Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 27 August 2024

DIRECT TO LONDON

The direct Qantas flight from Perth to London resumed last week. The Perth to London flight, designated QF9, has been flying via Singapore for the past two weeks, but is flying direct again due to more favourable winds. A Qantas spokesperson explains that weather conditions and the situation in parts of the Middle East had caused the change, but adds: “Due to more favourable weather conditions, we’re now able to operate as a direct service once again. The return leg from London was unaffected due to prevailing winds, and continued to operate non-stop.” They add: “Our other direct services to Paris and Rome were unaffected and have continued to operate non-stop. Qantas’ other flights to and from London were not affected as they use different flight paths. We monitor flight paths daily and make adjustments for a variety of reasons, including security and weather.”

FLIGHT BARGAINS

Two readers have just paid a bit over $1300 each for economy return flights to Paris on Qatar Airways. It was a Flight Centre deal. They certainly would have paid double, and probably over $3000, for that flight a year ago. As we have been predicting, airfare deals will come at short notice, with very sharp prices.

STEPPING UP SERVICE

… and Qatar Airways has launched additional flights to the key global destinations including London for the 2024-2025 season. There are an additional eight daily flights to London from Doha, as the airline increases its flights to the British capital from 49 to 56 a week. That gives a total of more than 42,000 seats a week, each way. Qatar Airways chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori says the increased flights during the winter holiday season have been put on in response to demand. Qatar was voted the world’s best airline in the Skytrax 2024 awards.

CASEY’S BIG DEAL

I’m often asked about luggage — and particularly my faithful suitcase, Casey. He’s an Antler soft case (perhaps best not to tell him that). Antler has an offer for its soft luggage range at the moment. Spend $199 and save $50. Spend $299 and save $100. Spend $399 and save $150. antler.com.au

NICE DAYS OUT

We are off on our A Nice Day Out With Wildflowers coach days this week. Our wildflower expert Grady Brand has been out doing the recce ready for that. He’s found plenty to look at within our day’s drive from Perth. There are moments when it feels a lot like spring already.

FLOWERS ARE COMING

This WA wildflower season has all the makings of being a classic — and, a bit further afield, our friends at Australia’s Coral Coast tourism have been keeping us up-to-date with developments from the Pinnacles to Shark Bay.

Coalseam Conservation Park already has everlastings, and locals report that more flower density expected around late August in the Miners Camp area. There are snail and pink orchids coming on Plateau loop trail. Heavy rain occasionally closes the road into Coalseam, so check Mingenew Shire’s Facebook or website for current news.

Mullewa has carpets of everlastings, which coincide with the Outback Bloom Festival at the Mullewa Town Hall, open today from 9am to 4pm and tomorrow until 2pm. Admission is $5, with free entry for children under 12.

Both Mingenew Hill and Yandanooka have pom poms and pink everlastings.

For wreath flowers, head east of Mullewa for 30km and turn into Pindar. Drive past old Pindar pub (a private residence) and left into Berringarra Road. Travel 10km north on the dirt road, plants are just starting to flower.

australiascoralcoast.com

FLORA GUIDE

There are more than 3000 of the State’s 13,500 plant species in the Western Australian Botanic Garden in Kings Park — and the Friends of Kings Park has produced a new field guide to help identify some of them. The guide, called Stars of the Western Australian Botanic Garden, was developed by Friends members and Kings Park Volunteer Guides Linley and Jon Dodd and Georgie Wilson, pictured at the top of the page. They spent almost 18 months photographing the garden’s most spectacular flowers and selected 120 for the guide, which is laminated and easy to carry. Stars of the Western Australian Botanic Garden costs $6.95 ($5.90 members) and is available at Aspects of Kings Park or the website, friendsofkingspark.com.au. All proceeds help the Friends support Kings Park.

DRYING LANDS

We keep in touch with the whole world, and have been monitoring fires on dry peat bogs in Russia where it borders Norway and Finland. Smoke is streaming into the Finnmark region of Norway and into Lapland from the wildfires west of Murmansk on Russia’s Barents Sea coast, but experts seem to think they will not spread.

WINDS OF CHANGE

Virtually all electricity in Iceland is already from sustainable sources (80 per cent is hydroelectricity and 20 per cent geothermal). It’s always been a comforting and hopeful aspect of being there, for me, as a visitor. And the national power company of Iceland, Landsvirkjun, has just signed an agreement with the Icelandic government to install the country’s first wind farm. Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson says it is a cause for celebration, as Burfellslundur wind farm marks the third pillar of the country’s energy system.

BALI AWARDS

There are 40 categories in the Bali Tourism Awards 2024, so I’ll pick out an interesting few:

+ Family resort 2024 — Ayodya Resort Bali.

+ Boutique hotel — The Hava Ubud A Pramana Experience.

+ Tourism show — Varuna by Taman Safari Bali.

+ New activity — Bali Farm House.

+ Five-star resort in Kuta — Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel.

+ Boutique hotel — The Hava Ubud A Pramana Experience.

+ Beach resort — Prama Sanur Beach Hotel.

+ Spa & wellness — Sanctoo Spa and Wellness.

+ Luxury resort — Maca Villas & Residence Umalas.

+ Boutique villa — Le Jardin Villas.

ITTA Foundation has run the Indonesian Travel and Tourism Awards for the last 14 years.