Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 25 November 2025

Please credit Brian Mathews/Jam Press/australscope Photographer captures rare shots of protective polar bear mum and playful cubs frolicking in the snow in beautiful wildlife scene A photographer has captured beautiful photos of a mother polar bear and her playful cubs frolicking in the snow as they make their way to the sea to hunt after hibernation. Brian Mathews, 42, from North East England, Durham has captured the magnificent wildlife scene of a protective marine mammal guarding her babies as they prance around in a blanket of snow. The photographer ventured into Wapusk National Park, around 30 miles south of Churchill, Manitoba in Canada, to snap the incredible shots earlier this month. Alongside his team, Brian spent up to 12 hours tracking and observing the bears in temperatures as low as -65°C with strong, chilly winds. He came across polar bear cubs and quickly snapped several shots of the marine mammals with their mother. The cubs were building up the strength to walk across the ice to the sea so their mum could hunt and eat for the first time after hibernating for six months. "Each day we spent 12 hours on the tundra tracking, observing and photographing the bears," Brian told Jam Press. "The conditions are harsh, with low temperatures, and the lowest recorded was -65°C with wind chill and very strong winds across the tundra, which makes photography difficult. "The bears have just come out of their dens and the cubs are tiny but quickly have to get strong enough to walk 35 miles to Hudson Bay so their mothers can hunt and eat for the first time in six months. "The cubs in the photos were building up their strength playing and trying to keep warm while the mother wasn’t bothered by the cold – they would often fall asleep in front of us, letting the drifting snow entomb them." Brian has always enjoyed the outdoors and watching wildlife, purchasing his first camera in 2001. The 42-year-old has travelled to over 50 countries snappi

By Stephen Scourfield

Travel Editor Stephen Scourfield peruses another week in Travel

SHARED HUMANITY

Let’s start with Tom Cruise, accepting his Oscar — as what he says about cinema applies to travel, and how we all feel about it (pretty much word-for-word):

“It takes me around the world. It helps me appreciate and respect differences. It shows me also our shared humanity, how alike we are in so, so many ways.” Tom rounded up by saying “making films is not what I do, it is who I am”. Writing is not what I do, it is who I am.

LUXURY PREDICTION

In our Luxury Travel magazine in April 2024, I wrote: “... what is perceived as ‘luxury travel’ is also changing. The big demand is for more meaningful experiences. These are now as ‘intrinsic to luxury travel’ as that infinity pool. This big attitudinal shift changes travel from being what we might call a ‘leisure activity’ to being an exercise in learning and personal growth. Instead of allocating income to material goods, luxury travellers are seeking high quality, expansive, immersive and memorable experiences.”

ENJOYING TIME

... and new national research commissioned by Club Med reveals that significant shift in how Australians view travel and luxury:

62 per cent believe that luxury has changed over the last five years.

68 per cent of respondents say having time and space of mind to connect to and make memories with family and friends is the biggest luxury.

34 per cent of respondents say disconnecting from screens is a greater luxury than owning expensive goods.

SLOWER PACE

Wendy Wu Tours, one of Australia’s leading travel specialists, this week launched its first-ever annual report, The Journey Ahead. It reveals how Australians are rethinking the way they explore the world, with a growing shift towards immersive, meaningful and slow-paced experiences across Asia and beyond. Some common perceptions about Asia (cultural differences, geopolitical tensions and pollution) often hold travellers back, but those who go are discovering a different reality, the report says.

49 per cent of travellers are pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of locals.

47 per cent are surprised by the affordability.

43 per cent highlight the stunning landscapes.

JAPAN IS TOP

The Wendy Wu Tours report also confirms that:

“Japan remains Australia’s No.1 travel destination, driven by a growing appetite for deeper, more meaningful experiences.”

“Solo travel is on the rise, with 73 per cent of Australians considering exploring alone, drawn by freedom, personal growth, and cultural immersion.”

“Multi-generational trips are increasingly popular, with families across all States embracing meaningful travel.”

Simon Bell, managing director of Wendy Wu Tours Australia, says: “We are witnessing an exciting evolution in Australian travel. People are slowing down, connecting more deeply, and prioritising experiences over checklists.”

wendywutours.com.au

INNOVATION CENTRE

Qantas is establishing its new Product Innovation Centre in Adelaide. The airline’s product managers, digital experience designers, software engineers and data and AI specialists aim to transform how customers interact with the airline. Expect better app functionality, “seamless check-in” and smarter baggage tracking. It will also develop AI-powered tools to help “when travel doesn’t go to plan”, says a spokesperson.

FAST WI-FI

And a spokesperson for Qatar Airways, operator of the biggest number of Starlink-equipped wide-body aircraft, says that more than 100 wide-body aircraft now have the fastest wi-fi in the sky. More than 50 per cent of its wide-body fleet is now connected to Starlink satellite internet.

CHRISTMAS CRUSH

Emirates is bracing for more than 2.3 million departures over the next few weekends, and more than 2.5 million arrivals. And, in advising customers of this “significant travel surge throughout December”, a spokesperson strongly recommends that customers plan their travel carefully. There may be extra traffic on the way to the airport, busier carparks and a bustling airport.

Here’s some advice from the airline:

“Download the Emirates App to check-in online. Avoid debates and confusion in advance and ensure the whole family or group is aware of the recommended travel times from Emirates. During December, you should arrive to the airport three hours before departure. Ensure you pass through immigration 90 minutes before departure, and reach your correct boarding gate one hour before departure.”

Emirates this week ordered 65 additional Boeing 777X aircraft, worth $58 billion, at Dubai Airshow 2025.

