Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 21 October 2025

ROYAL VISIT

Our cruising writer, Michael Ferrante, and I were at Northport in the early morning sun on Monday to watch cruise ship Crown Princess arrive in Fremantle. Michael’s story is here.

A late-night ferry service will run between Rottnest Island and Freo from the end of October. The Rottnest Express service will leave the island at 9pm from Thursdays to Sundays from October 30 to January, and Fridays to Sundays from February to April, 2026.

SSSSH SYDNEY

Reader Karina McRoberts says: “Please advise travellers to Sydney airport — if your flight gets in late, and your next flight is after 12am, you will be locked out of the airport until 4am. Actually put out on the street. There is no transit lounge at Sydney Airport. Unheard of in all the world. Sydney sucks.”

Sydney Airport has a curfew that applies to aircraft operations between 11pm and 6am (local time). Aircraft, other than those to which an exception applies, cannot take-off from or land at Sydney Airport, unless the aircraft is involved in an emergency.

I’ve often stayed at, and mentioned in these pages, Rydges Sydney Airport, which is a few minutes’ walk from the international terminal.

CAPTION WRITERS

Hotel representatives send lots of information about new properties and refurbishments. I read through it all carefully — and, as importantly, between the lines, as they’re a suitably enthusiastic lot.

“It is all about being a place where our guests are empowered to create their own experiences, and can connect, explore and stay on their own terms, says Temara Exton, the general manager of a hotel called Caption by Hyatt Central Sydney. It opened last Monday (October 13) — the first hotel by that brand in Australia. It is nicely placed in Haymarket, close to the light rail and Central Station. “The hotel’s 174 bold, design-forward rooms are infused with character and creative energy,” says another spokesperson.

MANIK RETOLD

In Bali ...

“Regent Bali Canggu stands as a refined reimagining of modern luxury where thoughtful design, deep cultural reverence and artisan excellence converge on the island’s coveted south-west coast,” apparently. The new resort has 150 beachfront suites and villas.

I was interested to see that the resort’s logo is an illustration based on a local legend about a character called Manik Angkeran. He lived with his parents in Bali and his father, Sidi Mantra, was thought to have supernatural powers. But Manik was a gambler, always asking his parents for money, and eventually sending them broke. He planned to kill Agung Mountain’s dragon and steal its jewel stash but the dragon knew this and killed Manik first. Sidi begged the dragon to bring his son back to life — and it did so on the condition that Manik lived in a different place. With Manik Angkeran on the island of Java and his parents still on Bali, the dragon made the Bali Strait, stopping Manik from returning. The hotel’s illustration of this is used inside its envelopes and umbrellas. (It is by Romanian-born contemporary artist Saddo, currently based in Bucharest.)

The hotel has a five-tonne Paras stone carving hand-chiselled by locals.

ISLAND UNVEILED

Madagascar has been geographically isolated in the Indian Ocean for more than 80 million years, allowing more than 200,000 species to develop, more than 80,000 of them endemic to the island between us and Africa. It has long been thought that humans only arrived perhaps 2000 years ago, and then from Indonesia, bringing with them animism — the belief that life on Earth is temporary, the long-term life is spiritual, that ancestors should be revered and that inanimate objects have a soul. (A supernatural power animates the material universe.) The place will be revealed with extraordinary clarity by brilliant guide and tour leaders Diary Andrianampoina on Travel Directors’ Essential Madagascar tour. Diary is a native Madagascan, philanthropist, musician, botanist and naturalist. The 18-day tour starts on May 8, 2026. I’m confident the tour will be unaffected by current local political and government issues — and there WILL be lemurs. (Fittingly, a group of lemurs is called a conspiracy.) It is from $15,850 per person, all inclusive. There’s a $2520 single supplement. 1300 856 661 and traveldirectors.com.au

HISTORY RESPECTED

The Claremont Boutique Hotel has opened in the leafy suburb of Claremont, in Cape Town, South Africa. With just 15 rooms, the heart of the property is a 1928 manor designed by Magdalena Gertrude Sauer, South Africa’s first registered female architect. It has high ceilings and graceful lines, and has been carefully restored to preserve its character, while introducing modern comforts. Some rooms are in the Manor House, others opening on to gardens or by the pool. The hotel has a pool, spa and sauna, creating a balance of relaxation, privacy, and wellbeing for all. The boutique hotel is part of the Sabi Sabi Collection — its first expansion beyond lodges in the Sabi Sand region.

MOUNT WALKING

Work is under way on a new network of walk trails in Albany’s Mounts Heritage Precinct.

The Albany Heritage Park Link Trails project has 8km of single-use walking trails, 10km of easy mountain bike trails, and 5km of dual-use pathways for pedestrians and cyclists. It consolidates existing trails between Mt Adelaide and Mt Clarence, with dual-use pathways connecting Middleton Beach, the town centre and the waterfront. It’s all going to take nearly $7 million of taxpayers’ money.