Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 20 May 2025

A WRITER’S A WRITER

I’d like to first take this moment to give you a little insight into our team. Megan French, who actually works for STM, the colour magazine in The Sunday Times, is on holiday in England. She’s been looking forward to it for months. She works hard and deserves a break. But pretty soon I receive a photograph of her looking happily on holiday. Then I receive a link to the story on Tatton Park, which she has filed directly in our computer system. You can read it here. And then Megan sends a link to her story about finding the perfect Bakewell tart. That’s available here. She has written them for no reward other than sharing these moments with you.

I simply write back to Megan thanking her for the stories, and add: “I know it’s no good telling you to just have a holiday. A writer is a writer, and you’re a real writer.”

UNJADED OFFERING

Jade Jurewicz is deputy editor of STM magazine but we work near each other in the office and chat. She mentions she was at Grand Mercure Basildene Manor in Margaret River last weekend, travelling there for the town’s writers festival, and I express an interest in that and within a few hours she’s written a story about her stay there. Jade’s a real writer, too. (And both exemplify the good people here, working for you.)

TEAM MOTO

And I’ll take this moment to share a little team “in-joke” . . . that, if you’re a male in this team, it helps if you ride a motorcycle. It’s true. My daily ride is a BMW R 1250 GS, Mogens Johansen’s is a Triumph Thruxton and Marco Ferrarese, our man living in Penang, has just bought a Yamaha FZ150 — very suitable for life on this busy Malaysian island.

RIDING HIGHS

“We understood that our vocation, our true vocation, was to move for eternity along the roads and seas of the world. Always curious, looking into everything that came before our eyes, sniffing out each corner but only ever faintly — not setting down roots in any land or staying long enough to see the substratum of things; the outer limits would suffice.”

— Ernesto “Che” Guevara in his book The Motorcycle Diaries, about riding a 500cc Norton nicknamed “The Powerful One” across South America with his friend Alberto Granado in 1952 (a journey during which he formulated many of his social ideas).

SHAKESPEARE’S CHOICE

In New York City’s legendary Shakespeare and Co. bookshop (at 2020 Broadway), the only thing I am looking for is Che’s book. I ask at the counter. “Over here, sir,” says the assistant, guiding me through the forest of books. And there, on a shelf, are several editions and versions to choose from. Shakespeare’s is always worth visiting — the shop at 939 Lexington Avenue will soon be closed, and its store at 2736 Broadway recently shut. But Shakespeare and Co. remains open at 2020 Broadway.

PLAYWRIGHT’S BIRTHPLACE

In England, the birthplace of poet and playwright William Shakespeare is always worth visiting. Shakespeare’s Birthplace, his childhood home, is in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon, a medieval market town in England’s West Midlands. Visitors hear the stories of his family life and see objects from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s world-class collections. Entry to explore three Shakespeare properties is $55 for adults, $48 concession. shakespeare.org.uk

READING THE TRUTH

“Travellers never did lie, though fools at home condemn them”, William Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest. His characters in the play encounter mystical inhabitants on the island they’re shipwrecked on, and realise that the far-fetched stories they’ve heard from other travellers in the past were, indeed, true. As, indeed, I am committed to seeing that what you read in our pages every week is true.

CRUISERS UNITED

I was parked outside The Bakers Hill Pie Shop, on Great Eastern Highway the other side of Northam, on Sunday when another Toyota LandCruiser 80 Series pulled in and parked next to me. “I had to park my 80 next to yours!” said the woman who got out from the driver’s seat. Both Cruisers were made in 1995, and both with standard diesel HZ1 straight-six engines, though her vehicle has done 1.6 million kilometres. “It’s on its third engine,” she says, “but I got 850,000km from the first one.” Flattened on the roof was the paraphernalia of a road pilot, who accompanies big or slow loads on our roads. It is an encounter, indeed, and a far-reaching story from another traveller, who’s planning to drive the Kimberley’s Gibb River Road next.

ROAD TIP Carry a handheld UHF radio so you can hear road pilots and follow their instructions. Altronics’ UHF5500-1, 80-channel, 5W high-power UHF CB transceiver is currently reduced from $199 to $125. altronics.com.au

KIMBERLEY TIPS

A reader (who I’ll keep anonymous) has remarked on the serendipity of our Kimberley Guide last Saturday. He writes: “About a month ago or so we booked ourselves on a flight to Kununurra for a week. Then a couple of weeks ago we saw the Kimberley Wilderness production at the museum. Fantastic. And now we look in Saturday’s paper and what is in your Travel section but the expose on Kununurra . . . very helpful. Thanks for that.” The Kimberley Guide is online at thewest.com.au/travel

PRIZING ANONYMITY

Our Kimberley correspondent finishes his email with “we leave on Saturday coming”, which is the reason I kept him anonymous. It surely wouldn’t be that hard for a burglar to match an address to a name, in some instances. This is worth considering for when you’re away, posting pictures on your social media accounts.

SHARP POINTS

I recently wrote about knitting needles of all types being allowed by Perth Airport security, in both check-in and carry-on luggage. But, as one reader has pointed out, airlines may have their own policies. For example, Singapore Airlines will not allow embroidery, crocheting and knitting needles in carry-on luggage. If you are flying and planning to knit, check with the airlines. Emirates does not allow knitting needles, while Qatar advises “you may not carry objects with sharp points or edges in the cabin of the aircraft”, though it does not list knitting needles as restricted.

Singapore Airlines also doesn’t allow handcuffs or whips in hand luggage.

BALTIC POINTERS

Another reader states: “I’m a solo traveller, 48 years old, looking to travel to Eastern Europe or the Baltic States. I’m not sure if this is doable as self-guided travel or if joining a small group tour would be better.” Both are doable, but I have started off with tours, as I still feel that may be more comfortable and advisable:

Classic Baltics is a “comfort” level, eight-day tour with Intrepid, through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It is from $2355 per person, which includes six nights in a comfortable hotel and one night in a cabin on Saaremaa Island. intrepidtravel.com/au

Inspiring Vacations has both independent and tours in Eastern Europe, like the non-escorted, seven-day premium independent Baltic city hop, from $1595 per person. inspiringvacations.com/au