By John Rozentals.
Akaroa Cooking School … showing people that cooking healthy nutritious meals can be quick, easy — and, most importantly, fun.
It’s not unusual for Ant and Lou Bentley to turn up at work in the morning to find basil or some other fresh herb on the doorstep.
That’s how it’s been for the couple since they set up Akaroa Cooking School in the charming French-inspired village just easy of Christchurch eight years ago and realised just what an abundance of local seasonal produce — from berries growing wild in hedgerows to fresh fish from harbour — they had available to them.
During their classes, Ant and Lou share recipes, cooking ideas and entertaining secrets with small, intimate groups of up to 16 people.
They want to show people that cooking healthy nutritious meals can be quick, easy — and, most importantly, fun.
Classes are themed — from French, Thai, Italian cuisine to tapas and canapés — and generally run from 10am to 4pm.
Visit www.akaroacooking.co.nz.
The Conrad Bora Bora Nui … claimed to feature Bora Bora’s only unobstructed sunset views.
Tahiti’s completely refurbished Conrad Bora Bora Nui, facing the ocean in a private cove on the small island island of Motu To’opua, is celebrating its first birthday.
Its half-mile-long white-sand beach is watched over by the soaring Mount Otemanu which becomes the backdrop to the hotel when approaching from the water.
The stunning overwater bungalows look out upon the lagoon and are claimed to feature Bora Bora’s only unobstructed sunset views. Its waters teem with wildlife not seen in the more sheltered waters of the interior lagoon.
The resort also has its own private island, Motu Tapu, which is five minutes by boat from the resort, accessible exclusively to hotel guests and ideal for private picnic lunches, intimate beach weddings and romantic dinners.
The resort has an active coral-restoration program which allows guests to participate in the preservation of the local marine habitat and fauna.
The resort is approximately 20-minutes by boat from Bora Bora Airport.
Rates start at $1585 per night in an overwater bungalow, and $925 per night in a non- overwater bungalow. Visit www.conradhotels3.hilton.com.
Brigitte … a 17th-century suite in Paris’s Latin Quarter.
Petite B&B features a boutique catalogue of unique B&Bs and private apartments in Paris, Lisbon and Porto, offering intimate, immersive cultural experiences just not available in commercial hotels.
In Paris, for example, Brigitte is a 17th-century suite — complete with creaking floorboards, tilted doorframes and its own French maman filled with interesting historical facts — in the Latin Quarter on the banks of the Seine and close to Sorbonne University and the Notre Dame.
It is priced from about $175 per night for one or two guests, $260 for three or four.
Visit www.petitebnbs.com.
A luxurious base for an exploration of Myanmar … a suite aboard Sanctuary Anandan.
There’s good reason why Myanmar is known as the ‘Golden Land’. Everywhere you look, it seems you are greeted with golden sunsets, stupas and smiles.
A great way to explore Myanmar’s golden heart is a cruise along the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers.
The Irrawaddy, best known as the ‘Road to Mandalay’, is Myanmar’s longest river, flowing from high in the Himalayas through some of the nation’s most spectacular regions before emptying into the Andaman Sea.
Its tributary, the Chindwin River, features steep banks of granite interspersed with rolling hills and verdant forest, occasionally revealing monkeys jumping along the shoreline — and considerably less traffic and fewer tourists.
Sanctuary Retreats will have a 10-night Mandalay-Paung Pyin-Bagan cruise in August aboard the all-suite Sanctuary Anandan, priced from about $3500 per suite.
Features include Monywa, best known for its Thanboddhay Pagoda, an enormous Buddhist temple covered with more than 500,000 images of Buddha, the village of Masein, with its misty blue and green hills interrupted by 28 whitewashed pagodas filing down from the crest of the hill towards the water, and the cave pagodas of Po Win Taung and Shwe Ba Taungis.
Visit www.sanctuaryretreats.com.
Hurtigruten’s 590-passenger Nordlys … offering a chance to see the famous Northern Lights.
Guests on a new cruise-and-rail tour to the top of Norway in winter next year can search for the famous Northern Lights while staying in cosy ‘gamme’ lodges inspired by traditional hunting and fishing huts in the Arctic.
They can also huddle around roaring log fires, mingle with friendly local reindeer and join husky sleigh rides through the pine forests.
Cruise Express’s 15-night ‘Quest for the Northern Lights’ itinerary will depart in March next year and is priced from $8640 per person twin-share ex Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth.
