family | GlobalSalsa: travel writer Belinda Jackson

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.

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.

Oct

It’s just the two of us: mother-daughter travels

There’s a world of ideas for a mother and daughter getaway with it all, writes Belinda Jackson.

Shop,
spa, eat, see and do – for mums and daughters, a trip together is a
unique way to celebrate and refresh your relationship without the
demands of kids, work and partners. Mums with teenage girls, snatch that
special time before they disappear into the world alone: perhaps this
is the chance to test the waters before gap years and the prospect of
solo travel raise their heads. After all, who could ask for a better
teacher of essential life skills?

PRINCESS DIARIES: ITALY
“When
in Italy, what would Audrey Hepburn do?” She’d probably drive to
beautiful little Siena (mental note: pack Pucci scarf and big
sunglasses), climb the top of the Mangia tower before shopping for
handmade Tuscan boots, then refreshing herself with lunch at a trattoria
and a little gelato.

Guide
Andrea Powis channels the ultimate diva on a 10-night tour through
Tuscany and down to Rome on a tour made for sisters or mums and
daughters. “It’s effervescent, elegant and timeless,” she says.

There
are home-cooked dinners at family vineyards and lunches in Renaissance
palaces with Florentine princesses, nights spent in country villas,
palazzos and monasteries, and two days on red Vespas, stopping for
morning cappuccinos in walled towns, with light shopping workouts in
between (non-Vespa divas are chauffeured). The tour ends in Rome, with a
tour of Villa Borghese and a promenade (and possibly more shopping)
along Via Condotti. The 10-night tour departs Florence on June 7, 2014.

Costs from $6699 a person, twin share. Phone 0408 721 569. See travellingdivas.com.au.

FROM NEON TO BLOSSOMS: JAPAN
Revel in the flash and dash of fashionable Tokyo then soak up the tranquillity of a Shinto shrine in the Japanese countryside.

With
stays at traditional ryokans and imperial palaces and Buddhist temples
on the list, there is time for peace and reflection on this journey.
But, hey, there’s also fabulous shopping at oh-so beautiful department
stores and Tokyo’s hip strips.

This is a privately guided journey,
making it perfect for mums and daughters to reconnect: in spring for
cherry blossoms, summer with its gentle warmth or among the spectacular
autumn colours.

Departing from Tokyo daily, the nine-night tour includes
a first class on a bullet train from Hakone to Kyoto, a tea ceremony in
a private home, Michelin-starred restaurants and local izakayas and the
chance to emulate some of Japan’s best-dressed women in a kimono and
obi.

Costs from $11,185 a person, twin share. Phone 1300 851 800, see abercrombiekent.com.au.

SHOP THE CITY: NEW YORK
Shopping is bonding, says Karen Parker O’Brien, who leads private shopping tours of New York City.
“On
a mother-and-daughter day out, you’re bonding as best friends who care
about what the other thinks,” says the former fashion buyer, who will
take you into private showrooms and studios.
Her top shop is the homewares “museum” ABC Carpet & Home, on Broadway. “It’s a magical store.”
Expect
champagne and gourmet snacking, expect retail highs in designers’ NYC
showrooms, expect up to 80 per cent off in the wholesale haunts. A
private four-hour VIP walking tour costs from US$400 for four people,
limo tours from US$500. See karen@styleroom.com, styleroom.com.

A CREATIVE REVOLUTION: SPAIN
Spain
is proof that daily life can and should be lived exuberantly, says art
historian, chef and guide Marieke Brugman. Celebrated culinary guide
Marieke’s nine-day tour through northern Spain starts in soulful
Barcelona before venturing north to Bilbao, Navarra and La Rioja.

Visit
mediaeval fishing harbours that spawned navigators and fashion
designers. Dine at a coveted chef’s table in the three-Michelin-star
Arzak, rated eighth in the world by San Pellegrino.
Devour
pintxos, sleep in mansions and learn kitchen secrets from northern
Spain’s masters. Marieke may even lead you into the whiskey bars of San
Sebastian or into tavernas run by elegant septuagenarian ladies.

