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Of sand and sea My first resort relationship was in Bermuda, I was nine and it was the Christmas of 1975. A smashing year I might add, and my ears were full of 3XY hits, in particular Carlton by Skyhooks (still my fave and if you ever care to join me on the highway, I will blare it out for you). Another cracker, Bony Moronie, was also on high rotation. Now this was not the kind of relationship you might be thinking of - crikey I was only 9 - this love triangle consisted, obviously, of three … [Read more...] about Resort Report

It’s almost two years since the tropical paradise of the Whitsundays was devastated by Cyclone Debbie. The once lush and luxurious playground was decimated by a category IV cyclone as the eye of the storm passed directly over Airlie Beach leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Unless you have lived through it, it would be hard to fathom the intensity of wind gusts in excess 260kph bellowing at the door. In the spring of 2018, I made my maiden voyage to the Whitsundays, a group of 74 … [Read more...] about Croc & Roll

I've been mentoring health practitioners, cafe owners and chefs for over five years professionally. One of the biggest issues they collectively face is how to price their product effectively. In particular, health practitioners are a shy mob when it comes to billing and they find it challenging to charge their true worth. So let's take a look at what holds one person back and propels another forward with a clear strike. Business Owner A - The Hourly Rater Charges the going hourly rate … [Read more...] about How to price yourself into your market

If you've ever been self-employed in the healing arts or other creative health pursuit then you'll probably agree that one of the biggest hurdles is knowing not what to charge, but how - and when. The path of the freelance health and wellness consultant is paved with good intentions, manifestation and hope, however hope does not pay the bills. If you are still surviving on a pray and pay existence in your wellness or food service business, it's time to now look beyond scarcity and survival and … [Read more...] about Why you should stop charging an hourly rate

Back in my nutrition student days, circa 2000, I used to jest that it was all uptox-downtox, retox-detox. Primarily because I was still living in Melbourne and hanging with the nicest, if not the wildest people! Our late night antics seemed as though they went for days. A hangover from my former life as a publican desperately trying to understand the concept of balance that people speak of. As a hedonist, this paradigm was as foreign to me as my trip to Zanzibar, however over time and eight … [Read more...] about The science of detoxification

When you live in a tourist town it is easy to take the landmarks for granted. When it comes to cooking, you’re only as good as your last dish, or for the diner it's the memory of what you recently ate and where. Think about the last café or restaurant meal you visited and then check in with your upstairs brain to see what you recall. For me, it was my beloved tarragon chicken at The Rails last Saturday because it was the best I’ve had. It was late in the afternoon, the pub was not busy and I sat … [Read more...] about Beaching to the converted

We sat down with the resident chef of The Kitchens, Samantha Gowing and asked her about all things food! Sam gives two demonstrations per day on The Cooking Stage at 11am and 1pm every Thursday, most Saturdays and the occasional Fridays. So before you go see her cook up a storm, read all about the woman behind the food!  Why did you become a chef?I’ve been cooking since I was six years old. I grew up sitting around the tables of my Dad’s first restaurant in Melbourne, and … [Read more...] about The Kitchens Resident Chef Sam Gowing