Ipswich is the home of all things vintage, retro and antique. It’s a finders’ heaven, as simple as following the Ipswich CRAVE trail to discover unique collectables to take home. Digging for treasure is tiring work, so we’ve mapped out some retro refuel stops along the way where you’ll find the sustenance to keep you...

If there’s one town in New South Wales that proclaims peace, it’s Cowra. When we visit, it’s tranquil, the Lachlan Valley stretching out before our view, the town surrounded by vineyards, farmland and waterways. But this land holds a more troubled history. On a gentle slope overlooking the town, a prisoner of war camp was...

The Central NSW city of Orange has attractions for every traveller. It’s a city where you can experience the seasons, from warm bright summers to winter snow settling on the vines, from the falling of autumn leaves to an apple blossom spring. The town had been waiting for us to discover it since 1850, when...

Country towns are the lifeblood of Australian society. They are a “microcosm of the human experience, but with more intensity”. We all enjoy the buzz of city life, but a journey through a small town gives us a chance to connect with locals and experience living on the land. We can settle into a slower...

Ipswich could well be the home of the burger in Queensland. As drovers pushed their mobs north from NSW and west into Queensland, they must have stopped along the way for dinner and a nap, allowing the cattle time to rest. There’d be no better meal that that already on hand, barbequed over an open...

One of the most evident themes in hospitality today is the growing interest in the provenance of our food, where it comes from and how far it has travelled to reach us. As consumers, we’re not only interested in our local area, but food tourism is one of the main activities of travellers. After all,...

Breakfast is the meal that helps us ‘break the fast’ of the previous night, giving our bodies fuel to make a healthy start to the day. We head for whole grains, lean protein, dairy, and fruit and vegetables. It’s food that gives us a low GI boost with plenty of nutrients; exactly what we’re looking...

An invitation to join a group for an escape room experience is well outside my usual activities. I have no illusions about being Cosentino, nor do I suffer from a fascination with being locked up. I was not only an ‘Escape Room Virgin’, but I was completely ‘in the dark’ about their purpose! Passing an...

There’s so much more to Irish food than potatoes, we discovered on a recent trip. While food was only one of the reasons drawing us to the Emerald Isle, we discovered an abundance of food experiences, even though we only scratched the surface. Here are some great food-related reasons to visit Ireland: To discover our...

A dessert is the sweet end to any meal. No matter how full you are when the meal finishes, most of us can find that little bit of space, if only for a spoonful of dessert. Alternatively, dessert can be the mid-morning or mid-afternoon pickup, when we take time to pause from our busy lives...