August, 2021 - Travels with Verne and Roy

Roy’s Swan Valley WA Birthday Treat, 5-7 August

Guildford and the various attractions of James Street; The Tale of the Stubborn Donkey; Colonial Building, three cafés and Terrace Street; Pinelli’s Wine Estate for tasting and beatific beef cheeks; historic Rose & Crown and its 1840 restaurant; brunch at Padbury’s; Mandoon Wine Estate tour and wine-tasting; dégustation at Wild Swan; B&B at The Colony; summing up and stocking up

After a month of record rainfall, howling gales and unusually low temperatures for Perth, I’d been resigned to our Swan Valley getaway being soggy, cold and blustery. But we needed to use Roy’s Ultimate Mandoon Experience* – a birthday gift from the kids – before the voucher expired. I booked it for a Friday night.

QLD Odyssey Part 8: Trinity Beach, Cairns and the train back to Brisbane, 23-27 June

Spa pool at Caldwell; Mt Bartle Frere – what’s in a name?; quick side-track to Melbourne; Trinity Beach – two nights, two Italians; Port Douglas – oversold?; one night in Cairns; back to Bris on the splendid Spirit of Queensland; Monday, Monday

Townsville to Trinity Beach – via Cairns

Do stop at the spa pool at Cardwell, north of Townsville, said Tracy at our Airlie accommodation. It’s located just two miles from the main highway, it’s a site of spiritual significance for the indigenous community, it’s eerily blue, and it’s well worth the short detour.

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Townsville to Cairns

QLD Odyssey Part Seven: Townsville & Magnetic Island, 20-22 June

The not-so-sweet colonial history of sugar; The Strand, Townsville; topped-up long macs; ferry to Magnetic Island; Scallywags, pirates and other islanders; A Touch of Salt review; underbelly musings

QLD Odyssey – Part Six: The Whitsundays, 17-19 June

Bundaberg – arguably missable; rum from a dark Satanic mill; cane for the pain: spook and diesel; 1770 and Agnes Waters; 8 hours to Airlie Beach; Flaggy Rock – best pies on the planet; Tracy saves the day; ZigZag Whitsundays Day Tour – best beach in the world; Sorrento sundowners and dinner at The Rocks

The main reason to stay at Seventeen Seventy / 1770 or its immediate neighbour Agnes Waters – another memorable name, if not place – is that it’s a three-hour drive from Hervey Bay when heading north to Cairns. And a three-hour stint is, in my opinion, the perfect amount of driving time; four hours is OK, too. Anything longer becomes tiresome.