This is the reel thing
Vicky Roach follows in the footsteps of the stars and visits some superb locations worthy of a film set
TRACKS
AFTERmore than 30 years, and five failed attempts, the story of Robyn Davidson’s epic camel trek through the Australian Outback has finally made it to the big screen.
For most of her 2700km journey from Alice Springs to the ocean, Davidson (played by rising Hollywood star Mia Wasikowska) travelled solo with only three adult camels and a black dog to keep her company. “It feels like Robyn’s drive to escape the chatter of urban life is even more relevant today aswe are bombarded by so much technology and social media,’’ says the film’s Oscarwinning producer Emile Sherman( TheKing’s Speech).
Based on Merna Mora Station in the heart of the Flinders Ranges, Camel Treks Australia offers a range of camel safaris with at least one night sleeping in a swag under the stars.
cameltreksaustralia.com.au
ROMEO AND JULIET
BAZ Luhrmann’s MTVinspired reboot of William Shakespeare’s classic romantic tragedy was followed by a martial arts interpretation starring Jet Li and even an animated version featuring a bunch of garden ornaments ( Gnomeo& Juliet). The latest film adaptation, however, returns to the traditional setting of Renaissance Italy although, controversially, it doesn’t feature The Bard’s dialogue. With a cast that includes British actor Douglas Booth, Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld and
Gossip Girls’ Ed Westwick, Juliet’s balcony is sure to be on the itinerary of a new generation of gap-year travellers following the film’s February 13 release.
Priced from$2066 a person, Contiki’s 12-day Simply Italy tour covers Rome, Florence, Naples, Verona and Venice and the fashion capital, Milan.
contiki.com
THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN
TOLKIEN tourism has had almost as much effect on the NewZealand economy as Peter Jackson’s blockbuster films. Many of the backdrops in the Kiwi director’s spectacular recreation of MiddleEarth are not computer-generated. Mt Doom, for instance, was shot on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu, an active volcano near Lake Taupo. A tour of Hobbiton on private farmland near Matamata, in theNorth Island, may appeal only to fantasy geeks but everyone will appreciate the pristine landscapes of Milford Sound, Lake Wanaka and Queenstown.
As well as Tolkien tours, Red Carpet Tours also has tours to parts ofNew Zealand not normally accessible to travellers.
redcarpet-tours.com
GRACE OF MONACO
THE Grimaldi family, which has ruled Monaco – with only brief interruption – for more than seven centuries, has criticised the film’s screenplay as “needlessly glamorised”. That is likely to fuel our fascination for the story of actress Grace Kelly, who became Princess Consort when she married Prince Ranier III in 1956. Immaculately-groomed Nicole Kidman is in the title role. The tiny principality is included in Insight Vacations’ 16-day Principalities of Europe tour (new for 2014.)
Beginning in Barcelona and priced from$5350 a person, twin share, the itinerary explores the history, culture and innerworkings of some of the smallest countries in Europe, including Andorra and SanMarino.
insightvacations.com
MUPPETS MOST WANTED
KERMIT and Miss Piggy get married – again – in the Tower of London and the first-look photos feature Ricky Gervais and the small, green superstar in the London Underground. Since director James Bobin has already said that Muppets Most
Wanted will pay homage to the old-school crime capers of the ’60s, audiences can reasonably presume that his “semi-sequel” will feature a string of iconic European locations. In this follow-up to TheMuppets’ 2011 comeback, the old gang embarks upon a sellout tour that includes Berlin and Madrid.
Monograms offers a four-day London package priced from $606 a person, twin share, including premium hotel (Hilton or similar), breakfasts daily, the services of a local host, and a half-day guided sightseeing tour.
Options include a guided tour of the Tower of London and Crown Jewels (from$68 a person), fast-track tickets to the London Eye (from$49 a person), a private tour of the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studios (from$83 a person), or a dinner and theatre package to
Billy Elliot the Musical (from$117
a person).
monogramstravel.com.au
NEBRASKA
FROM Easy Rider to Thelma
and Louise and even Borat, the US road movie has crisscrossed the cultural imagination. Alexander Payne has already proved himself a master of the genre with Sideways and About
Schmidt. In Nebraska, his hotlyanticipated follow-up to The
Descendants, an ageing, boozeaddled father (Bruce Dern) accompanies his estranged son (Will Forte) on a trip from Montana to Nebraska to claim a million-dollar sweepstake. Australian travellers have a choice of a range of different itineraries through the region. Nebraska isn’t included, but Wyoming and SouthDakota are right on its border.
rmi-ealamerica.com.au
SAVING MR BANKS
IT took Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) 16 years to persuade P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to let him turn Mary Poppins into a film. Thompson says the author “was awoman of quite eye-watering complexity and contradiction”. Mary Poppins was finally shot atWalt Disney Studios in California in 1964. Disneyland Resort is the perfect place to experience Walt’s seductive storytelling powers. Four nights at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel in a standard room, with return airport transfers and a 3-day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper ticket costs from$815 a person, twin share, for travel between January 19 and February 14. Conditions apply.
Freestyle Holidays 1300 880 268
POMPEII
RESIDENT Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson turns his attention to the doomed Roman city in this sword-andsandals action adventure. Game
of Thrones’ Kit Harrington is a slave-turned-gladiator trying to save his true love (Australia’s Emily Browning) as Pompeii crumbles and burns.
Aday tour to Naples and Pompeii from Rome starts from $132 a person, which includes hotel pick-up from selected hotels and transport to Naples, a visit to the archaeological site of Pompeii with guided tour using local guides, all entrance fees, lunch and awalking tour of Naples. Flight Centre can also arrange flights and accommodation.
flightcentre.com.au
JACK RYAN
RUSSIA could almost be the native habitat of the celluloid movie spy. Pierce Brosnan famously drove a tank through the streets of St Petersburg in
Golden Eye, the 17th film in the James Bond franchise. Jason Bourne delivered a similarly kinetic performance in Moscow, grinding his taxi past St Basil’s Cathedral with a Russian killer in pursuit. The distinctive onion-shaped domes also provide the backdrop for Jack Ryan: Shadow
Recruit, the second reboot of the franchise created by author TomClancy.
Chris Pine steps into the shoes of the covert CIA analyst (who has previously been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck). Actor-director Kenneth Branagh doubles as the film’s villain, Viktor Cherevin.
The Trans-Siberian Railway, which is almost 10,000km, has starred in a string of movies, including Horror Express and
Fidler on theRoof. Former deputy prime minister and train enthusiast Tim Fischer will host a 23-day trip in September.
travelrite.com
LAST VEGAS
MICHAELDouglas, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline and Morgan Freeman lend considerable clout to this silver-haired version of TheHangover, in which four old mates head to Sin City for a bachelor party to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of the last member of their gang to get hitched. Flight Centre offers a range of tours fromthe Grand Canyon to the glitter strip.
For party animals, there’s a VIP- style pub crawl package from$105 a person which includes a VIP night tours wristband, there’s VIP access to three of the top LasVegas night clubs, limousine transport and a party host.
flightcentre.com.au