A Modern Wayfarer

Unique Travel

Tasmania Travel Guide: See, Do and Stay Part 1

Tasmania is the Madonna State - reinventing itself, one awesome experience at a time! Read on for my Tasmania Travel Guide, written over two parts ('cos there's just SO. MUCH. GOODNESS).~ Ah, Tasmania - once wrapped in sleepy little packaging, the previously forgotten State just south of the Bass Strait is now on every Aussie travellers bucket list! For an economy mostly operating on experiential pursuits, it’s little wonder Tasmania is the weekender of choice for pleasure-seeking travellers ... Read More

My Favourite Secret Beaches in Australia Part 2

The giant island we call home is riddled with beautiful stretches of sand only a handful of locals know about. I recently published an article highlighting my favourite secret beaches in Australia and thought I'd share some more! The following are stunning hush hush beaches not yet known to the wider Aussie populous. All you'll need to find them is a sense of adventure... (oh, and maybe some form of transportation)! My Favourite Secret Beaches in Australia Little (little) Salmon Bay, ... Read More

My Favourite Secret Beaches in Australia

Courtesy of COVID-19, this Summer will see thousands more water-babies craving their very own patch of stealthy sand! As such, I thought I’d share my favourite secret beaches in Australia so that you - my awesome, fabulous readers - can blissfully bask undetected in spots usually reserved for locals! All you’ll need to find them is a sturdy car, some beach essentials and a sense of adventure!  My Favourite Secret Beaches in Australia Thistle Cove - Esperance, Western ... Read More

Yarra Valley Wine – A Vineyard Guide

Everybody loves a good Pinot Noir, and the Yarra Valley Wine Region in Victoria, Australia has just the right cool-climate to produce some of the finest in the world! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, if you stroll into an Aussie bottle shop when your palate craves a red, you won't need to fork out any more than $30 dollars to find a Pinot Noir that's world-class! Some wines from the Yarra Valley are THAT good and THAT affordable. As my friends will vouch, I don't mind the odd drop, or two, or seven, ... Read More

Meet The New Wave of Australian Beach Shacks

Australian beach shacks are never not having a moment. I mean what's not to love about our homegrown fibro and weatherboard houses reminiscent of yesteryear? It's true, our Aussie beach shacks have always been unique in their own right, but when gifted a slight architectural nip-tuck and an interior detox they scrub up pretty swell! Their cute little foundations flirt with the water's edge, their interiors are quirky yet chic in that laid-back 'girl-next-door` kind of way and, best of all, they ... Read More

Things To Do In South Australia That Don’t Involve Wine

Things to do in South Australia... Um, wine, wine and more er, wine? Well no, actually. There’s more to South Australia than just fine wine and sublime cheeses. In fact, it’s totally possible to avoid the wineries altogether! If you're slightly crazy. More than half of Australia’s wine is produced in the Southern State! And with nine grape-producing regions, wine is everywhere you look! Adelaide is a connoisseurs haven, and while it’s hard to resist the lure of a good Barossa Shiraz, if you ... Read More

Sunshine Coast Horse Riding with Noosa Horses

Three random facts about me: I love animals; I love the beach and I love chilling in my hometown, the Sunshine Coast. So it will come as no surprise to those who know or follow me on Instagram (@amodernwayfarer) I jumped at the opportunity to experience all three of these loves at the same time! Sunshine Coast Horse Riding… um yes! Immediately all my teenage Black Beauty fantasies came flooding back – galloping into the sunset, wind in my hair, waves splashing against hooves… and in reality this ... Read More

The Riad Byron Bay: An Ode To Morocco

A little birdy recently told me my all time favourite Moroccan-inspired rental abode and event space, The Riad Byron Bay, went into private ownership. This means no more week-long retreats pretending I'm a literary bohemian in Northern Tangier and certainly no more Pinterest pins on my "wedding inspiration" board. Yes I have a board and I'm not engaged, don't pretend you don't either! Anyway I'm a little bit devastated, so to assist in expediting the mourning process I thought I'd gather all the ... Read More

Flash Camp Pop-Up Hotel: From Glam Camps to Canvas Hotels

The whole *pop-up* glamping thing is old news in Australia. You can hire a standardised and categorised bell tent at most festivals these days, or you can pay one of the many glamping companies to set one up for you at your local campsite - a nicely decked-out canvas-palace ready and waiting for your few days of hands-off habitation. Pop-up glamping offers a step-up from the traditional camping trip, but what if you want an experience that’s even more...unique, even more...luxe than the ... Read More

