 |
| Picnicking by the lake amidst bushland. Photo: Belinda Jackson |
An hour from Melbourne down the M1, Red Hill is prime real estate on the
Mornington Peninsula, and Lindenderry, owned by Australian family
company Lancemore, has held its 12-hectare spot on the ridge for the
past 20 years. It’s in the news for its recent deft, “multi-million
dollar” renovation.
I’m a sometimes-resident on the Mornington Peninsula, so I’m very pleased to see this old-timer get such a swish makeover. Every room looks out over structured courtyards with fresh lime trees, Australian bushland or the vines that the estate turns into its exceptional wine.
Inside, there are crisp sheets, moody walls, a touch of whimsy in the Ukrainian-babushka cushion. The Lindenderry has banished its placid plaid for a grown-up country style in Red Hill.
Even if you’re not staying, you can drop in for a glass of wine and – hot tip – order the picnic hamper and wander through the vines for an afternoon well spent.
Click here to read my review of the revamped Lindenderry in the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers.
I’ve been on the hunt for Aussie expats around the world to share
tips from their adopted home towns for a column in Sydney’s Sun-Herald
and Melbourne’s Sunday Age.
Melburnian Chris Chun is a fantastic artist and illustrator living in
Chiang Mai, in Thailand’s north, so I tapped him for some great places
to eat, drink, see and what to avoid (He says: “keep your shirt on,
men!”)
Click here to read about Chris’ Chiang Mai, on the Traveller website.
You can see Chris’ beautiful work here.
 |
|
| Polperro Winery, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia Photo: Belinda Jackson |
It’s an hour from Melbourne, and when you’re among the leafy vines of one if its fine wineries, with an overflowing picnic basket, the Mornington Peninsula is a whole different state of mind.
I had my first holiday here on the peninsula (aged 5 months), and still return to Safety Beach for my weekend getaway.
So it was an easy task to share my suggestions of great shopping strips, natural hot springs, and how to find that winery with picnic basket.
Click here to read my recommendations on where to shop, eat, stay and play on the Mornington Peninsula for Mercedes Benz owners.
 |
| Photo: Belle Jackson |
Catching up on my poor, neglected blog. The reason for my neglect is
good: I’ve been tromping around the wilds of Rajasthan, specifically
Bishangarh, a little village about an hour north of Jaipur.
The lure was the opening of the new Alila Fort Bishangarh, a fortress turned boutique hotel. I went crazy on instagram – take a look.
It took seven years to convert the 230-year-old fort, and it still
retains a tang of military austerity. Happily, the dungeon is free of
bats, snakes and gunpowder: it’s now an Alila spa, and staircases lead
to rooftop restaurants or a little yoga platform. I did a little
housework, cooking flatbread over an open fire in a mud-floor house, I
cycled past camel carts and flocks of goats and took a brief pilgrimage
to a Hindu temple – interspersed with cool, scented towels, sugared lime
juice and dips in this pool (below) because hey, it’s monsoon season in
this part of the world, and why suffer if you don’t have to?
 |
| Photo: Belle Jackson |
My first review is out, for the Sydney Morning Herald/Sunday Age Traveller: click here to read it. If you’re planning a sojourn to Jaipur in the near future, this hotel absolutely must be on your list.
It’s peak season up in Darwin, as southerners rush north to escape winter (and hey, I’m not blaming anybody here – anyone notice that this is the second hotel pool shot I’ve blogged this week?)
The Hilton is the city’s only official five-star hotel, and the pool is one fine reason to check in.
The 236-room hotel has held this city-centre position for years: old Darwin hands will remember the Hilton Darwin as a Crowne Plaza. The hotel is just behind the mall, and should you feel the need to swim with crocs, the croc hotpot of Crocosaurus Cove is just a few steps away.
Click here to take a look at the review I wrote for the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.
Looking for a well-priced stay in Melbourne? Take a look at the new
Four Points by Sheraton, in the Docklands district. It’s superbly
connected to the CBD by free trams, has a rooftop pool and 11am
check-out. Nothing wrong with this picture!
Click here to take a look at the review I wrote for the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age.
 |
| State of Escape totes. |
Some people fill their carry-on luggage with ginormous headphones
(I’m more of an earbud person, myself). For others, it’s bags of snacks
(handy if you’re doing it lean, and on a low-cost carrier). I find that
between a camera, laptop and big scarf, the corners of my inflight bag
are filled with face spritzers.
I mean, my spritzer obsession really has gotten out of hand.
But I do love a pick-me-up of lemongrass, especially when that person
behind me whips off their hot shoes to reveal socks that can stand up
by themselves, or when the fug of reheated food just won’t leave the
cabin.
Here, I’ve rounded up three more inflight essentials, including the latest colourways in the top tote from State of Escape (pictured), some damned fine eye patches by US cosmeceutical company Nerium and a truly fantastic salve from those clever Kiwis, Antipodes.
Click here for my feature in the first issue of the relaunched Essentials magazine, which is now national, around Australia.
 |
| The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Photo: Belinda Jackson |
I am so pleased to publish this blog about my recent article in Luxury Travel magazine. This is the first story I’ve written for a mainstream publication about Egypt since its revolution, back in 2011. The feature had the invaluable support of Abercrombie & Kent, which maintains
its Cairo office, staffed by charming, knowledgeable Cairenes.
While
other countries affected by civil unrest and terrorism events have
slipped back onto the travel pages within weeks of the events, I feel
Egypt – where I have lived and continue to return to every year – has
been punished too harshly, and it suffers deeply the loss of one of its
key sources of income.
The people lean heavily on
tourism with good reason: their undeniable treasures include the Pyramids
of Giza, the colossi at Abu Simbel, the gracious and eternal Nile. And
they’re just three of its riches.
Egyptians
say that once you’ve drunk from the Nile, you’ll always return.
Maybe
you’re not up for a cup of river water, hopefully this article will
inspire you to visit – or to return.
‘We
come to visit the gods. Stern of face, empty of eye, they stare. Blank,
sightless eyes see nothing, yet see everything in the future and back to
the ancient world. The colossal sculptures of Abu Simbel are in Egypt’s deep south, touching on the border with Sudan, and are the jewel of the appropriately named Nile in Style journey with Abercrombie & Kent.
“Nowhere
are there so many marvellous things, nor in the whole world beside are
there to be seen so many works of unspeakable greatness,” wrote
Herodotus of Egypt in the fifth century BC. Fifteen centuries later,
he’s still on the money.’
Click here to read on about my journey down the Nile.
It’s
been dubbed the project of the decade and also the new Sydney Opera
House. Finally, the Elbphilharmonie, in Hamburg, Germany, has opened to
the public, six years late and 10 times the original budget – but who’s
counting?
been dubbed the project of the decade and also the new Sydney Opera
House. Finally, the Elbphilharmonie, in Hamburg, Germany, has opened to
the public, six years late and 10 times the original budget – but who’s
counting?
Hamburg’s new concert hall (it’s been nicknamed the Elphie – if that makes it easier to remember) has got it all: public
plazas, rooftop views and even a Westin hotel tucked in there, which
seems to have been lost in all the astonishment about its cutting-edge
architecture.
To read more about Hamburg’s applaud-winning concert hall, click here for my piece in the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age newspapers’ Traveller sections.