The annual Design Canberra festival will run from November 4-24, celebrating all things design through over 200 talks, exhibitions, tours, markets, collaborations, artist studios and open homes.
Design Canberra 2019 has been created for all interests and all ages, with most events throughout the festival free and easily accessible.
One exhibitor will be contemporary Canberran jeweller Phoebe Porter, who is this year’s designer-in-residence and has been commissioned to create the festival’s signature artwork reflecting this year’s theme of utopia.
Porter’s work explores metal materiality and geometric form and is testament to the resounding legacy of Bauhaus philosophy and design in Canberra today.
Porter will be opening her studio to festival goers, offering a closer look at her craft.
Visit www.designcanberrafestival.com.au.
Dairy Flat Farm: a 38-acre regenerative farm set amid rolling hills.
Dairy Flat Farm will open in Victoria in December, a 38-acre regenerative farm set amid rolling hills in the hamlet of Musk, seven kilometres from Daylesford, and featuring an extensive kitchen garden, a vineyard, established olive grove and an orchard of 350 heritage fruit trees.
The European-style lodge, complete with a cellar, has been decorated with custom-made furniture and offers luxurious accommodation for up to 14 guests.
The Wolf-Tasker family, the team behind Dairy Flat Farm, have long been champions of all things sustainable and local.
One of the farm’s features is the bakehouse that has been created within an existing semi-underground cellar space accessed via a tunnel beneath the lodge.
Visit www.dairyflatfarmdaylesford.com.au.
Lane Cove Holiday Park: seems a world away from Sydney’s hustle and bustle.
Visitors to Sydney Sydney can stay in the bushland setting at Lane Cove Holiday Park this spring with a 20 per cent discount on all new bookings and a bonus activity pack for kids.
To qualify guests must book a minimum of two nights between November 1-30.
More than 200 varieties of spring wildflowers are currently in bloom in Sydney city’s closest National Park.
Situated a 20-minute drive — or an easy walk to the metro train — from Sydney’s CBD, Lane Cove Holiday Park seems a world away from the hustle and bustle and provides a tranquil bushland retreat.
Margaret River and Busselton: tranquility abounds.
Exploring one of Western Australia’s most diverse destinations will become easier when Jetstar begins direct flights between Melbourne and the Margaret River region in March.
Visitors from the Australia’s East Coast will be able to travel non-stop to one of Australia’s premium wine regions.
Margaret River was recently named by Lonely Planet as a top destination, and visitors can hop from award-winning wineries, breweries and restaurants, to stunning beaches, tall-timber forests, world-class surf breaks and ancient caves.
Food-and-wine lovers can visit more than 85 cellar doors with many offering restaurants with vineyard and ocean views; taste the artisanal creations of the region’s boutique breweries and distilleries; and tour the local farmers markets and chat with providores.
Visit www.jetstar.com.
Metro Apartments Darling Harbour: part of the Sydney summer action.
Sydney comes alive during the summer months, with attractions such as the start of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the spectacular New Year’s Eve celebration and a 19-day Sydney Festival.
Staying at Metro Apartments Darling Harbour means that guests will be close to the action and can also take advantage of offers such as a Explore Sydney Package over summer, a deal which includes family accommodation (two adults and two children) in a standard loft-style apartment from $224 per night.
The package includes complimentary wi-fi, 11am check-out and two adult Opal cards valued at $20 each.
Apartments have full kitchen and laundry facilities, spacious living rooms, and feature nearby discount parking.
Phone 1800 11 4321 or visit www.metrohotels.com.au.
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor: has retained its colonial style
Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, a landmark hotel along the legendary Grand Tour of Indochina, has reopened following a six-month restoration.
First opened in 1932 and widely celebrated as ‘La Grande Dame de Angkor’, the hotel has retained the colonial style synonymous with the heritage and history of the Raffles brand, while all 119 rooms and suites have received a facelift.
Segafredo coffee machines, USB-charging stations and Simmons pillow-top mattresses are new features added to complement traditional ceiling fans and brass rotary telephones.
