A month working on the Gold Coast in Eastern Australia, gave me the opportunity to take it slowly, to look beyond the brilliant beaches and bright night life of the advertisements, and explore some of the highways and byways.
Here are my 10 top picks. Read more
Five minutes in a car ferry across from Redland Bay in Brisbane Australia,
takes you to the tiny quaint island of Coochiemudlo.
For 20,000 years the indigenous people of Redlands Bay have travelled across the little stretch of water to collect red ochre dye from the rocks, to use in ceremonies around Moreton Bay . Read more
Just before sunset I looked up into the sky. One dark shape glided by then another couple, then four, then sixteen, then the exponential growth got too much to count. Bat after bat after bat, in loose formation, a black cloud which took at least 20 minutes to pass overhead, gliding and flapping soundlessly from the east to the west. Read more
Rather than chasing Happiness, the Buddhist philosophy suggests that we simply let go of that what makes us unhappy.
The very notion of chasing something has a sense of urgency about it. With Urgency comes anxiety, and of course with anxiety comes illness and with illness comes unhappiness.
Sarah writes:
I’ve just completed a 7 day stay at the Golden Door Health Retreat in Queensland and would recommend it to anyone. Read more
Article by By Jodie Munro O’Brien
MEN have been banned from the floor of a hotel in Brisbane, with its owners saying the “Ladies Only” level was inspired by the increasing number of businesswomen travelling alone.
On the fifth floor of the Portal Hotel in the inner suburb of Spring Hill even the staff have to be women, in a bid to improve safety for guests.
Men probably wouldn’t want to check into the rooms anyway as they’re filled with scented candles, flowers, women’s magazines, bathroom products and hair straighteners.
A pamper bar replaces the mini bar and includes beauty products and other pampering items alongside the wine.
Portal Hotel owner Georgie Woods said the decision to make the floor women-only was based on demand.
“These days, women account for around 40 per cent of Australia’s business travellers,” she said. “That’s a lot of ladies travelling alone, often in unfamiliar cities without a good working knowledge of the area.
A few years back we had a fantastic holiday at Port Douglas, north of Cairns in Far North Queensland. We snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef, visited the amazing Daintree rain fores and saw the area through the eyes of local aboriginal people. Read about it here.
Our base for that trip was the gorgeous Pink Flamingo Resort in Port Douglas. Its a lusciously refurbished motel with outside showers and courtyards and gardens. It was a joy to stay in.
The Pink Flamingo is owned by women, and have long had women managers, the latest being Gigi Legenhausen and Adrea Groemminger We loved staying there, and I am sure you would.
The Pink Flamingo is funky and luscious – what more can a girl say?
Getting there…
It had been a mild New Zealand winter, Ngaire and I had had a stream of wonderful guests to stay at Waihoihoi Women’s Lodge at Waipu in sub tropical Northland, New Zealand. Despite the fact that we already lived in paradise, it felt time for a holiday – a chance to recharge the batteries before the summer.
I had added the Pink Flamingo at Port Douglas to our Womentravel website, and North Queensland felt like an ideal place to escape to in a New Zealand winter – 27 degrees, beaches, the Great Barrier Reef – all very tempting. A search for airline seats and an email or two later we were booked.
Although there are direct flights from Auckland to Cairns, we went via Sydney and had a few nights there to catch up with old friends. Arriving in Cairns we knew we were in the tropics – the woman in front of us with knee length ugg boots must have been melting! Since we were also still dressed for Sydney weather we were grateful for the air conditioned shuttle that the Pink Flamingo girls had waiting for us at the airport. Read more
