A HEAVENLY Hawaiian girl is dancing the hula on the dashboard as I bounce along in the back of a Teale-coloured kombi, circa 1966. The sun is threatening to set over the Noosa River, where a cheeky chorus of rainbow lorikeets is chattering like a gaggle of Hastings Street gossips. It’s been a scorching autumn day and I grasp for the breeze on my face as we chug along into the cooling evening.
Even Elani, the hula girl, appears to nod in approval, as does Old Skool Kombis owner Scott Montague, whose hands are wrapped lovingly around the huge, white wheel as if it is precious cargo. Valued at $70,000, this retro ride takes up to eight passengers on tours of Noosa, the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, the coast road from Noosa to Coolum or custom-made trips from anything to a private picnic to a surfing safari.
“I make sure passengers enjoy it and it’s relaxed because that’s what kombis are all about,” Scott says.
“It was always my passion. I’ve always had kombis and I turned it into a business to pay for it. Everybody loves them around Noosa, it’s an iconic surf wheel.”
Fortune favours the brave. And on this balmy evening, arriving at our Noosaville destination, fortune also flavours the brave. I have the great privilege of attending the official opening of Fortune Distillery, Noosa’s only distillery providing Australian spirits. It’s adjacent to their Land and Sea Brewery, which opened 14 months ago, and which boasts Harley and Honda motorcycles above the bar, and old-fashioned pinball machines and a surfboard or two in the corners.
On this edgy evening, there’s a tattooed muso perched on the back of a 1954 fully, restored old school Chevy from the United States. Slick? You ain’t seen nothing yet. On the menu there’s a white malt as well as a vodka, but it’s the signature dry gin which uses eight botanicals, including North Queensland honey dew melon, which steals the show here. The dudes behind the distillery are all pointy shoes, hairy faces and tattoos but say this new venture is less about the hipster set and more about the next stage of life.
Brand Creator Tim Crabtree says he launched Land and Sea as Noosa was calling out for a lifestyle-based brewery.
“We live in Noosa, it’s a beautiful part of the world, we go to the beach all day, and eat fine food, nothing sets it off like a beautiful craft beer,” he says.
“The plan was to expand our range while keeping a similar sort of ethos…let’s create a spirit brand that echoes the same sort of lifestyle. There’s an element of fun, personality and hijinks in the brand.
“Let’s take our Land and Sea customers and move them on 15 years where they wear fine clothes and drink fine drinks.
“It’s also aspirational, it’s chasing the dream a little bit.”
At this point in the conversation I pause and wonder why I’m still stuck in the craft beer phase, when I should be wearing fine clothes and drinking fine drinks. Hell, I should have a Noosa beach house by now. I decide it’s best that I take another sip of that fine gin while I contemplate what I’ve been doing with my life.
What I do know is that I’m in Noosa previewing the Noosa Food and Wine Festival which will be held from May 16 to 20. Fortune Distillery will be there, collaborating with local businesses such as the Peter Phillips Gallery which will showcase a retrospective of renowned pop artist Peter Phillips. It’s the first time the Noosa Food and Wine Festival, in its 16th year, has explored art and food together and to celebrate, Fortune will be releasing a Peter Phillips gin. Two events will be staged at the gallery over the weekend where celebrated chef Josh Lopez will create a six-canape course inspired by six decades of Peter’s work. At the second event, a full degustation menu which also pays homage to Peter’s work will be served on this beautiful acreage property.
There’s much to ponder on this Indian summer evening as I jump back into the kombi just in time to snatch a Neapolitan sunset. We chug back along the river, taking a brief detour to witness the renovated boardwalk from Hastings Street to Noosa National Park. Warm salt air wiggles through the window and the boardwalk is lit up with fairy lights. It feels like Christmas. We dine on Fraser Island spanner crab risotto with sea urchin butter at Locale, one of the restaurants which will be involved in the Noosa Food and Wine Festival Noir Noosa event, a black-tie dinner along Hastings Street which will celebrate Moet and Chandan’s 150th anniversary. Sated by all this talk of food, and the fab food itself, we wander back to our hotel, the Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort, which is not only a stylish stalwart of the Noosa scene, but also of the Noosa Food and Wine Festival itself, hosting a number of swanky events.
Noosa Food and Wine Festival Director Sheridah Puttick says there are some exciting additions to this year’s event. Expect a Noosa-inspired cocktail called Tan Lines; the new exclusive River Lounge; the Red Snapper brunch serving gin Bloody Marys; and chefs from Bikini in Bali’s Seminyak. The highlight which catches my eye, however, is the industry day on the Monday, where Australia’s leading food rescue charity OzHarvest will create a brunch from festival leftovers for the hospitality industry. In fact, all of the food left over from the festival village itself is recycled by OzHarvest.
