November News

At last I feel I can write to you again. After many months of Melbourne lockdown and with many of my readers living in Victoria, I have not wanted to share news of eating out and more recently, travelling over the border. Now that my old hometown is reopening and the hospitality and entertainment industries – among others – can slowly find a pathway to a new normal, it seems like a good idea to share news of the north.

Appropriately for Halloween there is a big black snake in my front garden. Yep, true dinks, and possibly on a hot date with the garden hose. Don’t worry, Max is safely sprawled across the desk as I write, his bushy tail sweeping the keyboard, so apologies in advance for any typos. I do hope the snake catcher will visit and transfer him or her a mere 100 feet away. Such is life in the sub tropics.

Speaking of wild life, we had the great pleasure of travelling to regional Queensland as news burst of the Byron bubble inclusion a few weeks ago – and breaking news, QLD is now open to much of NSW. Faster than a rat out of a rice paddy, I was over the border in a flash and on the way to Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach. Rainbow Beach is a fabulous town with beautiful beaches and great food. The Carlo Sand Blow above is a unique “moonscape” sand mass covering over 15 hectares and overlooks the towering coloured sands and the coastline from Double Island Point to Inskip Peninsula and the southern tip of Fraser Island. Please pop on this on your trip list as it is a wonderful destination.

We’ve also been very lucky to fly – yes fly – to Hamilton Island (above) and spent time on Hammo and also in Airlie thanks to the wonderful John Hansen. Joyfully, we have eaten great food wherever we went and the three dining experiences at La Tabella Trattoria at Airlie Beach were the standout. However, the highlight was meeting Siri. No, we didn’t ask “Hey Siri, can you come for lunch?”, but we did invite Karen Jacobsen The GPS Girl, voice over artist of Apple’s Siri, to come along with her partner. Naturally we navigated our way through lunch with conversations about their life in Manhattan and their journey home to Mackay and the Whitsundays. Stay tuned for a plant-based chat and recipe with Karen on my blog imminently.

Closer to home, the food in Byron continues to shine however we do have a chef shortage on our hands, scroll down for more. A friendly new joint called Saltwater Social Club opened recently and has unstuck the old Sticky Wicket on Jonson Street, attracting both local and tourist traffic with its policy of Good Times, High Tides, Late Nights, High Vibes. Great cocktails and snacks a-plenty, cushioned with Halcyon House inspired decor and a hefty nod to retro surf. Further up the street, away from the beach you’ll find The Avocado Hut. Owned and operated for over a year by Emily & Sam (whose Mum owns Arcadia in Gertrude Street, Fitzroy – it all comes full circle, doesn’t it?), this lively hutch is dishing up beautiful, healthy food and not all of it’s smashed, nor made just from plants. It’s breezy and easy with a surf-chic style.

With all this good news about borders and business I thought I’d share a happy snap. The early ‘70s were good to me and my hair, especially dancing when I thought there was no one watching in this photo, recently unearthed by my darling brother Chris a.k.a. Boofhead, taken at the Head of the River C.1971. I still have this joyous spirit, especially in the surf, the sky, on the dance floor and the open road.

What’s your super power?