BNE Magazine Issue 31

FR EE YO M UR AG AZ IN E

ISSUE #31 MARCH/APRIL 2019

WIN AIRFARES TO BANGKOK GUIDE TO

BANGKOK street food and hipster HOTSPOTS ADVENTURES in the OUTBACK

CATRIONA ROWNTREE Why she loves Alaska

KYLIE’S

golden age

We’re getting runway ready Brisbane’s new runway will take you more places and make us better connected than ever before.

Stay up to date: bne.com.au/newrunway

CONTENTS

16

4

Brisbane Airport News

New airlines, new shopping and more at Brisbane Airport

7

Brisbane Insider

8

Kylie’s Golden Age

Coffee gives young people a second shot; science in the spotlight

The new primary colour trend for autumn from a designer celebrating 10 years creating her signature label

ESCAPE 12 Seduced by another side of Bangkok

Two writers share their insider tips for discovering the city

16 20 22

10 things to do in Ipswich

It’s bursting with history reinvented in creative ways

I QUEENSLAND 24 Karen Foxlee

Author of Lenny’s Book of Everything

New album, new tour, new love – the Queen of Pop still reigns

STYLE 10 Blue heaven

14

40

Win airfares to Bangkok

Enter our competition for a chance to win AirAsia tickets to Bangkok

TASTE 26 Food to travel for

From a bar in a former jail to lunch in Puglia, here’s where to find some culinary delights

28

Welcome to Alice Springs

Why you should include this city as a stopover on an expedition to Uluru

Escape Extra

Catriona Rowntree spills on her trip to Alaska, new travel app and more

26

A

ustralians have quite the appetite when it comes to travel, particularly the sort that involves food.

TripAdvisor’s bookings data shows foodie experiences are the fastest growing travel category, which increased a whopping 61 per cent in just one year, and Australia boosted its share of bookings by almost 500 per cent! So we hope you’ll be inspired to plan your next culinary adventure with the help of Andrew Marshall’s guide to the street food of Bangkok (see p12), made all the more tempting by AirAsia’s new low cost flights starting in June; follow Catriona Rowntree’s lead and devour the chowder in Alaska (p23); or try a camel burger with quandong chilli sauce in Alice Springs (p20). Bon appetit ...

Wine or beer?

Whatever your taste, two insiders give us their hot tips for drinking now

WHAT’S ON 30 The star behind the scenes

She’s created one of Queensland’s most successful festivals and she’s coming to Brisbane

32

Adventures in the Outback

What to see, things to do and whacky events not to miss

Welcome to your free BNE magazine, brought to you by Brisbane Airport

33

Shows for all ages

Stories of love, adventure, exploration, discovery and a milestone homecoming not to miss

Events calendar

Find out what’s happening around the city

GALLERY 35 Day in the life

People in transit at Brisbane Airport

NEED TO KNOW 36 Helpful information for

visitors to Brisbane Airport

38 41

Destination map Brisbane region map

22 BNE magazine is published bi-monthly

by Brisbane Airport Corporation.

Brisbane Airport Corporation Corporate Communications and Media Manager: Leonie Vandeven Managing Editor: Heather McWhinnie (editor@bnemagazine.com.au) Advertising sales: advertising@bnemagazine.com.au Designers: Mhari Hughes and Leanne Thompson, PrintPublish ©2019 Brisbane Airport Corporation The contents of this publication are not for reproduction, redistribution or reuse by any means whatsoever or in any form whatsoever without express permission of the publisher. Advertising: all advertisements in BNE magazine are the responsibility of advertisers. Advertising is accepted on the understanding that it does not contravene the Trade Practices Act. Responsibility is not accepted by BNE magazine for statements made or the failure of any product or service to give satisfaction. The publication of any material or editorial does not necessarily constitute endorsement of views or opinions expressed. While every effort is made to avoid errors, some information contained in the publication may be superceded.

BNE March/April 2019 | 3

BRISBANE AIRPORT NEWS

Surge in

INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS

International passengers through Brisbane Airport (BNE) continue to rise, with new airlines, increased flights to and from several global destinations and additional international seats all bringing more travellers through BNE in 2018. The International Terminal recorded more than 6 million passengers in the calendar year, almost 280,000 more than the year before. Domestic passenger numbers were also higher, bringing total passengers through the airport to more than 23.6 million. According to Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) chief executive officer, Gert-Jan de Graaff, the airport is focused on expanding and developing worldclass airport facilities to meet passenger demand and cement its position as Australia’s future international gateway. The new runway is set to open in less than 18 months which will double the airport’s capacity and $40 million is being invested in new retail and dining facilities at the Domestic Terminal.

LOTTE DUTY FREE arrives at BRISBANE AIRPORT If you’ve been to Seoul it’s hard to miss Star Avenue Corner and the Lotte Department Store with 12 levels of shopping, three of them devoted to Duty Free, and the luxury Lotte Hotel next door. It’s a shopper’s heaven of luxury brands that has seen Lotte become the second largest travel retailer in the world and now it has arrived at Brisbane Airport International Terminal. Lotte Duty Free launched its new look in February, adding new brands and products, introducing Mobile Point of Sale which allows customers to purchase anywhere on the shop floor, and bringing exclusive buys to Brisbane Airport shoppers. For example, luxury brands La Mer, Gucci, Jo Malone and Tom Ford are now available and the Brisbane Airport store is the only place outside the US to stock a limited edition Absolut Pink Grapefruit vodka. Lotte Duty Free is on Level 3, after security, at International Terminal and on Level 2 Arrivals, before passport control. To keep up-to-date with special offers see www.lottedutyfree.com.au

Support for

ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE For Felicity Jenkins, mother of four living in North Queensland, a standard trip to the doctor’s surgery could take nine hours but thanks to Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) her young family has access to regular health clinics much closer to home. For others, too, like Michael Tomlinson, it’s a lifesaver. When Michael suffered life-threatening burns in an accident he was flown to Brisbane for hospital treatment – a journey that would have taken 10 hours by road. Every year RFDS pilots cover an area of more than 7 million square kilometres across Queensland alone and transport more than 11,000 patients to receive health care, in addition to offering regular dental clinics, mental health services and remote counselling to people living in rural Queensland. Brisbane Airport Corporation has proudly supported the Queensland division of RFDS for 10 years, contributing more than $2 million to assist services to date. In July RFDS will host its annual Wings of Life gala fundraising dinner at the Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane Showgrounds. For details see www.flyingdoctor.org.au

BNE Maps + More Download the Brisbane Airport app to access important flight information, terminal maps and parking, shopping and dining options at the airport. Add your itinerary and more. Available free for iPhone and Android at Google play and App Store 4 | BNE March/April 2019

Follow Brisbane Airport

Bangkok BUDGET FLIGHTS TO

tition e p m co lights r our Ente

f kok ng to Ba

to win

on page

14

A record 14,372 bags boarded international flights out of Brisbane Airport on 22 December 2018, a record for a single day outbound for the terminal.

Images: Brunei and Bangkok/Shutterstock

g n i m i t Good

Low-cost airline AirAsia will launch its first-ever Australian services between Bangkok and Brisbane from 25 June. Flights will be operated by AirAsia’s Thai affiliate, Thai AirAsia X. The new service offers a low-cost option for travellers to Bangkok and more than 130 destinations on AirAsia’s network. It will also help boost visitors from Thailand, one of Queensland’s emerging markets with great potential for further growth.

Over the past year Queensland welcomed 19,000 travellers from Thailand who spent $44 million. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says the launch is a coup for Brisbane. “The new services will give us the opportunity to attract more visitors from Asian markets and help our city develop closer business ties with the region. The city has a clear focus on engaging with the Asia-Pacific region and the new AirAsia services will reinforce that,” he says.

AirAsia flights between Brisbane and Bangkok begin from 26 June, operating flights four times weekly. For flight details and bookings see www.airasia.com

Boost for Brisbane tourism Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) and Brisbane Marketing (BM) have teamed up to promote Brisbane to international markets in a bid to boost its position as an international gateway to Australia. The three-year multimillion dollar joint venture will target the ASEAN region (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia), North America and India, with the potential to add more visitor markets over time. The aim of the partnership is to drive future passenger growth by working with airlines, in-country travel trade and using digital and social media to promote the city as a leisure, education and business destination.

Latest figures show Brisbane has welcomed record numbers of international visitors in recent years and their spending has reached an all-time high.

The latest International Visitor Survey results show overseas visitors to Brisbane spent a record $2.7 billion over the year to September 2018, up 20.5 per cent.

“This partnership will help to continue the momentum, supporting local business and building a strong economy,” says Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Graham Quirk.

Brisbane Airport has been named one of the top 10 large airports in the world for on-time performance.

Brisbane ranked number 8 in the list in the annual OAG Punctuality League report which is based on 58 million flight records using full-year data from 2018. Brisbane ranked highest in its category of any Australian airport (Sydney and Melbourne are ranked as Mega Airports in the report and ranked in the top 20) with an ontime performance score of 82.58 per cent in the Large Airports category (10-20 million departing seats per annum). Hawaiian Airlines (#4) and Qantas (#6), both operating services out of Brisbane Airport, were ranked in the top 10 most punctual airlines in the world.

BNE March/April 2019 | 5

YOUR GATEWAY TO THE WORLD

Brisbane International Airport Departures and Arrivals stores NOW OPEN

#TRAVELWITHLOTTE

BRISBANE INSIDER

SECOND SHOT for struggling youth

Young people finding it tough to get a foothold in the job world are getting a kickstart from social enterprise Second Shot Espresso, a mobile coffee service that provides training and temporary employment to disadvantaged youth.

Second Shot Espresso was launched last year by business consultant James Christie and now operates two coffee vans with weekly routes in Brisbane’s northern and western suburbs.

“Our goal is to be a stepping stone not a destination,” says Christie. “We want our team members to get to the point where they are going to be able to sell themselves to a recruiter and say, ‘yes I have experience’ and ‘yes I can do this’ and ‘yes I am reliable’ – all those things that can be barriers in the conversation for a job seeker.”

Already Second Shot Espresso has chalked up some success stories with one of their former team members now employed by the police service and others who have found jobs in the hospitality industry.

For 24-year-old James (pictured below, far right), working at Second Shot Espresso has helped him overcome anxiety and boost his self-confidence. Before joining the team James’ autism was affecting his ability to participate in everyday activities as part of his uni course but while working with Second Shot Espresso he developed his own strategies to be able to take orders and talk to customers. “It’s a fun and friendly work environment where I have learnt how to make great coffee and improve my customer service skills and it has given me experience for applying for other barista jobs. Since working with Second Shot, I’ve gained the confidence to go back to uni and study my Bachelor of Audio and have been given a lot of support in finding somewhere else to work while finishing my studies.”

For now Second Shot Espresso works with a group of about eight to 12 team members at a time who participate in training and running the coffee vans for periods of between four to six months and they are mentored towards finding more permanent employment.

The initiative has won support from the government and from major organisations such as Hutchinson Builders, Bank of Queensland and Paul’s Milk and recently received a donation from Brisbane Airport Corporation’s Community Giving Fund. Find out more at www.secondshot.com.au

Intel Spider Dress by Anouk Wipprecht

The non

geek’s guide

TO HOT TOPICS IN SCIENCE A year ago University of Queensland research scientist Cecile Godde was on a life-changing journey, completely out of her comfort zone, in the middle of nowhere, without internet and sharing a room with strangers. She was on board a boat carrying 78 women for a month of discovery and workshops in Antarctica as part of the Homeward Bound leadership initiative for women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM). It was both a unique and intense experience for Godde who says she returned from the voyage stronger and more confident and it has opened up a world of new contacts and opportunities for collaboration in her field.

There’s more collaboration, too, between science and creative industries, according to Alice Payne, senior lecturer in fashion at the School of Design, Queensland University of Technology, as fashion designers work together with engineers, chemists and microbiologists to develop new products that are more environmentally friendly and reduce textile waste.

Bacteria, mushrooms, vegan leather and kombutcha are more likely to feature in the designer’s dialogue today and advances, says Payne, have been accelerating over the last five years as sustainability has become a key driver in new fashion design.

As award-winners and experts in their fields Payne and Godde will both share their stories as part of World Science Festival which also includes a panel discussion about the future of a life on Mars with festival co-founder Professor Brian Green and NASA astronauts Andy Thomas and Yvonne Cagle. World Science Festival is on 20-24 March, presented by Queensland Museum, at various locations. For the program see www.worldsciencefestival.com.au

BNE March/April 2019 | 7

COVER STORY

Kylie’s

Golden

AGE

With another chart-topping album and a new tour Kylie’s star shines bright as ever

T

here’s no doubt Kylie still reigns as our Queen of Pop. There may be 30 years between the release of her first album and her latest one but no one has been able to topple her as Australia’s highest selling female artist of all time. And a legion of fans have followed her on the journey, through her battle with cancer and her face-off with the Jenners over their attempt to trademark the single ‘Kylie’ name (they lost), through every chart-topping hit and every heartbreaking romance. So when she announced that her Golden Tour would include a stop at Sirromet Wines for a Day on the Green 13,000 tickets were snapped up and the event was sold out within days.

