The plea from Queensland’s Granite Belt Wine Country: Rain, rain…please come our way!
The last thing most of us want when planning a few days away in the countryside is rain. But when the heavens opened last week, just…
A very antipodean Christmas
Christmas in the southern hemisphere is almost incomprehensible to those who haven’t experienced it. For those who live on the far side of the planet, where…
Mango mania
Mangoes are among my favourite fruit, and I can’t wait until summer’s here and I can sink my teeth into that delicious golden flesh again. In…
Lunch Timed at NEXT Hotel Brisbane
The days of the long, languid – and often liquid – lunch are long past. Gone are the days when businessmen and women would linger over…
Tipples and tastes of Ireland
Happy St Patrick’s Day to all my readers – Irish or not! My first visit to Ireland last year was among the best writing trips I’ve…
Farmgates of the Lockyer Valley
Watermelon juice is dripping down my chin, and my hands are covered in it. Beside a creek on a country road, I’m tucking into a giant…
A Christmas pudding made with love
The pudding bowl is on the table, filled with luscious dried fruit and glace cherries, soaked in rum. As my daughter and I arrive for the…
Insider guide to Basel
Hotel inspections are a part of life for travel writers. Despite the fact that we are staying in a hotel, it is almost certain that we’ll…
Fraser Island’s fascinating shipwrecks
There’s something intriguing about shipwrecks. We are drawn to their stories, to the tragic tales of loss, the prospect of treasure… On Queensland’s Fraser Island, the…
Swallows Welcome Winery
Drinking wine in a church – and I’m not talking the communion sip, here – might be sacrilege to some, but for Pat and Tim Negus,…
A Glass Half Full 