A Family Getaway in Byron Bay

The location of a family getaway is always a cause for contention among its members. Aside from the obvious generation and cultural gaps, nobody wants to be living on top of their siblings for an entire week! A family getaway is all about space, compromise and knowing when to shut the hell up if the debates get heated! And if all else fails, read 'How To Travel With Your Family Without Wanting to Strangle Them' for some extra-effective pointers. :) But... contrary to popular belief, a family ... Read More

Shock Chic: The Cullen Hotel Melbourne Review

When I think of Melbourne travel I think boutique hotels. You know the ones I’m taking about, the little gems tucked away on inconspicuous laneways or roads just far enough from vibing main high-streets to feel like you’re in it but not actually on top of it... More specifically, I think of the Art Series Hotel Group. These three 5-star hotels are like cool party guests – always nailing fashionably late but never the last to leave! They are synonymous with the edgy and artful nature of ... Read More

Hotel Hotel Canberra: Quirky With A Conscience

Anything designed by the architects behind Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art is bound to be one quirky ride, and aptly named Hotel Hotel Canberra is single-handedly bringing cool to the capital. Spanning three levels of a Japanese-inspired new residential complex known as the Nishi building, the hotel’s 7-star eco rating is impressive, and hints at its sustainable conscience throughout. The lobby is a veritable mash-up of raw and sleek with wallpaper made from natural fibres and walls that ... Read More

Thredbo Ski Season 2014 via GoPro

So I caught some of the Thredbo Ski Season action on the new GoPro Hero 3 Camera. Hope you enjoy. "Many people travel the world to go skiing without ever knowing that it is not skiing that they are after. Skiing is a great excuse to go somewhere, but maybe it gets a little too much attention? To travel is to notice the world as it turns. Let skiing be your guide, but not your Master. Loosen your grip, put down your itinerary, ignore Google, take a moment to look around, and don't rush, ... Read More

The Newell Highway Road Trip: In Polaroids

As most of you will know, last Saturday I embarked on an epic three-day Newell Highway Road Trip to relocate from Melbourne to Brisbane. I had the best of intentions really I did - I googled my daily route and new exactly where to stop for the best photo ops and early morning walks, hell, I even wrote a post about whether or not the inland drive was actually even touristy and not just a flat expanse of monotonous bitumen as popular discourse would have you believe. Well, turns out pop. ... Read More

Driving from Melbourne to Brisbane on the Newell Highway

As I pack my worldly belongings into boxes (more boxes than I’d prefer to divulge) and prepare to relocate my base-camp up to Brisbane from Melbourne, I am confronted with one very important question: is there actually anything exciting about the Newell Highway, the fastest and most direct route between the two cities? Sure, there are *foul-mouthed truckies' and the occasional ‘roo, but is there anything scenic, dare I say touristy about this 20-hour inland route? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t ... Read More

The Limes Hotel Brisbane: Backstreet Boutique

It’s not hard for die-hard fromage lovers to fall in love with The Limes Hotel – it’s exterior looks like a giant block of Swiss Cheese! Except, for obvious reasons, it’s not a giant block of Swiss Cheese, but rather it is black and made of bricks and mortar and houses a neat little boutique hotel in the heart of Brisbane’s most popular nightlife precinct, Fortitude Valley.  Even though The Limes Hotel was one of Australia’s first member's of Design Hotels some six years ago, it hasn’t been the ... Read More

Mon Repos Turtle Centre: Turtle Hatchling Experience

No one should be awake at 1am in the morning unless they’re a) deep in (boozy) conversation solving the problems of the world, b) scouring the fridge for a midnight snack or c) witnessing a natural miracle at Mon Repos Turtle Centre near Bundaberg Queensland. TURTLES! Cute baby turtles yayaya!! ~ It’s the wee hours of Saturday morning and I’m observing something pretty amazing at Mon Repos Turtle Centre in Bargara. A giant loggerhead turtle presses its olive-grey shell firmly into the sand ... Read More

Best Brisbane Places to Eat and Drink: 2014 Top 50 Roundup

I am the first to admit that Brisbane is seriously coming up in the foodie world. Gone are the days when meeting someone for dinner meant choosing between a handful of worthy venues, with so many awesome places to choose from and a sense of culinary bravado on every inner city corner, it’s been hard to get a list down to just fifty of the best Brisbane places to eat and drink. Lonely Planet thinks the scene is pretty special too, crowning Brisbane Australia’s “hippest city” back in 2014. I ... Read More