 20 minutes. Otherwise, it’s a short tram or
bus ride: the red Number 86 City Circle
tram does free tours, as does the Melbourne
Shuttle Bus (131 638, thatsmelbourne.com.au) If you need a car, consider a green car, which can be hired by the
hour from $15 (try flexicar.com.au, greensharecar.com.au
or goget.com.au) or go
luxe with an eco-limo (ecolimo.com.au) Melbourne
Bike Share hires bike for 30 minutes for free (1300 71 5901300 71 590, melbournebikeshare.co.au)

DIARY DATE

Keep a day free for the 2014 Sustainable Living Festival,
held annually in Melbourne. Expect fabulous fashion, thoughtful thinktanks,
green markets, gardening and art. Now on until 23 February, 2014, slf.org.au.

This article was published in Honda magazine.

Feb

Travel deals: Free Fiji

GO NOW

FIJI

Stay eight nights at the five-star Outrigger on the Lagoon
with return airfares, $600 resort credit, butler service, spa treatment
and kids stay and eat free, saving $2000. Book by February 28; travel
until March 31. Worth $2790, from $1990 a person. Phone 1300 003 454, see myfiji.com.au.
QUEENSLAND

Be one of the first to stay in the newly refurbished
apartments and suites of Seahaven Noosa, set between Hastings Street and
the beachfront. Save $25 a night, with 2pm checkout, on stays until
March 30. From $175 a night, studio. Phone (07) 5447 3422, see www.seahavennoosa.com.au.

GO SOON

FRANCE

Book a historic mansion in Marais, five minutes’ walk from
the Musee Picasso, and save $70 a night. The large guest suite of
Apartment 268 includes a private terrace and breakfast served by your
Parisian host. Costs from $272 a night, double, until March 30. See petiteparis.com.au.

ACT

Cosy up in a country cottage in Hall and pay half price until
July 31. Book two nights at the 4.5-star Gooromon Park Cottages and get
champagne and chocolates, breakfast and Wi-Fi. From $380, two nights,
quote “Elegance” or “Silhouette”. Phone 1300 88 7979, see wotif.com/hotelW212536.

GO LATER

CAMBODIA

Just 15 minutes from Angkor Wat’s temples, the new 30-room
Angkor Heritage Boutique hotel’s opening special cuts 35 per cent off
room rates until September 30. From $86 a night, includes breakfast,
Wi-Fi and airport transfers. Phone 855 63 966 660, see angkorheritagehotel.com.

WA/NT

Book a 19-day West Coast Discovery Tour from Darwin to Perth
by March 31 to get discounts and your friend flies free. Discover
Litchfield, Kakadu and Monkey Mia. Departs July 9, August 6 and 27. From
$7395 a person, twin share. Phone 1300 383 747, see evergreentours.com.

TOURWATCH: Top End angling
Snap up a fishy tale in the Top End as luxury lodge Bamurru
Plains transforms into a fishing lodge until April 28, with metre-long
barramundi up for grabs. Three hours from Darwin on the NT’s Mary River floodplains,
cast a line from Bamurru’s airboats with fishing guides. The
all-inclusive eco-camp has nine safari suites, operates on a
catch-and-release ethos and includes all meals, drinks and fishing
tours. From $2350 a person, twin share, three nights. Phone 1300 790 561. See wildbushfishing.com.

KIDS’ DEALS: In the zone

KERRY HOTELS/SHANGRI-LA, SHANGHAI, BEIJING

Kids run the show at the new Cool Zones and Adventure Zones
in 11 Asia-Pacific Shangri-La properties including Kerry Hotel, Beijing,
which has just completed a $6.5 million renovation. Its Adventure Zone
has three slides including the Demon Drop, net towers, ball pits, a
wading pool and village complete with dress-ups for toddlers, free for
kids four to 12 years. (Psst, parents! The hotel’s new wine bar opens
June 2014.) Deluxe rooms cost from $274 plus taxes; see shangri-la.com.

This column by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sun-Herald newspaper.

Feb

Get going: Cable Beach Resort

Cable Beach, WA.

Go west, to where camels roam the beaches and French champagne comes on ice. Yes, it’s Broome. Or ski Japan, swank up to the Gold Coast or take a textiles tour through England and France. You know you want to, with this week’s international and domestic travel deals.

