According to UK’s Tatler magazine, the top three of the 101 Best Hotels in the World for 2012 included Queensland hotels Hayman Island, Lizard Island and Noosa’s Makepeace Island

The Blue Mountains Private Safaris and Deux Belettes at Dalwood both made it to the top of the list for New South Wales, while Northern Territory’s Wildman Wilderness Lodge, Hobart’s Mona Pavillions and the Lake House at Daylesford, Victoria, were all rated as the world’s best hotels.

This is great news – AirAsia X is to start services between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney commencing April 2012. Let’s hope this new DAILY service will  increase tourist numbers to New South Wales and onwards.

All the best for a healthy and peaceful year ahead. Have just been down in our South West region enjoying the beautiufl bays and day walks through natural bush. Summer shaping up to be a good one. Caught up on all the latest tips on restaurants and vineyard activitiy from friends down in the region. Cheers!

on your own. Case in point would be the recent very tragic bush fires in our South West region of Western Australia. I had quite a few sets of clients who were either in the region or about to drive into the affected area. I was able to rearrange/reroute their travel arrangements. It did take me an entire day and a half of phoning around etc. My clients continued on with their sightseeing while I worked behind the scenes on their behalf and at no expense to them. When the planned becomes unplanned travel agent and services such as ours are invaluable.

Western Australia is experiencing boom times once again and this can make it difficult to secure accommodation. Main problem is Perth metro area, however with the summer holiday season almost upon us other regions are also filling up. Just on the evening news this week it was indicated that there are 200 people per day moving to WA. Hence along mining industry demand this does stretch our supply of hotel rooms. This info should not put you off a holiday to WA but you do need to plan ahead, have things in place to avoid disappointment and by booking in advance get best value for your money no matter what your budget.

Western Australia’s South West scored a place as one of the world’s Top 10 Regions for 2010 by Lonely Planet – as much as we want to keep this our local hideaway – the word is out. You’ll love the natural beauty, pristine coastline, towering forests, beaches and boutique wineries etc. But really it is the lack of population that makes it so enjoyable. Trust me you’ll be wondering why you feel so relaxed … no need to hurry just go with the flow; you can do absolutely nothing or be very active it’s entirely up to you.

Certainly a tough time for tourism in Australia. I personally still believe that the Flying Kangaroo as a product is outstanding. The Qantas employees and the travelling public should understand that cheaper air fares means fewer jobs in the airline business in Australia – that’s the bottom line – we can’t have it all. Lets hope they reach a reslution so we can get on with the business of welcoming tourists to Australia.

for CHOGM visitors. Welcome! Kings Park looks glorious as does Kings Park Road with it’s fabulous rose beds in full bloom. Public holiday on Friday 28 October so enjoy.

Have just spent a few days in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Spring has sprung, the valley is looking gorgeous. Enjoyed wine tasting at Audrey Wilkinson and Drayton Family Wines and a sublime dinner at Muse Restaurant. Great walking trails as well … just step around the kangaroos!

Shark Bay received World Heritage listing in 1991 and is one of only a handul of places in the world that satisifies all four natural criteria. The boundary of the new Ningaloo Coast World Heritage area encompasses more than 600,000 hectares and includes the Commonwealth and State waters of the Ningaloo Marine Park; Cape Range National Park; Muiron Islands Marine Management Area andNature Reserve; Jurabi and Bundegi coastal parks; and Learmonth Air Weapons Range.
Ningaloo Reef isone of the most beautiful and accessible coral reefs in the world, it ranks seventh on the world’s list of coral reef biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and second in terms of the number of species found within a limited range.
The listing of the Ningaloo Coast means the area ranks along side sites such as the Great Barrier Reef, theGrand Canyon, Egypt’s Pyramids, Yellowstone National Park, Stonehenge and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park.