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TravelTRAVEL
( categories: Travel )
New. Travel Insurance for SeniorsSubmitted by rlewis on 20 August, 2007 - 15:17.
( categories: Travel Talk )
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( categories: Travel )
Cruise the Murray on the PS MaryannSubmitted by rlewis on 28 April, 2008 - 13:36.
( categories: Travel Talk )
Thanks and goodbye to Tim Acton our travel writer.Submitted by rlewis on 13 March, 2008 - 08:02.
Tim Acton, who was our inaugural travel writer, has now retired. Thanks for all of your enthusiasm and support Tim, we will miss your articles and ever present good nature. ( categories: Travel Talk )
DESTINATION HOT TRAVEL NEWS DISCUSSION POINTSubmitted by tim acton on 24 February, 2008 - 12:03.
DESTINATION: CLARE VALLEY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
South Australia has three wine-growing areas in close proximity to Adelaide - The Barossa Valley to the east of the city, McLaren Vale incorporating the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsular to the south and my favourite the CLARE VALLEY.
My recent trip to the Clare Valley took me by car on an easy drive to the north of Adelaide, bypassing Gawler and making the first stop at RIVERTON. Its railway station was the scene of Aust's first political assasination in 1921 when a member of Parliament, Mr Percy Brookfield was shot by a Russian immigrant called Koorman Tomayaff. The attractive historic station is now a tea-room and art gallery.
Then on to the lovely little town of BURRA. In 1845 copper was found in the area and a huge mine called The Monster Mine was dug, yielding the richest ore the world had seen in those days. Nine very small towns grew up around the mine with a total population of approx 5000 and eventually these were formed into one town - Burra.
On my visit I stayed at the Burra Motel Inn beside the picturesque Burra Creek and called into the nearby Visitor Centre. There I purchased for $11 a "Burra Heritage Passport", an excellent tool with which to explore Burra by private car. You are provided with a detailed map which outlines a well-defined route around Burra covering 47 points of historic interest in logical order. You go past lovely old buildings, bridges, monuments, old shops, the railway station and the mine. You are also given a key which enables you to enter seven places including the main mine site, the police lock-up and stables, Redruth Gaol (where parts of the film "Breaker Morant" were made, an old brewery and miners dugouts. You make your own pace in your car (two hours in my case) and everything is maintained by The National Trust. Brilliant concept, most interesting and enjoyable.
Next morning through farming country via Clare (not great) to SEVEN HILL, the Clare Valley's oldest winery - started by Jesuit monks from Austria in 1851 to produce sacrimental wine. This is now a commercial winery but it has attractive St Aloysius Church in its grounds. The area is dotted with wineries, all open to the public and well-known, with cellar-door tastings and wines to purchase at good prices.
On to a treasure of a place - the village of MINTARO, built in 1849 and described recently as "a tranquil time capsule". Only two streets, it provides a real snapshot of our colonial past with its little stone cottages (some now b and bs), traditional country pub "The Magpie and Stump", slate quarry, three-acre park and John Smith's cafe with home-made apple cake not to be missed!!! Do NOT miss Mintaro.
Nearby Mintaro is MARTINDALE HALL, one of SA's finest historical homes. Built in 1879 by an English aristocrat Edmund Barton on an 11000 acre farm at great expense, this magnificent mansion was sold to the Mortlock family in 1950 and then donated to the people of SA. A Georgian building full of antiques, paintings and stylish furniture, it has nine bedrooms, two formal dining-rooms, library, huge kitchen, a superb billiards room and sweeping staircase. AND you can stay there - bed and breakfast Mon-Thu and if you have dinner there it is served by a butler! Oh, and Martindale House featured in the film "Picnic at Hanging Rock" as the girls school.
90 minutes drive back to Adelaide with a coffee-break at AUBURN, birthplace of C J Dennis who wrote "The Sentimental Bloke". End of a great three-day holiday with lovely scenery , lots of historic buildings, tasty wines, fresh air and very relaxing - THE CLARE VALLEY.
