Looking Forward January 2017

THESUNDAYMAIL.COM.AU SUNDAY JANUARY 15 2017 LIFESTYLE / TRAVEL / LEISURE / ENTERTAINMENT

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HANDLE WITH CARE

STAYING SUN SAFE FOR LIFE Some seniors are neglecting the sun-protection message HANNAH MCDONALD

Recycled timber is crafted into shining musical instruments at an Eagleby retirement community. Stephen Nadin reports THE workshop at Ruby by Living Gems may not be the most glamorous facility at this residential resort, but it is a hive of activity.

At 8am on a sunny weekday, while other residents are taking a dip in the pool, walking their dogs or having a hit on the tennis court, John Lennon is in the workshop, discussing the merits of a handmade guitar with a few mates.

Gary Greig, Trevor Hopkins and Terry Nicholls are already hard at work on their projects.

Mr Lennon has made guitars, ukuleles and

MEN AT WORK: Alan White, left, and Gary Greig collaborate on a handmade guitar.

numerous other items at the workshop and his recently-completed coffee table is set up on the bench and ready for the final touches.

Mr Greig coordinates workshop activities and works with the men and women who use the fully-equipped facility. He was one of the first people to move in to the community at Eagleby, south of Brisbane, after buying his home eight years ago.

He says he decided to learn to play the guitar about six years ago.

“I didn’t have a guitar so I made one,” Mr Greig said.

He now plays in the Goggomobiles, the Ruby by Living Gems resident band.

In the past few years, he has made several guitars, a number of ukuleles and numerous other items, most of them from scraps of recycled timber.

“We use western red cedar, Huon pine, camphor wood and other quality timber sourced from a local recycled timber supplier,” he said.

“It takes a couple of months to make a guitar or a ukulele. We have all the machinery but we created moulds for the body of the guitars and ukuleles. The shape is created by forming wet wood around the mould. These processes all take time.”

Mr Greig is quite the craftsman and enjoys the creative process. Now a young retiree, he is enjoying his leisure time.

“After a career that included working in the UK police force, becoming a driving instructor and then selling cars for 25 years, I love keeping busy doing as I please,” he said.

Mr Hopkins is another man on a mission. He is making his seventh ukulele, for his brother.

EAGLES DON SET TO LAND EAGLES co-founder, vocalist and drummer Don Henley has a date at Brisbane’s Sirromet Wines in March.

The 69-year-old will be playing at the Mt Cotton venue on March 12 as part of a nationwide tour with tickets priced from $111.99.

Last in Australia in early 2015 with the Eagles, Don Henley’s 2017 tour will see him perform songs spanning his entire career from the Eagles and his vast solo catalogue, including songs from his latest album, Cass County, which was named after the East Texas

county in which he was raised.

Henley, who will be joined on stage by his 15-piece band, has received many accolades, including eight Grammy Awards, numerous gold and platinum records and has performed sold out concert tours worldwide.

A respected, popular and critically celebrated musical artist, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Henley’s career as a musician and activist continues to evolve. In 1990, he founded the Walden Woods Project, a

not-for-profit organisation dedicated to protecting the historic woods in Massachusetts where author and philosopher Henry David Thoreau first championed the concept of land conservation.

The Project has protected vast tracts of Walden Woods from the threat of commercial development, and created an acclaimed environmental educational initiative for students. It also maintains the most important library of Thoreau-related research material in the world.

“I am one of 11 children so there are lots of nephews, nieces and grandchildren. Most of my family want a ukulele but they won’t all be getting one,” he said.

The men at work take great pride in their beautifully-crafted instruments and artefacts.

They share their skills and help each other out but when it comes to the finishing touch, Mr Nicholls is the man.

Retired from a career as a professional automotive painter, he now uses the skills he developed at work to give the guitars and ukuleles their final gloss. He has made two guitars and a ukulele but he is also around to give the other guys a helping hand.