GO NOW

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Get away in February to Pinctada Cable Beach Resort in Broome
and save $200. Book a Honjin courtyard suite for two nights and get
French champagne, chocolates, bath oils and airport transfers. Costs
$528, two nights. Phone (08) 9193 8388, see pinctada.com.au.
JAPAN

Catch the last of Hakuba’s snow season with mates and save up
to 40 per cent staying at The Lab’s six-share dorms. Five-day lift
pass, breakfast daily and airport transfers. From $670 for seven nights.
Phone (02) 9905 6162, see ski-resorts-japan.com.

GO SOON
HONG KONG

Stay three nights at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel and get one
ticket to Disneyland Hong Kong and airport transfers. Book by March 17
for travel May 4-17, May 14, Aug 31-Sep 13. $619 adults, $95 children
two to nine years. Phone 1300 301 711, see creativeholidays.com.au.

QT Gold Coast

GOLD COAST

Glam up on the Gold Coast at QT Gold Coast with a room
upgrade to an ocean-view king room, free breakfast, discounts in the spa
and midday checkout. Book by March 15 for travel until March 31. From
$229 a person, two nights, twin share. Phone 1300 019 130, see studentflights.com.au.

GO LATER

UNITED KINGDOM

Book your London stay by February 28 and stay six nights for
the price of five, or 12 nights for 10 at Citadines “London Apart”
hotels in five locations including Trafalgar Square. For stays April
1-August 31. From $341 a night. See holidaystoeurope.com.au/specials.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Go bush in style at El Questro Homestead. Stay four nights,
pay for three when booked before February 28 for travel April 1-October
25. From $5907 a room, three nights, includes meals, transfers from
Kununurra, some tours. Phone 1300 863 248, see elquestro.com.au.

Citadines London ‘Apart’

TOURWATCH

UK & FRANCE

Join tapestry artist Cresside Collette on a journey from
London to Aubusson discovering mediaeval tapestries, artists’ studios
and a four-day workshop at the Manoir du Bost. There’s also a daytrip to
weaving heartland Aubusson. The tour, from September 1-20, is $6699 a
person, twin share. Phone 03 9557 5898, see tapestrytour.blogspot.com.au.

This column by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sun-Herald newspaper.

Feb

Deals: relaxation on a Malaysian vacation

Giraffe Manor, Kenya

Breakfast with well-mannered giraffes in Kenya, motor across the USA, sleep like a king in Malaysia… what’s your mood this week?

On the home front, it’s freshwater lakes on Fraser Island, going remote up at the Kimberley’s Faraway Bay or exploring Kakadu in all its green glory.

GO NOW
MALAYSIA
Modelled on a 17th-century Malay palace, the recently
refreshed Tanjon Jara Resort is on Malaysia’s east coast. Normally from
$350 a night, costs from $276 including all meals until March 31,
minimum two nights. tanjongjararesort.com.
QUEENSLAND
Take a dip in pristine freshwater lakes or swim in the Coral
Sea on Fraser Island. Save $126 on a two-night stay at Eurong Beach
Resort, with vehicle barge transfers included (normally $106), until
April 17. From $310 for two nights, quote “summer days”. 1800 111 808, eurong.com.

GO SOON

Motor across the USA with Apollo motorhomes.

US
Motor in the US for up to 18 days for the cost of fuel only
in an Apollo Motorhome from March 31-April 5, May 6-9 and June 2-6. Pick
up from Forest City, Iowa, and relocate to four cities, including Las
Vegas and San Francisco. April travellers also get $US500 ($570) towards
fuel. 1800 777 779, apollorv.com.
SINGAPORE
Book two nights in a club room in the new Rendezvous Hotel
Singapore by March 16 and save 30 per cent. Included is the mini bar,
internet, airport lounge access, airport transfers and a city tour. From
$185 a night. stayfareast.com/launch30.

GO LATER
KENYA
Go on safari for five nights at Sala’s Camp, Sasaab or Solio
Lodge and get one night free at the Giraffe Manor, outside Nairobi. Book
by February 28, stay until December 15 (excluding June 1-October 31).
From $503 a person a night, +254 (020) 502 0888, thesafaricollection.com.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Stay at the Kimberley’s Faraway Bay and save 20 per cent with
a free night in Kununurra or Darwin until April 30. Book by February
28, from $3464 a person three nights, includes meals, tours and flights
ex-Kununurra. 0419 918 953, farawaybay.com.au.

