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DONUT ISLAND (WHENUAKURA)
Not far from Slipper Island, just a few hundred metres off the main beach of Whangamata town, Donut Island and its special geological formation can be found. Named specifically for the hidden hole in its centre, the ‘donut’ can be reached by paddleboard or kayak in just a few minutes. The hole is a result of a collapsed volcanic blowhole that has created a stunning turquoise lagoon. Search for the little cave to access the interior of the island, and marvel at the secret inside. Your Insta feed will love you for it.
Get there: hire a paddleboard or kayak in Whangamata town.
D’URVILLE ISLAND
For what is quite a big landmass, D’Urville Island is still one of the least-visited spots in all of New Zealand. There are only a handful of accommodation options here, with the upmarket D’Urville Island Wilderness Resort a more comfortable option compared to the rugged, Robinson Crusoe-esque fishing and hunting shacks that are camouflaged by the island’s wild landscape. D’Urville is on the outer edge of the Marlborough Sounds – a series of idyllic flooded valleys at the very tip of the South Island. The area is renowned for its great wine, sunshine and the aquaculture industry that’s sprung up in its hundreds of sheltered bays. D’Urville itself is so hard to reach that most New Zealanders will question it’s actual location. The French Pass – which is the narrow gap between the mainland and D’Urville Island – sees a huge volume of water rip through at each tide, creating whirlpools and dramatic currents.
Get there: by taking a winding drive from Blenheim or Nelson, followed by a short water taxi.
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MOTURUA ISLAND
Singling out one island in an area that is literally called the ‘Bay of Islands’ is a little arbitrary. After all, there are 144 of them – mostly uninhabited – but many of which have stunning beaches and untouched forests. However, Moturua stands out for its fascinating history. Earthworks from several Maori pa (fortified villages) can be explored, and remnants of a World War II station are still visible. Most interestingly, the island was also the site of some of the earliest visits to New Zealand by Europeans. Captain Cook anchored in one of the bays, and a few years later in 1772 a French party also set up camp on the island, laying claim to the country. Unfortunately for them, the local Maori decided enough was enough, killing the French leader and 24 sailors, completely derailing their plans
for colonising the country.
Get there: access is by private boat, kayak or water taxi from Paihia.
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SLIPPER ISLAND
Just three kilometres off the Coromandel Peninsula, this absurdly pretty place is home to a single resort. It covers the majority of Slipper’s 224 hectares, yet it features just five chalets, two dorm rooms, a handful of glamping tents, and a more rustic (and much cheaper) BYO tent-style camping ground in a private bay. It’s a remarkable setup and oddly affordable — given that for just AU$130 per person, per night 20 friends can book this entire island for themselves.
But you’ll need to bring your own food and booze as there are no restaurants or bars. The water is the major drawcard of this spot, with white sandy bays on the island’s western side and rocky coves to the east. Snorkelling, swimming and kayaking are the go-to adventure activities, with excellent fishing from land or boat.
Get there: by water taxi from nearby Tairua (15 minutes) or helicopter from Auckland.
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RAKINO ISLAND
There’s a good chance you’ve heard of the popular Waiheke Island, with its generous covering of vineyards and restaurants. But have you ever heard of Rakino? Just a stone’s throw from Waiheke, and accessible by ferry from downtown Auckland, Rakino is far more tranquil than its brassy, upmarket neighbour. That’s partly because the island’s inhabitants live completely off the grid, with all power and water coming from solar panels and rain. There are no shops on Rakino, but you can rent a charming holiday house (also known as a ‘bach’ in New Zealand) for the ultimate unplugged getaway. The best way to get around the island, according to the ferry service’s website, is “walking or by tractor”. So… you get the picture.
Get there: by ferry or private boat from Auckland.
GREAT MERCURY ISLAND
Great Mercury Island occupies an odd place in the New Zealand national consciousness. It’s owned by Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite, two merchant bankers who became extraordinarily wealthy in the 1980s by helping the country privatise its rail, telecoms and banking sectors. A couple of deals later and the pair were rich enough to buy this piece of paradise off the coast of the Coromandel, where they now host guests like U2’s Bono in a luxury lodge for a piddling AU$46,000 per night. The good news for the rest of us regular folk is they still let visitors experience the island’s perfect beaches, from where you can enjoy spectacular swimming, scuba diving and gathering your own world-class seafood.
Get there: charter a boat from Whitianga (one hour) or a helicopter from downtown Auckland (30 minutes).
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STEWART ISLAND (RAKIURA)
Separated from the South Island by the stormy Foveaux Strait, Stewart Island is like a giant nature reserve. Also known by its Maori name, Rakiura, the island has a cool, southerly climate and some unique wildlife. It’s a bit like some kind of Tiny Tasmania, complete with all the same unpretentious locals that you’d expect to find in a spot detached from mainland life. Oban is the only town here, and there’s also just one pub. Don’t miss trivia night on a Sunday when it feels like the whole island turns up to drink pints, invent silly team names and argue about Queen lyrics. Aside from enjoying the pub, you’ll also want to experience some of Rakiura’s famous fauna. Head up to the rugby pitch at dusk for your best chance of spotting wild kiwi, watch out for whitetail deer that almost outnumber humans, or go cage diving with great white sharks. Our must-do experience? Charter a light aircraft from the mainland and have it land you on a remote beach near a Department of Conservation hut. You can stay in the rustic cabin until you run out of food and wine – or your flight comes back for you.
Get there: catch a ferry from Bluff (one hour) or a flight from Invercargill (20 minutes).
GREAT BARRIER ISLAND (AOTEA)
Staying on Great Barrier Island is like experiencing New Zealand as it was in 1960. Everything here happens at about a quarter of the pace of the rest of the country. There’s an old-fashioned charm to the way things are done by the very friendly 800 locals, and there’s a noticeable nostalgic beauty that hangs in the air. The water is brighter and clearer than anywhere else in the country, but be prepared for the raucous, rust-coloured forest parrots called kaka that screech at you from the sky. There’s a good range of accommodation available – from backpacker lodges and campsites, to some very fancy houses. Stay, surf, swim, then try to work out the logistics of how you could relocate here for the rest of your life.
Get there: a car ferry sails daily from downtown Auckland (four hours) or a simpler option is to fly from Auckland Airport on one of the island’s two airlines (30 minutes).
CAMPBELL & AUCKLAND ISLANDS
Wet, cold and lonely, Campbell Island (Motu Ihupuku) sulks 700 kilometres south of the mainland, with Auckland Island (Motu Maha) a smidge closer at 460 kilometres. Despite this remoteness, each island attracts a regular trickle of visitors. Wildlife and photography buffs are drawn to the rich bird and sea life that use the island as their home, while visitors carefully pick their way around the sea lions that litter the beaches and snooze in the wind-gnarled forests. Conservation laws lay out strict rules around keeping a reasonable distance from the wildlife – though it’s sometimes hard to comply when a blubbery alpha male sea lion decides to challenge you. Which does happen here on occasion.
Get there: Heritage Expeditions’ next departure is in early November.
Life & Death at the Abrolhos Islands
I slide into the water and start splashing and somersaulting.
To my delight, she twists and turns alongside me. She scrutinises me through my mask, quivering whiskers almost touching me, before torpedoing away and circling back.
I stop to rest, and she lies on the bottom, dejected puppy eyes imploring me to swim. I’m just about spent, but her life force seems inexhaustible.
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My sea lion experience is one of many encounters with the pulsating life of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands. Locally known as just the Abrolhos, the islands lie 60 kilometres west of Geraldton, Western Australia. The 122 islands are clustered into three main groups and have exceptional natural and historic value. In 2019, 100 of the islands became a national park. The other 22 islands host colourful lobster fishing and aquaculture camps, only usable by the lease holders.
For those of us without our own fishing camp, it’s tricky to stay at the Abrolhos. There are no hotels and the best way to explore the islands is on the low-key cruise boat, Eco-Abrolhos.
The Eco-Abrolhos’ itinerary showcases all the unique offerings of the Abrolhos, including its wildlife, characters and history. It’s a boutique affair, with a relaxed and friendly vibe. While some cabins have king beds, I’m staying in a more budget-friendly lower-level bunk room. The crew is led by father and son, Jay and Bronson Cox, who are owner and skipper respectively, and whose sledging interaction means they double as a comedy duo.
The Abrolhos ecosystem is unique, and my sea lion experience is made even more remarkable by the latitude at which it occurs. Australian sea lions are traditionally found in cooler parts of the country, but here, in the northernmost part of their range, I’m watching them play in coral gardens. The coral reefs themselves are unusual, being the southernmost coral reefs in the Indian Ocean. Cooling currents from nearby deep waters have so far helped the reefs resist the worst of coral bleaching.
Sea birds also join the biological bonanza here. During nesting seasons, the islands are a riotous place, hosting millions of bird pairs. Species include white-faced storm petrels, little shearwaters, sooty terns and brown noddies. The overlap of temperate and tropical species and the sheer intensity of life here means these islands have sometimes been called Australia’s Galapagos.
Our trip commences as sunrise peers over the yachts in Geraldton harbour. Although the Abrolhos have a fearsome reputation for wind-induced seasickness, today is uncharacteristically smooth. As the boat chugs through its four-hour journey to the islands, I sit up front watching flying fish skim the glassy surface.
