Kings Canyon

Kings Canyon is located between Uluru and Alice Springs.  It is outside of the Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park (where you find Uluru and Kata-Tjuta (the Olgas),) and is a 3.5-hour drive from Uluru.  It is a lesser known tourist attraction but many tourists who see ‘the big three’ (Uluru, Kata-Tjuta and Kings Canyon) will say […]

Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)

Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) is situated within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and located about 30kms from Uluru (Ayers Rock).  Kata Tjuta means ‘many heads’.  It is believed these ‘heads’ were once all one formation, however, through weathering, today Kata-Tjuta is made up of 36 boulders.  These boulders consist of a conglomerate of basalt and […]

Sails in the Desert

Sails in the Desert opened in 1984 and was originally owned by Sheraton.  Less than 10 years later Sheraton sold the hotel which today is owned by Voyages.  In 2012 Voyages spent $43 million refurbishing the resort that included the development of a conference centre.  Voyages has a commitment to increasing Indigenous staff numbers; in […]

The Basin, Pittwater

We’re having a very hot summer and it’s also school holidays.  A few days ago there was a night where the temperature didn’t dip below 33C (92F).  In my non-air-conditioned house with no ceiling fans I barely had a wink of sleep.  I woke feeling drained and exhausted and knowing I couldn’t bare to hang […]

Pelican Rocks Cafe, Greenwell Point

A few weeks ago we had a night in Greenwell Point, a town of just 1,200 people in a fairly unknown part of the NSW South Coast.  After waking up in the caravan park we looked for somewhere to have breakfast.  Being in such a small town our expectations were low however, we were very […]

Mother’s Day

How was your Mother’s Day? I know I’m a bit behind in sharing mine but it’s been a little frantic around here.  The day after Mother’s Day, first thing in the morning I had a clinical exam, where I had to perform a number of tricks in less than 20 minutes.  I can only liken […]

Montrose Berry Farm

When I was growing up in New Zealand every time it was berry season my parents would drive us a short distance to where the berry farms were located.  We’d look for signs saying, ‘Pick Your Own’ and we’d turn into those driveways and spend a few hours filling buckets with raspberries, blackberries, loganberries and […]

Echoes, Katoomba, Blue Mountains

A few weeks ago it was our wedding anniversary and the plan was to go away for a couple of nights.  However, with having to squeeze the celebration in between a number of other events, we had to scale back our intentions and instead head away for a 24-hour escape. That meant we also didn’t […]

A New Year’s Eve Dinner

Our New Year’s Eve wasn’t full of party revellers, huge crowds and explosive fireworks.  It was celebrated in a very civilised yet casual way of a sit-down dinner party for 10, held at a recently renovated tiny cottage on the mid-NSW coast. We were in Stuart’s Point for New Year’s Eve and staying in the […]

Tour to Northern India

I’m excited to announce that in March, 2016, I’m hosting a tour to India.  A boutique tour for just 16, I’d love you to come with me. Steve McHardie is a partner of Rush Expeditions, a unique travel company catering to small-group private tours.  While Rush Expeditions takes expectant travellers to exotic, unique and off-the-beaten-track […]