As she turned 50 last year it led many to quip that she was in her golden age but she’s not resting on her laurels and has shown throughout her career she’s not afraid to try something new. For her new album Golden she turned to Nashville and legends such as Dolly Parton for inspiration, learned line dancing, swapped her killer heels for cowboy boots, and will perform a different style of concert in Australia when she hits the winery at Mt Cotton.

She’s also found a new love in Paul Solomons, the creative director of British GQ and told TV host Jonathan Ross in November, “Just when you think ‘will it ever happen?’ it came and surprised me.”

Here she talks golden moments with Ken Summit …

8 | BNE March/April 2019

IS GOLDEN ABOUT YOUR GOLDEN AGE? Kylie: It’s a total fluke that Golden has anything to do with turning 50.

I hadn’t even thought about that but I had this line that I wanted to say, ‘We’re not young, we’re not old, we’re golden.’ There’s so much talk about age in this industry, particularly as a woman, that I wanted to say, ‘We just are who we are at any point in life.’

I find myself saying, ‘I know I’m not the younger generation, I’m maybe not even the second generation of what’s coming up in music but I don’t feel that I shouldn’t be making music.’

I don’t know what I’ll be saying in 10, 20, 30 years’ time. So I just wanted to make that point for myself. It’s what I believe … sometimes I have to remind myself. My body might be telling me otherwise, ‘Yes you are 50.’

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT TURNING 50?

Kylie: As I’ve been talking about it in interviews over the last year I realise that it’s a launch pad for a subject that can go as deep as you would like it really. Gold is a really strong substance but you can change it, you can make it into something that you like, you can melt it down, golden things are shiny, they’re attractive, the sun in the day, the moon in the night.

There’s lots of elements. But the seed of the title song was just that I wanted to say that line.

I have to remind myself. My body might be telling me otherwise, ‘Yes you are 50’.

DID YOU HAVE ANY DOWN TIME? Kylie: I did go to one really famous establishment called The Bluebird Café. I’d never been to anything like that where people of all ages and from all over the place are there, just to listen to a musician talk about how they wrote that song, played a song. It goes for about two hours and it’s just a really good night out.

I also went to another place called The Listening Room which was a bit more raucous and bigger. Two of the people I had been writing with that day were performing that night so once I knew two people, I knew four people then I knew eight people, then I knew a dozen – you kind of get connected really quickly. So it was a beautiful trip.

IS THE SONG ‘A LIFETIME TO REPAIR’ DEALING WITH YOUR OWN STORIES? WHAT WOULD KYLIE TODAY TELL HER 18-YEAR-OLD SELF? Kylie: I would have said, ‘Keep a diary.’ Because I didn’t and there’s a lot of things that I wish I could look back at and remember more details, the stories and events. Now it is quite different because a lot of things are captured and we’re living in a digital age but back then, how did I feel on my very first trip to Europe? My first concert? I would have said in a public way how I felt but if I had kept a diary, I don’t know what I would have said, I didn’t keep one.

Maybe I would advise myself, ‘I know you don’t want to do it, I know you’re going to start and then you’ll just throw it away because you’ll think, I can’t do this,’ which I have done, but maybe ‘Try and stick with it.’ I would also say, ‘Value the opinions of people you respect and admire, try to care less about the opinions of the others’ [laughs] and ‘Try to have a good time along the way, try not to worry so much.’

Text: Ken Summit/The Interview People

DID YOU HAVE FUN RECORDING THE ALBUM IN NASHVILLE? Kylie: I did six-day weeks but none of it felt like work to be honest. I was so excited to be in the studio and I wanted to utilise as much time as possible there. I’d been told before I went that it would be amazing.

People said, ‘You’re going to love it, you’re going to love that it’s music everywhere, you’re working with incredible people…’

But they don’t work crazy hours, which maybe helps with their output. It’s not like, ‘OK we’re going to start at midday and finish at four in the morning.’ They do kind of normal working hours which is like, ‘OK that’s good.’ So I wanted to squeeze every drop I could out of that time.

Yes, very much so. It was right near the end of my recording and I certainly couldn’t have written or sung that at the beginning of the process. Actually at the start of the album I felt just more broken, not so much heartbroken, just a bit broken. Music really saved me and gave me focus and that is a love that I will always have. There’s a little bit of humour and reality. Comedy is tragedy plus time, as they say. So I love singing it. It’s just saying, ‘Right OK, well, moving on.’

IS FEELING BROKEN WORSE THAN FEELING HEARTBROKEN? I think they’re very different. I think heartbroken, and I’ve been through that before in my life, where you feel like, ‘That was it, that was the one and nothing will ever be the same.’ And you feel like you’ll never get past that person. That, to me, is heartbroken.

I will never go into a lot of detail about it, but broken is more like I felt like I’d let myself down a bit. I feel like I didn’t take enough care of myself for a little period of time and it showed. When you feel like your health is suffering because of something that is not right – that’s a very different feeling to being heartbroken.

BUT GENERALLY, YOU HAVEN’T GIVEN UP ON LOVE? No, I think it’s good to be hopeful. It’s about acceptance, this is who I am, this is where I may have gone wrong, we all make mistakes but I’m not going to give up. I think if you lose hope in any sense of life that’s the end. You have to remain hopeful, even sometimes when you can’t find it, it has to be there.

Kylie’s new album Golden is out now BNE March/April 2019 | 9

STYLE

Baby got the

BLUES Bianca Spender grew up with fashion. As the daughter of industry icon Carla Zampatti she was surrounded by inspiration and learned her craft at some of the finest houses in Europe and, of course, in the house of Zampatti. This year she celebrates 10 years of designing her own label and has forged a reputation for precision tailoring and sophisticated directional forms.

Zen Garden Crepe De Chine Lauren Dress $875 10 | BNE March/April 2019

Prince of Wales Stirling Coat $1095 Gold Lurex Brocade Rococco Pant $495 Check Silk Poet Shirt $525

Navy Suiting Sloane Top $525 Burgundy Leatherette Helix Top $495 Prince of Wales Chelsea Pant $595

Fashion as an art form is a given in a Bianca Spender collection. “The design and patternmaking process is a form of modern poetry for me.

I want to create clothes that have rhythm, that combine precision and imagination,” she says.

It’s fitting that Spender’s new collection for 2019 is called Reflection – the embodiment of all that she has achieved over the last 10 years as well as steps towards the future of more sustainable fashion in her use of natural fibres, only vegan-certified faux leather, her use of ‘deadstock’ (but all the more exclusive) fabric, and more.

In Reflection you will also see Spender’s fluid interpretation of some of the key trends for autumn and winter, from the liberal use of blue, to the new focus on shoulder shapes, mix of prints and textures, cropped jackets and capes, and a completely modern makeover of the floral trend in her Zen Garden print dress.

Navy Wool Tuxedo Jacket $895 Navy Suiting Harmony Pant $495

Cobalt Silk Satin Cape gown $1095

Bianca Spender is available at David Jones Brisbane, QueensPlaza and online at www.biancaspender.com BNE March/April 2019 | 11

ESCAPE

SEDUCED BY ANOTHER SIDE OF

BA N G KO K Bangkok is one of the most popular cities in the world, attracting more than 20 million visitors a year. That puts it way ahead of Paris and New York as a travel destination but a visit to Bangkok isn’t just about exotic sights such as the Grand Palace and the magnificent reclining Buddha. Eating at the numerous food stalls and vendor carts can turn a stroll along the city’s streets into a culinary adventure, as Andrew Marshall discovers …

12 | BNE March/April 2019

T

Text: published under license from www.welltravelled.media Images: Grand Palace/Tourism Thailand; street food vendors/Shutterstock

wilight, and a golden sun hovers above a skyline of ornate skyscrapers and temple spires in Thailand’s seductive capital, Bangkok. Down in the old part of the city a procession of saffronrobed monks file slowly past the gleaming architecture of the Grand Palace, while brightly-coloured tuk-tuks (three-wheeled motorcycle taxis) buzz about like angry bees, their eager drivers on the lookout for new customers.

Towards the end of one road near the Grand Palace, enterprising food vendors have set up a cluster of stalls, transforming the street corner into a food bazaar buzzing with activity. Tantalising aromas drift from sidewalk kitchens serving up sizzling Thai delights. Locals and travellers sit on colourful plastic stools at equally colourful plastic tables where the dining is a rowdy cheek-by-jowl affair. Outside one stall, a woman wields a wok of prawns and vegetables on her gas burner like an accomplished swordsman, creating a medley of smoke and flickering flames.

Another street vendor pushes his glass-fronted food cart bulging with spiky durian fruit into position next to someone busily arranging squid satays on a charcoal stove. A few metres away, a wizened old lady bends over a large stone mortar, pounding grated papaya, nuts and chillies to prepare a hot and tangy som tam (papaya salad).

At first glance the street looks more like a food fair than a thoroughfare, but it’s a scene repeated throughout the city, where every alleyway wide enough to hold a wok or deep fryer is claimed as a makeshift restaurant. From Yaowarat Road in Chinatown to Khao San Road in Banglamphu the sidewalk eateries and mobile food carts speak the spirit of Bangkok in the same way as pubs do for Dublin, cafés for Paris or diners in New York.

STREET FOOD DELIGHTS Standing at an important Asian crossroads for centuries, Thailand owes its rich cuisine to the culinary infusions of India, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. It has adapted cooking techniques and ingredients from each of these major influences and blended them with its own.

Street food is the lifeline of Asia, helping feed millions of people daily, and Bangkok is certainly no exception. The first wave of travellers in the 1970s discovered it was a cheap and delicious way to eat and initiated the process of popularising Thai food as one of the world’s great cuisines.

The characteristic flavour of Thai food comes from a blend of four basic tastes – salty, sweet, sour and pungent – and the liberal use of ingredients such as fresh coriander leaf, lemongrass, lime juice, garlic, chillies, tamarind juice, fish paste, ginger and coconut milk.

Sidewalk gourmets are masters at combining these ingredients and employing fast cooking techniques that maintain the delicate flavours of the food. Before you can say moo ping or phad Thai, they will char-grill you some skewers of marinated pork or stir-fry some rice noodles with bean sprouts, peanuts, eggs and chilli.

Although there are some world-class gourmet restaurants in the city, there is so much variety of food on the streets that you can literally go weeks without even stepping inside one. Ask any Bangkokian to take you to their favourite restaurant and you’ll most likely be eating street side at some open-air cart.

Follow their example and graze from the informal buffet of street fare while having your senses challenged with the live street theatre – pungent aromas of chilli, garlic and barbecued fish, the cacophony of music, lights and voices and the spectacle of accomplished chefs at work, wielding their utensils with awesome dexterity.

Vendors tend to specialise in one particular dish: noodles, salads, curries, barbecued meat or fish, rice dishes, fruit juices, sweets etc. Some favourites include kai ho bai toei (seasoned fried chicken in leaf wrappers), thotman plakrai or thotman kung (fish or shrimp fritters Thai style) various kinds of yam (Thai salads) tomyam (hot and sour soup) and gaeng kiow wan gai (green chicken curry).

For something sweet to finish off your street dining, look out for khao niew mamuang (sticky rice with mango), kruay kaek (banana fritters), or simply choose from a selection of sliced fresh fruits from one of the roaming carts. The fruit is slipped into a small plastic bag along with a bamboo skewer to spear the fruit with, and an accompanying mixture of salt, sugar and powdered chilli to dip the fruit in.

Opposite page and above left: The Grand Palace, Bangkok. This page, top and bottom: Street food vendors BNE March/April 2019 | 13

ESCAPE MEALS ON WHEELS If you don’t want to go to the food, let the food come to you.

The methods of transporting the ingredients to make a meal are as varied as the dishes themselves. Hawkers on foot can be spotted just about anywhere, from crossing a busy intersection to doing a brisk trade outside a monastery. Bearing filled baskets balanced on a wooden yoke upon one shoulder, they haul around noodles, vegetables, spices, plates, a small stove and a stool – all the paraphernalia needed to create a sit-down roadside meal for a hungry diner.

Another common spectacle along the streets of Bangkok is the pushcart or tricycle cart, a simple variant of the bicycle or motorcycle pushing a large wheeled box containing everything needed to make delicious food. Along the canals and waterways, sellers paddle their mini-shops from home-to-home, offering ‘boat noodles’, curries over rice and an assortment of kanom (sweetmeats and snack foods).

The city’s food carts may be humble and the dishes may be cheap but the clientele comes from all walks of life. From well-heeled businessmen to people who sweep the streets, most Bangkokians eat at these one-dish specialist stalls, perched on tiny stools as the traffic hurtles by, because they provide the freshest, most authentic and delicious Thai cooking.

Whether you are new to the charms of Thai food or a veteran when it comes to knowing the difference between phad Thai or gaeng kiow wan gai, next time you’re in Bangkok explore the world of the city’s sidewalk gourmets – the unsung heroes of Thai cuisine.