Eventually, a smudge on the horizon morphs into the islands known as the Southern Group. Only a few metres high and composed of rubble and shrubby vegetation, we wonder how anything survives here.
Underwater, life is as rich as the land is stark. Donning masks and snorkels, we slide into the sea at Coral Patches. Staghorn corals outstretch their fingers in beige, purple, cream and blue, sheltering butterflyfish and damselfish as schools of buffalo bream buzz by. Bumphead parrot fish casually graze on corals, shimmering in turquoise and purple. Peeking under tabletop corals, I find the spaces jam-packed with lobsters, their masses of antennae appearing tangled.
Next, we peek into the Abrolhos lifestyle by visiting tiny Basile Island. Jetties protrude from the island like bike spokes, and the ramshackle houses are mostly cobbled together from asbestos sheets. What they lack in architectural credentials, they make up for in bright colour schemes, and shacks here are resplendent in blue, purple, orange and yellow.
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Our tender eases over the corals and turquoise shallows. Reaching the island, we’re warmly welcomed to the home of brothers, Peter and Nino Scarpuzza, second-generation lobster fishers.
“My father came out in ‘52 from Sicily,” says Peter, as he brews real Italian coffee for our group. Peter explains that previous rules restricted the fishing season to several months, prompting fishing families to relocate to the islands fulltime to maximise catches during this time. Since 2009 the fishery has been managed on an annual basis and there are now fewer people here at once. But Peter and Nino prefer to be here anyway. “Why would you want to go into town?” Peter says. “Too many people!”
All this talk of lobsters is making me hungry, so the next morning I join Jay and my fellow adventurers for a fishing tour from the large tender, King Diver. Skimming through a dusky pink dawn, we arrive at pots that Jay baited yesterday. I’m transfixed as our deckhand pulls up the pots, each one containing up to 10 of the prized crustaceans.
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It’s an industry that Jay knows inside and out. He worked as a lobster fisher here until he started this business in 2003. The lobster fishery is strictly managed, but their abundance means we can easily, and legally, catch enough to keep us decadently scoffing lobsters, cooked every way possible, for lunch and dinner every day of the cruise.
Our next stop is Post Office Island, historically a drop-off point for mail for the surrounding islands. The limestone rubble island curves like a donut missing a bite, and encircles a milky, aqua lagoon.
Bizarrely, our first stop is a long-drop toilet. A now decommissioned relic of past disposal methods, it directly overhangs the ocean. Today, the pathway to this museum piece is marked by the rib bones of a long-deceased whale, and it’s surely one of the most photogenic toilets in the world.
The undisputed queen of this island is Jane Liddon. She was one of the first female lobster skippers, working alongside her dad and her pioneering aunt, Muriel Thomas, who was better known as Moo. These days Jane’s sons run the lobster business, while Jane herself cultivates black pearls.
Her home perches between the sea and lagoon and is delightfully eclectic. Incorporating corrugated iron and salvaged wood, it’s painted a cheery turquoise. In the courtyard, we sit among oceanic curios like dolphin vertebrae and sculptural chunks of coral. Jane passes around different pearl shells and describes the intricate process of pearl production, from seeding by Japanese technicians to harvest, five years later.
A visit to the jewellery ‘showroom’ (Jane’s kitchen and sunroom) always results in a few sales, thanks in part to that personal connection, she explains. “People can see the pearl farm, and they’re right here in my shack.” Sure enough, credit cards are brandished, and ears and necklines at dinner that night are decidedly more lustrous.
Despite the larger-than-life characters and the prolific wildlife, every visit to the Abrolhos involves confronting tales of death. Shipwrecks litter the reefs, and we hear stories about the Zeewijk and the Windsor. But the darkest shipwreck story of all is that of the Batavia.
The Batavia, the flagship of the Dutch East Indies fleet, sunk in the Wallabi Group in 1629. It was carrying untold riches and over 300 crew, soldiers and passengers. Around 200 survived the shipwreck, but as we learn, their living nightmare was just beginning, as they tried to avoid being murdered by brutal mutineers.
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At West Wallabi Island, we hike with naturalist guide Paul Hogger to uncover part of the Batavia story. Here we see Australia’s oldest European buildings, two simple rock forts built by the loyal soldier Wiebbe Hayes and his comrades as they repelled the mutineers. West Wallabi and neighbouring East Wallabi were named by the Dutch for their population of tammar wallabies, although today, they successfully elude me.
As I step ashore on nearby Beacon Island, it appears no different to any other island here. But almost four hundred years ago, on this speck of inhospitable rubble, around 120 Batavia survivors were murdered.
Jay leads us to one of the chilling archaeological dig sites where four bodies were found. It’s a goosebumps moment as we gaze across to Long Island, where the worst mutineers were finally hanged. From here, traumatised survivors would have clearly seen their suspended bodies, left to swing in the fierce Abrolhos winds.
Jay says one of the archaeologists told him of an astonishing find. “In the chest cavity of one of the bodies, was a white-faced storm petrel, nesting,” he says. I raise a sceptical eyebrow, but he assures me it’s true. This place is alive, even in the face of death.
On our final day, we’ll be leaving the Abrolhos by light aircraft, picked up from the dusty East Wallabi airstrip by an assortment of tiny planes. But before then, there’s time for one last snorkel.
The reef here is thriving, and while I watch a Finding Nemo-like fish the size of my fingernail dancing in his anemone, I almost bump into a squad of tiny squid. Suddenly, I’m swimming through cloudy water surrounded by miniature spheres, dots suspended in the water like red-coloured snow.
I’m puzzled, but then it dawns on me. It’s coral spawn, released on last night’s tide. Most of these baby corals will die, but the sheer volume of eggs means enough will survive to sustain these reefs.
The life force of the Abrolhos seems irrepressible.
After Dark Brisbane
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Good things take time; that’s why you’re starting early in the afternoon at Brisbane Distillery Company. While it’s tempting to pull up a seat at the bar and browse the drinks menu, you’re really here for the gin school. Enter the classroom at the rear to find test tubes, stoves and Ukrainian copper stills boiling away, and be guided as a master distiller helps you choose from more than 140 botanicals to craft your own personalised gin. Distilling does require patience and devoted research, which is why the experience includes multiple rounds of cocktails to help you better study the craft.
BRISBANE DISTILLERY COMPANY
99 Jane Street, West End
bstill.com.au
A short walk northeast brings you to the bustle of Fish Lane. This arterial laneway leads right into the city’s arts district and once serviced South Brisbane’s rough-and-tumble working-class docks. Browse luxury furniture and knick-knacks at La Casa Vita or pause to admire the vibrant street art splashed on every wall, including an enormous octopus enveloping a hot yoga studio. Bomb shelter turned boho bookshop, Paladar Fumior Salon, is the ideal place to sip a tactical mid-afternoon espresso, while beer nerds will froth Saccharomyces Beer Café (try saying that three times fast after a few pints). For a classy touch, settle in at Fish Lane’s newest addition, Southside, and enjoy a drink in the lush jungle beer garden.
FISH LANE
South Brisbane
explorefishlane.com.au
lacasavita.com.au
goodbeercentral.sbcbar.com
southside-restaurant.com.au
Hail a cab and scoot along the river’s edge to Will and Flow. The city’s newest overwater bar, dotted with dwarf palm trees and a centrepiece wood oven, brings distinct Miami vibes to the Brisbane River. Soak in the sunset while tucking into an eclectic menu that caters to the grazers and the bottomless pits. Unsurprisingly for a bar set among mangroves, the star of the show is the seafood, with a cavalcade of prawns, salmon, oysters and crabs ready for devouring. Try the scallops Saint Jacques – a dreamy collaboration of scallop, crispy prosciutto and bechamel sauce that will have you licking the shell when nobody’s looking.
WILL AND FLOW
59B Gardens Point Rd, Brisbane City
willandflow.com.au
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Catch a different side to the city from the water aboard a CityCat Ferry as you cruise north to Riverside Ferry Terminal before walking to Howard Smith Wharves, the city’s latest nightlife hotspot. Heritage-listed, but abandoned since the 1960s, the wharves have been given new life and filled to the brim with stylish eateries and moody bars. Grab a beer at sprawling Felon’s Brewing or opt for playful cocktails and oysters at pastel-hued Mr Percival’s. If you prefer to be above the water rather than on it, The Fantauzzo Hotel’s rooftop bar offers stellar views of the wharf and Story Bridge.
HOWARD SMITH WHARVES
howardsmithwharves.com
felonsbrewingco.com.au
stanleyrestaurant.com.au
mrpercivals.com.au
The Greek name Agnes means ‘pure’, and what’s purer than fire? That’s the philosophy that chef and co-owner Ben Williamson has taken to heart at this dimly-lit restaurant housed in an old brick warehouse in the Valley. Williamson eschews gas and electricity in favour of wood-fired cooking, using flame and smoke to create hearty dishes designed to share with friends, like smoked lamb neck or hay-roasted mussels. Yes, everyone is dressed in black and the lighting is spare, but don’t be fooled – underneath lies a gregarious heart, and the chatty bartenders are more than happy to show you some of the restaurant’s hidden secrets if you ask nicely.