One of the first guitars made in the workshop is now displayed on a stand. It gleams in the sun, with a mirror-like high gloss finish.

Around it, the guys continue to work on their projects amid conversation and banter.

Their output includes everything from perfectly-balanced handcrafted pens and key rings to wooden bowls, cheese boards, decor items, coffee tables and other small, useful pieces of furniture.

A FALSE sense of security is threatening the health of seniors who believe they’ve escaped the scourge of skin cancer.

While most Queenslanders understand that skin cancer often results from early sun exposure, many don’t realise that late exposure is still a danger.

According to dermatologist Ben Carew of Brisbane’s South East Dermatology, older Australians are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of UV radiation due to reduced mechanisms of DNA repair.

“UV radiation in sunlight damages the skin by damaging DNA and suppressing the skin’s immune response,” says Dr Carew, a member of the Australian Skin Cancer Academy.

“Your body can repair some of the damage but this damage accumulates over time. Accumulated UV damage to DNA induces skin cancer and as we age our cells have less capability to repair further damage.”

Dr Carew said a red flag signalling accumulated UV damage/DNA damage of the skin was the presence of sunspots.

“Sunspots appear as pink scaling lesions on the sun-exposed skin, especially the arms, legs and face, with these lesions often getting itchy or sore in summer,” he said.

“When I see a patient with sun spots this is a signal that the patient needs a thorough full skin examination looking for melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer.”

While some older patients lament that “the damage is done”, Dr Carew said that studies had also shown the application of sunscreen and sun protection could reduce the numbers of sun spots in people over the age of 40.

“I tell my elderly patients it is never too late to practice good sun protection, and there are many non-greasy, high SPF sunscreens and sun protection clothing options available today,” he said.

Cancer Council Queensland spokesperson Katie Clift advised that seniors needed to get to know their skin.

“Queenslanders with fair skin, skin that burns easily, many moles and a family history of skin cancer are at greater risk of developing melanoma,” she said.

Annual skin checks are a must, and Cancer Council Queensland advises seniors to visit their GP or specialist immediately if they notice a new spot or lesion, or a spot or lesion that changes in shape, colour or size.

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NOT THE RETIRING TYPE A new venture marks the latest chapter in Stefan Ackerie’s ongoing success story. Jane Scott reports WHEN it comes to ageing inspirationally, few can rival the man known to Queenslanders simply as Stefan.

With a thriving business empire, luxury homes at South Bank and Sanctuary Cove, and a soulmate in his partner and long-time business assistant Rose King, Stefan Ackerie could be forgiven for choosing to put his feet up and reflect on a life well lived. Not likely.

His 70th birthday might be well behind him (Stefan is 75, while Rose is in her “early fifties”), but Stefan shows no sign of slowing down or retiring and has, in fact, just launched a whole new business in partnership with Rose.

The Bach Living is a gift and homewares emporium which adds two outlets (in Brisbane’s West End and at Stefan Boating World at Coomera), to the young-at-heart entrepreneur’s 38 hairdressing salons and Gold Coast boating emporium.

The name references Rose’s proud Kiwi heritage. Pronounced “batch” – which is what our friends across the Tasman call a beachside holiday cottage – The Bach Living stocks the kind of chic, relaxed furnishings common to upscale tropical resorts the world over.

“Growing up in New Zealand, we loved going to our bach in the Marlborough Sounds, it was our getaway hideaway home,” Rose says.

“Once (Stefan and I) decided we would do home, gifts and furniture, it was important for us to have a focus, which was allowing people to create their own holiday place at home.”

The sprawling Montague Rd store is in fact a “pop-up”. Plans are afoot for a permanent store at Stefan’s Melbourne St headquarters, along

with a new Jo-Jo’s Restaurant, all of which should materialise in about 12 months time.

While Rose’s stylish fingerprints are all over The Bach, Stefan is closely involved with the nuts and bolts of the operation, begging the question: why launch something so new and different at this time of his career?