“Women,
especially of a more mature age, are not invisible in Spain,” says
Marieke. “To the contrary, they’re celebrated.” Departs September 26,
2014. Costs $10,000, phone 0419 580 381, see mariekesartofliving.com.

Crown Metropol’s sky-high pool, Melbourne.

PUT THE “AH” INTO SPA: AUSTRALIA
What
better way to repay your mum for the sleepless nights, the endless
dishes and a lifetime of caring than to check her in for two days of
water therapy … we’re talking rituals using Aveda products,
stress-busting massages, a soothing facial and exclusive spa access at
Melbourne’s sky-high Crown Metropol. Level 27 is home to Crown’s lush
Isika spa, expansive views of Melbourne’s skyline as well as that
amazing pool, the one where Offspring’s lovely Patrick farewelled
television’s most glamorous mum-to-be, Nina.

The revive package
also includes one night’s accommodation in an Isika spa suite, breakfast
at the sky-high private guest lounge, 28, lunch and dinner at Mr Hive
and stress-free valet parking.
For total relaxation, book midweek
to avoid the weekend hustle. Costs from $880 a person or $1485 for two,
twin share. Phone 1800 056 662, see isikaspa.com.au.

THREE MORE TRIPS CLOSE TO HOME

GOLDEN DOOR ELYSIA
in
the Hunter Valley is an easy getaway, with healthy cuisine, meditation,
morning tai chi and motivational speakers. Save 15 per cent on a
two-night weekend stay until December 20. From $940 a person, two
nights. 1800 212 011, goldendoor.com.au.

THEATRE TRIP
Take
in dinner and a show, with Agatha Christie’s A Murder Announced, with
an overnight stay in Mantra 2 Bond Street, Sydney, from $500 a night
(until October 27) or in Melbourne, staying at Mantra on the Park, from
$472 (from October 30 to December 4). 1300 987 604, mantra.com.au.

HIGHLANDS RETREAT
Revive
the soul with a gentle bushwalk in the Southern Highlands and a stay at
the no-gadget Solar Springs Health Retreat, from $255 a person, twin
share. (02) 4883 6027, solarsprings.com.au.

Written by Belinda Jackson, published in Sydney’s Sun-Herald newspaper.

Oct

Bargains in Bali and Britain, family-friendly fun in Malaysia: travel deals 29 September 2013

The Sheraton Mirage Resort & Spa, Gold Coast, Qld.

Grab an off-peak bargain on Britain’s trains or in Bali’s villas, be one of the first to see the revamped Sheraton Mirage on the Gold Coast, or splash out with the kids in Malaysia, a truly family-friendly country. Go on, you’re worth it.

Go now:

See the five-star Sheraton Mirage Resort & Spa Gold
Coast’s $26 million renovation. Stay three, pay for two nights, from $580 or
stay four and pay three nights, from $870, until December 22, (07) 5577 0000, sheratonmiragegoldcoast.com.au.

Go sooner: Britain

Save 20 per cent on the BritRail Pass and Britrail
England Pass between November 1 and February 28, 2014 when you book by February
12, 2014. From $185 an adult for a three-day pass, raileurope.com.au.

The main bedroom, Villa Asanda, Bali.

Go now: Bali

Nine beautiful Balinese villas are on sale: save 20
percent on rates at the fully staffed villas on stays until December 20. Villas
range from three to six bedrooms, from $420 a night, three-bed villa, marketingvillas.com.

KIDS

The themed Kid Suites at the Holiday Inn Resort Penang are
part of a Malaysian getaway with Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur. The
seven-night, two-town package includes domestic flights, two free nights, bonus
upgrades, tours and kids under 12 stay and eat free in Penang. Book by November
30, from $1790 a person, 1300 696 252, myholidaycentre.com.au/Malaysia.

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

Sep

Places in the heart: Kate Langbroek

Western Australia has
the best beaches in the world, says Melbourne radio’s Kate Langbroek. And
although the waters of Bass Strait may get nippy, you never regret a swim.

I stayed at Cape Paterson, in south Gippsland, with
(former radio co-presenter and comedian) Dave O’Neill about 12 years ago. His
dad bought the block of land there for $700 in the ‘70s. They all called it
Cape Dump. I’ve been obsessed with the area ever since.