AGNES RESTAURANT
22 Agnes Street, Fortitude Valley
agnesrestaurant.com.au
Want to imbibe a liquid burger, slurp down some zombie brains or sip from a glass stiletto? Located just off the Valley’s main drag, Viscosity is a mad lab of cocktail creations where mixology and millennial nostalgia meet in a fluorescent wonderland full of cartoon and video game references. You won’t find traditional cocktails shaken and stirred here, but instead a revolving range of creatively imagined bevs constructed using tweezers and droppers, then served in bespoke glasses. Go all in with the Slurpee shot rack.
VISCOSITY
11 Connor St, Fortitude Valley
facebook.com/visc0sity
Once you’re done with glowing test tubes, head around the corner to At Sixes and Sevens on James Street, a uniquely Queensland white-gabled cottage and public house that combines the city’s history with the casual glam of Fortitude Valley. The tiered and astro-turfed patio out front, with its festoon lights and charming tendrils of low-hanging ivy, is the place to be seen. Inside you’ll find two bars and more intimate settings for romantics or groups of friends looking for extra space while they share a jug of white peach sangria.
AT SIXES AND SEVENS
67 James St, Fortitude Valley
sixes.com.au
It’s time to burn some calories on the dance floor. Backtrack west towards Chinatown, where you’ll find a not-so-secret speakeasy waiting in Prohibition. Inspired by the glamour, bootlegging and hard liquor of the 1920s, this cavernous underground nightclub gives you the choice of four distinct sections: the speakeasy-styled Blind Tiger bar, intimate Peacock Lounge, the Main Hall for dancing up a storm and the VIP-exclusive Wall Street lounge for high rollers.
PROHIBITION BRISBANE
206 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley
prohibitionbrisbane.com.au
With your feet now hurting and all the signs pointing to a dirty hangover tomorrow, stumble down the road to Greaser Bar – perfect for a last-minute, and is perfect for a last-minute fried chicken burger and old-school arcade game while you await your Uber back to home base.
GREASER BAR
259 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley
Dublin Strikes A Perfect Balance
Since before St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland, it’s been well known that there’s no shortage of good fun to be found in Dublin.
Everyone knows about Irish pubs, and Dubliners have been strumming a fiddle over a pint for as long as anyone can remember. Centuries on, it’s still as good as ever.
Yet there’s also a new Dublin emerging, a young and fresh scene that’s keeping this ancient city moving forward.
Here’s six – of the old and the new – of the best Dublin experiences around.
New
Take the plunge
Alright we’ll admit, swimming is hardly a new activity. But braving the brisk waters of the Irish Sea has experienced a renaissance in recent years.
Forty-foot at Sandy Cove is one of the most popular spots, and while you’ll find it packed on a summer’s day, it’s even busier in the cold and wet on Christmas Day, a recent tradition that’s getting more and more popular by the year.
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Get some green
Phoenix Park is 1750 acres of green fields and gardens to be found only three kilometres from Dublin’s City Centre. It’s where the President of Ireland resides in the aptly nicknamed Irish White House, as well as the 500-year-old Ashtown Castle.
There’s also sporadic events, and it’s a great place for a walk and a breath of fresh air – you’ll likely see the resident fallow deer loping elegantly across fields of typically green grass.
Phoenix Park.
Water Adventures
Dublin isn’t famed for its water sports.
Yet down on the banks of the Grand Canal, you can strap yourself into a wetsuit and get stuck into a surprisingly large variety of watersports along Dublin’s grand old artery that runs from the west of the city, right through the middle into the mighty Irish Sea.
Kayaking, dragon-boating, stand-up paddle boarding and even wakeboarding are all epic adventures to be found here. Do these before you go to the pub.
River Liffey
Old
Trinity College & Hodges Figgis
You’d be hard pressed to find anywhere as grand as Trinity College – one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious universities that dates back to 1592. Stroll through the library’s extraordinary history and you’ll also find the original Guinness harp…as in THE Guinness harp.
Down the road you’ll find the Hodges Figgis bookstore, a fairly recent addition by comparison, having only come along in 1768. Grab a book and pretend you’re in a Sally Rooney novel.
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Go to Gaol
Penny pinchers as young as seven got thrown into Kilmainham Gaol back in the day, proving that the constabulary took no prisoners when it came to the rule of the law. Or does that mean they took plenty of prisoners?
The Gaol housed some of the most famous political and military leaders in Irish history. There’s more of a hopeful air nowadays, and it’s become an absolute must-see for visitors to Dublin – especially now and not just because you’re allowed to leave! Find out more about some of the exhibitions held at Kilmainham here.
Kilmainhaim Gaol.
Pub and pints
If you’re doing it right, a Dublin session will start with a pint next to a warm fire, and a few tall stories, which get taller and taller as the night wears on.
Soon there’ll be Guinness being passed over heads, music playing and before long you’ll be dancing a proper jig with someone with a hard to pronounce name like Aoife or Oisin, to a catchy old tune you’ve never heard but feel you’ve heard 100 times before.
Temple Bar is the famous, tried and trusted spot, but we recommend O’Donoghues a few streets over. Of course, a bit of a pub crawl is necessary to make sure you don’t miss out on anything.
“The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune.”
Bonus:
A bit of the old and a bit of the new – no trip to Dublin is complete without stopping in at The Guinness Factory at St. James’ Gate.
It’s well known that the incredible tour is an absolutely awesome way to spend an afternoon, but what you might not know is that behind a tall, sliding gate around the corner from the factory is the Open Gate Brewery.
This is where merchants of that mystic black nectar go to experiment – in other words, it’s where the magic happens.
At One With Nature in an Ancient Land
The wellness and wellbeing renaissance currently sweeping its way across the Emerald Isle shows no signs of slowing. And, much like the Irish diaspora spreading its tentacles around the world over the last couple of centuries, a greater connection with both mind and body in Ireland is accelerating exponentially as a favoured tourism trend.
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The Irish have always had a unique way of reconnecting with the earth and their environment. They’re a proud people, with an inextricable bond to the rolling green hills and torrid Atlantic coastline of their ancient Celtic land.
From coast-to-coast there are extraordinary back-to-nature experiences to be found, all of which are experiencing a revival from local operators.
There’s a new generation of travellers to Ireland favouring gentle bird calls, breathtaking views, centuries old oak-trees and storybook cottage accommodation over phone reception and Wi-Fi connection.
THERMAL BATHING
The tradition of Roman-Irish bathing actually dates back centuries and with the benefit of time and modernisation, there are newly established luxurious takes on this popular pastime.
Galgorm Resort & Spa in Northern Ireland’s Ballymena has taken the experience of thermal bathing to another level. So much that they were awarded Global Luxury Spa Hotel of The Year in 2018.
Galgorm’s acclaimed ‘Thermal Village’ is a couple’s oasis with private log fired hot tubs, indoor heated pools, steam rooms, and saunas with varying temperatures. I even dare to brave their new snow room designed to help you cool off between sessions at a brisk minus seven degrees celsius.
All of these experiences are linked by elevated timber boardwalks which lead to the heated River House centrepiece in the village which is perched gracefully over the town’s River Maine.
IN THE WEEDS
To take this experience to another level, it needs to be done as was 300-years ago.
On the beleaguered County Sligo coastline of Ireland’s famed Wild Atlantic Way is VOYA Seaweed Baths in Strandhill.
Once considered a surefire treatment to rid the pain associated with arthritis or rheumatism back in the 18th century, ancient seaweed bathing has reached new mainstream heights to help treat skin disorders like eczema and circulatory complaints.
The iodine rich plants, farmed from the ocean just outside the bathhouse itself are believed to help leach toxins from your body and improve the function of your hypothalamus as you bathe.
FINN LOUGH LUXURY ECO RESORT
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Where living life in a bubble usually has the connotation of being sheltered and disconnected from the outside world, at Finn Lough Luxury Resort in County Fermanagh, intricately designed Forest Bubble Domes allow you to be more connected to the outside than you’ve ever been before.
This is not camping or glamping. Each of the Forest Domes – complete with telescopes and constellation charts – are individually set on private allotments right on the water’s edge of the stunning Lough Erne. So private they are, they’re only accessible by a privately chauffeured golf cart from reception.
But the magic of Finn Lough doesn’t stop with their special dome accommodation. The resort’s Elements Trail is a magical solo stroll in a bathrobe through a wooded forest – best taken at dusk to the sound of bird calls – around five scandinavian-inspired huts. Each hut is specially designed for a sensory altering 20 minutes of bliss and are tantalisingly linked by very little light — just the faint orange glow through heavy glass doors.
Start in their epsom salts Float Shed, before this choose-your-own-adventure spa experience has you blissfully meandering between a lakeside sauna, an aromatherapy room, a private hot tub and a relaxation den.
IRELAND’S 19TH HOLE
The Irish love the end of a big golfing day as much as they love playing the sport itself. Whether it’s beenEagles or Bogies, the “19th Hole” is a time honoured tradition in Ireland of relaxing in a great pub or clubhouse after a magic 18 holes with your mates.
Whether you’re at Royal Portrush, Ballyliffin or Enniscrone Golf Club (some of the greatest courses in the world) the Guinness tastes the same and it’s during this post game tradition where plans are made and myths of physical prowess are born.
