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The Departure Lounge
In Spotlight

Aurora Australis beckons this winter

africa-safari-co-tasmania

While the Northern Lights must wait… good news is the Southern Lights are yours to witness, experience and cherish… grab the opportunity to live it up under the spectacular Aurora Australis. Celebrate Australia and the blessed best of nature in the magical Tasmania this winter.

  • africa-safari-co-tasmania

Enjoy Tasmania while searching for the famous Southern Lights – the spectacular Aurora Australis. Enroute enjoy the beautiful city of Hobart and its many attractions, visit Hobart’s oldest vineyard at Moorilla, indulge in the fine tastes of the Huon Valley including treats from local providores, get in touch with nature at Bruny Island and discover the infamous Port Arthur and its historic site.

Twin share price per person from $3,950* | Extension package per person from $995*

The Search for the Southern Lights Tour includes:

  • Private touring with a local guide
  • Transport in a well-appointed vehicle
  • 6 nights’ accommodation
  • 6 x breakfast, 6 x lunch
  • Entry to MONA
  • Entry to Port Arthur
  • Entry to UnZoo Devil Sanctuary
  • Bruny Island Ferry
  • A range of tastings
  • 2-evenings guided night-time photography and National Parks Pass

*minimum 6 guests

Cradle Mountain Extension includes:

  • Private touring with a local guide
  • Transport in a well-appointed vehicle
  • 3 nights’ accommodation
  • 3 x breakfast, 3 x lunch
  • Entry to Devils@Cradle
  • Entry to Marakoopa Caves and National Parks

 

For detailed itinerary, click here

For reservations contact your Executive Edge Travel Designer on 1300 618 334 or email leisure@executiveedge.com.au to experience the edge on travel today.

The Departure Lounge
In Experience, Explore, Reviews, Spotlight

Three more reasons to head to Tasmania

Tasmania wine fest

Just head to Tassie and stay there.. if you need any more reasons than you already have, here are three fabulous events lined up to ensure soaking up the island spirit!

  • Tasmania wine fest
  • Tasmania wine fest

Vibrance Festival 2021

Vibrance Festival celebrates Tasmanian street art and culture.

Vibrance Festival is Tasmania’s first and only street art festival, dedicated to the painting of large-scale murals and offers a program of music, local food and beverages, street art tours, film nights, skateboarding demonstrations, public spray wall, markets and more.

In its third iteration, Vibrance Festival 2021 will paint 20+ murals, dotted along the length of Elizabeth Street, Hobart. Expect one of the town’s busiest streets to come alive with Tasmania’s best mural and street artists painting as you wander along the festival trail. Who knows what else you might find as you explore? Expect music in alleyways, pop-up events, tiny bars tucked away, as well as family-friendly spots to sit and watch or join in with some painting.

Vibrance aims to educate people on street art as a legitimate artform and activate the many unused spaces in Hobart’s urban environment. Largely free, Vibrance aims to be an accessible and inclusive event with something for all age groups.

For more details: https://www.vibrancefestival.com/

 

Tasmanian Wine Festival 2021

The second edition of the Tasmanian Wine Festival returns to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens February 26 – 28, 2021!

Explore the beauty of the gardens, whilst discovering and tasting the finest wines Tasmania has to offer. Follow the trail to find Tasmania’s best winemakers, waiting to give you rare insights into their wine and the winemaking process.

Some of the vineyards include Frogmore Creek, Observatory Hill Vineyard, Derwent Estate, Clover Hill Wines, Pooley Wines, Domaine Dawnelle, Wobbly Boot Vineyard and many more!

But what’s a great wine without great food, music and company?

Perhaps an oyster to enjoy with your sparkling, a burger or pizza with your red or some seafood with your white? Tasmania also welcomes some of the state’s best food producers and vendors.

The main stage will welcome local musicians, including Jay Jarome, Uncle Gus and The Rimshots and more yet to be announced. Dance the afternoon away or make yourself comfortable on the grass.

For more details: https://taswinefest.com.au/

Ten Days on the Island

Ten Days on the Island is Tasmania’s statewide international arts festival. Since 2001, Ten Days on the Island has celebrated Tasmania’s island culture, offering a platform on which to profile and promote Tasmania’s innovative, creative, and resourceful character and unique cultural identity. Every part of Australia is, always was and always will be, Aboriginal land. As a community gathering-place, a festival of arts, cultural exchange and celebration and as a site for the sharing of ideas and stories, Ten Days on the Island pays respect to the palawa – original owners and cultural custodians – of all the lands and waters across lutruwita (Tasmania) upon which our Festival takes place.

