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.

Ningaloo’s first whale shark of 2011 was spotted off the coast of Exmouth last week, hailing the start of the annual whale shark season.

The four metre juvenile was sighted in the Ningaloo Marine Park, just outside the reef on February 15th.

Australia’s Coral Coast Chief Executive Officer, Mr David O’Malley said the whale shark season at the Ningaloo Marine Park was becoming longer and more successful each year.

“Whale sharks have arrived earlier than previous years and hopefully they’ll be around for a long season again this year,” Mr O’Malley said.

“Last year’s whale shark season was a record season, with tours operating from mid March until mid July and sightings reported until late in the year,” Mr O’Malley said.

“Many tour operators recorded a 100 per cent success rate for swimming with the whale sharks on tours that departed.

“More than 14,000 people went on whale shark tours last year, which was 1700 more passengers than the 2009 season.

Ningaloo Marine Park whale shark tours are tipped to start early next month in response to the early sightings of whale sharks in the area.

Whale sharks are attracted to the Ningaloo Marine Park each year to feed on the rich nutrient waters created from the mass spawning of coral on the reef.

Ningaloo Reef is one of the most reliable and easily accessible places in the world to swim with whale sharks, which are the largest fish in the sea, growing up to 14 metres in length.

“Swimming with these majestic gentle giants of the sea is an awe inspiring experience and should be on everyone’s bucket list,” Mr O’Malley said.

“Qantas recently announced new flight services between Perth and Exmouth will start in late March, meaning the region will soon be serviced by two professional airlines, creating greater accessibility to the Ningaloo Marine Park in time for this year’s whale shark season.”

Popped down to Mandurah yesterday taking house guests from overseas with me. Very impressed with the clean waterways. The marine eco system of the Peel region is clearly very healthy. We all enjoyed a one hour canal cruise the highlight being the many playful dolphins accompanying us on our way. They come into the waterways to feed then head back out to the Indian Ocean later in the day – magic.