At the famous Galgorm Castle Golf Club, the favourite has to be the 16th hole which dog legs sharply over a fierce water trap. Like the rest of the course, the fairway is like a painting, flanked by huge oak trees, rolling green hills, hairy Irish cows and Galgorm’s Castle turrets off in the distance.
Saunter up to Galgorm’s refurbished clubhouse at the end of your round and whatever the weather, you’re sure to finish your time at the 19th hole warm – be it from the fire, the ales or from that traditional Irish welcome, much akin to a warm hug.
Make par and the bar.
Northern Ireland: A Journey Through The Ages; For All Ages
From the thriving cosmopolitan corners of Belfast, to historic Derry-Londonderry and the extraordinary landscapes in between and surrounding, Northern Ireland is an extraordinary place with an undeniable spirit.
The cities punch well above their weight from both a historic and cultural perspective and like a delicious cocktail, County Antrim and the wider region is the perfect sum of all its parts. The best part? Proximity and the short driving distances mean that tourists can taste just about everything during a short visit.
There are epic road trips right along the Causeway Coastal Route, some of the best golfing opportunities on the planet, the chance to sit in cosy old pubs once frequented by literary greats of the 19th century and Michelin star restaurants in the heart of a thriving metropolis.
Belfast: A Titanic City
Titanica, at Titanic Belfast.
With its Victorian-era charm melded with a modern, young and creative population, the city of Belfast is the perfect launching point for a visit to the region. There are four Michelin star restaurants within the city and the new Santeria is a brand new whiskey-cum-cocktail bar on Fountain Street attracting some of the hippest cats in town.
And whilst it might seem macabre at first, you must steal yourself to listen and absorb the heartbreaking tales of passengers aboard the Titanic that departed the city in 1912. You can’t come to the city without visiting Titanic Belfast, this interactive museum is the perfect ode to the ill-fated Ship of Dreams
Walk on Water
The Gobbins Cliff Walk is your next step along the coast and it’s a true journey through time. Clinging like steel matchsticks to the basalt cliffs of the Islandmagee peninsula for over one hundred years, you can walk your way across the series of bridges and stairways which etched into the rock. Almost instantly you’ll understand the inextricable connection that the Irish have to the wild Atlantic ocean. Close your eyes and remember to breathe in the sea mist.
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A Legendary Island
Legend has it that the famous Robert the Bruce actually took refuge on Northern Ireland’s only offshore inhabited island, Rathlin, following repeated defeats of his army from the English. It was here that the story of Robert and the Spider was born. It is said that the famed King of Scots had been hiding in a cave on the island when he noticed a small spider attempting to weave a web. The spider tried and failed over and over. Finally, it managed to spin a web and he saw himself reflected in the triumph. With a current population of around 140 people, Rathlin is also home to seals, hares, puffins and razorbills.
Day Out with the Derry Girls
Derry-Londonderry has well and truly worked its way into the modern cultural zeitgeist with the award-winning show Derry Girls. Enjoy an afternoon strolling the streets with a guide to explore different filming locations from the first two seasons, trivia, anecdotes and more. Derry girls is set in the city in the early to mid-90s, well after the historic 17th century walls that surround the city were built, which ensure you are – literally – surrounded by history everywhere you go.
Derry City.
Whiskey with a view
Ireland’s oldest working distillery sits along the coastal route and for anyone that reads get lost travel magazine frequently will know we’re purveyors of a good whiskey. The Old Bushmills Distillery has been in operation since 1608 (that’s really old!) and the company’s distinctive single malt whiskey is still produced here today. If you’re not keen on a regular tour of the historica copper pot stills, why not try a full afternoon of whiskey tasting instead?
The Old Bushmills Distillery.
Hot 5 Balloon Rides
Namib Desert, Namibia
Arid scrubland, dramatic dunes, otherworldly expanses of red sand and mountainous outcrops are all part of the Namib Desert – the world’s oldest. Operating for more than 25 years, Namib Sky Balloon Safaris is a family-run business helping intrepid visitors see regions of the Namib-Naukluft National Park that are otherwise off-limits to the public. Flights leave at the crack of dawn, so you’re high in the sky as the sun’s first rays illuminate the ochre dunes. After an hour of drifting with the wind, the experienced pilots bring you back to the ground for a sumptuous champagne breakfast. In stark contrast to the scorched surroundings, the decadent buffet of cured meats, cheeses and fresh fruit is set on a crisp tablecloth. A one-hour flight with Namib Sky Balloon Safaris costs about AU$585.
balloon-safaris.com
Aosta Valley, Italy
Next-door neighbour to Switzerland and France, the rugged Aosta Valley is the most sparsely populated of all of Italy’s regions. Here, instead, Mother Nature reigns supreme. Strewn with ragged mountains, silver fir trees and vistas largely unblemished by humans, this Alpine landscape is a veritable playground for cool climate fans. To get better acquainted with Europe’s highest peaks, including Mont Blanc among others, take to the skies. With more than 30 years’ experience under their belts, the team at Charbonnier Mongolfiere will expertly glide you past these famed pinnacles. Keep your eyes peeled for the valley’s wildlife as you rise and descend, but when you’re up high it’s just you, your basket and the mountains. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these balloons soar higher than any other on the continent, reaching between 1800 and 3050 metres. A one-hour ride with Charbonnier Mongolfiere starts at AU$277.
mongolfiere.it
Melbourne, Australia
There aren’t many major cities in the world that you can survey from a hot air balloon. Luckily, Melbourne is an exception, and jaunts with award-winning Global Ballooning Australia take you over the world’s most liveable city. The company encourages guests to get involved in everything balloon-related (from inflation to deflation), as well as providing in-flight commentary. Prepare to see Melbourne’s icons from a whole new perspective. Float above the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, admire the green lung that is the Royal Botanic Gardens, spot the towering spire of the Arts Centre and follow the Yarra River that snakes into the heart of the CBD, from where you can see all the way to Port Phillip Bay. The balloon will rise before the sun, offering views of skyscrapers twinkling in the dark as the city awakens. Flights are carbon neutral and a one-hour trip costs AU$440, or $470 with a champagne breakfast.
globalballooning.com.au
Alajuela, Costa Rica
Existing in droves, canopy walks on hanging bridges are one of the more vanilla ways to spy on Costa Rica’s resident flora and fauna. For something a little more exceptional, fire up the burners and set sail over the cloud forest canopy on one of Serendipity Adventures’ scenic flights. The operator’s launch site is located close to the mighty Arenal Volcano, which is notorious for hiding its crest above a blanket of clouds. By balloon you’ll see parts of this active behemoth that remain out of view for many visitors. The real drawcard, however, is the opportunity to cast your eyes over the country’s rich landscapes – some of the most biodiverse on the planet. You’ll fly low over small rivers, vast fields and steaming forests that bristle with monkeys, iguanas and all kinds of feathered friends. A one-hour flight with Serendipity Adventures Costa Rica leads in from around AU$513.
serendipityadventures.com
Pushkar, India
Known as the Rose Garden of Rajasthan, Pushkar is one of the most sacred sites for devout Hindus in India, and one of the country’s oldest cities. The best time to visit is during the annual Pushkar Fair, a congregation of almost half a million pilgrims and merchants with tens of thousands of bejewelled camels in tow. While cultural performances, camel beauty contests and cattle races thrum on the ground hot air balloons take to the sky. Venture 365 metres into the air at sunrise to gaze over the ships of the desert crawling across the ground like ants returning to a nest. From the basket you’ll get an eyeful of the city’s holy lake and Hindu devotees perched on stone ghats (steps) leading down to the water. Countless temples speckle the land, but none more prominently than the famous Brahma Temple, dedicated to the creator of the universe, Lord Brahma. As the sun spills golden light across Pushkar the experience is almost spiritual. A one-hour balloon trip with Adventure Nation starts at AU$235.
adventurenation.com
Kinda Touristy but Seriously Awesome
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Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok has so many opportunities for visitors to see a whole variety of attractions. Some of these offer a great insight into the Kingdom’s rich culture and Thai traditions, while others provide a glimpse into the seedier side of humanity. We recommend avoiding the popular ping-pong balls and instead head to one of Bangkok’s more salubrious tourist attractions, Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha).
Located in the Phra Nakhon District, Wat Pho is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. It’s one the oldest and largest temples in the city and the star attraction is the Reclining Buddha. This majestic monument is the largest in Thailand, measuring more than 45-metres in length.
Walking through the temples and gardens of Wat Pho you’ll be able to gain a greater appreciation of Thailand through the rich tapestry of art, culture and history on show. Along with the famous Reclining Buddha, it features 394 other Buddha statues which are spread out between four temples.
If that’s not enough to shoot this place straight to the top of your must-visit list, in addition to being a place of worship, Wat Pho is also an education centre that focuses on traditional medicine. You’re guaranteed one of the best Thai massages in the city here.
We recommend visiting early to avoid crowds, dressing respectfully, engaging a knowledgeable guide who can share further details and, most importantly, bringing a wide angle lens if you have one. Price of admission is only AU$5 and that includes a bottle of water.
tourismthailand.org
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Schilthorn, Switzerland
Does a James Bond-themed revolving restaurant at a height of almost 3,000 metres float your boat? It may sound a little touristy, but located atop the stunning mountain of Schilthorn, this interactive 007 experience – which houses both a museum and cinema – is far from naff.
