Author: Chris Stead

It’s been a tough time for the island of Maui in Hawaii. More specifically, for the people of Lahaina, the region on the western coastline devastated by fire in August 2023. But the tide has turned, with tourists welcomed back as the economy and its people embrace the green shoots poking through the charred soil….

The Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites is a great accommodation option for people who want the thrills of Waikiki Beach, without the hustle and bustle. You’ll find it at the very western edge of the famed Honolulu beach, sitting just behind the boat harbour. It offers direct access down to the lagoon, rock wall and…

Beechworth is beautiful. You’ll find it by peeling off the highway between Sydney and Melbourne, in the Victorian high country. Not far from Albury-Wodonga. It’s a town born from the 1852 gold rush and made famous by the Ned Kelly Gang trials. That era has been preserved with such respect that the Australian National Heritage…

What happens when you take one of the most iconic resorts in the world, Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal, and take it to the most iconic resort destination on Earth, the Maldives? That’s what we’ll discover in 2029! The brand’s owner, Kerzner International (UAE), is teaming up with the Assets Group (a Qatar-based company) to deliver…

It turns out island-hopping around French Polynesia on luxury cruise ship Star Breeze is as enjoyable as it sounds. I’m lying flat on my back, half-submerged. My feet dangle in the rich, blue, inviting Pacific Ocean on one side of the floating mat, my hair in the other. The sun is warm; the water is…

It’s hard to believe next year will mark the 20th anniversary of brother-sister duo Angus & Julia Stone’s initial assault on Aussie hearts and global charts. Angus was just 20 at the time, but he’d already found his groove. His hips haven’t stopped swaying ever since. A prolific songwriter, there’s been no let-up in hits…

Qualcomm believes the way we think about a PC user interface is about to be disrupted and that Snapdragon will lead the way. For generations of laptop users, when it came to your choice of CPU, it was a two-horse race. You either went with AMD or Intel. How quickly things can change. In little…

At first, I felt a little out of place. When I pulled up the opulent driveaway to the front doors of the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa, I came to a stop besides a shiny, new, red Ferrari. I looked down on the flashy vehicle from the seat of my beat-up old Toyota…

Any concerns that the world’s longest-running musical was losing its edge are put to bed in a stunning Sydney gala performance of Les Misérables. Even if musicals aren’t your thing, you’ll know of Les Misérables: it’s been a pop culture icon for as long as most of us can remember. But for Australia’s insatiable theatre…

I love a good road trip! There’s plenty to enjoy out of Sydney, too, and when I was given an opportunity to test drive the new Jaecoo J7 SUV, it seemed like a great opportunity to find a windy road through Australia’s natural beauty to make the most of the experience. I’ll talk more about…

Dope Lemon is set to return home for a run of shows in Australia and New Zealand through winter 2025. Laidback vocals and effortless grooves litter the catalogue of Angus Stone spin-off project Dope Lemon. Like disco just emerged from a Jamaican Dutch oven and found folk swinging from the palm leaves. If you’ve been…

The Disney Wonder cruise ship experience may be designed with kids in mind, but it delivers for all ages. Admit it, you want to go to Disneyland! We all do. No matter how old you get, there’s a place inside all of us where some Disney story, or character, or song, has burrowed into our…

Big rooms, killer location and a great pool; there’s plenty to like about Rydges Port Macquarie. Fingers fumbling with excitement, I shove the fresh, shiny metal point of my fishing hook straight up the prawn’s backside, curving it around and digging it into the hardest part of the head. So far I’m four from five….

Barefoot luxury meets active adventure and education in a resort experience that almost eclipses the incredible landscape on Tasmania’s east coast. I’m sitting on a comfortable couch, the heat from a distant fire running its warm fingers down my neck. In front of me is a large glass wall: floor to ultra-high ceiling and curving…

If you’re looking for an active Maldivian adventure with all-inclusive benefits, then it’s hard to go past Club Med Kani. I think I’ve fallen in love with Club Med. Only a year ago, I’d never been to one. Almost by chance my family and I stayed at Club Med Bintan Island and we had such…

There’s a common theme across many of the luxury resorts you’ll find scattered across the Indian Ocean’s Maldivian archipelago. Large, wooden villas, decked out in island chic to look like they were built by indigenous people centuries ago, all while housing modern luxuries within. Tall jungles reaching for the sun between them, as the reef…

There’s no shortage of amazing five-star luxury resorts in the Maldives, but few offer an experience quite like the Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort. With each passing second, you feel lighter. As if the weight of the world is being bumped from your shoulders every time the speed boat hits a wave on its way to…

Do you love a good drop? I certainly do, so I was shocked to hear during the recent launch event for NSW Wine Month how little local produce us Sydneysiders drink. Steve Cox, the CEO of Destination NSW, was on hand for the event and revealed to the gathered press that only 12% of the…

What you need to know about choosing a low-cost airline and why it’s worth considering AirAsia X. The best part of travelling is never the plane trip, let’s be honest. Tasty food, endless entertainment and spacious seats are always nice, but when a friend asks you what you thought of the Maldives, or Bali, or…

The era of the climb is over, but Uluru’s array of dazzling cultural experiences has made it an even more vital destination for all Australians. It’s not every day the world’s longest surviving culture invites you into its home, but here I am. Layered-up in a laundry-load of clothes, my breath fails to cloud despite…

You know the image. A huge burning sun laying to rest over a horizon lined by giraffes, elephants and zebras painted in silhouette. The howl of a hyena. Roar of a lion. For many Australians, the intoxicating promise of an African safari seemed like a dream forever out of reach. Until now. On 1 July…