In Cape Paterson I was like a supermodel as all the hard
bodies flock to the inner-city beaches: St Kilda is wall-to-wall people waiting
to be noticed.

My husband, Peter, and I now have a holiday home at south
Gippsland’s Walkerville. The north is the dead-end fisherman’s beach. The south
has the better beach.

Even though it’s cold, we swim every day. You never regret a
swim. And as a woman, I swim because I never want to become one of those
mothers that are just sitting on the beach, watching everyone else having fun
in the water. In Australia, we’re so cloaked in body shame, swathed in our
kaftans: it’s so easy to drift into that when you’ve got kids.

Walkerville beach.

You could do what my mother-in-law and her sister did: with
seven children between them, they’d dig a big hole, bury all the children and
go for a swim. When they saw the first one climb out, they knew they had to
come out of the water. In the ’70s, you had to be resourceful.

We spent two weeks in the Kimberley recently and buried all
our kids on the beach in Broome. Individually, not in a giant pit.

Western Australia has the best beaches in the world: the
Kimberley’s are the most stunning I’ve ever seen. Every time we stopped, the
beach was exquisite. We drove down to Eco Beach, south of Broome, and there was
not a footprint on it.

But while the Kimberley has the best beaches, I’ll choose
Walkerville for its life and wild rugged beauty, with fishing boats and whales
outside your window as they go into Waratah Bay to rest with their babies.
Alison Lester wrote the children’s book Magic
Beach about Walkerville, but it’s still a secret beach. The local fishermen
will hate me for talking about it.

I’m from Queensland and have lived on the Gold Coast, in
Brisbane and in Papua New Guinea. Mum and dad would take us to the Spit on the Gold
Coast, where we learned to swim, which was really odd as the Spit is that
finger of land near where SeaWorld is, with crashing waves and wild surf. Dad
couldn’t swim well, and mum didn’t swim at all. I remember me and my brother
being out of our depth many, many times.

Mum and Dad would book a flat (calling it an apartment was
gilding the lily) on the Gold Coast for two weeks. We swam at Burleigh Heads, Tallebudgera
and Kirra Beach.

Inexplicably, Peter and I decided to go on a road trip
when our first son, Lewis, was six weeks old. We drove 4000km and on the way
back, we stopped at Bondi because even though he’s Australian, Peter had never
been to Bondi. We wheeled Lewis onto the sand in his pram and were so dying to
get into the water, we left him with another family on the beach and asked them
to wave when he woke up: we invoked the community of the beach.

You remember those swims because they’re a stolen, precious
moment.

Peter loves Wilson’s Promontory, which is just beside
Walkerville. He talks about it all the time, as many Melbournians do. He’s
really into nature, so he takes the kids for walks and is teaching them to body
surf. I’m hopeless at it.

We do what people have been doing on the beach for 1000 years:
scoop sand into meaningless piles, find bits of shells and sharks’ heads and
poke them with sticks and talk about the schtunk
of it. It’s ageless.

Kate Langbroek co-hosts the Hughesy & Kate Breakfast
Show on Nova 100.

Interview by Belinda Jackson. Published in Good Weekend magazine.

Sep

Living London style, Bali’s newest digs and sweet Manila: travel deals September 22, 2013

It’s time to up sticks, quick-sticks, to London, and surely one of the loveliest rooms is the reception at The Levin, my favourite photo of the week.

Otherwise, go tropical with a getaway in mad Manila – home of the shoe – check out a new resort in Bali or disappear just over the hills to the Blue Mountains and one of Australia’s most luxurious addresses, Wolgan Valley.

Go later: London

Stay in the heart of Knightsbridge, near Harrods and Harvey
Nicks, and get airport transfers and afternoon tea, worth $350, at the boutique
Levin Hotel. Its three-night Dollar Package costs from $1590 until end May
2014. +44 20 7589 6286, thelevinhotel.co.uk.

Go now: Bali

The new U Paasha resort in Seminyak is offering two free
nights, breakfast, transfers and either wellness or watersports activities when
you stay eight nights in a suite, until December 20. From $590 a person. 1800
883 887,travelonline.com.