Ancient Athens

Explore the archaeology and culture of Athens, from the
crowd-pleasing Acropolis and the Agorato to Marathon, the shrines of
mysterious cults and the isle of Aigina in the Saronic Gulf.
Promenade Plaka, the city’s Old Town. The walking tour, led
by two archaeologists, also explores the city’s best museums and its
top tables, and your five-star accommodation looks out to the Acropolis.
The tour runs June 1-8, 2014. Costs $4210 a person, twin share. See petersommer.com.

KIDS

Explore art caves, spot wildlife and
watch the sun set with the kids over a remarkable, remote slice of Australia. Kakadu
is glowing green right now, and kids under 12 stay and eat free at the Gagudju
Crocodile Hotel. Stay three, pay for just two nights and get half-price Yellow
Water cruises and other tour discounts until February 28. The hotel is 3.5
hours’ drive from Darwin on sealed roads and up to two kids can share their
parents’ room. Costs $300 a room, three nights, 1800 500 401, gagudju-dreaming.com.

This column by Belinda Jackson was published in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper.

Jan

Bunker down in top Tassie style, eat Paris or cycle New Zealand: travel deals January 26, 2014

Oh we love any excuse to look at a photo of Paris, even this improbably perfect one of the Eiffel Tower. Snap up a little city stay in the City of Light, cycle New Zealand or see how we Aussies do serious luxury. For something a little more laid back, it’s sun loungers in Caloundra, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Go now: New
Zealand

Cycle the world and save 10 percent on 21 journeys including
the Queenstown Otago Rail Trail, stretching 150km from Queenstown to
Christchurch or Dunedin. Book by March 15 for travel until December 31. From $1197
a person, twin share. 1300 720 000, worldcyclejourneys.com.

Go sooner:
Tasmania

Voted Australia’s top luxury lodge, stay four nights and
pay for three at the lush Saffire Freycinet, from March 1 until November 30. Free
activities include fishing, mountain biking, cocktail mixing or the gentle art
of hammocking. From $5400 for four nights. (03) 6256 7888,
saffire-freycinet.com.au.

Go later: France

Book a five-day Taste of Paris by March 16 and save 20
percent. The tours, which run from July 27 to August 30, include four nights in
a Left Bank hotel, sightseeing and transport passes and airport transfers. From
$533 a person, twin share. 1300 558 987,
tempoholidays.com.

KIDS

Go now: Queensland

Want water slides without the mania and price tag of a
theme park? Check in to the Oaks Oasis
on the Sunshine Coast and check out its
new water play park, with slides, fountains and a giant tipping bucket. For
those inclined to recline, there are also sunloungers aplenty. The newly
refurbished accommodation ranges
from hotel rooms to apartments and villas,
and is walking distance to the beach,
close by Australia Zoo and one hour’s drive from Brisbane. From $40 a
person in a family room (sleeps four) until March 31. 1300 031 963,
oakshotelsresorts.com/oaks-oasis.

This article by Belinda Jackson was published in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper.

Jan

Adventure beckons: Aireys Inlet, Victoria

Rock-pool-hopping at Eagles Nest, Aireys Inlet, Victoria.
Photographer, Mark Chew.

We love a craggy, snap-tastic coastline, horse rides on the
beach, gourmet food and bush settings, which is why Aireys Inlet,
sitting pretty between the big guns of Anglesea and Lorne, is so
attractive.

Aireys is where the
artisan shop Lulu and Mr Q sells hand-made ice-cream, where the
shoreline has epic rock-pool-hopping potential to spot crabs and sea
urchins at low tide, where kids can snorkel in Mermaid Pool and where
crumbling cliffs above the sand burn a vivid ochre in the afternoon sun.

The
essential items for a summer holiday based at Aireys Inlet are a
well-stocked picnic basket and blanket: set up on the benches by the
barbecues at Moggs Creek or in a bushland setting at Sheoak Falls in the
Great Otway National Park.

If the kids whine, “But what else
are we going to do?” there’s an arsenal of off-sand activities at your
fingertips, from mountain biking around Distillery Creek to canoeing
down river where Painkalac Creek meets the ocean. See Great Ocean Road Adventure Tours; gorats.com.au.