“I love the adrenaline of making it work. Launching anything is not easy, but a businessperson does business and an artist draws and a poet writes and a musician plays music,” Stefan explains, his voice soft and his manner attentive.

“Ultimately if you want to be at peace with yourself, you must do your best. And for me, I’m in business. Whether it’s boats or hair or this, they each have their own demands. But they’re the same philosophy: you need a team of people around you, you need to have a good product, and you need to be competitive, otherwise it won’t work.”

And from selling boats to haircuts to furniture, Stefan’s philosophy remains unchanged.

“Hairdressing taught me that you must cater for everybody. Don’t dominate people’s taste.

It’s what they like that matters.

“I will give you a hairstyle that will suit you, suit your lifestyle, your ability to manage it, and is affordable. This is no different, we want you to buy furniture that will make you happy, that suits your house, that’s affordable.”

In person, Stefan’s agelessness is about more than the forever dark hair and up-to-theminute wardrobe. It’s more about a mindset that’s fundamentally positive.

“If I didn’t know how old I was, I could actually think I was a lot younger. I would never think I’m as old as I am,” he asserts.

“If you’re

COMFORT ZONE: The Bach Living is all about resort-style at home.

DOUBLE ACT: Rose King and Stefan Ackerie work together across the entrepreneur’s empire. driving on the highway and the speed limit is 110km, you can’t drive at 60km, or they will run you over. I’m on the 110km highway. Do I see myself slowing down? Well, I don’t see myself as going fast so I don’t know how I can see myself slowing down. It’s just, this is what I’ve always done.”

Born in Lebanon, Stefan moved to Australia with his family in 1957, and opened his first salon in Longreach in 1964.

He attributes much of his youthfulness to good Mediterranean genes.

“My grandfather was very alert and my mother was very alert. I’ve learned how to manage my health. I’ve had a lot of great friends who are doctors. I went to the Pritikin Center in Los Angeles in ’84 and ’86 and ’89. I learned all the dos and don’ts in life. I learned what to eat, what not to eat. I don’t have preservatives in my food, I don’t have processed food.”

He also adheres to the often overlooked maxim that whatever inconveniences ageing might bring, it’s infinitely better than the alternative. Rose agrees.

“One of the very first things Stefan said to me is that the only people that don’t have problems are the ones who are six feet under,” she says.

“You can cope with everything; as long as you’ve got the right mental attitude then nothing’s a problem. It’s when you see it as a problem that it does become one. it’s not glass half empty with Stefan, everything’s half full.”

As we talk, we are regularly interrupted by customers keen to shake Stefan’s hand and wish him well. For a person who has been in the public eye for so long, and who has never been coy about his wealth or success, his popularity is remarkably enduring. For other Queenslanders who won’t see 60 again, he has the following words of advice.

“You’re lucky that you are older. Very few people get that privilege, you know?

“Especially if you’re older and you haven’t lost the plot and you still like what you’re doing. Keep doing things and don’t give up.

Of course it’s not as fun as when you’re young but maybe in a way it’s more fun because you’re here.”

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INVESTING IN UNDERSTANDING With retirement village exit fees, everyone’s a winner. The Village Retirement Group’s chief executive tells Jane Scott why JUSTIN Harrison wants to make something crystal clear.

Ensconced in the airy, welcoming foyer of The Village Coorparoo, with its soaring ceilings and elegant furnishings, the lean, energetic chief executive of The Village Retirement Group is speaking out about exit fees.

And no, he’s not embarrassed, nor is he skirting the issue. In fact, the boss of one of

Queensland’s leading providers of retirement living options is proud of a much-maligned funding model that he believes is widely misunderstood.

Exit fees – or deferred management fees, as they are more formally known – allow an operator like VRG to offer apartments or villas for sale on a 99-year lease at a discounted price, in the knowledge that they will collect a

CAFE SOCIETY: Common areas make socialising easy for residents of The Village Coorparoo.

percentage of the sale price when the apartment is eventually re-sold.