Go sooner: NSW

Save $500 a couple on a Spring Indulgence at the five-star
Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in the Blue Mountains. Includes
a regional picnic hamper and all meals and drinks, and midweek stays also get
$100 spa credit. Until December 19. From $1450 a person, two nights. (02) 9290 9733, wolganvalley.com.

Kids: sweet deal in Manila

Divert the kids with a Filipino cooking school at the
Peninsula Manila while you soak up the city’s fabulous shopping. Kids can whip
up the classic dessert halo-halo or tackle a taka, a papier-mâché
masterpiece. Small guests also eat free and stay half-price in an adjoining
room until December 31, from $393 for two connecting rooms. 1800 116 888,
peninsula.com.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun-Herald newspaper

Sep

Of giant mice and free feeds in Bali, Qld and California: travel deals September 8, 2013

Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali

Just because you’ve got kids in tow doesn’t mean getaways are goners. It may mean, however, you find yourself surrounded by giant mice or are lured by the promise of feeding the children for free. Here’s a taste of three kid-friendly faves in Bali, Disneyland and Queensland.

GO NOW: USA

Visiting Disneyland Anaheim? Check in for three nights at
the Desert Palms Hotel & Suites in Orange County, only 1km away from the
action, and get the third night free. Includes breakfast and parking, until
September 13. expedia.com.au/promos/usa-sale.

Hamilton Island, Queensland

GO LATER: BALI

Save up to 30 per cent on your stay at the Holiday Inn
Resort Baruna Bali, with breakfast, internet, a massage and access to its
departure lounge for late flights. Kids under 12 eat and stay free, too, until
December 31. From $127.25 a night. 1803 656 888, bali.holidayinn.com.

GO SOONER: QUEENSLAND

If the kids are eating you out of house and home, book a
Palm bungalow on Hamilton Island for four nights, with use of catamarans,
snorkelling and windsurfing gear, and kids eat and stay free. From $679 a
person, twin share. 131 398, travelscene.net.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun-Herald newspaper

Sep

Big wheels keep on turnin’ in Paris, Auckland and Ipswich: deals & kids’ gigs, September 1, 2013

The Workshop Rail Museum
in Ipswich, Qld

Right. Instead of leading with a lovely pool shot or something pleasingly ethnic (think old Indian man or a Vietnamese cyclist), I’m appealing to the trainspotters amongst you. Specifically, trainspotters in Ipswich. With kids. That’s Ipswich, Australia. I know you’re out there. If I lost you at trains, never fear, shack up in style on North Stradbroke Island or go five-star glam in Auckland or hit the moveable feast that is Paris, staying in your own apartment.

KIDS

Build your own railway empire, get behind the wheel of
the big engine or just let off steam at the award-winning Workshop Rail Museum
in Ipswich, 40km from Brisbane. For more big, loud fun, take a ride on the
monthly Steam Train Sundays and roar through Brisbane’s main drag on a steam
train. Open daily. General entry costs $20 adults, $11.30 kids 3-15 years,
families $59, theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au.

GO NOW: NEW
ZEALAND

Stay
four nights at the five-star Langham Auckland and save 20 per cent and get free
wifi until September 13. Score the ‘Linger Longer for Less’ offer at Langham
hotels including London and Sydney. Auckland costs from $149 a night. +64
(9) 379 5132, langhamhotels.com.

The pool shot we had to have: North Stradbroke Island, Qld

GO SOONER:
QUEENSLAND

Wrap up winter with three nights on family-friendly North
Stradbroke Island off Brisbane. Stay in a self-contained beach shack amongst
the dunes with return vehicle transfer, midday check-out, a meat tray for the
barbie and wi-fi until September 18. From $600, (07) 3415 0000, allurestradbroke.com.au.

GO LATER: PARIS

Enjoy la vie simple
with family holidays in Paris: this kid-friendly two-bedroom apartment in the
Marais is ideal for discovering the city by foot. Sleeps four or five and
includes breakfast. Usually $415 a night, from $355 a night until 31 January,
2014. petiteparis.com.au.

Source: Belinda Jackson, Sun-Herald newspaper

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THREE MORE TRIPS CLOSE TO HOME