You’ll start with a one-hour gondola trip through the picturesque Lauterbrunnen Valley and Bernese Alps. The summit was the location for the sixt film in the Bond franchise, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It’s fair to editorialise and say that this installment wasn’t one of the better films in the series, but it also happened to feature the Australian model George Lazenby. With no acting credits to his name, George was chosen as the replacement for Sean Connery.
Both the Skyline Walk and Thrill Walk offer guests an adrenaline-inducing experience on a glass platform that dangles high above a precipice, providing a panoramic view of the snow-covered Jungfrau massif.
Spectacular views of the Eiger and Mönch also await and you can follow in James Bond’s footsteps at the interactive Bond World exhibition or the 007 Walk of Fame. Highlights include gazing upon the original screenplay, enjoying a simulator flight in the original chassis of a decommissioned Air Glaciers Alouette III helicopter and creating your own Bond chase montage in a bobsleigh.
So do you need to be a James Bond fan to enjoy this experience?
It certainly helps, but the Schilthorn is such an incredible location in itself that it wouldn’t really matter what the exhibits were.
So grab yourself a martini, (shaked, not stirred, of course), from the revolving restaurant, and if you’re visiting in winter you can really get into character by strapping on your skis and tackling the black run from the movie while pretending to outrun the baddies.
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Sydney, Australia
It’s one of the most iconic bridges in the world, overlooking one of the most recognisable and picturesque harbours in the world. Should you bite the bullet and climb the Coathanger for an eagle’s view? We say, absolutely.
Traversing the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge is a must, and climbs are available from dawn until dusk.
While it can be quite challenging to climb you don’t have to be a trained mountaineer to get to the top and you’ll be assisted every step of the way. And as you take in the extraordinary views you’ll be plied with interesting facts about the bridge by a laconic Aussie guide with a decent sense of humour and pathos.
There are several climbs available that range in time lengths, but all offer fantastic vantage points for looking out over gorgeous locations such as Milson’s Point, Lavender Bay, McMahons Point, Luna Park, the North Sydney Olympic Pool and Kirribilli.
If the view from the top is always different, what’s the opportune time to climb? Dawn would be our choice, but there are limited departures so book well in advance.
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Dublin, Ireland
It’s the official drink of Irish people right across the world, and even if you aren’t a fan of Guinness, chances are someone you know is.
But does the idea of spending an entire afternoon in a seven-storey visitor centre dedicated to the dark drop tickle your tastebuds? We know that sounds like a long stretch for any museum, even one filled with beer. However, we can assure you that even if you don’t love the rich, malty good stuff, you’ll still enjoy a visit to the Storehouse.
Located at Dublin’s St James Gate Brewery, the Storehouse is a shrine to all things Guinness. Think interactive exhibits, old brewing equipment and an incredible collection of artefacts, historical records and ad campaigns. You can even learn the fine art of pouring the perfect pint. According to the master brewers, to produce the perfect ratio of the dark liquid draught and cream-coloured head it takes exactly 119.53 seconds for the beer to settle between the first and second pours. So if your bartender serves up a pint with a huge head of foam, it just isn’t a proper Guinness.
Finish your tour in the Gravity Bar where you’ll be treated to panoramic views over the city while enjoying a complimentary, perfectly poured, Dublin-brewed Guinness.
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San Francisco, USA
When visiting San Francisco one of the most touristy activities you can do is jump on a cable car and ride it right down to the harbour, where you’ll look across to the now shuttered penitentiary of Alcatraz.
To visit or not to visit?
We say no trip to Frisco is complete without venturing across the bay to Alcatraz, and whatever hype you’ve heard about it being a tourist trap should be taken with a grain of salt. The Alcatraz tour offers a riveting and fascinating insight into one of the world’s most notorious jails.
Starting from the ferry ride to the island you’ll take in some stunning views of the city including both the Bay and Golden Gate bridges. Upon arrival it’s pretty clear you’ll get unparalleled access to the site and can pretty much explore as you wish without a single velvet rope in sight.
While wandering around the prison you’ll sense an eerie melancholy and hear stories about infamous inmates such as Al Capone, The Birdman of Alcatraz and Machine Gun Kelly. You’ll also learn about the 1969 Native Occupation of Alcatraz. Your journey is narrated by ex-guards or prisoners, and the chequered history will genuinely make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. For a truly immersive experience, you can also be locked up in one of the cells to get that nasty, claustrophobic feeling of incarceration.
Those looking for a fright are encouraged to take the night tour which is not for the faint of heart.
The verdict? Yes, Alcatraz is a major tourist attraction, but you will get a massive return-on-investment with this one.
48 reasons to travel
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BLOW THE BUDGET
Because if we could spend every cent on travel, we probably would.
The Mayans thought a total solar eclipse meant the end of the world was coming, but we all know that basically happened when we had to stop travelling last year. This rare, solar occurrence will next happen over Antarctica on 4 December around the South Orkney Islands. Hurtigruten is offering front-row seats to the spectacle – alongside astronomers and photographers – as part of their 23-day expedition at AU$22,250pp. Lock it in because it will be another 400 years before it happens here again.
Narwhals are nature’s reminder that it still has some surprises up its sleeve. On this Arctic safari to the sea melts of Nunavut, you’ll be able to seek and find the elusive tusked whale, potentially in a pod of hundreds. If you’re game, the trip also offers glacial snorkelling. Get the cheque book ready, because eight days up in northern Canada looking for the mythical Narwhal will set you back AU$23,335pp.
COVID-19 brought us closer to the apocalypse than we’ve ever been before, which has led to a serious rethink of life choices for lots of us. For example, the chance to combine every snowboarding dream we’ve ever had in a single trip now ranks right up there. The Powder Triangle Snowboard Safari in Canada is an off-piste rider’s dream, with guided stops (and personal coaching) in Fernie, Revelstoke, Red Mountain and Kicking Horse. This one is AU$7,100pp, but you do cover some serious ground over two weeks.
In Corona times it’s probably not unusual for some of us to have spent an entire two weeks in bed, but when John Lennon and Yoko Ono did it at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal (in the name of world peace) it was big news. Stage your own version of a ‘Bed-In-For-Peace’ in the newly refurbished Suite 1742 for a cool AU$3,050pn.
The Akagera National Park in Rwanda has a healthy lion population after an intense reintroduction program in 2015. We think a lion’s roar is also guaranteed to sound better through a thin sheet of canvas. At the luxurious Magashi Camp, six individual African safari tents sit effortlessly on the edge of Lake Rwanyakazinga and the main communal areas come complete with a pool, viewing deck, open bar and fire pit. A week of glamping at Magashi is not outrageous, but after what you’ll need to shell out to get here you’ll want to spend at least a week. That’s when it gets pricey. From AU$1,000pp/pn.
Ever wanted to sleep at a latitude of 90 degrees south? What about camping when it’s minus 60 degrees Celsius outside? To be honest, we’d not given it much thought either until we found out you can do both in style, for just one evening. This epic adventure does give you six full days in Antarctica but only one at the South Pole, and includes a special visit to the Amundsen-Scott Research Station. Definitely worth it at AU$70,600pp.
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Take us back
These iconic spots have already been through plagues and world wars. When they bounce back this time, we’ll be ready.
Drinking cocktails in a tiny hidden bar in the Marais district gets us excited in all the right places. Is there anywhere more romantic for us to visit when this is all over? We recommend your first stop be the hidden Candeleria. It’s a very French speakeasy tucked behind an unmarked door of a very not-so French taqueria.
Everyone loves a New York City rooftop and drinking on one in the Big Apple is just as ubiquitous as munching on a dirty-water dog when you’re in Midtown. We can’t wait to try the new rooftop at the Box House Hotel in Brooklyn, which offers almost 1,000 square metres of panoramic views over Manhattan’s skyline and the East River.
There are pubs in this world and then there are London pubs. They number in their thousands in this historical city, and the euphoria that one gets from an afternoon of sipping a brown ale on a cobblestoned corner is unmatched. Take us back to the Churchill Arms, a pub where a love of the great wartime prime minister is as colourful as the flowers dripping from its famous facade.
With a population of nearly 20-million, from the minute you step off the plane, Mumbai slaps you in the face like a hard wake up call. With 20,000 people crammed into every square kilometre — many of which are in slums — we still miss the freneticism of this city, the assault on the senses and the persistent smell of body odour mixed with fish curry. Take us back to a city that reminds us we are still alive.
Days in the Andalusían city of Seville start slowly. Lunch is at 3pm and dinner won’t be until after 10pm. But that’s fine by us because eating out here is a progressive experience of tapas and cerveza best enjoyed at a few different places, so you can drink in the city’s famous nightlife. We’re dreaming of a time when social distancing was rude and we could rub our sweaty shoulders with a Sevilliano at Bodega Santa Cruz.
facebook.com/bodegasantacruzsevilla
There are two religions in our favourite South American metropolis of Buenos Aires, Catholicism and beef. You can’t get a bad steak anywhere in this city which is why we’re itching for those famous late-night, Latin American meat sweats.