Sheridah says the Noosa Food and Wine Festival is about sustainability and building on the natural beauty of Noosa.
“It is about supporting our local industry. A lot of our businesses are in hospitality or accommodation,” she says.
“For me, it is about working with passionate people.”
The Noosa Food and Wine Festival will be held from May 16 to 20 http://www.noosafoodandwine.com.au
• Stay at the Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort http://www.sofitelnoosapacificresort.com.au
• Travel around the region with Old Skool Kombis http://www.oldskoolkombisnoosa.com.au
• The Peter Phillips Gallery will be open to event ticket holders or by private appointment http://www.peterphillips.com
• Check out Fortune Distillery http://www.noosaheadsdistillery.com/fortune; and Locale Noosa http://www.localenoosa.com.au
The Global Goddess was a guest of Tourism Noosa http://www.visitnoosa.com.au
Tag: Accor
Home and Away
“Out on the patio, we sit, and the humidity, we breathe. We watch the lightening, crack over cane fields, and laugh and think, this is Australia…” Gang Gajang
IT’S more rooftop terrace, than patio, the humidity has conceded to a ballsy bay breeze, there’s fireworks, rather than lightening, and the cane fields sit a bit further north. Australia Day, 2019, and I’m plonked on the rooftop of the sassy Sebel Margate overlooking Moreton Bay, perched on a bar stool, clutching a crisp Aussie white, and spinning a bit of bullshit with two mates. A cheeky breeze has whipped the white caps into a minor celebrity frenzy, while along the bay, Aussies have hoisted makeshift tents adorned with Southern Cross flags. One bloke has even settled in for a long day of drinking by dragging his tattered, brown leather loungeroom recliner chair, and planting it along the boardwalk. You’ve got to admire that sort of commitment.
I’m 45 minutes north-east of Brisbane, celebrating our January 26 national day in style, in this bayside suburb which harks back to a more serene Australia. One of seagulls, sand and simplicity. The prevailing hot northerly has blown in both blue bottles and bare bums, festooned with our controversial Union Jack/Southern Cross combo. Down on the street, there’s even a rare telephone booth. Out on the blustery bay itself, a fleet of sailing boats is leaning a bit too far to the right, reminding me a bit of Australia these days. Some days you just have to wait to tack.
From my lofty perch on the fourth floor, I spy a luxury cruise liner slowly stalking Moreton Island on the horizon. It’s the same bay which lured my great, great grandfather Christian to sail from Hamburg aboard the Susanne Godeffroy in 1863, in search of a better life. Five generations later, I still carry his surname, and in my wildest dreams, when I’m out in the world as a travel writer, I like to think I’ve also inherited some of his pluck. The Australia Day weekend is the unofficial marker for Aussies to seriously return to work and school, and soon enough, I too will be setting sail again in search of stories. But on this day, I’m content in my chair on the rooftop where a barbecue sizzles along with the conversation. How lucky are we to be born in Australia? Even better, in south-east Queensland, with beautiful bays and boutique hotels to boot?
The $15 million Sebel Brisbane Margate Beach, opened in May last year, is a lovely addition to this seaside scene. I am fortunate on this busy summer weekend to have secured a king-suite in this 58-room hotel, which eschews a beachy interior in favour of industrial chic with its exposed brick walls, brass, and cow hide leather couches. There’s even free retro bicycles for guests to borrow and cycle along the esplanade here. Dine at the Margate Beach House on the ground floor and you’ll experience the creativity of two-hatted chef Michael Harris, whose career launched at the flagship London hotel, the Dorchester. Overlook the bay and feast on local Queensland produce such as Smoked King Ora salmon and Fraser Island Crab cannelloni; Darling Downs Wagyu; and Mango and Passionfruit cheese cake.
Sated, plonk yourself by the rooftop pool and watch lazy bay days unfold. And that’s what this bay, and the Sebel Margate, is all about. This is no glamorous Gold Coast, nor is it the sizzling Sunshine Coast. Rather, this darling destination transports you back to an Australia you might remember, one of sandcastles and sun-kissed sleeps. Late at night I sit on my oceanfront balcony and look out at the Southern Cross sky. I don’t need these five stars tattooed on my skin, as they’re deeply etched in my soul. I had just forgotten, for a brief moment in my busy life, where to find them.
The Global Goddess stayed as a guest of The Sebel Brisbane Margate Beach. https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-B2R3-the-sebel-brisbane-margate-beach-/index.shtml
The Goddess’ Briefs: Travel & Lifestyle tips for smart, strong, sexy and spiritual women (and the great men who love us!)