In 2021, they celebrate 21 years of Ten Days on the Island’s 20th anniversary. The new Festival model, curated by internationally renowned Artistic Director Lindy Hume, will deliver an epic 10-day adventure over three weekends in the three regional heartlands of Tasmania. Local projects and artists will intersect with a dynamic national and international program, designed to complement and amplify bold Tasmanian creativity.

The organisers’ commitment to regional Tasmania is strong and proud, bringing artists and communities together to share arts experiences in familiar and surprising environments right across their extraordinary island.

For more details: https://www.tendays.org.au/

The Departure Lounge
In Reviews, Spotlight

A by Adina opens in Canberra

A by Adina Canberra

Toga Far East (TFE) Hotels has opened its very first A by Adina in Canberra, marking the global debut of the Adina Apartment Hotels premium brand.

  • A by Adina Canberra
  • A by Adina Canberra
  • A by Adina Canberra

The soft opening was marked with a ribbon cutting, ahead of the official brand and hotel launch scheduled for February. The hotel’s general manager, Jelena Bojanic, was in attendance along with dignitaries including Canberra Airport CEO, Stephen Byron, and TFE Hotel’s own ACT/NSW regional general manager, Emma Hynes.

Operating across four levels, the Bates Smart-designed apartment hotel will play a key role in the strategy to enliven Canberra’s CBD. Featuring 130 apartments, a gymnasium and a 24/7 service concierge, guests can “stay their way” at A by Adina, as the hotel promises a one-of-a-kind experience.

Ms Bojanic said all guests have their stay tailored to them the moment they step into the hotel.

A by Adina is located in Canberra’s city centre, 400 metres from the National Convention Centre Canberra and 500 metres from Canberra Centre. The hotel is also near some of Canberra’s best dining and retail options along with new retail tenants, including Arc Café by Redbrick opening in February, Mu Omakase & Cicada Bar opening in April, and Meat and Wine Co opening in May. The precinct also features its own Melburnian-style laneway, connecting to Canberra Theatre Centre.

With chocolates and a bottle of wine on arrival and a 1pm check out, along with the flexibility to change booking one day before arrival, TFE Hotel CEO, Antony Ritch, said A by Adina sets a new precedent.

TFE Hotels has officially launched their premium A by Adina hotel brand today, and with it the concept of ‘hotel living’, both of which are set to elevate TFE Hotels’ beloved Adina Hotels brand into a class of its own. A by Adina Canberra open and A by Adina Sydney opening April 2021.

The Departure Lounge
In Reviews, Spotlight

In a class of its own – W Melbourne

W Melbourne

Melbourne’s first luxury lifestyle hotel with its rebellious Flinders Lane address, W Melbourne opened in February 2021 and takes its design cues from the streets of Australia’s cultural capital.

  • W Melbourne
  • W Melbourne
  • W Melbourne
  • W Melbourne

Holding the back-lane entrance keys to what’s New/Next in the city and revealing a playground where the early risers to the late-night revellers can turn up the tracks in this truly 24/7 city.

Extending the laneway culture inside, 294 chic rooms and suites peel back the layers and revel in the city’s creative history. 828 square metres of ultra-modern event space will set the stage for spectacular events.

Vibrant restaurants and bars will amp up the experience; with WARABI set to shake up Japanese dining, Lollo to take you from day, night to beyond with modern Melbourne menu, Curious will be the bar to see and be seen in and Culprit a café come wine bar will serve up your double shot latte, to that afternoon spritz. Detox in the state-of-the-art FIT gym then detox with a dip and a sip in the WET® pool, all whilst soaking up the city skyline views.

Here is a sneak peek into W – Melbourne’s first luxury lifestyle hotel.

  • Location: 408 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
  • Rooms & Suites: 294 (including 29 suites)
  • Events: Great Room @ 320 banquet style and 4 breakout spaces from 20 – 90 persons
  • Dining: 5 x unique dining and bar spaces
  • WET & FIT: 24 / 7 health club & pool

When you book W through Executive Edge Travel, you will have access to the MI-Lux Luminous benefits:

  • Complimentary a la carte breakfast for two in Lollo (Collins Ground Level)
  • Welcome amenity
  • Complimentary hotel Wi-Fi
  • Early Check-in/late Check-out, based on availability.
  • VIP status provided
  • Priority for complimentary room upgrade (based on availability upon arrival).

Contact Executive Edge Travel (https://www.executiveedge.com.au/contact-us/) to book your stay.

The Departure Lounge
In Destinations, Explore, Featured, News

Tourism Australia launches $5 million week-long campaign

Tourism Australia

A week-long tourism advertising blitz will kick off across the country, aimed at getting Australians to book their next domestic holiday and boost visitation to those regions that need it the most.