There’s a queue of Aussies at the door (us included!) waiting to get to the South Pacific once the bubble opens, but what we’re most excited about getting back to is swimming with humpback whales in Tonga. On this new eight-day eco-tour on the island of Uoleva, you’ll have your own beachfront fale, access to kayaks and daily dips with an underwater giant.
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Test the taste buds
Whether it’s raw, still moving or just the best curry on the planet, it all tastes like travel to us.
It’s no wonder that wine is so intertwined with life in Georgia, as they’ve been making it here for at least 8,000 years. Vino Underground in Tbilisi is an intimate and dimly-lit brick-lined cellar filled with the best natural wines from top artisan winemakers around the country.
Usually we prefer our food cooked. If it’s not cooked – for example sushi – we prefer it doesn’t wriggle or move. Sannakji is a raw Korean octopus dish most famous for being served while still moving. Technically it’s dead, but the excess nerve energy keeps the tentacles wriggling around your lips as you slurp it down.
It’s hard not to have a good time eating cooked meat sticks and drinking creamy-topped Asahi off a tap in Tokyo. Saddle up next to a drunk salaryman at Dry Dock in the neighbourhood of Shinbashi, where all of the drinking holes are quite literally stuffed under the arches of criss-crossed train bridges.
It won’t shock you to hear that even Vladimir Putin has had a beer at Zhiguli Bar. Popular among Muscovites, it is everything you would expect from a drinking den that harks back to the Soviet Union. There’s a room for rich men and a dining hall for the working-class folk who arrive with their hammer and sickle.
Craving empanadas? You'll find the tastiest at Empanadas Carmelita, in Mexico.
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Cheese made in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca is unrivalled. It is the protagonist of just about every Mexican meal, including the empanada. And the best empanada can be found at a place called Empanadas Carmelita, which you’ll need to hunt for in San Antonino Castillo Velasco on the southern outskirts of Oaxaca City.
We’ve had good grilled meat in Texas, but nothing compares to Khan’s Barbeque in Arusha, Tanzania. This unique barbecue joint in the country’s second largest city draws travellers from all over Africa. Mechanic by day, makeshift restaurant by night, juicy African chicken and beef is cooked on several open fires, some of which are set in the engine blocks of discarded cars.
Both nutritious and intoxicating, this delicacy known as ‘Mad Honey’ is found in mountainous areas around the world, but most famously in Nepal. It’s collected by brave apiarists who cling to the side of cliffs to harvest this psychedelic sweet stuff. The honey is made by bees that feed on the rhododendron flower which contains a natural toxin that can bring on hallucinations. Be careful, too much can be dangerous.
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The journey
Sometimes it’s the journey that reminds us what we’ve missed.
Leave trekkers in their tracks and jump on a classic Royal Enfield for a cross-country motorcycle tour through some of Nepal’s most breathtaking Himalayan scenery.
Thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail is tough going and while thousands attempt the 3,500-kilometre journey, only about one-in-four make it all the way. The ‘A.T.’ snakes its way from Maine all the way down to Georgia.
appalachiantrail.org
The Trans-Manchurian doesn’t get as much press as the more popular Trans-Siberian rail journey, but this trip actually skips Mongolia and runs to Beijing via the northern-Chinese city of Harbin. The mountain scenery along this less touristy route is breathtaking.
Cross the Bering Sea from Katmai in Alaska to Kamchatka in Russia on a working expedition ship. Join a Lindblad National Geographic Expedition on a 22-day journey where you’ll witness smoking volcanoes along the Pacific Ring of Fire and also get up close to walrus.
nationalgeographic.com/expeditions
Let’s face it, New Zealand is likely to be the first country most of us can visit when this nightmare with no travel is all over. A three-day rafting journey on the Rangitikei River will be high on our list with grade-five white water, huge canyons and stunning North Island scenery.
The ancient city of Bukhara – now in modern Uzbekistan – was once the collision point of expanding cultures from the East and West. A key trading stop along the famous Silk Road, the city came under siege from Genghis Khan in 1220 AD, when he ravaged the local population and buildings for 15 days. Very little survived the Khan’s fury except for the Kalon Minaret. Built in 1121 AD, it is alleged that when the great Khan saw it he was so taken by its beauty that he ordered it be spared while the rest of the city was destroyed around it.
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Shock the system
The only way to travel is in the direction of our fears.
There are only a few spots in Japan where ‘Juhyo’ – more commonly referred to as ‘snow monsters’ – are as accessible as they are in Zao Onsen in Yamagata Prefecture. These ice-covered trees at the summit of this hidden ski resort in northern Honshu can be reached by a gondola and are at their most menacing when lit up at night.
We love it when a tour company tells us to “go-big-or-go-home”. The Go Big Namibia self-drive safari takes you through two of the country’s ancient deserts, the Kalahari and the Namib. It’s the perfect option for first-time thrill seekers visiting Africa. Across 13-days you’ll tackle Fish River Canyon, the coastal town of Swakopmund and Etosha National Park.
Strap yourself in with this one, quite literally. But first you’ll have to put on a wingsuit because this new bungee experience in the Japanese city of Gifu is so high (at 215 metres) you have enough time to fly like a bird before the slack of your tether rips you back to reality.
Canyoning is one of those adventure experiences you decide to leap into when you realise life is no longer a rehearsal. Behana Canyon is an adrenaline junkie’s paradise where experienced guides from Cairns Canyoning will take you to a gorge filled with waterfalls where you can abseil, cliff jump, slide and swim your way to the bottom.
The Mongolian Steppe is silent and treeless, and traversing this eerily vast land is best done on horseback. The Huns and Genghis Khan were among the first to establish this proud equine tradition, which continues today like a cultural transportation time capsule for adventurous tourists. Sleep on the Steppe in a traditional yurt with nomadic families caring for their herds.
The massive cavernous Cave of Swallows in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is so large that it would completely swallow Melbourne’s Eureka Tower. At a height of 370 metres to the bottom, crazy daredevils come from around the world to use it for base jumping, abseiling and rock climbing. Tours now run to the edge of the cave, where you can peer into the bird-filled abyss. The spot was made famous by the 2011 film, Sanctum, which was stacked with some of our favourite Aussie actors including Richard Roxburgh.
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Party again
We like to party. We like, we like to party.
Drop a pin on most French, Spanish or Italian islands in the central Mediterranean and there’s a good chance they’ll be holding a secret beach party. Calvi on the Rocks is the festival of choice for the Parisian-chic crowd. The flavour here on the island of Corsica is bikinis, sunglasses, beach shacks and dancing for hours in turquoise-coloured waves.
Hot Mediterranean nights, an endless coastline and a mix of locals and international visitors has made Tel Aviv a party capital. It also helps that Israeli’s have a much more relaxed attitude to alcohol consumption than their other Arab neighbours. Not to mention a population that was vaccinated against COVID-19 quicker than anywhere else in the world.
European festivals always draw the biggest names, and with the pandemic putting a stop to most big gigs last year, there’s a pent-up demand from both stars and punters. Mad Cool Madrid is a Spanish rock, indie and pop festival held each summer and will this year feature The Killers, Cardi B, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Deftones.
It might be small, but Reykjavik is mighty when it comes to late-night drinking and hedonism. Every venue – most of which are on Laugavegur Street – are within walking distance. Be sure to dress to impress, as Icelanders like to look fancy and the city is small so the bars and clubs can be picky about who they let in.
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Make a difference
Because what is better than travelling? Helping the world.
When we can go, we’re going to look for destinations where we can really get away from other people. Not just because the pandemic has us spooked, but because places like Greenland are undertouristed gems with very few footprints. During its last two August peak seasons (2018 and 2019), there were just 17,000 international visitors. Compare this to Iceland, which had a little over two million.
Ever had a hankering to help those in need? A dream of being a real-life superhero? You can do both on the Costa Rica Superheroes Volunteer trip, where you’ll help out in the mountainous region of Alajuela in San Ramon. You’ll be making a sustainable impact on the lives of local children by assisting in a classroom or daycare centre and contributing to community outreach projects. In your downtime you can explore the Costa Rican rainforests and beaches, and hang with the locals.
For Jenny Adams of Kiah Wilderness Kayak Tours in Eden, on the NSW Sapphire Coast, 2020 was a year to forget. First came the bushfires that nearly destroyed all her equipment, followed by a pandemic that brought a full year of cancelled bookings. Jenny runs incredible sunrise, full-day and family-friendly kayaking adventures.
Maatsuyker Island is the southernmost island group on the Australian continental shelf. You can apply to live here for six months (with no other human contact) as part of the island’s unique caretaker program.
The Nkyinkyim installation is a thought-provoking art project by Ghanian artist and social activist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo. Located in a field in Nuhalenya Ada, a town outside the Ghanian capital of Accra, it features thousands of concrete heads in the ground that aim to bring awareness to 400 years of enslavement and human trafficking in West Africa.
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Reset and recharge
After a difficult year, we all deserve some time to fill our cups.
