Sydney for summer holidays is not so far away, but it can transport you to a world of great entertainment.
Mamma Mia! What a show! The stage musical has returned to Sydney by popular demand, following the success of the Meryl Streep film version in spawning a whole new generation of ABBA fans. Opening night in October was a wild success, with stars strutting the red carpet, champagne flowing, and patrons from eight to 80 dancing and singing in the aisles – some of the more overly enthusiastic in the dress circle in danger, it seemed to me, of toppling over the balcony. Read more
The spotlight fell unhappily on Samoa when a deadly tsunami struck the tiny South Pacific nation a month ago. But travel editor Susie Boswell suggests it’s still worthwhile saying Talofa (“hello”) to Samoa sometime soon.
The mid-morning refreshments I enjoyed in the restaurant at upmarket Coconuts Beach Resort on the south coast of Samoa’s main island were welcome on a steamy tropical day. Read more
If there is one word that best captures Singapore, it is “unique”. A dynamic city rich in contrast and colour, you’ll find a harmonious blend of culture, cuisine, arts and architecture here. Brimming with unbridled energy, this little dynamo in Southeast Asia embodies the finest of both East and West.
The unassuming accountant from the back rooms of a big Sydney merchant bank regularly spent his lunch hours browsing in Dymock’s CBD book store.
He always made a beeline for the Lonely Planet section, reading avidly about far-off holiday places.
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What do Keith Richards and k.d. lang have in common?
Along with Kate Winslett and Keanu Reeves, Keith and Katherine Dawn have escaped from Sydney concert gigs and movie launches to an exclusive retreat known for its exquisite surroundings – Rae’s, on Watego’s Beach at Byron Bay.
The church choir on Wakaya island is like a band of angels, singing out hymns in the sweetest of voices.
It’s a wonderful spiritual experience.
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Hellooo, Soosie! Well-come to Singapore,” the cheery greeting echoed down the phone in my suite at Singapore Intercontinental. “This is Wee Tee, your personal guide. Come on down; let’s go!”
This energetic dynamo, keen to show me her hometown’s highlights, bustled me into a waiting limo. Bouncing in alongside, she directed the driver to our first scenic stop.
Holidaymakers enjoy an amazing range of tour options, from traditional scenic sights and weird special attractions like ghost tours in black hearses, to rewarding historical tours.
It’s fascinating to visit Port Arthur, south of Hobart, and marvel at the inhumanity of early colonialists who confined prisoners to cells like horse stalls.
Without doubt, the most spectacular landscape and stunning scenery I’ve ever experienced surrounds western Canada’s Icefields Parkway, high up in the Canadian Rockies close to the peak at 3750m.
The parkway is a ribbon section of more than 200km of Canada’s Highway One that carves for the greater part of the year through craggy snow-clad mountains, glaciers, fir forests cloaked in white and shimmering frozen lakes.
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Susie Boswell takes a ride in a ‘ ship’ in the desert, in Dubai, head-spinning centre of the United Arab Emirates.
True sea sickness is not when you think you’re going to die, but when you want to die. And so in Dubai I am experiencing a major case of mal de mer, yet I’m a good hour inland from the Arabian Gulf.
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Stop saving to go overseas – just go! Travel editor Susie Boswell says there’s never been a better time to pack your bags and grab a cheap airfare.
There’s a tendency of would-be travellers to see a bargain-priced international airfare and assume there’s a catch or that it will still be available next month. Both assumptions are likely wrong.
There is only one way to eat crab: freshly caught, of course, but also with the shell and claws cracked and the flesh extracted, by someone else, so I am able to enjoy the delicious feast without having to pause and deal with the mechanics of getting to the sweet white meat.
Ideally, I like it with champagne. Indulgent, decadent? Yes, I’m guilty.
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Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse is an ancient landmark that’s just become the newest, must-visit local spot.
Wow! That’s the word that springs to mind everywhere we turn at Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse. What a wonderful beach and ocean views out over Seal Rocks! What a lovely lighthouse and beautiful keeper’s cottage, high on the point, that’s to be home for a day or two. No wonder that, just last month, the three cottages – head keeper’s and twin assistant keepers’ dwellings – took out the 2009 title of Best New Tourism Development on the entire Mid-North Coast.
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Susie Boswell enjoys a total change of scenery, some fine wines, a challenging 18 holes and a couple of days packed with fun, just a few hours’ drive from home.
I’m playing the first hole at Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club Resort in the Hunter Valley. It’s a reasonably comfortable, loosen-up par 5 running down to the country road that threads between the nearby big-name wineries and their cellar doors.
It’s mid-winter and I’m spending a weekend away exploring Coffs Coast. Coffs – our country cousin to the north, our nearest and dearest, yet different in many ways. But, while Coffs vies vigorously with Port and Taree for a share of the tourist dollar, it shares so much in common with us. Where travel exchanges between both regions are concerned, we’re bosom buddies; sporting contests, especially, generate two-way traffic.