From top left: Sweet banana and rice grilled in banana leaf, papaya salad, red seafood curry and cooking food on the streets of Bangkok

14 | BNE March/April 2019

HIPSTER HOTSPOTS IN

Bangkok

Bangkok is one of Asia’s largest and most modern cities but it is also buzzing with quirky cafés, themed bars, antique markets, lively festivals and vintage shopping spots for visitors looking for its hipster cred, writes Ronan O’Connell

SHOP TIL YOU DROP Bangkok has seemingly endless upmarket shopping centres packed with luxury brand outlets. Yet the coolest place to shop in Bangkok these days is Talad Rod Fai market. Growing by the week, this open air night market alongside Seacon Square shopping centre, 12km east of the city centre, is phenomenally popular with the city’s youth. They flock here to peruse vintage fashion boutiques, antique shops, custom jewellery stalls and bakeries, before chatting over a drink at one of the funky bars or cafés.

Images: Karin Riikonen, Ronan O’Connell and Shutterstock

MEGA MARKET There’s even more shopping at the Chatuchak weekend market (pictured above). With more than 15,000 stalls spread across almost 11 hectares it is one of the world’s largest weekend markets. Think of an item and chances are you will find it for sale here, from local handicrafts, antiques and historical memorabilia to dozens of stalls specialising in vintage clothing, hats and accessories.

ANIMAL MAGIC Pet-themed cafés have been popping up all over Bangkok in the past two years, including a coffee shop called Neverland Siberians where customers can play with a gang of Siberian Huskies. Perhaps the cutest of them all is Cat Café by Dome alongside the Udom Suk BTS station. At any one time up to 10 beautiful pure breed cats are wandering the café – well behaved but just cheeky enough to be fascinating and adorable.

SKY HIGH ENTERTAINING Bangkok’s enormous nest of skyscrapers is an incredible sight from the ground. The city’s skyline is even more spectacular when lit up at night and viewed from a lofty rooftop. ‘Sky bars’ are all the rage in Bangkok – in the downtown area alone there are more than 20 drinking establishments which are on the 25th floor of a building or higher.

Looking down on the busy Sathorn business district from the 38th floor of Mode Sathorn hotel, the Roof @38th Bar (pictured below left) is an open air establishment with a truly hipster vibe. From the blood red walls of its lobby to the deep purple motif of the rooftop area to the mirrored statues at either end of its bar, this place is a taste of Bangkok’s modern nightlife.

HIPPIE HEAVEN Khao San Road is the most famous backpacker enclave in all of Asia, a place where beatniks thrive, wandering the streets barefoot with their hair in braids, their shirts tie-dyed and their Thai fisherman pants bagging. The inclusive atmosphere, dirt cheap accommodation, nonstop nightlife and inexpensive market stalls make it hippie heaven.

In the narrow road (or “Soi”) behind Khao San, things are similarly bohemian but a few shades classier. Where Khao San can be cacophonous and chaotic at times, Soi Rambuttri is significantly more relaxed. Pick one of its many open-air bars, settle into a bean bag with a beer in hand and munch on Thai food while listening to reggae music.

LOCAL STYLE Asiatique has dozens of shops and stalls which offer products from local designers, making it particularly popular with tourists who wish to return home with a distinctive piece of clothing or jewellery.

Owning an attractive location alongside the Chao Phraya River just south of the city centre, Asiatique is one of the most chic destinations for shopping, cuisine and nightlife in Bangkok.

AirAsia flights between Brisbane and Bangkok begin four times weekly from 26 June 2019.

See www.airasia.com

BNE March/April 2019 | 15

ESCAPE

OUTBACK EXPLORER

From precious gems to dinosaur trails there’s plenty to discover across more than 90 million hectares of vast landscape in Queensland’s Outback STAR SPOTTING You don’t have to travel to a galaxy far, far away to discover the Milky Way and chances are you will see it much more clearly from the Outback without the distraction of bright lights in the big cities.

Some of the best vantage points to look for the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross include the Big Red sand dune near Birdsville (above), Lara Wetlands near Barcaldine and Mt Slocombe Lookout, south of Longreach. Charleville, though, is the star-studded capital of Queensland, more than 700km – or just less than two hours flight time – from Brisbane. The town is home to the Cosmos Centre & Observatory and a powerful Meade telescope where guided tours provide an educational commentary along with viewing the galaxy of stars, planets, the moon and the sun.

CATCH A PICTURE PERFECT SUNSET

SEARCH FOR PRECIOUS STONES The Boulder opal is unique to Queensland and is found in the mining belt stretching from Quilpie in the south west to Winton in the north of the state. Just out of town at Quilpie there’s a fossicking area open free to the public but otherwise a licence is required (usually available from the local visitor information centre). Other fossicking areas include Cloncurry, popular for amethyst, and the gem fields in central Queensland such as Rubyvale, Sapphire and Emerald for precious stones or to pan for gold.

Almost anywhere in Outback Queensland you can also see one of the most spectacular shows in the country, playing every night at dusk, and it’s free. Big open skies are a canvas for a palette of many colours, viewed from places such as the top of Big Red, the first of more than 1000 dunes in the Simpson Desert which begins 35 kilometres outside of Birdsville, Harry’s Hill at Boodjamulla National Park, or Captain Starlight’s Lookout, 55km from Longreach.

PACK YOUR SWIMMERS Inland Queensland isn’t all red dirt and dust – there are plenty of places to get wet in the Outback. Pack your swimmers ready for a dip to cool off in a river, lake, dam, creek or an artesian spa. Some of the best waterholes include the Thomson River at Longreach, Lake Moondarra at Mt Isa, the Warrego River at Cunnamulla, Duwadarri Waterhole and Indarri Falls at Boodjamulla National Park and the Birdsville Billabong. For a different experience, there are warm mineral springs in towns including Mitchell (90km from Roma), Bedourie and Blackall, and mud bathing at Eulo (64km west of Cunnamulla).

Fossick for opals 18 16 | BNE March/April 2019

Road trip A journey from Longreach to Winton uncovers a lot about Queensland’s early days DAY 1 Explore Queensland’s outback history in Longreach, starting at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Qantas Founders Museum and Powerhouse Museum. Find out how country kids do their schooling through one of the largest classrooms in the world at the School of Distance Education then take a Cobb and Co. coach ride. Just before sunset step aboard the Thomson Belle paddle wheeler cruise to spend an evening on the Thomson River for dinner and a show, and get a good night’s sleep before setting off on a country adventure.

WALK IN THE WILDERNESS

DAY 2-4

Carnarvon Gorge is an oasis in the heart of central Queensland and a spectacular natural attraction within the Carnarvon National Park, about 700km by road north west of Brisbane. The best way to view its beauty up close is to walk some of its many trails that follow the boulder-strewn creek as it winds its way between the steep sandstone cliffs of the gorge.

Rock art along the way is evidence of the Aboriginal connection to the gorge and ochre stencils, engravings and freehand paintings are some of the finest in Australia.

Walking trails range from easy 1km strolls to the expansive 87km multi-day Carnarvon Great Walk which spans two sections of the massive national park.

Guided walks are available from nearby accommodation such as Takarakka Resort or Wilderness Lodge (see www.takarakka.com.au and www.carnarvon-gorge.com), and multi-day tours from Brisbane (see www.sunrover.com.au).

Hire a 4WD in Longreach and head to the Lochern National Park on the Thomson River, an important natural habitat of more than 24,000 hectares with many lagoons and waterholes that provide refuge for birds including cockatoos, emus, kites and stately brolgas.

The Lochern Habitat Drive (approximately 40 kilometres return), takes two to four hours. Fishing in the waterholes is permitted (size and bag limits apply) and barbecue your catch for dinner at a bush camp at Broadwater Waterhole.

Drive to Stonehenge, signing the visitor’s book on the way – Stonehenge style – by writing your town name with stones – a quirky tradition started years ago by the then mailman. Stop in Stonehenge for morning coffee, then drive on to John Egan Pioneer Drive to view magnificent landscapes sculpted over millions of years into amazing rock formations.

Enjoy the views from Swanvale Lookout, particularly at sunset, and arrive in Jundah in time for happy hour and some old fashioned outback hospitality at the Jundah Hotel (and a bed for the night).

WATCH FOR WILDLIFE

DAY 3 TO 6

The largest population of kangaroos and wallabies in Outback Queensland is in Cunnamulla in the state’s south west and, in Thargomindah they say there are more kangaroos than people! Out Bedourie way you’re more likely to see camels – and they are off and racing in a festive event held every year in July – while Barcaldine is home to plentiful birdlife seen around Lagoon Creek and at Lara Wetlands. Spot more wildlife on tours of Cobbold Gorge (see www.cobboldgorge.com.au) in Far North Queensland’s Savannah region or on a Boobook Eco Tour (see www.boobooktours.com) from Roma.

Drive on through red mulga country to see the best example of dinosaur running tracks in the world that have been preserved for 95 million years and take a guided tour of the Dinosaur Stampede site at Lark Quarry Conservation Park. There are more than 3000 fossilised footprints scattered over the rock face.

Continue on to Winton to see the world’s largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils at Australian Age of Dinosaurs, but this is also the birthplace of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and the Waltzing Matilda Centre is the only museum dedicated completely to a song.

For more itinerary ideas see www.outbackqueensland.com.au

Birdsville Races

Images: Tourism and Events Queensland

Fly direct between Brisbane and Longreach with QantasLink. See www.qantas.com.au

ESCAPE EAT A HEARTY FEAST After long days working hard on the land, country folk enjoy hearty meals and visitors can get a taste of country cooking to satisfy a broad range of tastes from the roasts cooked on an open spit and served on weekends at Takarakka Resort, in the bushland surrounds of Carnarvon National Park to the more unusual curried camel pies that have become a unique treat at the Birdsville bakery way out west.

No outback adventure is complete without stopping for a cold beer and a big steak at a roadside pub – the Nindigully Pub, south of St George, serves a T-bone up to 2kg in size and the Walkabout Creek Hotel, south of Cloncurry, has been a popular stop ever since Crocodile Dundee was filmed there. There are also some unique places to ‘wet your whistle’ such as The Lodge on Hawthorn, a café-plus-antique shop inside the former Masonic Temple building in Blackall.

On the other hand, you could go a long way to find a real coffee in the Outback but journey no further than Barcaldine where Cheryl Thompson has created a special blend with an artisan roaster called Coolamon Coffee, served at her Ridgee Didge Café on Oak Street. They also serve up big breakfasts ‘with the lot’ and delicious pancakes.

GO FISHING Seafood is also a popular item on the menu far from the coast and you might be surprised to discover that fishing is a popular activity in Outback Queensland where billabongs, lakes, gorges, waterholes and creeks are filled with yellow belly, cod, perch, bream and barramundi as well as a local specialty, ‘red claw’ crayfish. Top spots include Lake Moondarra at Mount Isa, the Thomson River at Longreach, Lake Callide, 15 minutes from Biloela, and the Warrego River at Charleville.

Mount Isa rodeo

WHERE TO STAY

Winton

STEP BACK IN TIME WHEN DINOSAURS ROAMED THE LAND The Outback is Australia’s answer to Jurassic Park where prehistoric creatures once roamed. Follow in their footsteps along the Australian Dinosaur Trail which includes the towns of Winton, Richmond and Hughenden and the Lark Quarry Conservation Park where more than 3000 giant stone footprints have been uncovered that are 95 million years old.

The Riversleigh Fossil Fields in Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park also contains fossil remains of ancient mammals, birds and reptiles that date back 25 million years, including kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, wombats, large flightless birds, the largest known freshwater crocodile and a tree-dwelling crocodile. The 800-metre fossil trail takes about an hour to walk or find out about guided walks at Visitor Information Centres at Mount Isa, Julia Creek, Georgetown, Croydon and Normanton.

Find out more at www.outbackqueensland.com.au

18 20 || BNE BNEMarch/April March/April2019 2019

WALLAROO OUTBACK RETREAT is 160km north of Roma, in the dramatic sandstone belt of Queensland, between the Carnarvon Gorge and Lonesome National Park. The intimate camp of eight safari-style tents lies within the grounds of Pauline and Justin MacDonnell’s sprawling Wallaroo cattle station where visitors can practise their camp oven cooking skills, learn whip cracking, go fishing and bushwalking by day and spotlighting to view nocturnal wildlife at night.