Those Italians sure knew how to live their best lives back in the 15th century. The jaw-droppingly gorgeous Villa Mangiacane is set among the rolling green hills and bountiful vines of the Tuscan winemaking region of Chianti. This 10-bedroom, eight-bathroom palazzo – complete with a pool, sauna and steam bath, sculpture garden and views of the Duomo in Florence – is like a Renaissance painting come to life. Bellissima!
Master the ancient art of Shaolin Kung Fu with an intensive, full-time course at Taizu Shaolin Kung Fu International School in Handan, China. Under the watchful eye of actual Shaolin monks you’ll complete personalised, one-on-one training focusing on your core, flexibility, agility and explosive strength, while also practicing meditation techniques, starting every day with a Tai Chi class and nourishing your body with wholesome, organic food.
There’s luxury, then there’s this: the new overwater villas at Soneva Jani in the Maldives. Part of the Chapter Two expansion of the resort, the villas are accessible via a long, winding boardwalk and range from one-bedroom bungalows to four-bedroom mansions – which are among the largest of their kind in the world. All feature insanely cool things like a water slide, gym and outdoor bathroom, but the best part is getting to experience Soneva Unlimited – an indulgent offering that allows guests to experience every facet of the resort (think dining options, spa treatments and the personal butler service) within the price of the villa.
You know a beach is going to be secluded when the only way to access it is with your surfboard strapped to the top of a tuk tuk. Gurubebila is just outside the heaving surf village of Weligama in Sri Lanka, yet this local’s spot lacks the annoying and usual tourist fanfare. Lion’s Rest is the only upscale digs here, while the rest of the accommodation and restaurants are modest and right on the beach. On Wednesday evenings join in on a local cricket match, dodge cows between the wickets and watch the sunset behind a field of palm trees and the Indian Ocean.
Introducing the newest buzz word (sorry, we had to) to hit the travel scene: apitourism. Originating in Slovenia, it’s all about showcasing bee-based adventures, supporting local beekeepers and highlighting the crucial role bees play within nature. In Kozjak, you can even spend the night in a domestic apiary. Doze off to the sound of thousands of buzzing bees, treat yourself to a honey massage or try beehive aerosol inhalation – a therapy that involves breathing in air directly from the apiary through a mask. Apparently it boosts the immune system, reduces stress and helps treat respiratory illnesses. Unbeelievable, right?
After the year we’ve all had, running away to live in the wilds of some far-flung destination without any contact from the outside world actually sounds pretty appealing. So why not get a taste of life off the grid with a stay at Awasi Patagonia. Situated on the very edge of Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, it’s home to just 14 uber-private cabins and one main lodge, and days are spent exploring the mountains, lakes and forests as you please, or soaking in your very own hot tub and cosying up by the fire. Iso never looked so good.
If you’re the type of person who freaks out if a teeny bit of seaweed touches you in the ocean, then this probably isn’t for you. Everyone else, strip down and prepare for a very special kind of bath. At Voya Seaweed Baths, located in the picturesque coastal town of Strandhill, in Ireland’s County Sligo, the signature treatment is – you guessed it – a luxurious, steaming bath of wild, organic seaweed and fresh seawater. It’s an age-old tradition that can improve the suppleness and elasticity of the skin, promote healing and increase circulation. A bathing sesh lasts 50 minutes, and all seaweed is hand-harvested from the pristine Atlantic Coast.
16 Off the Grid Trips You Must Try
Head for higher ground
If you’ve hiked through Corsica’s Ospedale Forest you may have spotted an odd sight on the cliffs. Suspended on the side of the ridge are three cocoon-like structures and a giant snow globe.
Or at least that’s what it looks like from a distance. Get closer and you’ll discover those hanging bubbles and translucent dome are designed to house humans. This is Cocoon Village. No electricity and no running water means these unique accommodations aren’t considered extravagant, although a solar shower and lights are appreciated additions. Although who needs light when you’ve got the moon and stars to illuminate your stay?
The cocoons are accessed by navigating a swinging wooden plank, and they dangle more than 10 metres above the forest floor, so this isn’t a great option if you suffer from acrophobia. Once you make it inside, a basic yet comfortable set-up awaits. There’s a double bed, linen and towels, which is all you need really, considering you’ll likely spend most of your time gawking at the view of the Gulf of Porto-Vecchio and Sardinia in the distance.
When you’re done with the vistas, hike the trails through lush Ospedale. Or you can simply embrace your aerial sanctuary and settle in on your private terrace. It’s the ideal spot to knock back a bottle of Corsican wine and bask in the peace and quiet that comes with being so far removed from the modern world.
You could be forgiven for equating scuba diving in the Philippines with endless tropical fish and perhaps a whale shark or two. When you strap on a tank to explore Coron’s Barracuda Lake, however, you are plunging into very different surroundings. The lake was formed by a sinkhole and, both above and below the surface, the limestone cliffs are stunning. But for divers, the unique aspect of this particular lake is invisible; because it has layered fresh and saltwater (an underground river links it to the ocean) it’s subject to thermoclines and haloclines. The top freshwater layer is about 28ºC, but that changes at about 14 metres when the temperature rises to about 39ºC and the water becomes saline. So stark is the difference between the two types of water you can actually see where it changes (that’s the halocline). At the bottom, about 35 metres down, there’s deep silky silt into which, should you be an advanced diver and feel the need, you can plunge. There’s also the opening to a cave where the resident barracuda the lake is named for is said to lurk. Most of the dive operations in the area will offer a dip into Barracuda Lake as part of a package that also includes trips to World War II wrecks off the coast.
If you’re not a diver though, find yourself a guide with a boat to take you to this stunning location. You’ll definitely want to spend some time swimming and snorkelling in the crystal clear water and marvelling at the underwater cliffs and karst formations. The boardwalk and swimming area does become crowded mid-morning, so either organise to head out really early or go after lunch when most of the tour groups have moved on.
If you want to get away from all that, consider a three-night trip with Big Dream Boatman (bigdreamboatmancoron.com). Krish and Oli started the company to create socially responsible trips that give back to local communities. There’s no real itinerary, but know that you’ll get to see the best of the Calamian Islands, including Barracuda Lake, while sailing on a traditional banka boat during the day. At night, you come ashore and stay in either simple huts or tents by the ocean.
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Chances are none of your adventurous mates will have done this. Lake Baikal, north of the Mongolian border, is a long way from just about everywhere. In winter it freezes over completely, and that’s when you can explore it to your heart’s content. BaikalNature (baikalnature.com) offers a guided seven-day Grand Crossing of Lake Baikal exploring this huge expanse that stretches almost 80 kilometres from east bank to west at its widest point. The tour explores towns in the region and the spectacular wilderness of this part of the world, but the part most participants become excited about is time spent on the ice. You’ll drag your own personal sled for the seven-hour trek to the camp in the geographic centre of the lake before making that your home for a couple of nights. Day four is free and most people elect to get up early to take photos then spend the rest of the day playing ice hockey, ice skating, getting into the bania (bath) cut into the ice or relaxing at the Ice Bar with a measure of Russia’s finest. While out in the middle of the lake, where the water beneath the frozen layer is 1,500 metres deep, you’ll stay in heated tents to keep the chill – the tours run in February and March when temperatures hover well below freezing – at bay. That vodka helps, too.
Look, no one loves exploring a watery destination by canoe or with a snorkel
more than us, but when it comes to the vast expanse of Loch Lomond, the largest inland stretch of water in Britain, it’s best to get up high. All the better for seeing some of the 30 small islands that dot its surface. Some do it the hard way by hiking up Ben Lomond armed with binoculars. On a clear day, though, why not take a flight in a Cessna 208 Caravan. The flying machines of Loch Lomond Seaplanes (lochlomondseaplanes.com) take off from Cameron House Hotel near Balloch in southern Scotland before flying at a height of between 500 and 3,000 feet over a number of lochs – Long, Fyne and Striven, as well as Lomond – tiny villages, Rothesay Castle, the highlands and quite a few islands. You’ll finally splash down 30 minutes later back where you started.
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Forgive us for the folly, but this could be one of the most romantic places on Earth. Set near Srinagar, one of the world’s oldest tourist destinations and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, Dal Lake is flanked by the snow-capped Pir Panjal mountain range and its shores are lined with lavishly carved and decorated houseboats serviced by flower-strewn, gondola-like boats called shikaras. Kashmir was one of the few parts of the country where English colonisers couldn’t buy land, so to get around the rules and escape the summer heat they built flotillas of floating holiday homes that remain tethered to the shoreline. In 1966, Ravi Shankar brought George Harrison to one of the houseboats where he taught the Beatle how to play the sitar. The boats all but rotted away in later decades, but the area saw something of a renaissance early this century and many of them, along with the extravagant lakeside hotels, were restored.
Now, visitors take a room on a houseboat – many are a riot of colour and textures, although the standards do vary dramatically – as their base and, like George and Ravi, spend their days taking languid rides on shikaras to floating markets, islands and Srinagar. In the city, visit carpet makers and wood carvers in workshops, stroll around exquisite Mughal gardens and sip namkeen chai, made using local green tea, almonds, pistachios, cardamom, salt and baking soda, which gives it a pink colour.
Of course, there’d be some who would tell you that Kashmir, something of a flashpoint for hostilities between India and Pakistan, is not the safest of holiday destinations (including our very own DFAT). Local tourists are heading back there in numbers though, so if you fancy visiting check the situation on the reg and don’t do anything stupid.
