Get Lost

Amorita, Philippines

Bohol is a curious place.

It’s the sort of place that is low key at night and up-tempo during the day. The Loboc River winds like a snake through the island and eventually out into the ocean, and its water, emerald green on a sunny day, is a stunning location for action and adventure; think stand-up paddle-boarding, fishing, swimming and rope swinging.

Amorita is where you want to be to take it easy at the end of a massive day on this island. It’s actually on an additional island called Pangalao, which is connected to Bohol by a little bridge at its southern end.

Amorita is a stunning collection of designer rooms and villas, and home to two of the most stunning swimming pools you’ll come across. Putting the arms up on the ledge of the beachside pool, and staring out at the water, seeing little fishing boats bobbing up and down as the locals go about their day gives you that surreal feeling that you are elsewhere in the world. Somewhere other than, and better than, home.

The bar serves a delicious rum-based cocktail called Maybe I Should, and speaking from experience, you absolutely should, until you shouldn’t, and even then, you should one more time.

There’s archery and a wellness centre and all of the things you expect from a place with such an excellent reputation, but the low key, unpretentious-while-still-classy vibe that emanates through the staff and then by osmosis seems to transfer to guests is what separates this from the cold, corporate luxury resorts that exist.

A Fresh Air Break in New York State

Imagine telling your grandparents that a holiday in the future would be going to a farm, collecting eggs from the chooks for breakfast and foraging for your own vegetables for dinner. Working, in other words.

But this is 2023, not 1923, and we can see why the fresh air of Wildflower will appeal to those over in the Big Apple only 90 minutes away.

This is a stay that offers break from the grind, the fresh food on your plate – you know it’s fresh when you pick it yourself. Wellness tourism is a growing trend and, although this has traditionally seen as spas and exercise, eating is obviously a major part of being healthy.

This isn’t any old farm, either. No sleeping in hay stacks here; rooms of bespoke luxury are tucked neatly beneath sweeping tree canopies or within wildflower fields, where it gets its name.

Whether you’re into this sort of holiday or not, it is refreshing to see hotels placing a premium on the most basic of human pleasures – like the crisp air of the Hudson Valley.

Epic Uluru Experience on it’s way

Just when you think they couldn’t do anything cooler up at Uluru, they go and drop this on us.

Wintjiri Wiru is the name of the extraordinary, brand-new light and drone show above Uluru, coming next week.

It brings to life the ancient dreamtime story of Mala via 1,000 luminous drones taking flight each night to lift the ancient images above Uluru and into the sky. Exquisite choreography and visual artistry is accompanied by a narration in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara languages, and a soundtrack with traditional inma recorded with members of the local Anangu community.

The number (1,000) of drones involved makes it the largest drone show of it’s kind on earth.

The result is a pretty cool marriage of technology and the world’s oldest continuous culture.

Two Wintjiri Wiru sound and light shows will run every night, until December, beginning next Thursday, 11 May in 2023. One show a night will take place in the months of January and February.

A three-hour sunset dinner precedes the experience, which includes welcome cocktails and canapes while the sun sets over the bloody serene setting of Kata Tjuta and Uluru. Once darkness has settled the dramatic sound and light show will begin.

We cannot wait.

Check out one of the teasers below:

Bói oh Bóia

Ever feel like you’re just floating along in life? Metaphorically drifting aimlessly, without direction while getting inebriated every weekend with your mates who are doing the same thing?

Well, now you can do that for real, and your mates can come too! Bóia is the Perth-based brand selling water-based products like the Harbour: a horseshoe-shaped floating chill area that is absolutely made for summer.

Imagine jumping on a Bóia with a few friends, and having either your own private island party or the ultimate place to relax, out on a lake or an ocean. Not bad.

Don’t have any friends? Say no more fam, just set your Bóia up at Cottesloe Beach or similar, and let the friends come to you (see below).

They’re perfect for bad bóis, good bóis and sk8r bóis alike.