Accommodation is fitted with comfy bedding and there are separate bathrooms with hot running water, a communal kitchen and outdoor fire pits for rustic cooking. Tents can be booked individually or the easiest way to stay is on a tour that includes transfers from Roma and guided exploration of Carnarvon Gorge over four days. See www.boobooktours.com and www.wallaroooutbackretreat.com.au COBBOLD VILLAGE is in the heart of the Gulf Savannah

region in Far North Queensland, about 500km inland from Townsville or Cairns. Spectacular 10-metre high cliffs narrow to just two metres wide in Cobbold Gorge where tours include cruising or paddle boarding along the waterway with an expert guide, short or multi-day walks and scenic helicopter flights. Multi-day tours are available from Brisbane and Cairns. Accommodation is available in air conditioned ensuite cabins with an on-site swimming pool and bistro. See www.cobboldgorge.com.au

Outback Adventures Travel out back of beyond and find events that are truly one of a kind JULIA CREEK DIRT N DUST FESTIVAL

MOUNT ISA MINES ROTARY RODEO

Over three days of action-packed adventure at Julia Creek, 1627km north west of Brisbane, the brave and the brawny compete in a triathlon, bog snorkelling and the Dirt n Dust bull ride and everyone else can join in the Red Claw Luncheon of locally-farmed crayfish. From 12-14 April 2019. See www.dirtndust.com

More than 1800km north west of Brisbane Mount Isa hosts the richest rodeo in Australia, and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, where the best of the best men and women compete in bronc and bull riding, roping, wrestling and barrel racing. Away from the arena, live music, sideshow alley and Fred Brophy’s boxing tent keep the crowds entertained. On 8-11 August 2019. See www.isarodeo.com.au

BIRDSVILLE BIG RED BASH Right in the middle of the Simpson Desert, more than 1800km west of Brisbane, the Big Red sand dune is host to an annual camping and concert gig which this year will see music legends Midnight Oil, Kasey Chambers, Wendy Matthews and more on the playlist. Between shows it’s fun to go sand surfing on boogie boards, cardboard or esky lids down Big Red. From 16-18 July 2019. See www.bigredbash.com.au

BEDOURIE CAMEL RACES AND CAMP OVEN COOK-OFF It’s not horses but camels that reign supreme at this annual event in Bedourie, almost 2000km north west of Brisbane, supported by a program of pig racing, wood chopping and novelty events you’d only hear about in the Outback. Anyone can join the traditional camp oven cook-off to bake bread using provided ingredients.

On 13 July 2019. See www.queensland.com

WINDORAH INTERNATIONAL YABBY RACES If you’ve only seen yabbies on a restaurant plate this event will be quite a treat as the crusty little freshwater critters are auctioned off and cheered to the finish line to help raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). Windorah makes a good pit stop about 1200km west of Brisbane for anyone driving out to the Birdsville Races. The yabby races are on 4 September 2019. See www.outbackqueensland.com.au

BIRDSVILLE RACES This is the Melbourne Cup of the Outback which attracts a crowd of 10,000 to enjoy two days of racing and entertainment more than 1800km west of Brisbane. A tent city is set up to accommodate the jockeys, trainers and spectators who help raise funds for the RFDS. Fly or drive to Birdsville from Brisbane. On 6-7 September 2019. See www.birdsvilleraces.com Words: SHELLEY THOMAS

Fly direct between Brisbane and Mount Isa with Rex Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Australia and between Brisbane and Birdsville with Rex Airlines. Plan a road trip at www.queensland.com and www.outbackqueensland.com.au

KINRARA EXPEDITIONS is a luxury escape on a cattle station spanning almost

30,000 hectares four hours south west of Cairns. Inclusive five-day, four-night adventures have been created in consultation with the area’s Indigenous traditional owners and a Gugu Badhun guide joins each tour to share its story. Accommodation is provided in ‘glamping’ tents with views of the Burdekin River and surrounding national park which is home to abundant bird and wildlife, and a diverse landscape. Customised tours include transfers from Cairns and are limited to a maximum of 12 people at any one time. Open only from April to October. See www.kinraraexpeditions.com.au

ADELS GROVE is a good base camp for exploring the Boodjamulla National Park, close to the border with Northern Territory in Queensland’s north west, with accommodation ranging from safari tents to ensuite rooms and a licensed restaurant.

Tours include sunset viewing from Harry’s Hill, cruising the Lawn Hill Gorge, half day tours to the fossil fields at Riversleigh and multi-day tours from Mount Isa. See www.adelsgrove.com.au

Kinrara Station

Wallaroo Outback Retreat

Wallaroo Fossil Gully

BNE March/April 2019 | 19 21

ESCAPE

WELCOME TO

Alice Springs Big, long and red, just like the landscape, the ‘Welcome to Alice Springs’ sign on the Stuart Highway sends out a huge Territory-style hello as you drive into town. It’s a feeling that echoes throughout this oasis in the middle of Australia’s harsh outback desert which brings together a diverse range of communities and these are some of the ways to find its heart.

PLAY If you want to see what lives in such a desolate wilderness, start with a visit to Alice Springs Desert Park. The well camouflaged, timid reptiles, mammals and birds are difficult to spot in the wild but easy to see at the park’s daily shows and displays. Don’t miss the wedge-tailed eagle in the free-flying bird experience and the Aboriginal survival experience show.

20 BNE March/April March/April 2019 2019 22 || BNE

The annual Parrtjima Festival lights up the 300 million-year-old MacDonnell Ranges on 5-14 April, spilling into Alice Springs Desert Park for a particularly spectacular sight, creating an outdoor gallery of local artwork and interactive installations that tell stories of the First People to inhabit the land.

Also don’t miss The Kangaroo Sanctuary Sunset Tour where I had a heart-warming cuddle with an orphaned kangaroo ‘joey’. Like millions of other viewers, I was captivated by Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns and his kangaroo family in the BBC/National Geographic documentary Kangaroo Dundee about the rescue and rehabilitation centre he has created for orphaned kangaroos, and it’s just as inspiring to see in real life.

Uluru might be the jewel in the desert for Red Centre visitors but a stopover in Alice Springs is a welcome to the local community not to miss and flights from Brisbane allow you to do both. Kerry Heaney provides the introductions …

Images: Tourism and Events Queensland; wedge-tailed eagle/Shutterstock

At Megafauna Central in Todd Mall, I came face to face with some of the impressively large and scary creatures that roamed this part of the world about eight million years ago, or their life-size replicas at least, alongside fossil displays of huge birds and crocodiles. Kids can unearth fossils too and join a palaeontologist for activities in the ‘lab’.

A sunset ride through scenic White Gums Valley near the MacDonnell Ranges with Pyndan Camel Tracks showed me the captivating cobalt blue and orange-pink sunset colours of the Red Centre.

Famed Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira lived and painted around Hermannsburg, about 130km from Alice Springs. At the Araluen Art Centre I saw a comprehensive collection of his works and other Indigenous art. Central Craft in the same precinct is a good place to purchase works from local artists at very reasonable prices.

Artist, designer and poet Kathleen Buzzacott grew up in the Hermannsburg community and a visit to her art studio 20km from Alice Springs provides a more intimate insight to her life and the ancient traditions of the Arrernte people as she chats over tea and cake and visitors create a piece to take home as part of her Yia Nuka (which means ‘my story’) Aboriginal Cultural Experience A visit to the Red Centre is not complete without a visit to Uluru. After a stopover in ‘Alice’ hire a car for a self-drive adventure, take a flight direct to Uluru, or take a guided tour to the Rock which is almost 500km away.

EAT For a taste of the Outback, head to Kungkas Can Cook where Rayleen Brown uses wild harvested produce from the Central Desert Region to create deliciously exciting blends for everyday meals. Try a camel burger with quandong chilli sauce and finish with her epic wattle seed brownie (you’ll want seconds).

Hanuman’s Thai and pan-Asian meals at DoubleTree by Hilton are popular with locals as are the burgers and tapas plates at Epilogue Lounge.

Pretty as a picture Café Uccello is the place for coffee and sweets.

STAY There’s plenty of choice around town, from budget accommodation and nearby caravan parks to hotels with sparkling pools. DoubleTree by Hilton Alice Springs offers guests a delicious welcome with a warm chocolate chip cookie, and when I checked in they followed up with a text message to see if I needed anything when I got to the room. There’s even a grand peacock on occasional greeter duty in the pool area.

The hotel is within walking or cycling distance of Todd Mall.

Find luxury camping 15km out of town at Squeakeywindmill Boutique Tent B&B, with views of the Western MacDonnell Ranges from the front deck and a Weber barbecue ready to fire up for dinner.

Find out more about Alice Springs at www.northernterritory.com

Fly between Brisbane and Alice Springs with QantasLink and Virgin Australia and direct between Brisbane and Uluru with Jetstar

Opposite page: There’s a reason it’s called the Red Centre. This page from top: Kathleen Buzzacott at work in her art studio near Simpsons Gap; a wedge-tailed eagle takes flight; bush tucker ingredients; and a sunset camel ride near the MacDonnell Ranges BNE March/April March/April2019 2019 || 23 21 BNE

ESCAPE EXTRA

Find a travel pal

Looking for a pal to share your travel adventures? Avid traveller Bruce Southerden has launched GoPal to bring like-minded travellers together, based on gender, age, interests and destination. While that might sound like a dating site, it’s not, says Southerden. It’s not just for singles either, or limited to finding just one companion. “It’s about tapping into a world of other travellers who also want someone to travel with, so that you can feel safe and free to travel anywhere, anytime and anyhow – independently, on cruises, or on group tours,” says Southerden, and the bonus is you’ll likely save being slugged a single supplement as a solo traveller. Membership to GoPal is free and offers discounts from travel companies including Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Webjet, Contiki, G Adventures, Princess Cruises and P&O, Emirates, Virgin, Accor, Intercontinental, Avis and many more. See www.gopal.travel

VIRTUAL WELCOME

to WELLINGTON

FLIGHT OPTIONS FOR

WALLABIES MATCHES

RUGBY WORLD CUP

SAPPORO AUS Vs Fiji Sept 21

e Chitos New irport A

Narita

/ ta a Oi uok k Fu

Shiz (Na uoka goy a)

Haned

a

TOKYO AUS Vs Wales Sept 29

SHIZUOKA AUS Vs Georgia Oct 11

OITA AUS Vs Uruguay Oct 5

22 24 | BNE March/April 2019

Air New Zealand has increased its flights between Brisbane and Wellington and, to help newcomers find out more about the city, local tourism organisation WellingtonNZ has launched a Virtual Reality game called WellTown available for free download from Steam and Occulus VR stores. Players need a VR headset and select an avatar which is then guided through up to six ‘local’ experiences in the virtual city, with rewards at the end of each one.

Your avatar might busk on Cuba Street as the new drummer for a local band or fire coffee shots at zombified commuters as they converge upon it for their morning caffeine fix, it might jump off a diving platform on the waterfront or go underwater in Wellington’s harbour – watch out for the southern right whale as it swims by!

For flights see www.airnewzealand.com.au

Japan plays host to the Rugby World Cup this year, the first time the tournament has been held in Asia, and there has been record demand for tickets so the country is getting ready to host the largest number of overseas visitors in the history of the event.

Nearly 50 matches will be played over seven weeks as 20 teams from around the world battle it out for the championship crown from 20 September to 2 November – Australia’s Wallabies play their first match against Fiji in Sapporo.

While demand for flights is expected to be high Brisbane fans have a number of options for travelling to Japan and the match cities. Qantas flies non-stop between Brisbane and Tokyo, while a number of airlines connect via their home hubs. For example Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern, EVA Air, Korean Air, Philippine Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways fly from Brisbane with connections to Tokyo as well as to New Chitose Airport (for Sapporo), Oita and Shizuoka where the Wallabies will be playing.

WILD ABOUT

ALASKA adventure they’ll chat even more. The locals are wild in the most wonderful way.

The best local food is... either the fish you

Getaway presenter Catriona Rowntree shares 10 things she loves about Alaska This is the second time I’ve been to Alaska... the first time I went with my

husband, our first holiday post honeymoon so we still had that romantic glow. Most recently on this trip for Getaway, though, there were lots of grandparents with their grandchildren and solo travellers too. Alaska is a winner all round and gets even better when you extend your trip to discover more of the US’s biggest state.

caught yourself or any kind of chowder. I ate it every day: the freshest of fish, whipped into a scrumptious soup. Alaskans take their coffee very seriously too, maybe they need the jolt to get out into the cold but coffee lovers will be smiling around these parts.

The most fun I had on location was... in

Juneau. I didn’t think we could be more excited than having whales breach right in front of us, only 20 minutes from the shore, but when we decided to head to the Mendenhall Glacier soon after we spotted bears just roaming through the neighbourhoods. They were literally coming out of the woods, wandering across the road and into locals’ front gardens and no one seemed to bat an eyelid ... Like having a bear knock on your front door is a completely normal experience ... I loved that.

I didn’t know before I got there... how seriously the locals take their fish. If you are into your fishing, I recommend asking for Captain Pat, of Sportfishing Adventures in Ketchikan, He helped me to catch three salmon at the same time! Oh, and then he hand fed a wild eagle on the way back to shore. Talk about a bonus!

The best place to meet the locals is... in an outdoor clothing store. They take camping and outdoor adventure shopping to a whole new level here. Look for Big Ray’s in Fairbanks, it’s on two levels. I tried on every fur hat, took photos of the snow boots and walked out looking like an Ice Road Trucker. My hubby now wears the hat on cold days back on our farm and I find it strangely attractive.

The stand-out attraction for me is...