Emirates also this week announced the next phase of its retrofit program, with 60 A380s and 51 Boeing 777s to receive the latest cabin innovations. Starting from August 2026, the airline will introduce “fully immersive in-flight entertainment” and upgraded wi-fi with Starlink on these aircraft, as part of its widespread fleet modernisation.

ALASKA PACKAGE

Bicton Travel has added two nights’ accommodation in Vancouver to set travellers up for a nice package for Alaska. There are two nights in a hotel in Vancouver followed by a seven-night round-trip cruise on Holland America Line’s MS Koningsdam, and air value of $1000 per person, to come up with a nine-night package from $3399 per person, twin share. The package, from July 30, 2026, is exclusive to Bicton and Claremont Travel and must be booked by November 30, 2025 (code HAL208). Call 9339 5199.

BEARS & PUFFINS

I’ve been corresponding with a reader who travelled with me to Antarctica and is now interested in the Arctic Circle, Norway and Svalbard. She adds: “Having said that, I have been informed that if I want to see polar bears I should look at Hudson Bay.” A companion traveller adds that she’s interested in seeing puffins.

First, yes, if you really want to hang out with polar bears, you can’t beat Hudson Bay. There are more than 600 living in that area. canadapolarbears.com

But it’s a completely different experience coming across one in a remote place. For that, I’d be thinking first of Svalbard and HX Expeditions. travelhx.com.au

FARNE ISLAND

Puffins are a whole different kettle of fish. The best places where I have seen them are Latrabjarg Cliffs in Iceland and Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast in England. There’s a nice little boat trip out there. farne-islands.com

RITES OF PASSAGE

Adventure Canada poses an interesting question: “What does it mean to discover a place that was never lost?” Quite right. I try to avoid the word “explore” when we are clearly following in the footsteps of others.

Adventure Canada is a good family- owned-and-run company, based in Canada and specialising in adventure cruises through the Northwest Passage. I’ve sailed this fabled route with them — an extraordinary experience. They are guided by an award-winning expedition team, which includes Inuit experts. They sail in the ship Ocean Victory through the Northwest Passage from Greenland’s coast to Canada’s Arctic archipelago and visit Beechey Island, where the Franklin Expedition’s story still echoes. Until November 26, 2025, they have 25 per cent off 2026 Northwest Passage journeys.

adventurecanada.com

DINNER & SOLITUDE

Another reader wrote to thank us for the Round the World Dinner, which she attended. “I always enjoy these — the food so inventive, your travel tales ever entertaining and accompanying music so apt.” But she also made reference to Swiss Tourism having a website where you can match your birth sign to locations. She says: “I did the Swiss Tourism birth-sign test you outlined in today’s Travel section — ‘Intense Scorpio feels at home in Engadin — mystical valleys, remote beauty and transformative solitude’. True for this intense Scorpio who indeed enjoys her solitude.”

COST OF BEING SOLO

And a solo traveller reacted to last Saturday’s River Cruising Guide: “I would dearly love to go on a cruise, but find the single supplement makes it far too expensive. Most of them seem to add half the price again to the total. I’m sure I’m not the only single woman of mature years who would be delighted to find a river cruise where the single supplement is not so exorbitant. On the whole, I feel single people, women in particular, are not very well catered for in the travel industry. Perhaps this would be a good topic for one of your travel supplements?”

We continually write about single supplements, and have done so for many years — and be assured we will continue to do so. I do, generally, see movement in this — that travel companies are now aware of the number of single and solo travellers, and catering better for them. We have had many recent stories on this subject.

In “very simple maths”, if it costs $500,000 to run a river cruise ship on a particular itinerary (ship maintenance and depreciation, docking fees, crew, food and other supplies, etc) and there are 50 cabins filled with 100 guests, they pay $5000 each. If you allocate half the cabins for solo travellers, everyone will pay $6666 and those sharing (in “half a cabin”) will subsidise the single travellers who are not.

GARDEN FESTIVAL

The Friends of Kings Park has an exclusive tour to the Singapore Garden Festival in July 2026. The four-night tour, from July 7 to 11, 2026, begins with a visit to the biennial Singapore Garden Festival, which is being held at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, where there will be a tour of gardens.

The group will also visit Singapore Botanic Garden, which was founded in 1859, HortPark, the Spice Garden and National Orchid Garden.

Former Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority botanic garden director Sue McDougall is donating her time to guide the tour, which will raise funds for Perth’s Kings Park and Botanic Gardens. It is $2450 per person, twin share, not including airfares.

Bookings are through Travelrite. Travelrite.com.au or 1800 630 343.

ALBANY’S BIG YEAR

In 2026, Albany will host Western Australia’s first Bicentenary. It was the State’s first settlement for European arrivals, but Albany’s 200th anniversary is being seen as more than a historical marker. It will be a celebration of heritage, culture and community.

As the team behind albany2026.com.au states: “At the heart of Albany 2026 is a story far older than two centuries. This is Menang Noongar Boodja; ancient country with deep cultural roots, where stories have been passed down for countless generations and continue to be shared today.” There will be a year-long program of cultural events focused on honest reflection, community celebration and future focused aspirations.

Albany Then & Now: Historical Panoramas of Menang Noongar Boodja is a narrated exhibition with panoramic projections across a 180-degree screen. Through diverse voices and lived experiences, the streets, shorelines and forgotten corners are brought to life through story. It is free and at the Museum of the Great Southern from December 12 to January 1, 2026, from 10am to 4pm.

albany2026.com.au/events/albany-then-and-now

FAREWELL BLACKIE

We attended the funeral of reader Graeme “Blackie” Black, a former Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOFF) and long-time flight engineer on Caribou aircraft. Graeme and wife Wendy came to many of our events — great supporters of all we do. Wendy says: “I know Graeme would also appreciate you coming. You must have so many friends from West Travel Club. We have always been honoured that you have thought of us as family.”

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