LET’S DO THE TIME WARP
A confession: The Global Goddess has never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yes, when everyone else in dance clubs is taking a jump to the left, and then a step to the right, I have absolutely no idea what is going on. So, I am most excited to discover the Rocky Horror Show musical will open at Brisbane’s QPAC Lyric Theatre on January 10 as part of a national tour. And the Accor hotel brand – the official accommodation partner for the 40th anniversary party production of the show – is offering Stay and See packages which include overnight accommodation, one A reserve ticket to the show and ticket booking fee. It’s enough to make you put your hands on your hips, and bring your knees in tight. http://www.showbiz.com.au
![RockyHorror Show (Columbia)[1]](https://theglobalgoddess.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/rockyhorror-show-columbia1.jpg)
HOTEL MAKES A POINT WITH FREE WI-FI
One of the hottest topics among travelling circles at the moment is the subject of free Wi-Fi. Essentially, none of us can understand why hotels don’t offer it, or at least something that resembles affordable. The Global Goddess is still stunned she can get free Wi-Fi in a poor fishing village along the Mekong Delta, but not in some Australian cities. So, it’s refreshing to see The Point Brisbane offering complimentary, high-speed Wi-Fi access with unlimited downloads to all guests. This Kangaroo Point hotel has just invested $100,000 in an extensive IT upgrade to enhance performance and online security. That, in The Goddess’ books, is reason enough to stay in one of the 201 rooms or suites, hold a meeting or event, and dine at its restaurant Lamberts. http://www.bestmanagement.com.au
I’D LIKE OMAN
Two things the Global Goddess loves: waterslides and the Middle East. Combine the two and you’re looking at Oman’s first water park due to open in 2016 at a cost of $110 million. Situated 72km north of Muscat, the water park will stretch over 25,000 square metres and will be the first of its kind in the Sultanate. Australia’s Sanderson Group, who developed Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast, is behind this development. The Global Goddess has never been to Oman, but has been to nearby countries such as Jordan, which she enjoyed immensely. But don’t wait until 2016 to get to Oman, think about a trip there now for its long, white sandy beaches, dramatic mountain peaks, vivid green oasis and mystical desert camps. http://www.tourismoman.com.au
SPA RESORT UNDERGOES A DETOX
A few years ago, The Global Goddess happily attended Absolute Sanctuary, a detox and yoga resort in Thailand’s Koh Samui. I say happily, but it was a much-needed detox for this sometimes wild child. That’s not to say I did not spend the week before with my friends, “carb loading” for what lay ahead, and I may or may not have snuck down to the beach the night before with a mate to drink as many Mai Tais as possible. I needn’t have worried. The food was plentiful and tasty, the daily spa treatments a real treat and the rooms and pool divine. The resort has just finished a six-month facelift, boasting a Moroccan theme, newly painted rooms, larger televisions and a dedicated new guest lounge. To celebrate its unveiling, the resort is launching a special end-of-year rooms promotion with 30 percent discount on its superior rooms during selected dates in November and December. http://www.absolutesanctuary.com
DESIGN FOR LIVING
No, The Global Goddess hasn’t gone all domestic goddess on you – Design for Living is the name of the play she saw last week. This production, based on Noel Coward’s 1930s production, follows the lives of three central characters and their intertwining love lives. In Act One, you’ll find interior decorator Gilda living with painter Otto in a shabby Paris studio, but she’s spent the night with Leo. In Act Two, Gilda is now living with Leo in London and by Act Three she’s moved on to Ernest (a fourth character) in New York. It sounds complicated (what’s not when it comes to love?) but it’s a delightful and often hilarious look on life. And, it’s the final production for the Queensland Theatre Company for this year. So treat yourself to a night out. http://www.queenslandtheatre.com.au
WIN THE CHANCE TO LIVE A LIFE OF SUNDAYS!
The Global Goddess first met Kayleen Allen 13 years ago when they both worked together at Tourism Queensland in the best jobs in the world…promoting Australia’s leading tourism destination. Now, Kayleen has taken her passion for professional and personal development and launched a new business called Life of Sundays. Using the teachings of self-development guru Louise Hay, Kayleen offers a range of half, full-day and two-day programs and retreats where you will learn to feel valued and appreciated for you are, loved, nurtured and safe to explore your story, past beliefs and to unlock your true potential. Her next “Heal Your Life, Achieve Your Dreams” workshop will be held in Brisbane on December 7 and 8.
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One lucky Global Goddess follower has a chance to win a spot at this two-day workshop, valued at $850. Simply go to http://www.theglobalgoddess.com and, make sure you’re a follower by clicking on the FOLLOW button in the bottom right hand corner. Go to this post, and in the comments section, simply tell me what your Life of Sundays would look like. The competition closes at 5pm on Wednesday, November 13. The winner will be announced in The Goddess’ Briefs on Friday, November 15. For more information or to book the workshop, contact kayleeen@lifeofsundays.com.au
The Global Goddess 