Get away from the tourist crowds at...

the laid-back attitude of the locals. Do not pack stilettos for this trip! Everyone is just so relaxed, up for a chat and if you’re up for a bit of

your own peril. I’m serious, this place is wild.

You don’t walk through the woods yelling “yo bear” without good reason. However, I do

recommend keeping the lights off at night in order to appreciate the Northern Lights – rare to see, but we all live in hope.

The best thing to pack for this destination is... layers, and nothing too

formal. I’m thinking checked shirt, jeans, solid walking shoes and a great all-weather jacket. All of which you can buy on arrival at Big Rays!

Don’t forget... to add on extra days before and after a cruise to enjoy Canada (love the Yukon), sample the Arctic Circle. There’s so much more to Alaska than just a cruise, albeit an awesome one at that.

On my next visit... I’d want to spend more time on those side trips. I just loved the Yukon, having a Sour Toe Cocktail in Dawson (long story, just do it), I wish I’d had more coffee time in Vancouver. I just can’t wait to return.

Catriona Rowntree’s travels in Alaska and Canada will appear on Getaway on 16, 23 and 30 March from 5.30pm on Nine. Rowntree’s book The Best of World Cruising is out now (published by Hardie Grant).

BNE March/April 2019 | 23 25

QUEENSLAND

Karen Foxlee

AUTHOR

Karen Foxlee is an awardwinning author who has been writing stories since she was seven years old, growing up in central Queensland. Now her books receive high praise from readers young and old and her latest book is no exception.

Lenny’s Book of Everything is written for young teens but the story of two siblings who get lost in a world of wonder inspired by an encyclopedia has charmed many adults and receives nothing less than four star reviews on websites such as goodreads and amazon.

Foxlee lives with her own 11-year-old daughter in the Sunshine Coast hinterland and shares what she loves best about living in Queensland...

Where do you live?

What’s a favourite day out for you and daughter Alice?

I live in Gympie, a town about two hours north of Brisbane. I’ve lived here for 18 years. Gympie is an historic gold-mining town in the Cooloola region, the land of the Kabi Kabi people. The very hilly streets are filled with old Queenslanders and miner’s cottages. It’s quite picturesque.

Nearby there’s Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island and Noosa.

Our favourite day out is a day outdoors. We get up early to swim at Noosa and then have breakfast on Hastings Street. We love the markets in Gympie, Eumundi and on the coast for hand-made stuff, second-hand bargains and lovely local produce.

What do you like about your neighbourhood?

Nearly all my novels have been set in fictional places but they are definitely all based on composites of places I know, have been to, or visited in my mind through literature and the screen. Lenny’s Book of Everything is set in a fictional town in Ohio, USA. It’s made from places I’ve been to and layers of American popular culture I’ve absorbed over the years through television and stories.

My neighbourhood looks out over the Mary Valley and the view is wonderful. We have spectacular morning fogs and amazing winter skies.

What would you recommend to visitors to the area?

So much! In Gympie take the Mary Valley Rattler (a heritage steam train) out into the Valley. Travel to Rainbow Beach to swim or visit the Carlo Sand Blow. Take a day-trip drive up through the ranges to Maleny via pretty little towns like Amamoor and Kenilworth. Visit Noosa.

What have been your best discoveries there?

I love the beach so regularly travel to Noosa’s Little Cove or to walk in the Noosa National Park. I discovered Marcoola Beach years ago and now spend lots of summer holidays there.

Is there something that only locals know?

Locals know all the amazing walks closer to home. There are waterfalls tucked away in forest and creeks where you might get lucky and spot a platypus.

24 26 | BNE March/April 2019

Does your environment inspire your books in any way?

Where’s your favourite place to write?

I write in various locations throughout the house. When my daughter was younger, I spent a lot of time in bed writing in the early hours of the morning while she slept nearby. Nowadays, I love to write in the kitchen.

There’s a beautiful view from my back verandah that keeps me happy.

Where and when did you get the idea for Lenny’s Book of Everything?

It started with a vague collection of ideas: a boy who grows too tall, a girl who loves beetles, and an encyclopedia set. They came from a mix of emotions, memories and, I think, a desire to write about being different, knowledge and love.

Destination images: Tourism and Events Queensland

I

We spent childhood holidays making the great trek from inland to the coast. For kids fom the Outback it was paradise

You grew up in Mount Isa, what was the best thing about growing up there?

The best thing about growing up in Mount Isa was the freedom. We spent hours as kids exploring the landscape, climbing spinifex covered hills and building cubby-houses along the dry Leichhardt River.

Do you go back at all?

I did a road trip back with my sister and my daughter two years ago. It was incredible to see the mine stacks finally appear as we rounded a bend in the Selwyn Ranges. We visited all the usual haunts of our youth but probably the most iconic is the Look-Out with its signposts to various locations around the world. Growing up in the middle of nowhere those signposts were pretty significant.

What would you recommend visitors not to miss there?

The mine museum is wonderful, a trip out to Lake Moondarra is worth a look, and dinner at the Buffalo Club is fun.

Where and when did you first start writing and what inspired you to start?

I wrote my first story, aged seven, lying on the laundry floor in Mount Isa. I never stopped from that point on. I fell in love with the whole idea of creating worlds out of nothing. I made a decision to seriously pursue my dream of finishing a novel when I was around 28 years old. Lenny’s Book of Everything is my fifth.

Where was your best childhood holiday?

We spent childhood holidays making the great trek from inland to the coast. I think my best childhood holidays were those we spent at Dingo Beach in North Queensland. For kids from the Outback it was paradise.

We’d swim in the crystal-clear sea, go oystering or fishing with our father, or walk to the secluded Hydeaway Bay (where no houses had been built yet) and pretend we were castaways from a shipwreck surviving on a deserted island.

Is there anywhere in Queensland on your bucket list for travel?

Many, many places! In no particular order I want to go to the Daintree, Carnarvon Gorge, Lark Quarry (to see the Dinosaur stampede) and explore around Lamington National Park.

You’ve been to Brisbane quite a bit to promote your book.

Any favourite spots you love to visit?

I lived in Brisbane for quite a few years and have such a love for the city.

We come regularly to visit the Queensland Museum, the Art Gallery, or to watch the football. I love the fabulous Brisbane independent bookshops Avid Reader and Riverbend. I lived in New Farm so I have a big soft spot for New Farm Park.

Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin) is out now.

A few of author Karen Foxlee’s favourite places. This page, top: The iconic sign in Mount Isa that points to cities in every direction. Above left: The Mary Valley Rattler.

Above: the picturesque Mary Valley. Left: Lake Moondarra at Mount Isa BNE March/April 2019 | 25 27

TASTE

tastes to travel for...

Last year TripAdvisor reported that foodie experiences are the fastest growing travel category based on bookings, which increased a whopping 61 per cent in one year, and Australia, it seems, has one of the strongest appetites for culinary adventures with bookings up nearly 500 per cent. Brisbane also made TripAdvisor’s top 10 list of foodie destinations to watch, so before you book your next trip, consider these new foodie experiences …

COOK AROUND THE WORLD Cookly has become the largest online platform for booking cooking classes around the world in just three years and offers more than 800 classes in more than 100 destinations from Tokyo to Tuscany (one of TripAdvisor’s top 10 food experiences booked in 2018 was a pizza and gelato making class at a country estate outside Florence). It’s a work in progress and tips on travelling for foodies are being added. See www.cookly.me

BEHIND BARS

EAT ITALIANO

T

here’s no need to leave Brisbane to taste the flavours of Italy’s famous food regions from Sicily and Sardinia to Puglia and Piedmont as buzzing Bucci Restaurant and Bar in James Street, Fortitude Valley, launches its Vacation Series lunches, focusing on a different region each month until November. On the menu now is Veneto, home of Venice, until 27 March then from 28 March the spotlight moves to Puglia, the birthplace of ‘burrata’ and, according to Bucci chef and co-owner Shaun Malone, a hot spot for orecchiette pasta and pasticciotto (custard tarts) which will star on his lunch menu until 21 April. In May things get a little more spicy as the menu moves to Calabria and specialties such as nduja (spreadable salami) and hand-rolled fileja pasta. A special Sunday lunch launch event will be held for each region. Two courses $30; three courses $36. For more information and bookings see www.buccijamesstreet.com.au

Tropical delights

28 | BNE March/April 2019 26

Rocco, the rooftop bar on level 12 of the new Riley resort in Cairns, is a magnet for patrons, not just because of the panoramic views of the tropical city and the Coral Sea from the terrace but also for its impressive beverage menu that includes more than 40 single malt and blended whiskeys and more than 30 Champagnes, but it’s the Punch Pot ‘tea’ (pictured left) for two that caught our eye, a visually impressive Moroccan mint green tea reduction with Tanqueray Gin, served from a vaporising tea pot. The Puckerup, too, reflects the bar’s taste for cocktails infused with fresh fruits, herbs and spices, combining vodka with a dash of Tablelands honey, freshly squeezed citrus, pomegranate and aromatic rose blossom spritz.

The Tai Kwun centre for heritage and arts in Hong Kong may have been named New Culture Destination of the Year soon after its opening last year but it’s also a food lover’s heaven with 13 new restaurants, cafés and bars within the freshly restored Central Police Station compound. Tai Kwun has been the most significant heritage restoration development in Hong Kong this decade with almost $700 million invested so far in revitalising the complex that has repurposed 16 heritage buildings, including the police station and former Victoria Prison, into a performing arts, exhibition and event space. The dining standouts include Madame Fu Grand Café Chinois (with seven different themed rooms), The Chinese Library or drinks at LokCha Tea House (with more than 100 teas to choose from) and Behind Bars, serving up everything from artisan coffee to cocktails and Perrier-Jouët Champagne in the cells and courtyard of the former prison.

See www.taikwun.hk

Behind Bars

The Chinese Laundry

honey

Watch where the

comes from

A Queensland company is using smartphone technology to show how and where its honey is made, writes Kerry Heaney

D

Find out more about the honey at www.cooloolabee.co/ and gourmet shopping at Brisbane Airport at www.bne.com.au/ Follow Kerry Heaney at www.eatdrinkandbekerry.net

Images: Cooloola forest/Tourism and Events Queensland; bees and honey/Shutterstock

eep in the dry sub-tropical Cooloola Coast forest, tall eucalypt trees are buzzing with activity as bees collect nectar from the flowers blooming in the pure, fresh air, far away from the manmade world.

According to Cooloola Bee Company owner and operator Rick Joyce, you can taste the natural flavour difference in the cold extracted and filtered honey created from these trees where the flowers are located 20 to 60 metres high in natural bushland air.

Stretching from Noosa to Rainbow Beach, the Cooloola Coast is a prime honey producing area with more than 700 eucalypt species to tempt the bees. Joyce and his team move the Cooloola Bee hives every six to eight weeks to follow the flowers and create 12 different flavours of honey depending on the season.

Thanks to modern technology, honey lovers can watch these bees in action too and learn more about the environment where each jar of Cooloola Bee Company honey is produced. Meeting the bees that made the honey is as easy as using an NFC enabled phone to scan the jar’s lid.

(Check your phone settings to see if it is enabled or download an NFC reader app for iPhone and android phones). A video shows the eucalypt blossom or Queensland Ironbox honey production trail.

The jar label also has details on the height and location of the trees for each honey type in the range, including the Ironbox, Red Stringy Bark, Paper Barked Tree, Macadamia and more.

Joyce started beekeeping in 2014 with 40 hives and now has 1200, each with around 50,000 bees, placed in the Cooloola area and he never tires of watching them.

“Bees are fascinating. They have mood and morale. We can put a hive which is not doing well next to one which is working hard, and the weaker one will get into the mood and start working hard too,” he says.

“We move the hives at night when all the bees have come home for the day, and we generally load and unload in the dark using orange lights to see what we are doing. Orange light seems to calm the bees, and they aren’t attracted to the lights like insects normally are to white light.

“Hot weather slows the bees down a bit as more energy is used for cooling the hive. They do this by bringing in water and fanning droplets through the hive by evaporation. It is amazing how much air they can move. If you put your hand near the hive entrance, you can feel the cool air flowing out the opening.

“We don’t heat our honey above hive temperature and it is supplied in dark containers to protect it from UV light. Light breaks down the goodness in honey which is why the bees go to a lot of trouble to build their hives in the dark.”

With five sons and a baby daughter at home, there is plenty of honey eaten in the Joyce household. “My favourite way to eat honey is on hot crumpets, and this is because a crumpet acts like a sponge and you can load them with butter and honey!” says Rick.

Cooloola Bee Company Tall Trees honey is also classed as a good-forgut-health prebiotic. It is available at the Australian Produce Store at Brisbane Airport’s International Terminal (Level 3 after security) and at gourmet and health food shops in Brisbane.

Cooloola forest

Taste the difference 27 BNE March/April 2019 | 29

TASTE

DRINK sensations

Where to find the best wines and beer in Brisbane Two industry insiders give us their top picks

WINE...