There are a variety of different products available from $1,075 – get one here.

Air Asia re-launching flights to Thailand

We have liftoff!

Thai AirAsia X launched the first flights direct to Bangkok from Australia since the pandemic this week.

The budget airline, a branch of AirAsia, have sent plenty of Australians to the top Asian destinations over the years, and the opening of both the Melbourne to Bangkok, and Sydney to Bangkok route will be big news to the hordes of Aussies wanting to get back to the country’s pristine beaches and chaotic cities.

Almost a million Australian travellers flocked to Thailand every year before the pandemic – about 4% of the country. There are about 70,000 Thai born Australian residents.

Initial flight schedule:

From	To	Departure time	Arrival	Days	Beginning
Bangkok →	Sydney	00.30	14.15	Monday Tuesday Friday Saturday	2 December
Sydney →	Bangkok	15.45	21.35	Monday Tuesday Friday Saturday	2 December
Bangkok →	Melbourne	00.20	14.00	Wednesday Thursday Sunday	1 December
Melbourne →	Bangkok	15.30	21.15	Wednesday Thursday Sunday	1 December

Be the central character in a Swedish horror story

Sweden has come up with a typically ingenious idea to bring Halloween to life, by making you the main character in a horror film.

The country’s tourism board has teamed up with bestselling Scandinavian horror author John Ajvide Lindqvist (kind of like a Swedish Stephen King) to deliver an audio story called ‘Kiln’.

We wish we could tell you what happens, but we have no idea. We haven’t listened to it. It is only available in Sweden, and it is recommended, for the full experience, you head to one of the country’s many eerily beautiful forests, the kind that pop up in horror movies all the time.

Imagine wandering around one of these at night with your headphones in and a horror story playing, ideally with some mates for protection and to increase the odds of you not being eaten.

The story takes place in a forest, is based on Swedish folklore and is told in first-person, making you feel as if you are the person at the heart of it. This could be either a really good thing or a really bad thing, depending on how you feel about horror stories.

We think this is an ingenious idea; for the cost of nothing you get Sweden’s epic outdoors as well as drama and spook. Count us in.

An EPIC safari deal – Top 5 Luxury Safari Experiences

An African safari is on everyone’s bucket list; tick it off in style with an all inclusive luxury Tanzania safari, where you can bask in stunning scenery, spot the Big 5 and try some of Tanzania’s delicious food.

Here are the top 5 experiences you can’t miss on a luxury Tanzania Safari:

1. Tarangire National Park

Tarangire is otherworldly, as you drive through granite ridges and dip through the Savannahs valleys you’ll be able to fulfil your childhood dream of spotting herds of elephants and wildebeest, and get some sick snaps of lions and zebras.

2. Ngorongoro Crater

Make sure you feast your eyes on the exquisite Ngorongoro Crater, the ‘Green Crater’ will genuinely make you gasp especially when you see Hippos dozing next to the Soda Lake.

3. Mto wa Mbu village

Mto wa Mbu village will give you some insight into Tanzania’s unique way of life. Hear stories from local tour guides and try mouthwatering local cuisine.

4. Central Serengeti

Serenegti is famous for a reason: known for its ‘Endless Plains’ and the famous ‘Great Wildebeest Migration,’ which is one of the largest animal migrations in the world. The landscape is spectacular, as are the Big 5.

5. Hot Air Balloon Flight

Hard to think of a better place to fly in a hot air balloon than over the magnificent national parks in Tanzania. Soak up the scenery as the sun rises and start your morning with a cheeky glass of bubbly – it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right?

YOUR OWN PARTY ISLAND IN THE CARIBBEAN

This might just be the ultimate party house.

If you manage to round up a few of your best mates for a week at Oasis Kalua in Colombia, your life has surely peaked.

