Travel

The March long weekend brings with it many entertaining events throughout the region. Just a hop, skip and a jump away, will be Beulah’s not-to-be-missed Wide Open Spaces Festival; a weekend of music, art, food and fun at the Beulah Recreation Reserve.

Newstead Open Studios art trail is a locally inspired and crafted event, held annually since 2015 and based in and around Newstead, in the heart of Victoria’s goldfields region. This, our tenth-year, features 10 studios with 17 artists participating.

Kate Holland. Being a chef means juggling a multitude of demands. So, is inviting a fellow foodie into the kitchen to interpret your menu an act of generosity or insanity? Alana Brabin, head chef at Kangaroos Island’s majestic dining venue The Enchanted Fig Tree, is all for it ... Sarah Turner (Chef of the Year 2007) and Rocky Oliver (Pirate Life) will enter the fig tree fold on  Sunday February 25  and  Saturday March 23  respectively.

Regional Express Airlines will prolong the suspension of some of its flights for another seven months, blaming sustained supply chain challenges. Rex cut flights on seven of its NSW routes in September including from Sydney to Albury, Coffs Harbour, Griffith, Narrandera, Orange, Parkes and Port Macquarie.

Australia’s only independent low-cost carrier Bonza is celebrating a year since taking to Aussie skies to democratise air travel across the country. Bonza revealed that during the past year it has saved Aussie travellers over $125 million by delivering upon its mission of making air travel more affordable and accessible to travellers…

Any conversation about the livability of Alice Springs will quickly hit on atrociously priced air fares making personal contact with loved ones interstate a nightmare. The touchdown of Bonza is bringing significant relief. But why can’t it fly to Sydney?

We’re on the hunt for the best country pub that provides a cracker experience for mature-age RV travellers. That’s why we’ve worked with other organisations to identify and short-list 16 top pubs that are now up with a chance of being named the Best  Grey Nomad Pub  Stay  in Australia.

The Murray River holds a special place in many hearts and minds of locals. The river brings life to the landscape and the people who live and rely on her. After a trip down the Murray River from Barham to Wellington in South Australia and back, retired land surveyor David Laughlin was left with reflections of natural beauty, lessons from the past and current management by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

Erin McWaters. In November 2022, Shannon and Erin were handed the keys to the Autumn 2021 Shitbox Rally AU Falcon of local Lucindale Survivors Rohan Giles and Andrew Wilks, and began their fundraising campaign to get the face-lifted Sherlee the Shitbox off the Port Douglas start-line on October 13th 2023 for the Spring 2023 Rally, bound for Adelaide via Birdsville.

If you have guests arriving for Christmas and over the summer break, Maldon Caravan Park is once again an option for accommodation. After more than six months of closure, Gay and Des Stormon were brought in to have the Park ready for the recent Maldon Folk Festival.

After years of neglect, the glory days of Babinda’s historic nursing quarters have been returned with a new lease of life, transforming the Art Deco beauty into a popular guesthouse in the heart of nature’s playground ... In carrying on her mother’s tradition of bringing old buildings back to life, Maggie Perpetua Nelson’s daughter, Kim Marsden, undertook the considered renovation of Babinda Quarters, reimagining it into a fresh iteration oozing creativity, character, and a good dose of quirk.

They would come from Queensland to Tasmania and all parts in between. Some would come ‘just over the hill there’ from a place called Perth. And as anticipated, in they came for the 35th Truck Show held last weekend at the Campbells Creek Sports Ground.

South Australians living in rural and regional areas will now be eligible for financial support to travel to specialist Prosthetic and Orthotic clinics for health appointments, under an expansion of the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme ... To qualify for this service, people must attend either a public or private hospital or outpatient clinic...

As a part of the ongoing “Charging the Regions” project, Donald has seen the completion of its very own electric car charging station, located at 68A Woods Street.

Jo Russell. Kim and Joo and their son Ping, travelled to Hualien, Taiwan in July to take part in a Tzu Chi retreat and to be present for Ping’s certification as a Tzu Chi commissioner.   Kim described Taiwan as their spiritual home.

83 bikes and 52 cars rumbled, rattled and rolled their way around the Gannawarra Shire and over the border into Barham ... “We were given a lovely lot of toys, which is very appreciated and will put a smile on many littlies’ faces Christmas morning": Event organiser, John Webb.

The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed news the Federal Government will double the Roads to Recovery funding program, providing a much needed shot in the arm to dilapidated regional roads ... NFF President David Jochinke said this increased funding would provide key resources to local government to maintain local road networks.  

The Gold Coast just got closer to more of Australia with  Bonza  launching operations there ... Australia’s newest low-cost carrier will progressively introduce 14 routes over November and December to have wheels up on its newest base before the peak summer travel season.

Rex Airlines has been recognised as having the South Pacific’s Best Cabin Service in the 2024 Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Awards. The award was presented in Singapore last night where Rex’s Executive Chairman, Lim Kim Hai, accepted it on behalf of the airline.

When Respect Cohuna Village resident, Robin Wilkinson, mentioned she would love to fly a plane, staff at the village ‘flew’ into action and before she knew it, the 84-year-old was flying high above the town she now calls home … “They offered me a trip to go on a joy flight, and I jumped to it,” said Robin...