Fees are capped and are clearly explained at the time of sale and most importantly, says Mr Harrison, they allow residents to free up funds from the sale of their biggest asset, the family home, to spend on an enjoyable retirement.

“Everybody goes on about exit fees being something that’s bad,” he says.

“But an exit fee, or deferred management fee, is something the retirement industry should be proud of, because we’re actually discounting the price of people’s units so that they can afford to pocket money from the sale of their house and fund an enjoyable retirement now.”

How so? The exit fee allows VRG to price apartments or villas substantially below the market rate, the Village boss explains.

“With our inner-city projects, we’re averaging $4000-4500 per metre. If you wanted to go and buy a similar unoccupied unit (not an investment unit) in inner-city Brisbane, you’d be paying anywhere between $850010,000 for similar quality and you wouldn’t get the 2000sq m in community facilities,” he says.

For residents, those facilities are a major part of the attraction. They vary across VRG’s four properties (at Yeronga, Redcliffe, Toowoomba and Coorparoo, with a fifth being built at Taigum), but range from indoor pools to cinemas, libraries, gyms (staffed by a dedicated physiotherapist), cafe and dining room, bowling green, medical centre and more. The vibe is more resort than retirement community, and residents lead busy social lives taking

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advantage of the numerous scheduled activities.

For developers, the discount provided to incoming residents is not recouped until the unit is turned over, and this is a commonly misunderstood concept.

“We’ll finish a project, let’s say the Village Redcliffe. Our development costs will be $100 million, and the funds we’d get back from leasing the units to residents would bring us

“The exit fee helps our residents fund their retirement” JUSTIN HARRISON

Final 3 villas selling now!

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Our Village is renowned for its lively, fun atmosphere, outstanding recreational facilities and strong community spirit. With our new, state-of-the-art community centre under construction and all the shopping, healthcare and entertainment options of Redcliffe on your doorstep, there’s never been a better reason to move home.

So what are you waiting for? Become a Villager today and take care of all your tomorrows. Call Emma or Marg to book your appointment to view on 3204 1884.

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pretty close to break even. The asset will have no debt on it at that time.

“If we were doing a normal property development, in that equation, we’d be looking to make a 20-30 per cent profit straight up front. However, the deferred management fee is a maximum of 34 per cent of the ingoing price — if a person stays for over seven years. And it is not paid until a person exits the village.

“That’s why a deferred management fee should really be described as a deferred profit, because the developer is simply delaying their return on each unit until such time as it is turned over.”

Asked to reflect on the confusion surrounding the deferred management fee, Mr Harrison agrees that it may sometimes emerge when residents’ adult children, who were often not involved in the original purchase, are tasked with selling the apartment once a parent has passed, or needs to move to a higher care facility.

“I do think that what happens a lot of the times is that when the unit does roll over, 10, 15, 20 years after mum and dad bought it, the children haven’t been part of the initial contract.

“They don’t realise that the $350,000 villa their parent took on a 99-year lease had a market value at the time of $450,000. Because of the deferred profit, their parents have had that $100,000 in their pocket to spend.

“They also have the potential to share in the capital gain made on the sale, which helps offset the exit fee.”

Confusion around retirement community funding is not helped by a complex regulatory environment. The Village Retirement Group and others like it operate under the Retirement Villages Act 1999. A second model, also popular in Queensland, operates under the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003. Within the industry, these are known as mobile home parks, although the homes in them are not mobile at all.

Under both models, operators generally impose a weekly fee, similar to a body corporate fee, to cover rates, building maintenance and so

forth. For residents, the Retirement Villages Act protects again unreasonable or unexpected fee increases.

“There’s a lot of legislation that ensures retirement village operators maintain the villages, and that they can’t increase fees arbitrarily,” Mr Harrison says.