Andrew Giblin grew up in McLaren Vale so you’d think he’d have wine in his veins but it wasn’t until he became an apprentice chef that he got a taste for his future career. He left the kitchen for years of study, travel and mixing it with winemakers around the world before landing at South Bank fine dining restaurant Bacchus as head sommelier and curator of a mammoth list of more than 600 wines.

Giblin has travelled extensively and describes his list as a tour of the world’s great wine regions, and his choices impress not only a devoted clientele at Bacchus, but critics worldwide, including being named one of Australia’s best wine restaurants by global bible Wine Spectator. Giblin is known for including some unexpected selections on his list, such as wines from Japan or Uruguay, so we asked him for five of his top picks …

1. Symphony Hill Gewürztraminer Andrew Giblin

(2017, Granite Belt, Queensland). One of Queensland winemaker Mike Hayes’ best ...

Floral, Turkish delight and spice with lovely lychee and fruit on the palate. Great with spicy Asian food or just to enjoy.

2. Savaterre Chardonnay (2016,

Beechworth, Victoria). An absolute delight.

Complex, powerful, sophisticated and precise. Keppell Smith shows us why he is, in my opinion, one of Australia’s leading winemakers with this beauty.

3. Grace Winery Gris de Koshu Koshu (2015, Yamanashi, Japan). Made from the native pinkish grape variety Koshu, this is a go-to wine for anyone looking for something to pair with raw or cured seafood. Light, dry, elegant and crisp.

4. Langmeil The Freedom 1843 Shiraz (2006, Barossa Valley, South Australia). It’s a bit on the pricey side but punches well above its class. From some of the oldest vines in the Barossa and therefore the world – definitely one to try before you die.

5. Fontodi Filetta di Lamole Chianti Classico (2014, Tuscany, Italy). There is

some finesse about this Sangiovese, cherries and red fruit abound plus there’s some garden herbs, mint and basil. Elegant rather than powerful.

Bacchus is at Rydges, South Bank. For more information see www.bacchussouthbank.com.au 28 30 || BNE BNE March/April March/April 2019 2019

...OR BEER Former lawyer Martin Keetels, on the other hand, threw in his corporate job six years ago to pursue his passion for beer and establish Brisbane’s first beer and cider tasting event.

From a modest 2500 patrons in its first year in 2014 the Beer InCider Experience attracted close to 20,000 visitors last year and returns to Brisbane Showgrounds on 9 March and again over two days on 20 and 21 September.

There’s no doubt that craft brewing has taken off around the country. According to website Craft Beer Reviewer more than 80 new breweries opened nationally in 2018, a record in one year, and the total number has tripled since 2011 to more than 600 across the country. As cities battle it out for recognition as craft beer capital of the country and about two thirds of independent brewers are located in regional areas ‘beercations’ are now a trend as fans travel to taste small batch ales at their source or tour a city’s cool new taprooms (look for tours at www.hoponbrewerytours.com.au) According to Keetels cider, too, is enjoying a surge in popularity with many local breweries adding at least one to their range. At Beer InCider there will be more than 60 beers and ciders on the tasting list which might seem daunting so we asked Keetels for his favourite five …

1. Sea Legs Brewing Co. Just a hop,

skip and a jump from the Story Bridge at Kangaroo Point sits Brisbane’s newest brewery, a labour of love for five engineering mates who spent three years developing their brew before launching it late last year. It has been worth the wait and it is a brewery to watch. The beers are fresh, beautifully balanced and delicious.

Marty’s pick: Sea Legs Pale Ale – it’s juicy and balanced. I rate this as one of Brisbane’s best Pales. Find it at 89 Main Street, Kangaroo Point; www.sealegsbrewing.com.au

2. Felons Brewing Co. A new addition

to the Howard Smith Wharves precinct, taking over one of the heritage-listed, refurbished sheds under the Story Bridge and commanding brilliant views of the Brisbane River. Head brewer Tom Champion and a few of his team learnt their craft at Little Creatures.

Marty’s pick: Sonny’s Apple Cider with Aperol. It’s how the Scandinavians make Aperol Spritz – replacing the sparkling with cider. Find it at 5 Boundary Street, Brisbane; www.felonsbrewingco.com.au

Martin Keetels

3. Newstead Brewing Co. Almost a veteran of Brisbane’s brew scene with a core range of six beers and a cider that are so popular they have expanded to a second location.

Marty’s pick: The Imperial Yirg – a bourbon barrel aged stout made in collaboration with Bunker Coffee and Brewtal Brewers. It’s delicious – coffee layered on top of the sweetness of bourbon layered on coffee. Find it at 85 Doggett Street, Newstead and 67 Castlemaine Street, Milton; www.newsteadbrewing.com.au

4. Green Beacon Brewing Co. Perennial

award winners! From Champion Small Brewery at the Australian International Beer Awards in 2016 they returned to win Champion Medium Brewery in 2017. Their beers are top-notch and the food trucks that roll into this brewery are ever popular.

Marty’s pick: I would love to say Green Beacon 7 Bells Passionfruit Gose but I honestly can’t stop drinking their Wayfarer Tropical Pale Ale. Drink both and decide for yourself which is best! Find it at 26 Helen Street, Teneriffe; www.greenbeacon.com.au

5. Revel Brewing Co. Gold, silver

and bronze medal winners at the 2018 Independent Brewers Association (IBA) ‘Indie’Awards and people’s choice for Queensland’s Best New Brewery of 2018 in the ‘Beeries’ Awards.

Marty’s pick: The IPA. It’s juicy and resinous and perfect with one of their pizzas.

Find it at 41 Oxford Street, Bulimba; www.revelbrewingco.com.au

Find out more about Beer InCider Experience at www.beerincider.com BNE March/April 2019 | 29

WHAT’S ON

Into the deep

Gold Coast Bleach* Festival has not been afraid to take risks and this year it will stage its biggest program yet

W

LAUGH OUT LOUD

Louise Bezzina

Feeling exasperated in the workplace, weighed down by political issues, frustrated by what’s on TV and radio?

Sounds like you need some light relief and Brisbane Comedy Festival is here to help with top class acts from Brisbane and the rest of the world.

For the program and bookings see www.brisbanecomedyfestival.com

30 BNE March/April March/April 2019 2019 32 || BNE

ater has figured large in events at the Gold Coast’s Bleach* Festival, not just as a backdrop but as the stage itself. In 2015, performers from The Farm delivered Tide, an interactive work that took place in an estuary with its stars acting out everyday activities as if in an office while the tide rose and fell around them over two days and nights.

The production presented a unique set of challenges but none that couldn’t be solved and last year it won the company, the festival and the Gold Coast its first Helpmann Award.

According to The Farm’s artistic director (and Tide performer) Gavin Webber, the partnership with Bleach* Festival and its founder and CEO Louise Bezzina has been a dream for his company. “I don’t think we could have pulled off something as outrageous and brilliant as Tide with anyone else. It is a rare thing to have a festival director approach artists with the level of trust and encouragement that Louise shows. It is very inspiring and gives you the confidence to go for the biggest idea.”

This year’s Bleach* Festival will see another brave new work on water as wandering minstrels entertain spectators from creeks and canals, pontoons and parklands around the Gold Coast – some in the backyards of private homes that have been volunteered for the events.

Bezzina says it’s new works like Water Songs, commissioned just for Bleach*, that set it apart from other festivals. “The majority of the program is created specifically for Bleach* with an emphasis on experiencing

Raven On

Comedian Natalie Bochenski admits she’s a Game of Thrones tragic, she’s been writing about it in her popular Raven On recap columns since the series began and she’s not ready for it to end. On stage she relives seven seasons of beloved characters and traumatic events, speculates on who will ultimately win the Iron Throne, and spills about the time she really embarrassed herself in front of Khal Drogo. On 12-17 March, Brisbane City Hall. Tickets $22-36 plus booking fees.

new contemporary performance in different ways. It’s about having an outdoor experience and enjoying that feeling of being around the ocean and on the sand which is uniquely Bleach*.”

Bezzina has been the architect of such risky business for the past eight years and has seen several artists from Bleach* go on to tour their works nationally, including interactive dance collective Everybody Now. “Gold Coast artists are really adventurous and have a fresh energy because they are young and emerging and that comes with a vibrancy you don’t get when something has been around for so long. We’re creating the rules ourselves and that’s been very invigorating.”

Bezzina found some early champions in people like Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and a supportive council that has boosted its funding for the festival. Box office returns from ticketed events are also growing, while many events on the program remain free of charge.

This year will be the biggest festival program yet, with 28 unique productions and 132 performances, including four world premieres, and three Queensland premieres. But for Bezzina there will be mixed emotions as it will also be her last before taking up her new appointment as artistic director of Brisbane Festival. It is sad to leave but also exciting for the future of the festival because it’s got a vibe of its own now. It’s no longer just a concept, it’s a firm part of the Gold Coast fabric and it will outlive me,” she says.

Bleach* The Gold Coast Festival is on 17-28 April.

View the program at www.bleachfestival.com.au

Lady Sings it Better Maeve Marsden’s feminist cabaret has been winning accolades since it began nearly 10 years ago, and finally she is bringing her troupe to Brisbane. In a high energy and hilarious musical they take on male hit makers and reinvent the works they made famous – from the Beatles and Tom Jones to Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars, and all the boy bands in between.

On 15 March at SunPAC, Sunnybank and 14 and 16 March at Brisbane City Hall. Tickets $35 plus booking fees.

BEST OF

French film Sink or Swim (Le Grand Bain) is a feel-good comedy about a group of disenchanted middle-aged men who, in the face of scepticism and ridicule, discover fresh self-esteem and a new purpose when they form their local pool’s first-ever all-male, synchronised swimming team. Not so unusual when you discover they are going to compete against other nations who have teams of their own.

It was nominated for best picture in the César Awards, the French version of the Oscars, but don’t expect high art from this comic romp, you’re more likely to find that in one of the three films that feature Juliette Binoche, or Jean-Luc Godard’s The Image Book (Le Livre d’Image) or even one of the six other films nominated for Césars that also feature in this 30th anniversary of the festival, presented by Alliance Française. From 14 March to 14 April at Palace Barracks and Palace James Street cinemas. For the program and special sessions see www.affrenchfilmfestival.org

THE MORMONS ARE COMING It’s been called the best musical of the century and following a sold-out season in Sydney The Book of Mormon arrives in Brisbane for a limited season which is already selling out fast. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the duo behind cult animated TV series South Park, in collaboration with Robert Lopez who wrote the songs for Frozen, the musical comedy about two young Mormon missionaries who are sent to Uganda has been breaking records and winning high praise everywhere it goes. From 16 March to 31 May at Lyric Theatre, QPAC, South Brisbane. Tickets from $90 plus booking fees. See www.qpac.com.au

Epiphany

Identity Steft

Brisburned@work

From being voted Best New Talent at the Sydney Comedy Festival 10 years ago CanadianAmerican DeAnne Smith has become a hot talent, most recently seen on the Netflix special Gentleman Elf. Smith makes a welcome return to the Brisbane stand-up stage with a new show which she previewed just weeks ago at the Comedy Bar in Toronto. Time Out has called her past performances “near perfection”. On 21-24 March, Brisbane Powerhouse. Tickets $22-30 plus booking fees.

Aboriginal comedian Stephanie Tisdell is one of Australia’s fastest rising stand-up stars and, in her Brisbane Comedy Festival debut, delves into issues of identity, what ‘sorry day’ really means from an Aboriginal perspective and discusses the merits of white guilt vs overt racism, but with a tongue-in-cheek approach. At the Adelaide Fringe Festival local media reviews called it “hilarious and informative”. On 12-17 March, Brisbane Powerhouse. Tickets $20-27 plus booking fees.

Mark Lombard and his team are back with a lighthearted poke at Brisbane and its foibles – this time turning the spotlight on the workplace, featuring original sketches and songs that voice all the exasperations we’ve ever felt about work. Lombard’s writing has been called “witty, insightful and entertaining” and audiences at previous shows have been heard to whisper “that’s so true!” On Saturdays only 2, 9, 16, 23 March, Brisbane Powerhouse. Tickets $25 plus booking fees.

BNE March/April March/April2019 2019 || 33 31 BNE

WHAT’S ON

school holiday HIGHLIGHTS Into the foxhole

First it was a book by the inimitable Roald Dahl then it was a movie, now the much-loved Fantastic Mr Fox is adapted for the stage in a world premiere production

by Brisbane’s own awardwinning shake & stir theatre company. First published in 1970, Fantastic Mr Fox has all the elements of a modern day hit – action, thriller, suspense, comedy – full of cunning plans, explosions and chases, mischief, mayhem and lots of laughs as the dare devilish Mr Fox battles wits against greedy farmers to protect his home and family. Suitable for ages 5 and up. On 1120 April at Playhouse, QPAC, South Brisbane. Tickets $49 (adult) plus booking fees. See www.qpac.com.au

Into space

Take the leap with mankind into space exploration at NASA – A Human Adventure, the most comprehensive and extensive touring space flight exhibition in the world. It features more than 250 historically significant artefacts from the United States and Soviet Union space programs, including original space flown objects, space suits, scaled models, full-scale replicas of the front section of a space shuttle, Lunar Rover and more. From 15 March to 9 October, Queensland Museum, South Bank. Tickets $21 (adult) at www.qm.qld.gov.au

Into the magic workshop

The Australian Ballet presents a charming dance production of Coppélia created especially for young children. In the Storytime Ballet, a narrator guides the young audience through a magician’s mysterious workshop to discover the secrets of his mechanical dolls. On 10-13 April at Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm. Tickets from $53 plus booking fees at www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

32 | BNE March/April 2019

Romance

IN THE DIGITAL AGE Cinderella (but not as you know it) is the first production from new Queensland theatre collective Myths Made Here.

