May 2026 - The Bellarine, the Sunshine Coast and South Africa!
The next week, we spent two nights on the Bellarine Peninsula doing a famil (ie a trip organised for me where I have a story already commissioned ie presold/pre-ordered) and the following week we were off to the Sunshine Coast to see family. The week after that, we flew to Cape Town so it’s been a busy little period!
First, the Bellarine. This trip had been in the works since February 2025 when I met someone from Tourism Geelong & Bellarine. She had wanted a story in Mamamia and they had said “no” but I kept plugging away and ended up with a commission from Stuff in New Zealand. The trip was to be in March but then The Queenscliff Hotel (QH) was about to re-open after a three-year restoration so the trip was pushed to May to incorporate a stay there. I mention all that to give anyone who is interested an insight into how much unpaid time goes into these “free” trips. Not complaining at all but there is a lot of communication that happens behind the scenes. Often over a long period of time.
I’d had a taste of the QH the week before we stayed there when I had lunch there and a tour. This time, I was able to stay the night and have breakfast before we embarked on two jam-packed days.
It was particularly special to stay at QH as we had stayed there once before – 31 years ago when I was pregnant with our oldest child. Now called a “babymoon,” this was a one-night splurge which included dinner and breakfast. In those days, despite the poshness of the hotel, bathrooms were shared.
It was rather lovely to return and not have to share a bathroom!! The QH is now returned to its absolute glory days and then some. It was a real privilege to stay there. I hope the investment of its current custodians, Tammy and Rob Charter, is returned many times over.
The next day, we visited local providores, had a wonderful lunch at Scotchmans Hill Winery and had a private tour at Little Creatures Brewery in Geelong before we checked into the almost brand-new Crowne Plaza Geelong. We walked into the room and gasped – firstly, it wasn’t just a room but a suite of two rooms and, secondly, the views out over Corio Bay were stunning. It happened to be the coldest day of the year (so far) and the skies were grey and stormy but the views were incredible. I happily sat curled in an armchair for a couple of hours watching the clouds and rain.
Next day was more providores and a lunch on The Q Train. This is a moving restaurant on a train. Again, the day was cold and rainy but we had a lovely lunch and a tour of the train. I had long wanted to try this out and it was a fun experience.
A few days later and we were on a plane to Maroochydore where Andrew’s sister who lives on the Sunshine Coast met us. We stayed with her and her family for a couple of days and visited Mooloolaba and parts of Noosa. And a few coffee haunts and a few Surf Clubs! It was a lovely few days in a gorgeous part of the world.
In between all this, I had a couple of PRs reach out to me for stories. Novel for PRs to be chasing me rather than the other way around! And to think that three years ago I didn’t even realise that PRs were involved in the travel writing game!
I’m writing this from Cape Town which is the first stop of our Africa trip. Seven of us, including our baby granddaughter, are in South Africa for a multi-generational adventure.
Cape Town is a city of contrasts – beautiful yet scary in places. Over the weekend particularly we felt unsafe a few times. No one actually approached us (other than a couple of harmless beggars) but there were many males loitering who looked homeless and desperate. Whether they were dangerous or not I don’t know but it was disconcerting especially as we had our daughters, daughter-in-law and granddaughter with us.
Also, being warned repeatedly not to go out at night and to catch Ubers rather than walk was unsettling. Let alone our city walking tour guide pointing at Andrew’s gold chain necklace and telling him to hide it. On the subject of the walking tour, we did this on a Sunday which happened to the Cape Town Marathon. This was an absolute stroke of luck as not only was there a fun, happy. “vibey” (to quote my girls!) atmosphere, there were also crowds in the city. From what I saw and from what our walking tour guide said, I would not go into the CBD on a weekend without an event and crowds. As it was, there were groups of loitering men around.
Enough of the negativity as the rest of what we saw and experienced in and around Cape Town was wonderful. We loved the V&A Waterfront and returned every day (we just took Ubers after our first couple of journeys on foot felt unsafe in parts). The Waterfront area is full of shops, cafes and restaurants and was always buzzing with people. It’s next to the Oranjezicht City Farm Market which Andrew had seen on a YouTube episode. We went there for brunch on Saturday and dinner on Wednesday (it’s only open for dinner on a Wednesday night [seasonally] and during the day on Saturday and Sunday). This Market is full of artisan products, food and drink. Whilst we found food and drink prices in and around Cape Town less than Australia, this Market was pricier and prices were on par with home but the Market was so fun and “vibey” that we thought it was worth paying a bit more.
The Waterfront is also how you access Robben Island. This is a half-day experience: a ferry ride of about 40 minutes each way (our rides were reasonably rough), a coach ride with a guide and a guided walking tour of the prison. A former political prisoner guided the prison tour and this was particularly poignant. As part of the tour, we walked past the small cell where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.
We hired a car for a couple of days and drove to the beautiful Camps Bay and Hout Bay. You could happily stay here for a few days particularly if you wanted a summer beach holiday. There were loads of cafes and restaurants and we had a lovely slow lunch at beachfront Harry’s Beach Bar, Camps Bay. Some of the homes around this area looked incredible.
Another day we drove to the Cape of Good Hope and back via the African penguin colony of Boulders Beach. Admission to these two attractions, especially The Cape, was a bit steep (about AUD$44 and AUD$21 per adult respectively) but it was worth it. To stand at the Cape was a “pinch me” moment and to see so many penguins going about their day was very special. Bad luck our little grandie had no idea what was going on!!
All in all, a great few days and there were still plenty of things we didn’t get to see and do. I feel a cruise stopping at Cape Town would be a great idea;)
I’m writing this from Mabalingwe Game Reserve in South Africa where we are for a few days for a safari experience. I’ll leave describing the experience until next month so, for now, I’ll just mention how you get here.
We flew back to Johannesburg from Cape Town (about 2 hours) then picked up two hire cars from the airport and drove to Mabalingwe. We chose to rent two cars rather than one big car as we weren’t sure that one big car would comfortably fit seven of us and our luggage. Also, that way, M & A and their baby could opt in and opt out of activities.
The drive (about 180 kms) was meant to take a couple of hours but roadworks from the nearest town, Bela Bela, to Mabalingwe meant it took over three hours. We had an “interesting” experience en route. We stopped at a McDonalds close to the airport to grab a quick lunch and Andrew was scammed of his NAB Visa card by someone pretending to be the parking officer. Andrew realised almost immediately (a man running off with his physical card was a giveaway!!) and a charge of almost AUD$4,000 was added within minutes. I assume we’ll get that back but don’t know yet. NAB was excellent and cancelled the card immediately. It was a lesson to always be on guard here.
With no further issues (thankfully), we arrived at Mabalingwe just before Reception shut and the sun went down. We have rented a private house (which is quite magnificent!!) and look forward to both guided game drives and some self-drive experiences. As at the time of writing, we have done one of each and have seen incredible wildlife and an amazing sunset.
More to come…
In Writing Wins, I’ve had a few travel stories published this month:
• The 6.2km Dove Lake Circuit Showcases Tassie’s Premier Alpine Landscape in an Achievable Day Walk - https://weareexplorers.co/dove-lake-circuit-hike-cradle-mountain-lake-st-clair-national-park-tas/
• Discovering the Mekong Cruise - https://web.joincitro.com.au/articles/mekong-river-cruise
• Disney Magic Lands In Mackay, Tourism Set To Boom - https://eglobaltravelmedia.com.au/2026/05/21/disney-magic-lands-in-mackay-tourism-set-to-boom/ This story is novel for me, more of a journalist story than a travel writing one but I’m here for it!
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