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World's hot destinations in 2009
by Shamoli Dutt
14-01-2009
Members of the Global Travel Writers team, having travelled the world to discover the best destinations, each pick their own favourite "Hot Spots" for 2009 including two exquisite Australian holidays.
Fiona Harper falls in love with sea lions in the Abrolhos Islands of Western Australia and writes:“The sun rising over the sandy cay of Pelsaert Island in the Abrolhos Islands on the mid West Australian coast, revealed water so clear and transparent we could distinguish the grains of sand from the crushed shell on the seabed. Emerging on deck to this surreal scene, two very inquisitive sea lions hovered on the surface, seemingly waiting for us to come and play. As curious about us as we were about them, one of them wrapped his flipper around the anchor chain and just hung there gazing up at us with enormous brown eyes. I wanted to jump in the water and give him a great big hug, so loveable and adorable did he appear.”
Philip Game finds serenity at Spicers Peak Lodge in the lush tablelands of SE Queensland and writes:“In the rugged, lushly fertile region where the Great Dividing Range meets the Darling Downs in southeastern Queensland, Hidden Vale and Spicers Peak are two associated - but quite different – boutique resorts, each based on a working cattle property. Gourmet cuisine is a feature of each property.The history of Old Hidden Vale Station extends back to the early nineteenth century, and the property continues to produce high-grade Wagyu beef for the Japanese market. Reached by a steep, winding road, Spicers Peak is a private mountaintop lodge, surrounded on all sides by forested slopes and cloud-brushed peaks.”
Karen Halabi’s favourite pick for 2009 is the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia; while Glenn A Baker suggests Abu Dhabi, as it emerges from behind the shadow of the flashier Dubai.
Graham Simmons explores the astonishing stone Buddha sculptures of the Longmen Grottoes, the Yungang Caves and the Shaolin monks of central China. Tricia Welsh nominates Costa Rica, a little country in Central America now leading the world in ecotourism development and Sheriden Rhodes recommends family-friendly Fiji.
Thomas E King visits Churchill, a tiny Canadian outpost on the Hudson Bay much visited by those wanting a close (not too close!) encounter with polar bears or beluga whales and Sally Hammond recommends a visit to the picture-perfect seashores of Slovenia.www.globaltravelwriters.com
by Shamoli Dutt - Austguide Travel News Editor
Fiona Harper falls in love with sea lions in the Abrolhos Islands of Western Australia and writes:“The sun rising over the sandy cay of Pelsaert Island in the Abrolhos Islands on the mid West Australian coast, revealed water so clear and transparent we could distinguish the grains of sand from the crushed shell on the seabed. Emerging on deck to this surreal scene, two very inquisitive sea lions hovered on the surface, seemingly waiting for us to come and play. As curious about us as we were about them, one of them wrapped his flipper around the anchor chain and just hung there gazing up at us with enormous brown eyes. I wanted to jump in the water and give him a great big hug, so loveable and adorable did he appear.”
Philip Game finds serenity at Spicers Peak Lodge in the lush tablelands of SE Queensland and writes:“In the rugged, lushly fertile region where the Great Dividing Range meets the Darling Downs in southeastern Queensland, Hidden Vale and Spicers Peak are two associated - but quite different – boutique resorts, each based on a working cattle property. Gourmet cuisine is a feature of each property.The history of Old Hidden Vale Station extends back to the early nineteenth century, and the property continues to produce high-grade Wagyu beef for the Japanese market. Reached by a steep, winding road, Spicers Peak is a private mountaintop lodge, surrounded on all sides by forested slopes and cloud-brushed peaks.”
Karen Halabi’s favourite pick for 2009 is the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia; while Glenn A Baker suggests Abu Dhabi, as it emerges from behind the shadow of the flashier Dubai.
Graham Simmons explores the astonishing stone Buddha sculptures of the Longmen Grottoes, the Yungang Caves and the Shaolin monks of central China. Tricia Welsh nominates Costa Rica, a little country in Central America now leading the world in ecotourism development and Sheriden Rhodes recommends family-friendly Fiji.
Thomas E King visits Churchill, a tiny Canadian outpost on the Hudson Bay much visited by those wanting a close (not too close!) encounter with polar bears or beluga whales and Sally Hammond recommends a visit to the picture-perfect seashores of Slovenia.www.globaltravelwriters.com
by Shamoli Dutt - Austguide Travel News Editor