“Fees are basically set at the beginning of the project, and while statutory fees can go up – we’ve obviously got no control over what governments charge – the actual fees that the operator has control of can’t go above CPI unless you get 75 per cent of the residents to vote for that. So, if the operator miscalculates fees in the beginning, then the operator pays – and it is in their best interest to maintain their villages to the highest of standards to ensure maximum resale price.”

While the deferred management fee model is at times misunderstood, Justin Harrison is confident that it has helped put Queensland’s retirement sector ahead of the rest.

“Queensland is ahead of Victoria and New South Wales, well and truly. The product here is outstanding. The Village Retirement Group and a couple of other Queensland companies have dominated the seniors living space in Australia – in 2015 we won the Urban Development Institute of Australia 2015 Best Seniors Living Award and UDIA 2015 President’s Award.”

Mr Harrison is justifiably proud of those achievements, and of the sector his company leads. Improving the public’s understanding of how that sector works is something he’s passionate about.

“We should be telling people that the exit fee actually helps our incoming residents fund their retirement.

“It’s a great deal – not only are you getting a discounted price on the unit, you’re getting money in your bank account to spend for as long as you need. Who wouldn’t want that?”

FINE DESIGN: A striking staircase brings visitors into The Village Coorparoo; VRG chief executive Justin Harrison.

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6 LOOKING FORWARD CELEBRITIES TURNING 57 IN 2017 Michael Stipe Nigella Lawson Hugo Weaving Bono David Duchovny Sean Penn Hugh Grant Stanley Tucci

JANUARY 4 JANUARY 6 APRIL 4 MAY 10 AUGUST 7 AUGUST 17 SEPTEMBER 9 NOVEMBER 11

SUNDAY JANUARY 15 2017 THESUNDAYMAIL.COM.AU

57 GODDESS: Nigella Lawson toasts another year.

ORIANNA SHINES OVERLOOKING Pumicestone Passage, on the verge of the Bribie Bridge, is the over 50s lifestyle resort, Orianna Sandstone Point. Orianna is now kicking off construction activity in the wake of the New Year, Orianna Sandstone Point sales manager Karen Lombe said.

“The first stage of this bayside resort will feature 26 home sites with a variety of beautiful, modern home designs,” she said.

“Part of this construction activity includes the veryfirst Orianna display home.

“This, the first Orianna display, will showcase a range of luxury inclusions.”

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THE new year could bring a new address and new friends by making the move to Aspley, Greenbank, Regal Waters or Twin Cedars by Gateway Lifestyle communities.

The communities offer an attractive, spacious and affordable lifestyle, surrounded by green open spaces plus the convenience of facilities and amenities to enjoy with family and friends.

Janine Spencer, head of sales and marketing at Gateway Lifestyle, said there was a range of homes designed to suit a variety of needs and budgets.

Tel: 1300 361 311 gatewaylifestyle.com.au

ENJOY RESORT LIVING GEMLIFE Highfields is an over 50s lifestyle resort located on the picturesque Great Dividing Range.

General manager Adrian Puljich said GemLife Highfields was part of a movement that was shaking up the retirement living sector by offering a viable and preferable alternative to retirement living: resort living.

“With GemLife Highfields, you’ll get a

spacious two-or-three bedroom home with premium fixtures,” he said.

“You’ll also enjoy landscaped gardens and a range of on-site, five-star facilities.”

Tel: 1800 910 278 gemlife.com.au

RESORT SELLING FAST LIVING Gems Pacific Paradise Residential Resort sales manager Victoria Dent says the boutique Sunshine Coast resort has outshone sales forecasts.

“This resort has captured the attention of buyers from all over Queensland and interstate,” she said. “More than half the homes are already sold. This is Living Gems’ smallest resort with only 126 homes. We have set a new benchmark in

style, value and quality.

People who want the best of everything in an idyllic location will find it here.”