It includes a two night stay in Oslo, a journey on the panoramic Flam Railway — one of the world’s steepest and most picturesque train rides — and a six-night cruise on board Hurtigruten’s 590-passenger Nordlys.
Highlights include magnificent fjords, mighty glaciers and snow-clad mountains, as well as quaint towns such as Trondheim and Alesund.
A cruise through two spectacular fjords — Naeroyfjord and Aurlandsfjord — provides the visitor with a perspective of this stunning region from sea level.
Phone 1300 766 537 or visit www.cruiseexpress.com.au.
Cruising the Pieman River … there are special winter deals at Corinna.
Corinna, located in the western wilderness of Tasmania and recognised widely as one of the world’s most significant and inspiring places, is offering a special winter deal.
For minimum two-night stay during May, June and July pay $190 per night for a Queen Eco Retreat, which sleeps two people.
The deal includes full breakfast packs for both days, to cook in the cottage.
Please note that Pieman River cruises will be operating on a reduced schedule during this period and that the Corinna restaurant will be closed, so guests will need to either bring supplies so they can cook up a storm in their cabin or order a lunch and/or dinner pack via the team.
The bar is open all year round.
Phone (03) 6446 1170 or visit www.corinna.com.au.
Metro Hotel Marlow Sydney Central … Vivid deals from 175 per night.
Literally hundreds of thousands of visitors will converge on the city to enjoy Vivid Sydney from May 25 to June 16 for the tenth annual celebration of light, music and ideas.
For a full event listing, visit www.vividsydney.com.
Metro Hotels & Apartments in Sydney is offering packages for Vivid, with prices starting from $175 per night at Metro Hotel Marlow Sydney Central.
The package, which is valid for stays May 20 to June 20, includes accommodation in a Superior Room, and a Vivid gift bag containing a bottle of sparkling wine, chocolates and various Vivid glow items.
Visit www.metrohotels.com.au.
The Murray Princess … a modern replica of the paddle wheelers that cruised the river in the 1800s.
Get your Christmas fix early on board the Murray Princess on selected three-, four- and seven-night Christmas-in-July cruises.
They combine scheduled itineraries with festivities including a traditional Christmas dinner or lunch, a range of Christmas-themed activities and games, Christmas music, egg nog, and a visit from Santa.
There’s also plenty of opportunity to discover the mighty Murray River’s history, culture and nature on a modern replica of the paddle wheelers that cruised it in the 1800s.
Each day brings excursions to historic ports, sacred Aboriginal sites, a sheep station and woolshed and a native wildlife shelter, plus guided nature walks to learn about the ecology of the river.
Follow the food-and-wine trail for tastings at several vineyards and cellar doors or sample some local food and wine during on-board tastings.
Get up close to the river, and its darters, herons, pelicans and egrets on the Dragon Fly flat-bottomed boat.
Fares start at $820 per person twin-share for a three-night cruise.
Visit www.murrayprincess.com.au.
Relish Food and Wine Festival … set against the backdrop of Maryborough’s beautiful Portside Precinct.
Camp-oven cooking guru Ranger Nick will be one of the special guests at this year’s Relish Food and Wine Festival on June 2 in the Queensland city of Maryborough.
He will show visitors how to cook a tasty meal using a camp oven and a small fire pit.
Another addition to this year’s festival is a Gin Joint in the basement of the historic Bond Store, where visitors will be able to taste various gin cocktails while watching a spicy burlesque performance.
Festival goers will be able to dig into mouth-watering locally caught seafood, home-grown macadamia nuts and gourmet cheeses matched with awarding-winning wines and some of the finest craft beers from across south-east Queensland.
The popular Relish Long Lunch returns again this year, along with the Bubbles on the Boat cruises on the Mary River.
The day of indulgence is set against the backdrop of the beautiful Portside Precinct among heritage streetscapes, Mary River parklands and the Mary River.
Visit www.relishfrasercoast.com.au.
Seashells Fremantle … pay from $115 per room per night for a four-night midweek stay.
Double the length of a West Australian coastal getaway for free at Seashells’ Broome, Scarborough, Mandurah, Yallingup and Fremantle properties.
Stay two nights or more at any of these and the length of your stay will be doubled at no extra cost.
Prices start from $115 per room per night for a four-night midweek stay at Seashells Fremantle.
Bookings must be made by May 27 for varying validity of stays at various properties.
Phone 1800 800 850 or visit www.seashells.com.au.