  • Tourism Australia

The $5 million marketing push is the first major activation of Tourism Australia’s Holiday Here This Year campaign for 2021 and aims to inspire people to take a well-deserved break and provide much-needed support to tourism operators and communities around the country.

Tourism minister Dan Tehan says the campaign was part of the Morrison Government’s ongoing support for the tourism industry.

“We want Australians to get excited about holidaying in Australia,” Tehan says.

The campaign, which runs from January 31 to February 6 has been developed with Tourism Australia’s creative agency M&C Saatchi and media agency UM.

It is the latest burst of activity as part of Tourism Australia’s ongoing domestic marketing initiative Holiday Here This Year, which aims to stimulate demand throughout the sector by getting Australians travelling safely across the country and booking holiday experiences.

It will feature Australian destinations, tourism products and experiences, including areas impacted by last summer’s bushfires.

Tourism Australia chief marketing officer Susan Coghill says the campaign taps into strong consumer sentiment to travel domestically.

The Departure Lounge
In Explore, Featured, News

NGV Triennial brings AI & Machine Learning to Art

NGV Triennial 2020 Installation of Refik Anandol

Australia’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has officially launched the “NGV Triennial” exhibition, showcasing artworks by more than 100 artists around the world.

  • NGV Triennial 2020 Installation of Refik Anandol

To bring together more than 100 artists, designers and collectives from more than 30 countries, featuring 86 projects, in the era of COVID, was always going to be a tall ask. It has happened and it has a huge “wow” factor with a mixture of major household names as well as completely unexpected, quirky discoveries.

The Triennial 2020 is built around four broad themes with porous borders: Illumination, Reflection, Conservation and Speculation. Even after wading through the voluminous catalogue — more like a piece of bulky furniture than a read-in-bed book — the themes are more like general conceptual props than clear categories.

The concern is with the ability for art to challenge assumptions about the status quo, alert us to impending disasters, suggest alternatives, dazzle us with unexpected inventions and inspire us with wondrous creations of undreamt-of beauty.

Based in LA, Turkish digital artist Refik Anadol brings his signature style of AI and media-enriched works to explore the relationship between technology and art. His futuristic piece Quantum Memories draws upon a dataset of more than two hundred million nature-related images from the internet processed with quantum computing software, followed by machine learning algorithms.

The natural landscape is converted to a digitalized collective memory in an audio-visual form, where it presents an alternate dimension between generative algorithm and the natural world – exploiting the possibilities of art with AI soon by the transformation of rigid data into a flexible art piece with emotions.

Visit the NGV website to learn more. The “NGV Triennial” exhibition is on display until April 18, 2021.

The Departure Lounge
In Destinations, Explore, Featured, News

Crown Towers Sydney – Redefining luxury

Crown Towers

Redefining bespoke luxury in the heart of the harbour, Crown Sydney has officially opened its doors. Crown Towers rises majestically above the vibrant Barangaroo precinct offering globally renowned service in an unparalleled harbour side location.

  • Crown Towers
  • Crown Towers
  • Crown Towers
  • Crown Towers
  • Crown Towers

Take in the mesmerising panorama of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House from the outdoor pool, bask in pure escapism at Crown Spa, and explore the many acclaimed restaurants, bars and luxury retail stores located within the unrivalled urban resort.

Australia’s most luxurious hotel, the 349-rooms (and 22-villa) Crown Sydney, lives up to all its six stars with glamour and aplomb.

As expected from a Crown property, fine food with exemplary aesthetics and theatrics, is at the forefront of the new Sydney branch.

The glittering, twirling facade looming high above the Barangaroo fold is so high it is officially Sydney’s tallest hotel. The Crown Towers Sydney is also the city’s first-ever six-star stay.

While the Crown Tower’s Villas and Level 26 venues are still experiencing final touches, the hotel is very much open for business, and creating vibes at that.

The wow-factor of the towers is apparent as soon as step inside — starting with a breath taking custom-made, six-storey chandelier in the lobby, featuring a coiling display of 396 crystals that put on a light show every night.

Already nine of 14 dining venues have launched — Californian export Nobu, of the wildly popular Japanese-fusion chain, is already booked up until April.

The hotel boasts 349 rooms, including 20 yet-to-open villas that come with a private butler.

Crown Towers Sydney villas and venues open by April, but there is no doubt the newest Crown offering has met the six-star brief. It is already the city’s hottest dining precincts and in a food scene like Sydney’s, that is hitting the brief out of the park.

The Departure Lounge
In Explore, Featured, News

Bring your car for free on the Spirit of Tasmania

Spirit of Tasmania

If a trip to Tasmania on board the Spirit of Tasmania ferry is in the pipeline, you will now be able to take your car for free.