It’s the deepest lake in North America and you better believe there are plenty of fish swimming below the surface. In fact, the human population in the Northwest Territories is so sparse, species like arctic grayling, northern pike and lake trout thrive in Great Slave Lake. Flying to Yellowknife (population 20,000) to test your luck with rod and reel is popular during the summer, but why not go when the temperatures drop? In winter, the lake freezes over forming a good, thick layer of ice and turning houseboats to cabins. This is the time to try your hand at cutting a hole in the crust and dropping in a line. Some people choose to dangle outside; others fish from inside a heated tent or cabin. There are a number of operators like Great Slave Lake Tours (nwtfishingtours.com), which operates across the lake from Yellowknife at Hay River, that can organise day trips or overnight ice-fishing excursions. The other option is to book a stay in one of those houseboat/cabins (search Yellowknife houseboat rental). Do that and chances are high that while you’re cooking up your catch the aurora borealis will light up the sky above.
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Take the country’s largest glacial lake then add some majestic caves in all shades of blue and you’ve got a sure-fire drawcard for travellers. Except that Chile’s Marble Caves are accessible only by boat or kayak on Patagonia’s Lago Gral Carrera (General Carrera Lake), and you’ll already have been on quite the adventure when you arrive at Puerto Rio Tranquilo to get out on the water. Tranquilo is a four-hour, bone-jarring drive from Balmaceda, which is a two-hour-and-15-minute flight from Santiago.
There are half-hour trips in local fishing boats from the port but it’s far more fun if you hire a guide and kayak there. Glide into the grottos and caverns formed by 6,000 years of punishment by waves, and marvel at the smooth walls in all shades of shimmering blue. Conditions are best between spring, when the water is shallow and takes on turquoise tones, and summer when melt from glaciers sends the hue to azure. Go early in the day when the sun is out for the best photos – the lake should be calmer, which will allow you to both see the patterned marble beneath the surface of the water and the reflections of the caves’ intricate patterns on it.
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In the iron ‘city’ of Ferropolis in Gräfenhainichen, one group of music lovers has turned a deserted industrial landscape almost completely surrounded by Lake Gremmin into the backdrop for the Melt! Festival (meltfestival.de). The annual event, usually held in June, features some of the biggest dance and pop acts in the world, as well as 24-hour dance floors, light performances and fireworks exploding from the huge pieces of machinery that still dominate the site despite having been abandoned in the mid-twentieth century. It’s mid-summer too, so the manmade beach is a popular spot for rejuvenating dips between mammoth dance sessions.
When it comes to the country formerly known as Burma, there’s one destination on every traveller’s list: Inle Lake in the Shan Hills. Cruising across its expanse, the most common way to explore, takes you past houses on stilts, gardens that float and Intha fishermen who use a leg to row their boat while using both hands to drag in their catch. It’s all pretty magical, but add another layer of excitement to the journey by jumping into a basket. Balloons over Inle (balloonsoverbagan.com) offers early-morning flights that soar across the expanse of water and life on the lake. The pilots will dip down and fly low over golden stupas near the water’s edge and locals rowing their wares to market. Of course, every day’s flight is different, thanks to the wind and weather conditions, but expect to be in the air for between 60 and 90 minutes. You’ll be enjoying a glass of champagne and breakfast by about 8.30am, leaving the rest of the day to explore at ground level.
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Sometimes you just want to look at the view, and the Pavilions Himalayas Lakeview (pavilionshotels.com) is just the luxurious spot to do it. Just eight tented villas sit above Phewa Lake, itself surrounded by rice paddies and the Annapurna Mountains. They’re generously spaced, so feel completely private, and deliver all the little luxuries you’d expect from a fine hotel – outdoor rain showers, handcrafted furniture, massages and afternoon tea, diaphanous curtains wafting in the gentle breeze. It’s part of the larger Pavilions Himalayas, so glamping guests can take advantage of the many activities on offer, from gentle bike rides along the shore of the lake to full-day hikes to the Peace Pagoda with its spectacular views of the Annapurnas and Pokhara. On your way back down, see if you can catch the reflection of Mount Machhapuchhre in the surface of Phewa Lake.
There’s plenty for a visitor to find fascinating on Lake Nicaragua. Apart from it being the largest freshwater lake in Central America and having an island at its heart with not one but two volcanoes (Ometepe is home to Concepción and Maderas, with the former last erupting in 2010), this is an absolute winner for nature buffs. Head to Los Guatuzos, a reserve on the lake’s southern shore, where there are huge populations of water birds, like the roseate spoonbill and a number of different types of kingfisher. Just southwest of the lake is Mombacho Cloud Forest Reserve, where you can follow trails to see howler monkeys, quetzals (beautiful emerald birds with red breasts) and smaller endemic creatures like the Mombacho butterfly and Mombacho salamander.
It’s the lake’s past life though that makes its present inhabitants so interesting. It was once thought to be an ocean bay until a volcanic eruption shut it off from the sea, trapping all sorts of oceanic creatures in there that slowly adapted to their new freshwater home. In its depths there are marine species like sawfish, tarpon and, perhaps most surprisingly, bull sharks. (In more recent times, scientists think the sharks got in the lake by making their way down the San Juan River, which flows from the Caribbean Sea.) The locals call the sharks tigrones, but heavy fishing has seen their numbers drop and attacks on swimmers are rare.
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A visit to Lake Titicaca is high – forgive the pun – on many people’s wish lists. Not only is this the largest lake in South America, but it’s also at 3,800 metres above sea level and surrounded by an amazing landscape of mountains and villages. Some of those villages have been built on the water. The Uros Islands – there are about 70 in all and each one is inhabited by between one and 10 families – have been handcrafted from totora reeds by the Uros people whose ancestors pre-date the Incan civilisation. But it’s not just the islands that have been hewn from reeds collected near the shore. The Uros build houses, fences, water tanks and boats from them as well.
Most people visit the Uros Islands on a day trip from Puno, but if you really want to immerse yourself in the ancient culture of the people – much about their way of life has remained relatively unchanged for almost 4,000 years – book a homestay. You’ll reside with a family and might end up going fishing, visiting their friends on other islands, learning how to knit the reeds or simply chatting about your respective lives, especially if your Spanish is good. The vast majority of people who live on the islands make their living from tourism, so you’ll be well looked after. Check out Airbnb to find a family offering rooms, often for as little as AU$50 a night. From the moment you hear the distinctive cracking as you step on to the island to waking up with the dawn and watching the sun rise over this vast, deep blue tract of water, this is one experience you’ll find hard to forget.
In fact, you could almost call Lagoa das Sete Cidades (Seven Cities Lagoon) and Lake Santiago, on the Azores island of São Miguel, a triple treat. Why? The former body of water is actually two smaller lakes set in a volcanic crater and connected by a narrow strait. Thanks to different ecology, though, one is coloured blue and the other is green. The best place to witness the distinct shadings is high up another crater’s lip above Lagoa Verde where, remarkably, should you turn and face the opposite direction, you can also see Lake Santiago. There is a great 20-kilometre loop hike that follows the high points right around all three lakes, but you’ll need a good level of fitness and at least six hours to make it all the way around.
Wreck divers usually head to oceans wild or once wracked by war to explore ships and planes that have settled on the bottom and become ecosystems for marine life. But in the northern states of the USA, where the Great Lakes and connected locks and rivers create a waterway that stretches from Minnesota to the Atlantic Ocean, plenty of ships have come to grief since the 1800s hauling ores, wheat and cement . In fact, the lakes are home to more than 6,000 shipwrecks, although there are surprisingly few divers aware of the treasures not far off shore and close to some large towns and cities. Do a search for Great Lakes dive shops and whichever one is closest to your destination will be able to help you out. We like the idea of heading to Lake Huron. It’s the second largest of the Great Lakes and lies across Michigan and Ontario. In its depth are more than a thousand wrecked ships, including 116 historically significant ones in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve. Among them is the Lucinda Van Valkenburg, a wooden three-mast schooner that sank in 1887 when it was hit by the Lehigh while en route to Chicago loaded with coal. She now lies at a depth of about 20 metres.
Just west of the deep waters of Lake Taupo is the ancient Pureora Forest Park. Its densely packed trees create an emerald ecosystem that is home to some of New Zealand’s most rare and beautiful creatures, including kaka (parrots), piwakawaka (fantails) and the rare kōkako (blue-wattle crew). Get Logan Devine of Go Explore NZ to take you on a hike through this pristine swamp forest and you’ll end up at Waihora Lagoon. It’s like a jewel in the park’s crown and, from the boardwalk, you can see the tall rimu and kahikatea trees reflected in its mirror-like surface.
Look, we’re not saying the folks at Mercedes-Benz are touched, but would you let a bunch of randos drive your new vehicles at top speed around an ice track? It happens each winter, when, as part of the AMG Driving Academy (amg-experiences.com), a racetrack is created on frozen Lake Winnipeg near Gimli, Manitoba. Those signing up for the three-day pro course – it costs about AU$6,500 – get individualised coaching in oversteering, drifting and driving in these types of conditions. Which should come in super handy when you’re back in your Suzuki Swift and stuck in a Sydney traffic jam.