Tel: 1800 279 782 livinggems.com.au

Living Gems Residential Resorts has won two more international awards. The Queensland owned and operated company took out the Most Outstanding Lifestyle Resorts in the World Award for the second consecutive year.

This year, the international judging panel added the Most Outstanding Resort Housing Developer in the World Award to Living Gems’ impressive collection.

We are honoured and delighted to be recognised by international housing experts. We strive to create masterplanned communities based on fun and friendship.

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WIDE OPEN SPACES SETTING Claremont Resort apart is the accent on spaciousness in every aspect of the resort, with wider roads, bigger blocks, and larger, superior quality homes, says sales manager Glenn Richardson.

He said double garages and ensuites were also popular features.

“Claremont Resort is like a prestige suburb of happy, like-minded people, in a

comfortable gated community, surrounded by wide open green spaces with loads of birdlife,” Mr Richardson said.

Tel: 3489 3388 claremontresort.com.au BCME01Z01BS - V1

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Need to know

SLOW ROAD TO PARADISE

Stay and play: Mantra Trilogy on the Esplanade at Cairns has rooms from $115 per night (mantra.com.au). In Port Douglas the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort beckons with a touch of luxury for $289 per night (sheratonportdouglas.com). Sleep surrounded by the rainforest at Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa from $345 per night (daintree-ecolodge.com.au) Not to be missed: Keep your hands inside the boat when you take a lagoon tour at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures (crocodileadventures.com). Try the paperbark wrapped baked coral trout at Bistro H (harrisonsrestaurant.com.au). Get wet feet on a Cooyar Beach Coastal Beach and Mangrove Walk guided by Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours (kycht.com.au).

Sites to see: queensland.com, visitportdouglasdaintree.com

Bloomfield

Bloomfield Track Cape Tribulation

Great Barrier Reef Drive

Daintree Rainforest National Park

Daintree

Daintree River

DRIVE TIME: Captain Cook Highway near Port Douglas. Picture: Tourism and Events Queensland.

Mossman

Hitch a lift with Kerry Heaney and explore one of Australia’s great coastal drives at your leisure

Mossman Gorge

Cooya Beach

Port Douglas

Wildlife habitat

Four Mile Beach Oak Beach

THE first hint is a glimpse of aqua bursting between the trees, but it’s not until the highway reaches down and sashays along the Coral Sea coastline that the breathtaking beauty of the Great Barrier Reef Drive is revealed.

Stretching from metro Cairns to the tropical jungle of Queensland’s Cape Tribulation, this is 140km of easy driving traversing two World Heritage areas. It dips into remote beaches, lingers at tranquil coastal villages and skirts crocodile habitats.

Combining Captain Cook Highway and Cape Tribulation Road, Great Barrier Reef Drive can be completed in just two-and-a-half hours. But for seniors with time to spare, why not slow down, smell the sea spray, and take a leisurely fortnight to cover the same distance?

Dubbed one of Australia’s greatest coastal drives, equal to Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, it is a well maintained, smooth bitumen journey until Cape Tribulation and the Bloomfield track which develops into four-wheel drive territory.

Just north of Cairns, tempting stops such as Trinity Beach, Palm Cove and Ellis Beach start to appear as signposts on the highway. A short diversion takes you right to the coastline where holidaymakers have already found their heaven. Luckily there’s plenty of accommodation, from high-end resorts to caravan parks, all sharing the same relaxed beach outlook.

From here, the highway hugs the coast breaking the rainforest’s reach to the sea.

Depending on tides, you might see some impressive rock stacks on the stony stretch between Pebbly and Ellis beaches. It’s just locals having fun in between high tides and storms.

Stretch your legs at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures near Wangetti, but not too far as those crocs put on an authentic performance when it comes to grabbing a feed. Hartley’s has plenty of other local critters which you may see in the wild or not. You might be happy to be on the other side of a fence when it comes to both cassowaries and crocs.

