Linger longer at Bargara on the beach

View from the Hummock Lookout

between Bundaberg and Bargara.

The beachfront town of Bargara (Queensland, Australia) is a pleasant spot to linger at and there's some nice accommodation on offer in this haven several hours' drive north of Brisbane and a short trip out of the nearby city of Bundaberg. On this week's radio show/podcast, John Crook visits Bargara and chats with Lorraine, owner of the new Golden Cane B&B. Also on the show, Frances Beasley reports on the Red Chili Pepper Festival in Pay Basque (France). US host Arthur von Wiesenberger (with assistance from US comedy writer Buddy Winston) tells us about his trip to Dublin (Ireland). John Crook learns some tips on car rentals from an Australian industry professional, Andrew Morgan.

Click this link to listen

The pastures of Haute Savoie

In this week's edition of ATW Travelradio Australia, Euro correspondent Frances Beasley roams the pastures of Haute Savoie (France). Ann Abernethy (from the US edition of ATW) chats with Max Hartshorne, editor of Gonomad.com, about Sacramento, the capital of California. Aussie contributor John Crook visits the town of Childers in the South Burnett region of Queensland and calls in at a bird park, a popular macadamia ice cream stall, a reptile park and a winery amongst other places. Click this link to listen.

Tropical weekend in Cairns

Above: On the idyllic sandy beach at Palm Cove.

Cairns may be a fast growing city with every facility required by a modern metropolis, but there's still a strong country-town feel about the place. Much of this can be attributed to the laid back attitude of its resident population - they live life at a much slower pace than the state capital cities - and that's a good thing!

Our weekend visit started off at high noon, Friday with a smooth (and on-time) jetstar flight from Brisbane, arriving in Cairns at just after 2pm - ideal timing for an immediate check-in at the harbourside Cairns Hilton - a five star property that has it all, location, excellent facilities, friendly staff and, of course, nice rooms.

We booked and paid for a waterview room and it didn't disappoint - sixth floor with a sweeping view up the Trinity Inlet, past the cruise ship terminal.

The spacious room featured a huge flatscreen LCD, twin double beds and a cosy balcony - ideal for enjoying a cuppa (or something stronger) whilst soaking up the great vistas.

Across the road from the hotel is The Reef Casino, which has a bistro/grill that has unbelievably low prices - highly recommended. I can't eulogise about the gambling part of the 'pokie palace' - it was disappointing, but them's the breaks. You win some (but lose even more).

On Saturday morning we caught the Sun Bus (route no 1X) which runs from the Cairns Transit Mall in Lake Street to Palm Cove with limited stops enroute.

One of our favourite places in the world, Palm Cove has great accommodation, a beautiful setting and it's the picture of peace and tranquility. On our next visit to Cairns we will probably opt for a stay in this heavenly spot. We have previously stayed at Mantra Amphora apartments on the esplanade and greatly enjoyed that experience. It must be close to being time for a repeat 'performance'.

There was no time for reef cruises or Kuranda day trips on this occasion as we had to catch a 3.05pm return flight to Brissie on Sunday - but, we've been there and done that, so just enjoying a more leisurely Cairns weekend was quite acceptable this time around.