Or
you can stretch your legs along the Surf Coast Walk from Aireys towards
Torquay, taking in sheltered nooks and windswept scenery alike. Then
there’s the White Queen – the Split Point Lighthouse – now open for
guided tours. See splitpointlighthouse.com.au.

With the kids
Under fives
* There’s sheltered swimming at Sunnymead and at Sandy Gully beaches.
* The reef at nearby Step Beach forms a swimming hole at low tide, while Aireys Inlet Beach suits experienced body surfers.
* It’s Victoria: sometimes it rains. Aireys Inlet’s Great Escape Books
hosts kids’ readings at 11am on Wednesdays in the summer school
holidays. Otherwise, order a hot chocolate and snuggle in for a read or
ransack the store’s toy box; greatescapebooks.wordpress.com.

Older children
* Explore Fairhaven Beach on horseback; blazingsaddlestrailrides.com.

Teenagers
* Take a photography walk along the coastline with a guide-teacher; surfcoastwalks.com.au.

Dining there
Pull
up a seat with water views at Aireys Inlet Foodstore & Cafe and
order home-made baked beans with Otway pork or free-range eggs. Then
stock the larder with local produce from its foodstore; aifsc.com.au.
It’s the perfect marriage: a parma and locally made beer at Aireys
Pub, which earns its stripes as a great all-rounder, with a sandpit in
the beer garden and live music every Saturday; aireyspub.com.au.
Add
a touch of the Mediterranean to your getaway with lunch at A la
Grecque. Order the seafood, order the wine – it’s your holiday;
alagrecque.com.au.

Getting there
Aireys Inlet is about a 90-minute drive west of Melbourne at the start of the Great Ocean Road.

Staying there
The
Aireys Inlet Getaway Resort has one-, two- and three-bedroom villas
with a pool, picnic spots and koalas and birds on the guest list; aireysinletgetaway.com.au.The Glen Farm Cottages are
self-contained, mud-brick stays on Old Coach Road, a few kilometres
inland from the beach; aireys.com.au.Private holiday homes are plentiful and listed on stayz.com.au. B&Bs are dotted throughout the region. Aireys
Inlet Holiday Park has cabin accommodation ranging from three-bedroom,
two-bathroom executive cabins to smaller cabins, aicp.com.au.

Camping there
Also at Aireys Inlet Holiday Park are ensuite sites with power and private bathroom, powered sites and grassed tent sites.

More information
See visitgreatoceanroad.org.au.

This feature by Belinda Jackson was published in Sydney Morning Herald Traveller.

Jan

Go underground, go outback, go AWOL: travel deals 19 January 2014

Hanging around at Kamalaya,
Koh Samui, Thailand

Take a Thai spa, check into a cave hotel, rail across Australia or get the kids’ skates on with new Skoot luggage.

Go now: Turkey

Explore Istanbul’s palaces, the limestone terraces of
Pamukkale and sleep in a Cappadocian cave hotel on a 10-day Turkish Delights
tour. Book by February 28 for travel until March and save $100. From $970 a
person, twin share. 131 398, travelscene.net.au.

Go sooner:
Thailand

Get a post-Christmas detox and save 20 percent at
Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa, on Koh Samui. Stay five nights,
pay for four, with free yoga, tai chi, qi gong, pilates and a body analysis
included, from March 1-April 30. From $955 a person, five nights. +66 77 429 800, kamalaya.com.

Go later:
Trans-Australia

Save 20 percent on 10 holiday packages on The Ghan train
journey from Adelaide to Darwin, including the Rock & Rail tour, which adds
in two nights and tours in Alice Springs. Book by February 28, travel May 1-October
31. From $1741 a person, twin share. 1800 725 993, greatsouthernrail.com.au.

KIDS

Scoot cute

Cute kids’ luggage abounds, but is it useful? The Skoot
is a 13-litre suitcase, a boredom buster and a mode of transport in busy
airports.

The shoulder strap allows parents to sling the scooter over their
shoulder and it doubles as a pull cord to rein in recalitrant cruisers. The
ride-on hard case also fits most cabin luggage requirements. Suitable for kids
from 3-6 years. $79.95, (03) 9824 6770, littlegulliver.com.au.

This feature by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sun-Herald newspaper.

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