In this modern retelling, Ashley is a single woman in her late 30s who flees from a blind date and finds herself with Ash, a slightly reclusive fellow who has found her missing shoe.

The audience becomes witness to the awkward and funny first date which takes place over just one night as the two nervous singles careen towards a looming midnight curfew – a romantic tale that interprets love, loss and transformation for the digital age. If you’ve ever been in the dating game and got sick of swiping left, you’ll relate, but in this version there are laughs and dancing along the way. From 26 April to 5 May at Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, South Brisbane. Tickets $49 plus booking fees. See www.qpac.com.au

Escape to GREECE Anna McGahan returns to her home town to star in Hydra, the first of five world premieres to be staged by Queensland Theatre this year. McGahan grew up in Brisbane and has shown her acting chops in TV dramas including Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, House Husbands and Underbelly. In Hydra she takes on the role of writer Charmian Clift, wife of George Johnston who wrote the Australian classic My Brother Jack during their stay on the Greek Island in the 1950s. What starts as a dream come true as they escape to Hydra to follow a bohemian life soon shatters and award-winning playwright Sue Smith has crafted a searing relationship drama from the writings of the two authors as they crafted their own great Australian novel in My Brother Jack. From 9 March to 6 April at Bille Brown Theatre, South Brisbane. Tickets $55-80 (adult). See www.queenslandtheatre.com.au

OPERA magic

Opera Queensland opens its 2019 season with Patrick Nolan’s Helpmann Award-winning production of A Flowering Tree, a contemporary love story inspired by Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

It’s a majestic retelling of a traditional Indian folk tale, sung in English and Spanish, with Australian powerhouse soprano Eva Kong in the lead role of Kumudha, a beautiful peasant woman with a magical ability to transform herself into a flowering tree. It is Opera Queensland’s first mainstage work directed by artistic director and CEO Patrick Nolan. On 2-6 April at Concert Hall, QPAC South Brisbane. Tickets $69-109 plus booking fees at www.oq.com.au

FEEL THE LOVE

It’s been 30 years since high school mates Toby Allen, Phil Burton and brothers Andrew and Michael Tierney formed a band that went to on to become Human Nature and they’re coming home to celebrate the milestone They’ve performed at the Sydney Opera House, at the Sydney Olympic Games and at State of Origin, they’ve performed on Neighbours and one of their songs has been used as a theme song for a movie. They have sold more than two million albums, earned 27 platinum awards, scored 19 Top 40 hits and have had five Top 10 albums worldwide. They have consistently appeared at the top of the charts for every decade they have been performing. Oh, and in January they received a Medal of the Order of Australia for their achievements as entertainers.

It’s been a heady ride from their beginnings as ‘The 4 Trax’, busking and singing the club circuit, entering talent quests and sending out demo tapes just to get noticed. Now adoring fans travel from far and wide to see them in Las Vegas where they have been resident performers for the last 10 years and have just signed a contract to stay on another three years at the Venetian. But in the meantime they will be sharing the love in Queensland with the biggest live show they have ever produced, performing a collection of hits old and new, including their new single, ‘Little More Love’ from the latest album Romance Of The Jukebox.

Human Nature brings the Little More Love tour to Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on 26 April and Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall, on 27 April. Tickets from $91.60 plus booking fees at www.premier.ticketek.com.au

WHEN WHAT

WHERE

MARCH From 1

BrisAsia Sound at Green Jam

Melbourne Street Green, QPAC, South Brisbane

2

Rufus du Sol

Brisbane Riverstage, City Botanic Garden

3

Arctic Monkeys

Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall

7

Eddie Izzard

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane

8-10

Mind, Body, Spirit Festival

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane

9

Eagles World Tour

Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall

9

Hanson

Concert Hall, QPAC, South Brisbane

11

Blue Planet ll with Joanna Lumley

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane

12+13

Rob Brydon

Concert Hall, QPAC, South Brisbane

15

Busby Marou

The Triffid, Newstead

16

CarnAustralia, Bahia Carnival

Brisbane Showgrounds, Bowen Hills

16

Micro Histories: Speed date an Architect

Dome Lounge, Museum of Brisbane, City Hall

From 16 The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), children’s theatre

Brisbane Arts Theatre, Petrie Terrace

21

Tash Sultana

Brisbane Riverstage, City Botanic Garden

From 22

Dangerous Liaisons, Queensland Ballet

Playhouse, QPAC, South Brisbane

Until 23

Next to Normal

Brisbane Arts Theatre, Petrie Terrace

24

Lez Zeppelin

The Triffid, Newstead

25

John Mayer

Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall

27

Pub Choir

Tivoli, Fortitude Valley

29

Bernard Ollis artist talk and exhibition

Mitchell Fine Art gallery, Fortitude Valley

30

Peking Duk

Brisbane Showgrounds, Bowen Hills

From 30 The Complete History of Comedy (abridged)

Brisbane Arts Theatre, Petrie Terrace

31

Bohemian Rhapsody movie singa-long at Moonlight Cinema

The Amphitheatre, Roma Street Parkland

3-14

Gold Coast Film Festival

Various locations from the hinterland to Surfers Paradise Beach

4

Unpacking the Archive Designer Tours

Museum of Brisbane, City Hall

5-7

National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing and Boating Expo

Brisbane Showgrounds, Bowen Hills

9

The Wiggles Fun Tour

Redland Performing Arts Centre, Cleveland

14

Menopause the Musical

Logan Entertainment Centre

14

Tour de Brisbane cycling, 8km110km courses

Start and Finish at South Bank

14

Charley Pride

Concert Hall, QPAC, South Brisbane

18

Basement Jaxx vs the Metropolitan Orchestra

Concert Hall, QPAC, South Brisbane

Until 22

The Designer’s Guide: Easton Pearson Archive

Museum of Brisbane, City Hall

27

Queensland Symphony Orchestra presents Jurassic Park

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane

APRIL

Until 28 APT9, Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition

QAGOMA, South Brisbane BNE March/April 2019 | 33 35

BRISBANE INSIDER

Lost isla nd remembered Kerry Heaney discovers a piece of history lives on at Brisbane Airport

Photography by Marc Grimwade; family picnic image from John Oxley Library

“THEY STILL CALL ME THE CRIBBIE GIRL,” says Brisbane Airport volunteer ambassador 82-year-old Betty Conway.

It’s been 38 years since Cribb Island became the site for Brisbane Airport’s expansion for a growing number of international flights but the suburb’s community still retains a strong identity with regular reunions. The most recent event was held at ibis Brisbane Airport hotel’s Cribb Island Beach Club café where they recreate Cribbie’s famous spiders (an ice cream soft drink combo) along with woodfired pizzas.

“A lot of the people have kept together,” says Betty who was an island resident from birth with her parents who lived there for 47 years.

“It was a wonderful place to live and I miss the lifestyle. I loved school and the companionship. Every afternoon we would play on the beach. We were never bored,” says Betty.

“Our backyard was Bramble Bay. “Dad was a bootmaker and very house proud. His garden was amazing. When he came home from work each day he would shovel sand against the breakwall so the land wouldn’t wash away.”

Betty Conway

34 36 | BNE March/April 2019

It was always a close community where everyone knew everyone. Betty’s parents owned a horse and sulky which they would take to shows around the region. When they won a prize, their neighbours would greet them with applause as they arrived back home.

Even the island’s most famous residents, the brothers Gibb of Bee Gees fame, had fond memories of growing up there long before they became world famous. At their press conference before appearing at Melbourne’s Festival Hall in 1974, they asked: “Is Jackson Estate [farm land that was part of Cribb Island] still there?”

“The Bee Gees were a bit younger than me, but I’ve been a fan over the years,” says Betty.

“They would play songs at the local store. The first one was for ice cream and the second one for a Coca-Cola.”

Betty now lives at Banyo but keeps her connection to Cribb Island strong through her volunteer work at Brisbane Airport’s International Terminal where her smiling face has been greeting travellers for 12 years.

“It was a shame to lose the island but look what they have done with it at the airport,” she says.

Cribb Island was last seen in a Brisbane street directory in 1981. Located 16km north-east

of Brisbane, it was ideally situated for the expansion required to accommodate larger jets at Brisbane Airport and resumption of the land started in 1970. Residents gradually moved away in the following 10 years. Construction for the new airport began in 1980 and the runway and tower were commissioned for operation in May 1987.

When the new ibis Brisbane Airport Hotel opened 18 months ago chief operating officer Alex Penklis was keen to honour the history of the lost suburb, naming the hotel’s restaurant the Cribb Island Beach Club and creating a gallery of historical photos and its story inside.

The gallery has drawn such attention from visitors that it is now being expanded to include more stories of the local area.

Brisbane born-and-bred Penklis says he remembers his Dad going mud crabbing at the ‘island’ so before the hotel opened he started to research the area’s past. The suburb was not really an island but was bordered by two creeks, the bay and mud flats, making it a popular spot for fishermen as well as a playground for the local kids. “We’ve got this incredible piece of history and we wanted to keep that connection,” says Penklis who commissioned photographer Ross Eason to source historic images to illustrate Cribb Island’s history for the mini-gallery.

The island is gone, but not forgotten, as seen in the strong turnout at the Cribbies’ reunion.

It’s “stayin’ alive”, Cribb Island style.

DAY IN THE LIFE Stephanie Ksiezak arriving home after four years studying in Beijing

Zhang Chenbo and Zhang Chenyu arriving from Beijing for a holiday

Joy Krecke and Francky Schmit on their way home to Luxembourg after a holiday

Samuel and Brent Atkins wait for Grandma Atkins to arrive from New Zealand for a holiday

BRISBANE AIRPORT is the gateway to 84 CITIES across Australia and overseas, opening up a WORLD of adventure for more than 23 MILLION passengers every year. These are just a few snapped on their journey...

Catherine Hogan on her way home to Adelaide

Bankole Khadava is on his way to Sierra Leone, farewelled by Shirley Khadava

Virginia Heron on her way to Hamilton Island

Valei Poitras and Gabriel Harvey on their way home to Quebec, Canada Fabian Thomas on his way home to Dallas, Texas after visiting family

Judy Lui on her way home to Cairns

BNE March/April 2019 | 35 37

BNE NEED TO KNOW

Enviro-friendly BUSES

A new fleet of electric buses transports passengers between Brisbane Airport terminals and Skygate retail precinct or the long-stay AIRPARK. The buses are quieter and better for the environment, reducing carbon emissions equivalent to taking 100 cars off the road each year. Interiors, too, have been designed with travellers in mind, with plenty of luggage racks, three fullsized double doors for easy entry and exit and GPS next-stop announcements.

Brisbane Airport is the first Australian airport to introduce a fleet of 11 electric buses for passengers and services operating between the Domestic and International Terminals from 4am to 11pm daily; between the terminals and Skygate from 6.30am (weekdays, and from 8.30am weekends) to 6pm; and 24/7 between terminals and AIRPARK. Terminal Transfer Bus services are free. For timetables see www.bne.com.au/passenger/to-and-from/terminal-transfers

TRANSPORT OPTIONS AT BRISBANE AIRPORT PASSENGER PICK-UP ZONES

TERMINAL TRANSFERS Passengers transferring between the terminals can travel via the free Transfer Bus which departs at regular intervals from Level 2 International Terminal and Level 1 Domestic Terminal. See the BNE app for timetables.

36 38 | BNE March/April 2019

BNE PARKING Convenient, secure and undercover short and long-term parking is available within walking distance to both terminals. For more information about special offers and full product offering including valet, car washing, AIRPARK and more see www.bne.com.au

RIDE SHARE PICK-UP ZONES Look for the signs indicating Pre-Booked Express and Ride Booking (Ride Share) zones outside each terminal.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT TransLink is the local bus, ferry and train public transport network stretching north to Gympie, south to Coolangatta and west to Helidon. For information and timetables see www.translink.com.au or call 13 12 30.

TRANSPORT BOOKINGS Image: Uber

Domestic Terminal: A dedicated pick-up waiting area provides free parking for the first 30 minutes for drivers arriving to collect passengers from Domestic Terminal, located beside the P2 long term car park and accessed from Dryandra Road. Passengers can contact the driver when they are ready for collection and the driver can proceed to the pick-up location. For easy how to use instructions see www.bne.com.au/ International Terminal: The dedicated passenger pick-up area for international arrivals is located at ground level at the northern end of the International Terminal. It is accessible only to drivers collecting passengers who are ready and waiting at the kerb.

