Can You Plan Australia With ChatGPT? An Honest Answer From a Travel Advisor
AI can sketch an Australia itinerary in ten seconds. It cannot tell you the real fare, the real distances or the right season. Here is what I check.
Australia and New Zealand by Ship: What You Gain, and What You Give Up
I sailed Auckland to Sydney, and I have driven both New Zealand islands. That combination answers the question people actually ask. Not whether to cruise this part of the world, but which parts of it are better by ship, and which parts a ship will quietly cost you.
Cruise Lines I’ve Sailed Personally: Here Is What Each One Is Actually Like
Here is who each line is right for, who it is wrong for, and what I would tell you before you put down a deposit.
The Last Hour Before the Summit: What Kilimanjaro Actually Feels Like
When my group pulled out at the last minute, I climbed Kilimanjaro on the Rongai route with a full guide and porter crew.
The Great Barrier Reef: What Nobody Tells You Before You Go
Everyone has seen the photographs. The coral in impossible colors, the fish suspended in water so clear it barely looks like water. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most photographed places on earth, which means that by the time most people get in, they think they know what to expect. They do not.
How to Choose a Cruise Line
The difference between the right cruise line and the wrong one is not incremental. It is the difference between one of the best trips of your life and a week you are quietly relieved to have finished.
The Queensland I Grew Up In and Why I Keep Going Back
I left Brisbane in my early twenties and did not look back for a long time. That is not a criticism of the place. It is just what you do when you are young and the world is large and everything you are looking for seems to be somewhere other than where you already are.
New Zealand Through a Local’s Eyes
There is a difference between visiting a country and being brought into it. My partner is a Kiwi. His family lives in Auckland. I have been going there long enough that parts of it feel less like a destination and more like a second home. Here is what that changes.
Driving the Great Ocean Road: The Version Most People Miss
Most people drive the Great Ocean Road in a day. They leave Melbourne early, stop at a few lookouts, photograph the Twelve Apostles in the middle of the day when the light is flat and the car parks are full, and drive back to the city in time for dinner. They will tell you they have done the Great Ocean Road. They have done a version of it.
Why I Keep Choosing the Harder Thing
There is a version of my life where I stayed at Qantas. Seventeen years in, senior leadership roles, a career most people in aviation would consider the destination rather than the journey. I walked away anyway. Here is why.
What Living Without a Fixed Address Taught Me
I left Sydney in mid-2023 with one carry-on and one backpack and haven’t had a fixed address since. Here is what nomadic life actually taught me.
The best trips start with a good conversation.
If something you’ve read here has put a destination on your list, let’s talk about making it happen.