My best and worst moments of O2O3
Another year of travel highlights (and a lowlight). Buckle up
BEST DAYTRIP
It still boggles my mind to think that, in February, I boarded an 8am flight from Tullamarine and by lunchtime I was coasting above Antarctica. Passengers aboard the Qantas 787 Dreamliner spent four extraordinary hours over the White Continent, eating and drinking to their hearts’ content and listening to polar experts before landing back home in time for bed. An epic day out. (Departures also from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.) antarcticaflights.com.au
BEST GALLERY
Three years and $80 million later, London’s National Portrait Gallery finally re-emerged from its makeover this year and my first reaction was “Wow!” The world’s finest collection of portraiture, established in 1856 with a rare, 17th-century painting of Shakespeare, finally had a gallery worthy of its wares. It’s wall-to-wall celebrities, from the Middle Ages to the modern day, captured in every medium from stained glass to gelatin silver print. Free entry. npg.org.uk
BEST (AND MOST BIZARRE) AIRPORT EXPERIENCE
At Vancouver International Airport I fronted security for my Air Canada flight back home to find Not A Single Other Passenger. Just me and four screening staff who were so underemployed they flagged my laptop for inspection. The reason? To remind me to turn it off next time so no one could steal my personal information. Canadians. So nice. aircanada.com
BEST PIZZA
It’s a tomato-stained tie for me. On the one hand, in Marseille, France’s pizza capital, there’s Splendido, a carnival-esque fun palace serving authentic Neapolitan pizza crowned with quality ingredients such as San Marzano tomatoes and fior di latte mozzarella. On the other hand, there’s Emma, the Roman pizza joint that’s part of the revered Roscioli group of restaurants. Its secret ingredients are Pierluigi Roscioli’s organic dough recipe and the finest Italian toppings on more than 30 pizzas and focaccias. Benissimo. bigmammagroup.com; emmapizzeria.com
BEST WELCOME GIFT
At check-in to Sydney’s hot new heritage hotel Capella, the concierge attached a luggage tag to my case. One they’d made just for me, in navy leather embossed with my initials in gold. Classy. capellahotels.com
BEST STREET FOOD
On a shore excursion to Nice, mid-Med cruise aboard Regent’s Seven Seas Splendor, I convinced my cruise mate to ditch the official tour and come eat with me instead. We parked ourselves at the circa 1925 Chez Thérésa kiosk in the Cours Saleya market and gorged on Niçoise specialties of chickpea socca pancakes, silverbeet and cheesestuffed trouchia omelettes and pissaladière onion tarts, barely stopping to speak. So good. theresa-nice.com
BEST SAFARI
The guiding team at The Royal Portfolio’s South African lodges are said to be the most experienced in Africa. I’d have to agree after spending three days exploring the Greater Kruger with head guide Nik Vounnou and tracker Eric Ngomane and seeing every animal imaginable, often up close and in huge numbers. Accommodation, staff and dining at the boldly beautiful new Waterside Lodge were all incredible, but it was the company’s commitment to conservation and anti-poaching that made this a next-level safari experience. theroyalportfolio.com
BEST BAGGAGE HANDLING
Airlines are finally getting their baggage acts together. Virgin Australia this year introduced a tracking app to give passengers real-time updates of where their bags are at. Honourable mention, too, to Air Canada, which sent me a text minutes after I’d farewelled my suitcase on the conveyor to assure me I’d see it in Brisbane.
BEST ISLAND(S)
I’d heard about the Yasawas. People reckoned they were the most beautiful of Fiji’s 330 or so islands; the iconic coming-of-age film The Blue Lagoon was filmed here, with the islands standing in as watery Garden of Eden. So I had high expectations when I visited this year. All of them were exceeded. The bluest seas, the whitest sands, the biggest skies, the most stunning sunsets.
There are resorts to suit all budgets, from ultra-luxury (Turtle) to family (Paradise Cove) and backpacker (Mantaray), but I went barefoot and beachfront at Oarsman’s Bay Lodge (oarsmans.com) on Nacula Island. Paradise found.
MOST-SCENIC TRAIN TRIP
It’s got to be the Rocky Mountaineer – specifically, the route from Vancouver to Lake Louise and Banff which, over two leisurely, luxurious days, takes passengers from big city to alpine wonderland. Go gold class for glass-domed observation car, premium dining and drinking in your dedicated restaurant, and a generous side order of stunning landscapes. rockymountaineer.com
BEST CRUISE
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My first post-Covid cruise, on the Paul Gauguin around French Polynesia’s Society and Tuamotu islands, was the perfect combination of shipboard comforts and submersion in the Pacific. The mix was about 40:60, making it less of a cruise and more of an extended swim. My kind of cruising. ponant.com