By Catriona Rowntree
It’s going to be easy to say no to single use plastics with the Yourstraw Personal Set of two natural bamboo drinking straws and stainless steel straw cleaner in a handy calico drawstring pouch. Pop them in your bag and take them on your next journey, whether it’s to the local cafe or to the other side of the world. $7. greenfootmama.com
Sally Bloomfield, owner of Bloomfield Bali in Umalas – between Seminyak and Canggu – has an amazing travel schedule. She visited Bali about five times in 2018, as well as Italy and Sri Lanka. This year, she is looking to expand her hotel brand and so will be focusing more on destinations for inspiration such as Malibu, California, the Greek Island of Kos, and Tulum, a town on the Caribbean coastline of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. With so much travel, she would certainly have a few go-to items for her suitcase, so we asked, and Sally said: “I always pack my own pillow, and Bluetooth speaker; never know where you might break out in a dance!!” She’s my kinda gal! $69. jbhifi.com.au
When I was in the Central West NSW town of Orange as an Australia Day Ambassador, I needed to zip around and take in that wonderful, tree-change destination, so I reached for a GoGet. It’s a great concept, this car-share network thing! GoGet is the largest of its kind in Australia and, now that I’ve joined, I can use any of their cars by the hour or the day for a reasonable rate (and petrol is included in the hourly price). There are 3,000+ cars across the county, including hatchbacks, vans, SUVs, and convertibles, and you don’t need to travel to find a GoGet, because you’ll find cars parked on the street, in car parks, and at shopping centres and airports in five Australian cities – Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney. Unlike renting a car, you don’t need to meet someone to pick up keys to get a car. Instead, you just making a booking, tap on, and drive away! After the trip, you just return the car and tap off. Too easy! goget.com.au
Road trip with kids on the cards? Here’s a clever, car-organisation gadget which could take the pain out of keeping the back seat tidy on car trips. The Diono portable cargo bin promises to keep toys, books, snacks and drinks organised with multi-pockets, insulated drink pockets, and deep buckets. And it’s waterproof because we all know what inevitably happens while counting down kms to the next stop… $24.95. diono.com
Does anyone else pine for the days when the world was filled with lots of colourful currencies, and passport stamps were things to be collected and cherished? Well, starting this month, we can (or rather our little darlings can) get their own ‘Australian Adventure Passport’ stamped as they visit participating attractions all over this wide brown land. Created to “collect stamps and memories as you travel our amazing nation” by Jo and Bryce Rothwell (a children’s book writer-illustrator couple, from Warburton in Victoria), the passports record travels to aquariums, mazes, penguins and many more destinations “for adventurers of all ages”. $10. rothwellpublishing.com
In September 2018, we were fortunate to interview fashion designer Yeojin Bae about her travels. We asked Yeojin to tell us about something she always packs when she travels. Do you know what she said? “A hat that can protect me from the sun but also complete a look in the evening.” In Yeojin’s honour, we share with you the Everyday Sun Hat from Solbari. Packable, lightweight and adjustable, the Everyday Sun Hat offers exceptional sun protection for the face, eyes, ears and back of the neck. Ideal for sun protection during a day in the outdoors, at the beach, by the pool or, for Yeojin, while road-tripping in picture-perfect Provence, France. $60. Solbari.com