Kalua is a four-bedroom, thatched roof, tropical paradise surrounded on all sides by the Caribbean Sea, about an hour by boat from Cartagena. By day you’ll be faced with such tough decisions as whether to lounge in the cabana or on one of the many sunbathing decks, and whether to swim in the pool or the crystal-clear sea. By night, its coronas, Piña Coladas and dancing in your own private Casa de Fiesta. Salud!

AU$3,620 per night

Click for LET’S GO, PABLO

Photo series: Prints for wildlife

In 2020, Dutch and Austrian photographer Pie Aerts and Marion Payr created Prints for Wildlife, a print sale of some of the most epic wildlife shots in the world.

The project was a response to the global pandemic, which had a devastating effect on wildlife, conservation projects, tourism and communities across Africa. The first two instalments of Print for Wildlife raised more than US $1.75 million dollars for conservation non-profit organisation African Parks. To get lost, the project is not only a great way to support a terrific cause, but a fantastic excuse to get an unbelievable print of an animal into your home.

We’ve selected ten of our favourites below – check them out:

The fundraiser sees internationally renowned wildlife photographers donating one of their photos to be sold for a limited time at just $100. So far, more than 15,000 wildlife prints have been sold and delivered to wildlife lovers around the world.

Prints for Wildlife’s third outing will launch on August 28, 2022, with limited numbers of prints available for $100 from over 130 photographers, including Beverley Joubert, Drew Doggett, Karim Illya, Ami Vitale, Joachim Schmeisser, Will Burrard-Lucas, Marsel van Oosten and Gaël Ruboneka Vande weghe. No less than 100 per cent of profits go to African Parks, who currently manage 20 parks in 11 countries, including Kafue (Zambia), Akagera (Rwanda) and Liwonde (Malawi) National Parks, on behalf of African governments for the benefit of local communities and wildlife, the largest and most ecologically diverse portfolio of protected areas in Africa under rehabilitation by any one organisation.

“The incredible success of Prints for Wildlife came as a much-needed reminder that, even in times of crisis, humanity can come together to spread hope and do good for our planet,” says Marion Payr. “Wildlife conservation, protecting valuable biomes and supporting communities has now found a place in the hearts and, with the stunning art of all the generous photographers, on the walls of thousands of homes across the globe.”

There are some legitimately crazy shots in this collection – just check the gallery above. If this doesn’t make you want to board a plane and head straight to Africa, then we’re not sure what will.

Live out your James Bond fantasies

Ever wanted to be James Bond for a day? In the Northern Territory, you can.

00Seven are a Darwin company offering epic Bond-themed adventures, on both water and land.

get lost took on the Casino Royale tour – a jet-ski adventure at full throttle along Darwin’s waterfront.

Fly along at long sun drenched, unspoilt coastlines while spotting marine life, feeding fish and enjoying the thrill of the pristine, open water. The tour goes over World War Two shipwrecks, and past Darwin’s iconic Mindil Beach Casino, making it feel as if you’re in hot pursuit of Le Chiffre following a high-stakes poker game.

All of the jet skis are named after Bond girls (get lost found itself on Pussy Galore) with the best tours running at sunrise and sunset, with the stunning ambience of Darwin’s famed red skyline providing the perfect backdrop.

As well as Casino Royale, other excellent picks are Golden Eye (an amateur photography class, by jet-ski) and Espresso Martini tour (an express session, with a ‘secret’ mission).

Back on land, the Moonraker, Licence to Thrill and Skyfall four-wheeler tours through Charles Darwin National Park are epic adventures in their own right, taking in wild trails, World War Two ammunition storage spots, bunkers and more.

The company is a well-oiled machine, with free photography and videos a part of the tour at the end of the day, and knowledgeable guides providing information along the way.

All skills and experience levels are welcome – you don’t have to be a Bond-level marksman, and doing a flip on a jet-ski that’s on fire as you chase a bad guy is not expected.

Darwin

Darwin can be visited at anytime, but is definitely best during the dry season, from May to October each year.

Temperatures are generally in the late 20s and the Top End’s famed humidity is more than manageable during this time.

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