  • Spirit of Tasmania

The Federal Government has temporarily increased the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme making it possible for you to set sail into your dream road trip and bring your car for free.

“COVID-19 has significantly affected tourism in Tasmania and the number of passenger vehicles travelling across Bass Strait which is why we are moving to increase the rebate,” Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said.

“This is a critical and targeted boost for tourism, as visitors who travel to Tasmania by sea are among the most valuable to the industry, they spend more, stay longer and travel further into our regional areas,” he said.

This offer is available for new bookings for travel between 1 March and 30 June 2021, unless sold out prior. Availability is limited – book now so you do not miss out.

For your peace of mind, you can amend your booking online without incurring any amendment fees, and if border restrictions prevent you from travelling, cancellation fees will also be waived, giving you the confidence to book now.

 

*Conditions apply. Offer available for new bookings made between 14 January 2021 – 30 June 2021, or until the allocation of $6 million worth of tickets has been sold. Offer applies to eligible passenger vehicles for travel between 1 March 2021 – 30 June 2021. Vehicle discount only applicable when booked with a standard Spirit or Flexi passenger fare. Vehicle must be booked prior to travel. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount offer. Free vehicle fare based on a standard car, campervan/motorhome less than 2m wide and up to 6m in length, motorbike or pushbike. Vehicle greater than 2m wide and 6m in length (i.e. caravan) will receive a discount equivalent to that of a standard car. $10 booking fee applies per person each way when booking via the Customer Contact Centre and Reservations Counter. Card payment fees may apply.

The Departure Lounge
In Featured, News, Spotlight

The Dry breaks Australian box office drought

The Dry

Australians are flocking to locally produced films as Hollywood puts the brakes on new releases.

  • The Dry

After a year of Covid-19-enforced shutdowns, the Australian film industry has entered 2021 in a strong position – with The Dry grossing almost $13m at the box office since its opening on 1 January.

The Robert Connolly film – financed though Screen Australia – had the fifth-highest Australian opening day for a local film in history and has outperformed Hollywood blockbuster Wonder Woman 1984 and animated family film The Croods: A New Age for the third weekend in a row.

Another Australian film, Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and starring Naomi Watts, also recorded a strong opening result, grossing $2.5m since its release six days ago.

Screen Australia’s CEO Graeme Mason said the commercial success of The Dry was a heartening start to the year.

“It’s one of those titles that comes along where Australians see themselves and respond incredibly well,” he said.

“We have one or two of them a year and I think The Dry is definitely one of them. And it’s the first time in a very long time Australia has had the No 1 and No 2 films at the box office.”

It could outperform Australian classics such as Muriel’s Wedding, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and The Man from Snowy River.

Although cinemas in most states are still operating at less than full capacity, The Dry’s commercial success has not happened in spite of the pandemic, Keogh said, but partly because of it.

“It’s an excellent film, but there’s definitely not as much competition as there would generally be around January, so it’s getting more screen coverage,” he said.

“Because of Covid, Hollywood is holding back a lot of films at the moment, which is putting some pressure on our industry – so these great Australian movies are very welcome for us right now.”

Australian films took $22.6m at the local box office in 2020, with The Invisible Man, which was shot in Sydney between July and September 2019, accounting for more than one third of the total.

The Departure Lounge
In Explore, Featured, Inspire, News

$71 million each to be an International Space Station crew

Space station crew

If your travel bug has taken a vaccine in 2020 and you want to experience something beyond an international flight, here is something to consider.

  • Space station crew
  • Space Station

For $71 million, you could have been part of the first all-private International Space Station crew. The first fully private, multi-person space station crew has been introduced: three men who are each paying $US55 million ($71 million) to fly on a SpaceX rocket.

The flight will mark the first tourist flight to the ISS since 2009, when Russian Soyuz rockets carried individual passengers.

An experienced former NASA astronaut will be mission commander and pilot.

Each passenger had to pass medical tests and will get 15 weeks of training.

They will be led by a former NASA astronaut now working for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the trip for next January.

Space tourists have taken individual flights to the ISS aboard Russian rockets, but this will be the first flight carrying multiple private astronauts, on a private rocket.

The first crew will spend eight days at the space station and will take one or two days to get there aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule following lift-off from Cape Canaveral.

Other space companies like Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin plan to take paying customers on up-and-down flights lasting just minutes. These trips — much more affordable with seats going for hundreds of thousands versus millions — could kick off this year.

Axiom’s first customers include Larry Connor, a real estate and tech entrepreneur from Dayton, Ohio, Canadian financier Mark Pathy and Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe, a close friend of Israel’s first astronaut Ilan Ramon, who was killed in the space shuttle Columbia accident in 2003.

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/

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