Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 29 October 2024

EURO STARS

As you’ll gather from the picture at the top of this page, members of our extended team (family) are in Europe. Mogens Johansen is in Portugal, river cruising with APT on their ship Estrela on the Douro River. His stories will start to be published as soon as he is back — but, as you see from the picture, Mogens spent his birthday on Tuesday writing. So, what you will read in a couple of weeks was written on the ship, in the moment. The ship only set sail this year and, with a maximum of 114 passengers, the team prides itself on offering an intimate and authentic experience. (And that backs in nicely to our Authentic Experiences Guide, which you can read here.)

Grady Brand, Travel’s great friend and WA wildflower specialist, is in Paris with partner Lesley Hammersley (for another birthday). Grady reports there’s always a crowd outside the apartment block seen so often in Netflix series Emily In Paris, season three. Other places that feature in season three of the show are the railway station Gare du Nord, theatre La Nouvelle Eve, church Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre and the romantic hotspot The Wall of Love (le mur des je t’aime) in the Jehan Rictus garden square in Montmartre. All nice places to visit.

EMILY’S MISS-STEP

Anyone who has watched the show (and with pretty locations and outfits, why wouldn’t you?) will know that the latest season sees Emily drawn to Rome by love interest Marcello. But — whoops! There was a pretty decent faux pas when Emily (played by singer Phil Collins’ daughter Lily) and Marcello sit on the Spanish Steps. I’m sure the film crew had permission — but just as advice to anyone else going there, since 2019 it has been illegal to sit on the 18th-century staircase. There are even officials in high-vis jackets and whistles to warn offenders (if you’re lucky) — and to hand out a €250 ($400) fine just for sitting down.

TOUR STARS

I’m just back from an assignment in South Korea, but last Sunday wrote all the scripts for our Round Europe Dinner on November 14. I then read each on a teleprompter, recording them and sending the sound files to composer Steve Richter. We will perform each before chef Costa’s course from that country is served. They are all based on places you can experience with Albatross Tours. Their itineraries are amazing — so much so that we have partnered with them for a tour in Italy early next year. I’m so pleased to see they are a finalist again in the National Travel Industry Awards. They are definitely trusted friends. albatrosstours.com.au

(We have a few places left at our dinner — westtravelclub.com.au/events).

ABSORBING ISLAND

I’m just back from South Korea’s Jeju Island, as you can read here.

By flying with Scoot airline, I could combine two interestingly contrasting destinations — high-rise Singapore and island-attitude Jeju — and still be quite close to home. Jeju today is all about tangerines and tourism — both bringing prosperity and helping to break it out of an oppressive past.

As writers, we submerge ourselves in all aspects of a place, to fully understand it, interpret it and present it to you.

More than 90 per cent of South Koreans drive cars made in their own country — Kia, Hyundai and Genesis. My story on this is in West Wheels, in the centre of this edition.

Samsung is South Korea’s top company, and Mogens Johansen often tests their phones for our travelling readers.

South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world, and it is continuing to fall. In 2023, it was 0.72, referring to the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime. For a population to maintain its numbers, that should be 2.1. It is still very much frowned upon for single women to have babies, and they talk about the lack of “dateable men”.

“I cannot predict Jeju weather or Jeju men,” announces Oh Jeoung Sil, my new friend on the island.

There were queues in bookshops for Jeju Island writer Han Kang’s books, after the author was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. Kang is the first South Korean writer to win the award and fellow South Korean author Sung-il Kim generously says: “If one Korean novelist must win the Nobel prize in literature, it would have to be Han Kang.” Her 2014 novel Human Acts tells an important part of the country’s story — the democratisation uprising of May 18, 1980, in Gwangju, Korea. A boy’s death is used to look at the effect of the uprising on the city’s people.

I’m rewatching Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix, which gives more insight into South Korea.

QATAR BIRTHDAY

Back to birthdays, and Qatar Airways is celebrating its 15 years of service in Australia by featuring fine Australian native flavours in its first and business class menu from December 15, 2024. Local ingredients have been sourced from sustainable suppliers across the country, like the Queensland lemon myrtle and fresh berries.

LAKE CELEBRATION

… and still on birthdays, Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin is celebrating its 60th. With spring in full bloom, there are plenty of activities around the lake.

My pick …

+ Electric Picnic Boats can be rented seven days a week. goboat.com.au

+ Pedal Boats by Love Boats are available every day. loveboats.com.au

+ The Classic Loop is a 5km “bridge to bridge” loop around the central basin of the lake. Walk or use an eScooter. visitcanberra.com.au

+ Margot Bar is a small wine and espresso bar in a super setting. margot.bar

And I’ll say it again — Canberra has the best of everything Australian in its collections. (Forget Sydney.) Have the National Gallery of Australia in your sights, if you haven’t been there. nga.gov.au

LATE NIGHTS

Rottnest Island ferries have had their return times extended to 9pm for the summer, starting from November 14, 2024.

TRAIL EXTENDED

In New Zealand’s South Island town of Queenstown, the new 17km Wharehuanui Trail is the result of seven years work, and extends the Queenstown Trails Great Rides network for bikes. It links Arthurs Point and Arrowtown, and runs along the northern side of the Whakatipu Basin and round the base of Coronet Peak before joining the Countryside Trail at Millbrook Resort.

The planned opening of the Shotover Gorge Trail this summer will add an extra 10km of trail, connecting Arthurs Point to Frankton.

Once that trail is opened, the full Queenstown Trail will be 150km long.

HELSINKI WINNER

On October 16, Helsinki was named the world’s most sustainable travel destination. The Finnish capital was ranked number one in the stringent Global Destination Sustainability Index. It compares more than 100 cities throughout the world that have invested in sustainability.

EDGY TRIPS

And finally, the big cruise ship Celebrity Edge has arrived back in Sydney to start its second season in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. From now until the end of April 2025, Celebrity Cruises ships will sail 17 itineraries to a collection of 26 ports.

My pick are its 11-night and 13-night New Zealand voyages to both the North and South islands. Contact travel agents and celebrity.cruiselines.com