Travel | GlobalSalsa: travel writer Belinda Jackson

Escape to the country – Rutherglen’s tower for two

Photo: Belle Jackson

A century-old French style winery in the Australian countryside – you’ll have to go half-way between Canberra and Melbourne to find Mt Ophir Estate, but it’s worth the drive.

The working winery has been dormant for years in its location on the edge of Victorian wine town Rutherglen, but recently reopened its couples-only getaway, a hopelessly romantic three-storey tower for two.

If the stylish artwork, the superb furniture sourced from antique stores around the world, the spectacular Rhone-inspired wines and the views of the surrounding countryside don’t woo you, then I have two words for you: smoked butter.

Photo: Belle Jackson

The next generation of the renowned winemaking family, the Browns (of Brown Brothers), are behind this renovation. They also own the nearby All Saints Winery and its excellent restaurant and the Indigo Food Co, which produces my New Best Friend, smoked butter.

With a half-dozen fresh oysters, a loaf of sourdough and a pat of this buttery beauty, you may even prefer to be in this tower as a single. After all, deep in our dark hearts, who likes to share?

Click here to read my review of Mt Ophir, published on Fairfax Media’s Traveller website.

Belinda Jackson was a guest of Mt Ophir Estate.

The five places that made me: Ray Martin

I love the fact that top Australian current affairs journalist Ray Martin was scared, lost and happy in Istanbul – after all, isn’t that true culture shock? He name the Turkish capital in a list of his top five places that made me, for Traveller.

“I was culturally and physically out of my comfort zone and I loved it,
from the incessant bargaining and arm-twisting of the Grand Bazaar to
the Muslim mystique of the Blue Mosque, down the grimy side alleyways
and into smokey coffee shops,” he says.

To read more about his top five places, which range from Launceston, Tasmania to New York City, click here for the article, which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers’ Traveller section.

Expat: Long Island City/Manhattan

We’ve got a great series of interviews at Traveller now: I get to chat with expat Australians all around the world, who share their tips and tricks from their adopted hometowns.

This week, it’s artist Denise Green from Brisbane, who has been living in NYC and working from her Long Island City studio for four decades.

She suggests strolling around Columbus Circle. ” I am deeply interested in how we
collectively and individually remember historic events, and explore it
in my exhibition at Gallery 9 in Sydney this month at gallery9.com.au,” she says.

Denise will be in Sydney for the opening of her exhibition at Gallery 9 on April 18, 2018.

Click here to read Denise’s insights into her stomping ground, published in the Traveller section of the Sun-Herald and Sunday Age newspapers.

Lindenderry Red Hill review, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

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.

Expats: tips from Chiang Mai, Thailand

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.

Get out of town: Discover a Mornington Peninsula drive


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.

From Rajasthani fortress to boutique hotel

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.

Hotel review: Hilton Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

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.

Hotel review: Four Points by Sheraton Melbourne Docklands

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.

Three of the best: inflight gear

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.

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