Alternatively, waiting areas with longer parking options can be found at the pick-up waiting area accessible from Dryandra Road (up to 30 minutes), Skygate shopping and dining precinct or Kingsford Smith Memorial (both up to two hours), all just minutes from International Terminal.

Drivers collecting passengers with a disability or mobility limitation from International Terminal can stop in accessible waiting bays on the Level 4 ‘Departures’ Road.

Domestic Terminal: On the central road between the taxi pick-up and passenger drop-off on either side of the Skywalk.

International Terminal: Outside the terminal at the southern end on ground level.

A Brisbane Airport access fee of $3.90 applies to all pick-ups from the Ride Booking zones, which will be added to your booking by your ride sharing service. For location maps see www.bne.com.au/to-from-brisbane-airport/ transport-options

Coach, rail, limousine and corporate car bookings can be made at the Visitor Information Centre, Level 2 International Terminal or Level 1 Domestic Terminal.

TAXIS AND AIRTRAIN Taxi ranks International Terminal Level 2, kerbside Domestic Terminal Level 1, kerbside Airtrain provides regular rail links between Brisbane Airport, Brisbane city, Gold Coast and TransLink network as well as terminal transfers. Tickets available in the terminal or at the station.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRES For information about accommodation, tours, transfer tickets and general enquiries, Visitor Information Centres are located on Level 2 International Terminal and Level 1 Domestic Terminal Central Area.

LOCAL AMENITIES

CURRENCY EXCHANGE Travelex currency exchange and transfer facilities are on Levels 2, 3 and 4 International Terminal and Level 2 Domestic Terminal near Gate 23.

Skygate is Brisbane Airport’s retail and dining precinct, a short free ride on the Transfer Bus from the terminals. There are more than 160 stores, including brand-name factory outlets, a 24/7 supermarket, hairdresser, gym, restaurants, chemist, medical clinic, hotel, beauty services, barber, tavern and golf leisure centre.

BAGGAGE LOCKERS

AIRPORT ambassadors Welcoming volunteers are available to answer questions and offer directions to visitors within Brisbane Airport’s Domestic and International Terminals. Look for ambassadors wearing bright blue shirts if you need assistance and our team of Chinese-speaking ambassadors wear red shirts.

TAX REFUND SCHEME (TRS) The TRS enables international travellers to claim a refund, subject to certain conditions, of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) that you pay on goods bought in Australia. For details see passenger information at www.bne.com.au If your purchase is part of your carry-on luggage: The TRS office is located past security and passport control, just to the right of the JR/Duty Free entrance.

If your purchase is packed in luggage you intend to check: Before you check-in your luggage make your way to the Australian Border Force Client Services Office, located on Level 1 International Terminal. For further information call 1300 363 263 or see www.customs.gov.au

TOUR BRISBANE AIRPORT Do you have a question about the new runway?

Would you like to go ‘behind-the-scenes’ of airport operations? Brisbane Airport hosts free tours for community groups. Find out more at www.bne.com.au/tours

ROTARY CLUB OF BRISBANE AIRPORT The club is a vibrant group of professionals with a shared passion to support the local community who meet weekly and new members are always welcome.

For details see www.bneairportrotary.com

Find small, medium and large lockers for short and long-term hire at the terminal entrance to the public car park at International Terminal, at either end of Domestic Terminal, or next to the bus stop at Skygate.

DISABILITY ACCESS Airlines are responsible for assisting passengers with disabilities within terminals.

Passengers should refer to their airline’s policies prior to booking their ticket.

Dedicated Changing Places bathroom facilities for the use of travellers with special needs are located on the central ground floor area of Domestic Terminal (near Qantas baggage carousel 3) and on Level 4, International Terminal, near Flight Centre.

Facilities for assistance dogs are available at International Terminal Level 3 Departures and Domestic Terminal Level 2 Central Area.

POLICE For assistance at Brisbane Airport telephone 13 12 37.

LOST PROPERTY International Terminal

Visitor Information Centre, Level 2; call (07) 3406 3190 or email international@sqt.com.au

Domestic Terminal

Enquiries first to airlines – Qantas (gates 1-25) call +61 7 3867 3264 Virgin Australia (gates 38-50) call +61 7 3114 8150 Jetstar (gates 26-36) call + 61 7 3336 1752 Tigerair email ttbne.ops@aerocare.com.au before contacting Visitor Information Centre, Level 1; call (07) 3068 6698 or email domestic@sqt.com.au

Car parks and buses

Contact Visitor Information Centre as above.

WiFi access

Brisbane Airport has the fastest uncapped free WiFi in Australia available at International Terminal and Domestic Terminal Central Area.

BNE IT ALL BEGINS HERE

Seoul

Beijing

South Korea

China

Tokyo (Narita) Japan

Shanghai (Pudong)

Guangzhou

China

China

Shenzhen China

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

Bangkok

Abu Dhabi

Hong Kong

Taipei Taiwan

China

Thailand

United Arab Emirates

Manila

Philippines

Kuala Lumpur

Bandar Seri Begawan

Malaysia

Singapore

Brunei*

Singapore

Port Moresby Papua New Guinea

Denpasar

4 8

Indonesia

BRISBANE

Destinations DIRECT FROM BRISBANE

AirAsia

Air Canada

Aircalin

38 40 | BNE March/April 2019

Air New Zealand Air China

Air Vanuatu

Air Niugini

Cathay Pacific

Alliance Airlines

China Eastern Airlines China Airlines

Emirates

China Southern Airlines

Eva Air

Etihad

Fly Corporate

Fiji Airlines

Australia’s largest domestic network Vancouver

Domestic destinations

Canada

Los Angeles USA

Honolulu

USA

Darwin

Nauru Nauru

Cairns

Apia

Munda Honiara

Cloncurry

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Mt Isa

Port Hedland

Espiritu Santo

Longreach

Vanuatu

Uluru

Fiji

Noumea

New Caledonia

Auckland

Perth

New Zealand

Queenstown New Zealand

Moranbah Barcaldine

Blackall

Alice Springs

Port Vila Vanuatu Nadi

Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine) Hamilton Island Mackay

Townsville

Rockhampton Gladstone

Emerald

Biloela Bundaberg Windorah Charleville Fraser Coast (Hervey Bay) Birdsville Roma Miles Quilpie BRISBANE St George Toowoomba Thargomindah Cunnamulla Norfolk Island Moree Inverell Narrabri Coffs Harbour Tamworth Armidale Dubbo Port Macquarie Adelaide

Wellington New Zealand

Christchurch

Newcastle Orange Sydney Lord Howe Island Wollongong Canberra

New Zealand

Melbourne

Dunedin

New Zealand

Launceston Hobart

*Commencing June 2019. Map not to scale. Please note airlines and destinations are current at time of print.

Hawaiian Airlines Hainan Airlines

Korean Air

Jetstar

Malindo Air

Malaysia Airlines

Philippine Airlines Nauru Airlines

Rex

Qantas/ QantasLink

Samoa Airways Royal Brunei Airlines

Solomon Airlines Singapore Airlines

Tigerair

Thai Airways

Virgin Australia

BNE BNE March/April March/April2019 2019 || 39 41

ESCAPE EXTRA 1

DISCOVER THE LANEWAYS AND NIGHTLIFE

Rafter & Rose (1/17 Ellenborough Street) brings the botanicals in at its inner city laneway location (pictured), not only in the greenery that fills the interior but also with floral finishing touches on the eye-popping and mouth-watering cakes that have become their signature. Also call in to Dancing Bean Coffee Roastery (164 Brisbane Street) where veteran coffee maker Robert Mergard has converted an old warehouse, behind Heisenberg Beer Haus, into a café and local roasting base. And look out for 116 Laneway (116a Brisbane Street), tucked in beside Indian Mehfil restaurant, which serves up a chalkboard of daily affirmations with great breakfasts and sweetest cakes.

After dark, Nu Orleans Burlesque Lounge (59 Limestone Street) brings a taste of Bourbon Street to Ipswich with jazz and blues live music on Saturday night to spice up a menu of Cajun food and killer cocktails.

2

STAY AT CUMQUAT HOUSE

Mission Revival on the outside and boutique B&B with mod cons on the inside, it’s about 20 minutes walk (or three minutes drive) to the centre of town and some of the best eating and drinking hotspots such as Pumpyard Bar and Brewery and Dovetails restaurant, the Antique Centre and The Cottage restaurant. There’s only five suites and plenty of five-star guest reviews so plan well ahead! At 10 Salisbury Road‚ Ipswich. See www.cumquathouse.com.au

10

3 1

TOP THINGS

WINERY AND PUB TOURS BY AIR

Travel like a rock star on a country pub crawl or wine tasting chauffeured by helicopter. Winery tours call in to some lesser known gems such as Ironbark Ridge and Flinders Peak wineries, Bunjurgen Estate and Kooroomba Vineyards with a choice of lunch stops such as the historic mansion Woodlands at Marburg. Pub tours include stops at up to five country pubs. Find out more at www.pterodactylhelicopters.com.au

4

PAUSE IN A PARK

Ipswich has more than 500 parks to explore and you don’t have to go far from the city centre to saunter through one of the oldest, Queens Park, which traces its roots back to the 1850s when land was approved for use as a botanic garden and recreation reserve. Today it occupies more than 20 hectares and includes a Japanese Garden (pictured), a café, children’s play area and Environmental Education Centre. Find it adjacent to Milford Street and Queen Victoria Parade.

TO DO

in

5

IPSWICH

AVIATION HERITAGE ON DISPLAY

The Royal Australian Air Force’s largest base is at Amberley, on the outskirts of Ipswich, which is also home to the RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre where a number of historic aircraft are on display, from a 100-year-old Sopwith Camel to an F-111. The centre is open to the public one day a month, the next open day is on 17 March from 9am. See www.raafamberleyheritage.gov.au

6

SIP A COLDIE AT PUMPYARD BAR AND BREWERY

The ‘Pumpyard’ (88 Limestone Street) was originally Ipswich town’s first source of water in the late 1800s, then the building was repurposed as a technical college by the turn of the 20th century.

Since 2013 it’s been the home of local craft beer 4 Hearts Brewing, the Pumpyard Bar and Dovetails restaurant and there’s live music in the laneways outside on weekends. See www.4heartsbrewing.com

7

2

RIDE THE RAIL TRAILS

The first railway in Queensland started from Ipswich and there are plenty of remnants of that history in the area today, from restored engines and displays at the Workshops Rail Museum, housed in the original heritage-listed workshops buildings (see www.workshops.qm.qld.gov.au), to steam train rides and the restored Grandchester Railway Station which was the first destination on the line from Ipswich in 1865 (open on the first Sunday of the month, March to November, 10am to 2pm).

8

BROWSE THE CRAVE TRAIL

Shop for antiques, kitsch collectibles and retro fashion in the restored heritage building that houses Ipswich Antique Centre, open Thursday to Monday, but that’s just the beginning when it comes to fossicking for vintage in the heritage city. There are more than 20 stops on the Crave Trail of all things creative, retro, antique, vintage and eclectic, including Upcycled Treasure, F and H Revival, R & R Behind Red Doors and The Art and Craft Cottage which also offer workshops in their craft.

9

3

TASTE AN ICE CONFECTION

Ben Ungermann won fans as a finalist on Masterchef in 2017 and now runs Ungermann Brothers ice cream parlour with brother Danny at 88 Limestone Street (in the Pumpyard block). The décor is ’50s style diner retro but the flavours are thoroughly modern concoctions such as lavender and honeycomb, strawberry balsamic, coffee and cardamom and more. Open from 11am to 9pm.

10

SHOWS IN CREATIVE SPACES

Ipswich has no shortage of historic buildings that have found new uses, including the old incinerator (on the edge of Queens Park) now occupied by the Ipswich Little Theatre (15 Burley Griffin Drive, see www.ilt.org.au) and Studio 188 (at 188 Brisbane Street, see www.studio188.com.au) which hosts music and theatre performances behind a distinctive art deco façade.

Find more ideas at www.discoveripswich.com.au 40 | BNE March/April 2019

4

BRISBANE REGION MAP

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which Brisbane Airport stands and pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. *The general locations of larger Indigenous language groups of South East Queensland on this map are indicative only, based on the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia published by Aboriginal Studies Press.

Map illustration by Eun-Young Lim. Map is not to scale or exact and an indication only.

BNEMarch/April March/April2019 2019 || 43 41 BNE

Conveniently located adjacent to Brisbane Airport’s Domestic Terminal, the Brisbane Airport Conference Centre is perfectly situated for your next event.

The state of the art event space has been designed to meet the needs of any business or group and features 11 light filled spaces complete with a pillar-less ballroom, 7 conference rooms, 4 executive boardrooms, large pre-function area and open air terrace.

Talk to our wonderful Sales Team about how we can end your event on a high in the Sky Lounge Rooftop Venue.

bneacc.com.au | 07 3188 7373 | H9559-SB@accor.com