Halfway along the highway, Rex Lookout offers views north and south along the coastline. Hang gliders love this spot, and there are often opportunities for a tandem flight.

Following the coastline through the Macalister Range National Park, past quiet Oak Beach, the next tempting deviation takes you into Port Douglas. Wildlife Habitat, on the roundabout as you turn, is a place where visitors can cuddle a koala, snake, crocodile or stick insect and grab all the bragging rights with a photographic record.

Port Douglas has changed a lot since Christopher Skase rocked into town in the 1980s. His flagship Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort was a playground for the rich and famous including Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger

SMART WAY TO STRENGTH HANNAH MCDONALD IMAGINE working out in a hi-tech gym where computers help to take the stress out of exercising. At Palm Lake Resort Cooroy-Noosa, residents are taking advantage of a state-ofthe-art Milon strength and endurance circuit which uses smart card technology to adjust anatomy and training programs.

“It’s straightforward, safe and effective,

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offering whole body training, including your most important muscle, your heart,” Milon’s Marcin Lazinski said.

“The equipment relies on electronic resistance — not working with weights — meaning no one is able to see another person’s training settings. It also means less reliance on the need for personal training sessions.

“Unfortunately, as we get older we tend to forget we must exercise our muscles; as a general rule of thumb we lose some one per cent of muscle mass per year from the age of 35.”

The strength and endurance circuit can be done in just over 17 minutes, with users encouraged to train three times a week.

“You can’t really get it wrong — all workouts are tracked so that training can be monitored.

All you have to do is insert your card and enjoy the workout,” Mr Lazinski said.

and Matthew McConaughey.

After 25 years, it has been refurbished with restrained elegance but there’s still enough marble to ensure Christopher is not spinning in his grave.

Port Douglas is much more that a jumping off point from which to explore the Great Barrier Reef. Unless you are extremely fit, drive rather than walk up Flagstaff Hill for a view over the Four Mile Beach and the Coral Sea. The town has some great dining. Try The Little Larder for breakfast, Sassi Cucina e Bar for a seafood lunch and Bistro H (by Harrisons) for elegant tropical dining filled with local flavours. Local experiences not-to-be-missed include the expansive Sunday markets and ‘meeting’ George, the 250kg groper who checks in around 5pm daily to see what the people are doing at On the Inlet Seafood Restaurant, Dickson Inlet.

Back on the Great Barrier Reef Drive, the road snakes its way through cane fields towards Mossman Gorge. The gateway to the gorge is now the Indigenous eco-tourism Mossman Gorge Centre where visitors can learn the rich history of the area on a Dreamtime Walk guided by the Kuku Yalanji.

Rex Point Lookout Hartley’s Creek Crocodile Farm

Ellis Beach Palm Cove Beach Trinity Beach

Cairns On the coast at Cooya Beach, Indigenous Kuku Yalanji guides share traditional fishing and gathering techniques with visitors. It’s a wander through muddy mangroves and coastal mudflats to find crabs and mussels for dinner.

Cross the old-fashioned cable ferry on the Daintree River to travel through some of oldest rainforest in the world. This is cassowary country so watch out for this distinctive and potentially dangerous bird.

The road winds through the rainforest revealing several boardwalks, places to stop for a taste of local fruit-infused ice cream and a tea plantation. A stroll along one of the many beaches will verify this is really where the rainforest meets the sea.

Whether you take two-and-a-half hours, two days or two weeks to complete this journey, it will be one filled with memorable experiences unique to this region.

8 LOOKING FORWARD

SUNDAY JANUARY 15 2017 THESUNDAYMAIL.COM.AU

Picture: Chapman Baehler

ENTERTAINMENT ON THE GREEN FANS of Cyndi Lauper and Blondie can make a date to see the pair at Sirromet Wines, Mt Cotton, in April.

The duo will be performing as part of the A Day on the Green shows nationally stopping off in Queensland on April 2 with tickets priced from $114.90.