HOT TRAVEL NEWS; FLIGHTS TO NORTH AMERICA
Earlier this month the Australian and U.S Governments signed an "Open Skies" agreement covering the air routes between Australia and USA across the Pacific. Until now these routes have been dominated by Qantas and Unitied Airlines under respective Govt legislation and authority but this new agreement will allow other airlines to operate. The result for the travelling public should be greater choice of airlines but also cheaper fares. Already Virgin has indicated they will be flying ex Sydney to Los Angeles and/or San Fransisco and other airlines are likely to follow.
DISCUSSION POINT: AUST DOMESTIC AIRLINES
We now have three major domestic airlines flying domestic services within Australia: QANTAS JETSTAR, VIRGIN and TIGER AIRWAYS. Which one do you prefer and why? Tell us about your experiences on these airlines, good or bad please. ( categories: Travel Talk )
DESTINATION HOT TRAVEL NEWS DISCUSSION POINTSubmitted by tim acton on 10 January, 2008 - 11:50.
DESTINATION: GLASGOW
Glasgow , from the visitor's point-of-view, has long been seen as the poor cousin to the more stately and visably-attractive Edinburgh, just one hour away by car or train. Personally I have always had a soft spot for Glasgow - its people are warm and friendly, the River Clyde is a real working river and two of the best soccer teams in the world are based there! In recent years a transition has taken place and Glasgow is now one of the liveliest and most cosmopolitan cities in Europe. It has been reborn as a centre of style and modernity against a background of great Victorian architecture. It now boasts world-famous art collections, possibly the best shopping in UK, good accomodation and a fine choice of eating places. Public buildings have been sand-blasted to their natural colour, city streetscapes have been improved and a number of visitor attractions introduced and in 1999 Glasgow was honoured as the UK city of architecture and design. Some recommendations for things to see and do as a tourist in Glasgow: a) Visit the Tourist Info Bureau in George Street opposite the main railway station. Helpful staff, comprehensive brochures and a good local map to set you on your way. b) George Square has several fine statues - Sir Walter Scott, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Robert Burns and James Watt (inventor of the steam engine). c) Glasgow Cathedral, a great example of a complete Pre-reformation Scottish Cathedral. d) Glasgow Necropolis, a spectacular cemetery (if they can be described that way!) modelled on the well-known "Pere La Chase" Cemetery in Paris and containing some beautifully designed tombs. Also a great place for a panoramic view of the whole city. e) St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life and Art which offers an insight into faiths through- out the world. It also houses Salvador Dali's famous painting "Christ of St John of the Cross". f) The Gallery of Modern Art in Queen Street has four floors of paintings, sculptures and "novelty" artworks, some very surreal. g) The Mitchell Library, founded in 1874 and now Europe's largest public reference library containing over 1.5 million volumes of literature. h) Outside the city area about 16 miles to the south-west is a "must-see" called The Burrell Collection". Sir William Burrell was born in Glasgow in 1861, became a very wealthy shipping magnate and developed a massive art collection - medieval European art, oriental ceramics and bronzes, European paintings, ancient civil- isation relics - over 9000 works of art in total. In 1944 Sir William gifted his whole collection to the city of Glasgow and it is housed in a fine building called Pollok House in a rural setting. It is a wonderful exhibition, extremely varied and interesting. i) "THe House for an Art Lover", a house in Bellahouston Park which was built by the famous Scottish architect Charles Rennie McIntosh as his entry in an architectural competition held in Vienna in 1901. The exterior and interior of the house had to be a unified work of art using contemporary modern architecture and it was to be used by an art lover to facilitate lavish entertainment. It is beautiful - very clean simplistic lines, predominently white in colour and set in lovely gardens. The interior is also white with subtle lighting, minimilistic furniture but with great lines, artistic fireplaces, cleverly concealed wall cupboards - and an overall feeling of space, light and peacefulness. Well worth visiting.
Glasgow is certainly well worth visiting in its own right and it is also a great setting-off point to Loch Lomond, Oban and the western Isles and especially an unforgettable train journey to the Isle of Skye, to Inverness in the middle of Scotland, to the Highlands and the Orkneys.
( categories: Travel Talk )
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