escape to luxury

Arriving at Long Island via Cruise Whitsundays on a quiet Monday afternoon, only myself and another couple depart at the ferry terminal. There is an eager young man ready to greet the other party, he’s all clean cut and his monogrammed polo shirt reveals he’s from the chain hotel on the island. As they head off I see a little dingy pull up and a Robinson Crusoe-esque man leaps out with jagged shorts, no shoes and a wide straw hat – this is definitely more like it!

Long Island is one of the 74 islands of the Whitsundays. From interstate, fly into either Hamilton Island or Proserpine Airport, the resort is then easily accessible by Ferry from either Hamilton Island (30 minutes) or Airlie Beach (45 minutes) or more glamorous transport options.

Before we scoot into a new month, we decided to reflect on some of the great new additions to the alluxia collection.  You many not be aware, but alluxia exists to supports small, independent business and unearth the hidden gems and unique getaways from across Australia. We also build relationships and partner with owners and operators and visit the establishments to verify their quality to ensure you have a fabulous holiday.

As it's shop small month in November, you might like to consider these fine establishments!

Aside from being the capital of cool, Byron Bay is also home to some damn fine breakfasts.

Arriving at Melbourne Airport I’m advised by the rental car company that there are no cars available despite the fact that I’ve booked a car to be picked up exactly at this time.  I’d love it if someone could explain how hire car companies work, as a regular road trip traveller it continues to baffle me? Surely they are like hotels, you book a room/car and it’s allocated in the system – right? After an extended delay, eventually a car arrives, but the process takes an hour longer than I’d planned. The saving grace on a frustrating experience is the rental car attendant at the exit gate who asks where I’m going and then quickly presents me with a map hand marked with directions to the Mornington Peninsula. I keep quiet on the fact I’ve already punched in the destination on my GPS, as this old school gesture just makes me happy.

Sydney, you’ve done it again! Sydney Festival returns with a spectacular program of free and ticketed events spanning contemporary and classical music, theatre, dance and more for a sizzling summer of fun.

It’s less than 4 weeks before the world’s attention is on Brisbane for the G20 Leaders Summit. While there are some great events for locals to celebrate this important occasion including the G20 Global Café and G20 Cultural Celebration, Brisbanites are encouraged to exit the city on Friday 14 November to make way for the motorcades. While glimpsing an Obama motorcade might be cool, what’s cooler is a long weekend by the beach!