Lauper (pictured), aged 63, and Blondie, led by Debbie Harry, aged 71, have both enjoyed great success for four decades, fuelled by a stream of timeless hits that are still popular today.

The two New Yorkers are thrilled to be touring together.

“Blondie were the true trailblazers of the New York City new wave and punk scenes,” Lauper said.

“As a young artist, they had such a big impact on me. I just thought that Debbie was so cool. She is still a hero of mine.

I’m so excited to do this tour of Australia with them. We are going to have a blast.”

Harry is also happy about heading to Australia.

“You can’t miss this show,” she said.

“The bitches are coming back to make it happen in Australia just like they do it everywhere. All the songs and music you want to hear from us and much much more.”

Blondie emerged from the late-70s New York punk scene and quickly became music, style and pop culture icons selling more than 40 million albums worldwide.

Blondie have just completed a new album to be released in March. Lauper is one of only 20 people to earn Emmy, Grammy, and Tony awards.

DIG SMARTER HANNAH MCDONALD GARDENING stimulates the mind and awakens the soul, and getting out there in nature, planting your favourite flowers and watching your back yard bloom brings a sense of achievement and wellbeing.

Keeping a manicured lawn is also a great way to stay active. But with ageing, all of that bending, kneeling, lifting, weeding and pruning can take its toll. Gardening expert and Sunday Mail columnist Annette McFarlane encourages seniors to find smarter ways to garden.

“Don’t give up on gardening — it is good for both physical and mental health — just find better ways of doing it.”

LIGHTEN UP We all have a favourite spade or pruner, but if it’s weighty Ms McFarlane suggests passing it on to a younger aspiring gardener and lessening the load with something that isn’t so heavy. Try a lightweight electric tool, battery-powered pruner or a garden fork with extendable handles.

DOWNSIZE PLANTS Fast growing plants typically need lots of maintenance. To reduce the amount of time needed to care for the garden, Ms McFarlane recommends removing trees and shrubs that have outgrown their welcome. “Replace these with more compact growers like plants grafted on to dwarfing rootstocks, and if you must have hedges and pruned screening plants, choose those that have the maximum mature height so you don’t spend every weekend pruning,” she said.

SPRAY LESS Another way to get more from your garden, while spending less time tending to it, is to avoid plants that are magnets to pests. “There are plenty of plants that never need spraying.

Just ask at your local nursery; look for varieties that also produce fewer seeds as this feature makes them flower for longer and you will end up with fewer weedy, self-sown seedlings.”

STAY SHARP As gratifying as gardening can be, thorny plants can pose a threat to seniors. To reduce the risk of scratches, which could then lead to infection, Ms McFarlane encourages ageing green thumbs to avoid rampant climbers and plants with vicious thorns.

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Lugging around a heavy bag of fertiliser can cause all sorts of aches and pains for the ageing gardener. “Just because you’ve always bought a certain 25kg bag of garden fertiliser does not mean there is not something better or more appropriate out there. Controlled release fertilisers provide plants with nutrients over an extended period of time, so they can be applied less often. They typically come in smaller bags, contain concentrated nutrients and are easier and quicker to apply.”

WATER WISE Instead of having to walk outside to turn off the sprinkler, Ms McFarlane suggests putting a dial-up timer on an existing sprinkler or installing a programmable watering system. She also suggests buying quality hoses and fittings to avoid time wasting when hoses kink and pop.

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WEED CONTROL Those who are finding weeding difficult are encouraged to use a simple weed brush. “You can dab each weed without bending; it is cheaper as you use far less herbicide than spraying,” Ms McFarlane said.

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Time your gardening sessions for early in the morning or just before dusk when it is cooler and more comfortable. “Schedule one small gardening activity to complete each day or week and vary the activities to avoid strains and other injuries,” she said. “Don’t tackle large jobs alone — garden with a friend or relative and enjoy some refreshments together afterwards.”

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