All bathrooms have been upgraded with new Italian tiling and rain showers, with some featuring claw-foot tubs and views over the swimming pool.
The original teak-and-wrought-iron-cage elevator has been preserved as part of the original architecture and continues to ferry guests up and down the heritage building.
Visit www.raffles.com/siem-reap.
Basque country: wild scenery and unique age-old traditions.
In 2021, Adventure Canada will offer five expedition voyages in northern Europe, including one showcasing the wild scenery and unique age-old traditions of the Basque culture, centred on the Bay of Biscay.
Other Adventure Canada European sojourns will feature a voyage around the top of Scotland, a journey from Scotland to Iceland, a circumnavigation of Iceland, and an expedition from Iceland to Greenland.
Cruise Traveller is offering a 15 per cent early-bird saving on Adventure Canada’s five European expeditions in 2021 plus a free one-night stay before each of the cruises for bookings made by June 1 next year.
The five Europe stay-and-cruise packages range from 10 to 12 nights and available from US$5295 per person twin-share, and also for solo passengers in selected cabins.
The cruises are aboard Adventure Canada’s 198-passenger, eco-friendly Ocean Endeavour.
The new 10-night Basque country package begins with a free night’s stay in Bilbao, followed by a nine-night cruise across the Bay of Biscay to Brest in France.
Phone 1800 507 777 or visit www.cruisetraveller.com.au.
Kotor in Montenegro: daytrips are possible out of Croatia.
Discover Croatia and surrounding destinations by combining land touring with a deluxe small-ship cruise, with savings of up to $1000 per couple on a selection of 2020 cruise-tours now on sale through Cruise Croatia.
Cruise Croatia has expanded its cruise-tour range, offering new choices such as departures from Zagreb to view the stunning Plitvice Lakes National Park, day trips to Montenegro, and combining popular destinations such as Greece and Croatia.
New for 2020 is the inaugural departure of the 11-day ‘Balkan Highlights’ tour, priced from $3663 per person twin-share.
Also, those who book and pay by October 31 will receive up to $200 per couple in Discover More vouchers, which can be used on things such as pre- or post-cruise accommodation or extra sight-seeing.
Phone 1300 664 790 or visit www.cruise-croatia.com.au.
The Empire State Building’s 102nd Floor: floor-to-ceiling glass panels.
The Empire State Building has completed the third phase of its top-to-bottom reimagined Observatory Experience, opening the 102nd Floor and providing guests with an entirely unobstructed view of New York City.
Located 381 metres in the air, the floor has been designed to place guests in the centre of Manhattan, 16 floors above the renowned 86th Floor Observatory, which gets four million visitors annually.
The reinvented 102nd Floor Observatory provides panoramic views of Manhattan and beyond through floor-to-ceiling glass panels.
Guests will be able to explore never-seen-before spaces through a glass-encased elevator, and catch a glimpse of the inner workings of the Mooring Mast.
Tickets to the 86th Floor are from US$38 with an additional US$20 charge to access the 102nd Floor.
Visit www.empirestatebuilding.com.
Enoshima: a chance to try local produce.
Enoshima is a small island located off the Shonan Coast in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is loved for its beautiful beaches and views of Mount Fuji.
With easy access from Shinjuku Station, it makes for wonderful addition to a trip south of Tokyo on the Odakyu line.
Leaving Odakyu’s Katase-Enoshima Station and before crossing the 389-metre Enoshima Ohashi Bridge which leads to the island, visitors can see marine life up close at the Enoshima Aquarium.
After crossing to the island, visitors will find themselves surrounded by restaurants and stalls selling delicious local produce and souvenirs. Here they can try some of the local produce such as whole-octopus rice crackers, white-bait croquettes, fresh local seafood served grilled or as sashimi, and even freshly baked white-bait cheese bread.
After lunch, travellers can enjoy exploring the island where they can visit Enoshima Shrine, walk through the beautiful Samuel Cocking Botanical Gardens and see the Enoshima Sea Candle Lighthouse overlooking Sagami Bay.
Visit www.odakyu.jp/english.
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