Bridget Randolph, founder of luxury swimwear company Kiribati London, shares her travel highs and lows, tips and experiences - from luxury in the Maldives to getting lost in Rome. Read on for a special iloho offer on her stunning collection of Kiribati swimwear.
The best holiday I've ever had was...
The Maldives, without a doubt. Diving with turtles, lounging in hammocks, sundowners on the beach... heaven! We stayed at the Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru (www.banyantree.com) on a secluded atoll in the Maldives archipelago.
If I could only recommend one place to see before you die it would be...
False Bay, South Africa. You can take a boat out and watch Great White Sharks feed. It's terrifying!
My one piece of travel advice is...
Pack light and do everything.
The best hotel I've ever stayed in is...
Hotel Costes (www.hotelcostes.com) in Paris. I was lucky enough to discover it before it became so renowned, but it is still a dark, mysterious haven that oozes naughtiness!
And the worst hotel I've ever stayed in is...
I have stayed in many truly horrible places, but I suppose if a hotel isn't pretending to be what it's not you can't really be disappointed. I think the most cringy place I ever stayed was a hotel called Deerhurst Resort in Ontario which was more conference centre than hotel. It had me giggling for days because it was so similar to the resort used in Dirty Dancing.
For a perfect holiday I need these ingredients...
A backgammon board, a great book and enough time to get properly lost.
I always pack...
Sun cream and the phone number of a friend of a friend who lives where I'm going. It's the only true way to see a place.
This year I have travelled to...
My husband-to-be is Canadian so we always disappear to the freshwater lakes near Lake Muskoka in Ontario, Canada during the summer, which I really love. This year has also been the "Year of Weddings" for us so we have also been to Italy and France a spoiling amount!
Next year I'm dying to go to...
I'm a bit of a nature nerd at heart so next year I would love to go and do some scuba diving off Australia.
The worst travel experience I've ever had is... Ryanair stranded me overnight in Rome; I was travelling alone and couldn't speak Italian. Since then I have vowed both to learn Italian and never to fly with Ryanair again.
My ideal travel companion is... Tina Fey. Can you imagine how much fun you would have?
Visit Kiribati online now and get 10% off the collection with special code iloho753 (enter the code at checkout).
Launched in June 2009, the Kiribati London collection of bikinis and swimsuits has had immediate success and is currently available at Heidi Klein boutiques in London and will be at Holt Renfrew in Canada from December. Kiribati also ships worldwide via the website www.kiribati-london.com.
Photo credits: The Maldives by daniel pozo; Great White Shark by hermanusbackpackers; Muskoka Lakes by Mary.
Say hello to the Red Crab of Christmas Island. Around this time every year, Christmas Island - an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean - sees the annual migration of about 100 million Red Crabs from the forests to the sea to breed. This phenomenon has been called one of the wonders of the natural world. If you're keen to see it with your own eyes, the best spots to watch are said to be Flying Fish Cove, Ethel Beach and Greta Beach.
And onto the less fortunate Hairy Crab or Chinese Mitten Crab ("before" shot above, "after" shot below). Revered in Shanghai as the pinnacle of all culinary delicacies, especially for the female's roe, Hairy Crab Season is now in full swing. Chinese spend hundreds of yuan on this annual treat and restaurants in Shanghai and Hong Kong go into Hairy Crab menu overdrive.
Have you tried Hairy Crab or seen the Red Crab Migration on Christmas Island? We've love to hear about your experiences, please leave us a comment.
Photo Credits: "Red crab Christmas Island" by Peter from Perth; "A Crab Close-up" by triin; "Chinese Mitten Crab" by 囧-WQ-囧. Via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Canberra might be Australia's capital city but it doesn't exactly top a list of the country's must-do destinations. While both Aussies and tourists can be unfairly beastly about the place, locals say stuff 'em – and that means there's more chance of a table at Silo, Canberra's best bakery and café bar none.
Everyday there's a queue of hungry Canberrians outside the whitewashed walled café in the cosmopolitan suburb of Kingston, including a smattering of famous media types and often a buffed up member of the Brumbies Rugby union team who play nearby, waiting to take away some of Silo's delectable artisan style bread and pastries - try the blackcurrant and Cabernet tart if it hasn't sold out.
Silo's walk-in cheese room at the back of the café is the place for any fan of the hard stuff (or washed-rind varieties, or soft cheeses) to feast their eyes upon.
If it's still morning, queue for one of their tables and settle down for a fabulous brunch. The menu (served before 11.30am only – show up at 11.31am and you'll be dismissed with a curt shrug) is full of delicious treats, but I find it impossible to go past the belt-busting Basque piperade with grilled chorizo - though the chilli jam on fried eggs and tomatoes has me cursing that I don't have two stomachs. One of these choices plus a flat white coffee is a legendary way to start the day, though be warned: Silo's staff are renowned for their breathtaking rudeness. But grit your teeth and ignore them as the food is so good, even this Miss Manners will come back for more.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 7am – 4pm.
36 Giles Street, Kingston, Canberra, ACT 2604, Australia; Tel: +61 (0)2 6260 6060; Web: www.silobakery.com.au.
Check us out over at WanderFood Wednesday.
Boxing kangaroos 2 by aaardvaark is today's hottest shot. Why? Well because Captain Kangaroo premiered on this day in 1955.
Kind of tentative, we know, but we thought this picture was great!
There's a whole lot more to Australia than the Sydney Opera House and Ayers Rock. In fact most of Australia's stunning and unusual sights are completely missed by travellers who focus on the well-worn East Coast trail from Sydney to Queensland. Here's a selection of some Australian places that you may have missed: see all these and you'll have seen more than most of the locals!
West Macdonald Ranges and Kings Canyon, Northern Territory: Every visitor wants to see Ayers Rock, so go and see it, just make sure that you take the back road to Alice Springs via Kings Canyon and the West MacDonald Ranges. The colours and gorges of this area have inspired artists for years: visit and you'll know why.
Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory: You may have heard of Kakadu National Park south east of Darwin, but what about nearby Litchfield National Park? Litchfield doesn't have as many sealed roads, cappuccinos or tourists, but is that why you go to the territory's tropical north? Instead experience remote water holes and amazing bird life.
Lawn Hill, Queensland: Most of northern Queensland is off-limits for swimming, well unless you are a crocodile that is. Lawn Hill is an oasis, a beautiful gorge of warm thermal water, bird life and safe swimming. It's the only place you can swim outside of a swimming pool between the Gulf of Carpentaria and Mount Isa. The campground consists of secluded sites within gum trees.
Winton, Queensland: Winton, a tiny country town, is the jumping off spot to see the dinosaur stampede footprints at nearby Lark Quarry. Spend a day in Winton itself, have a drink at the art deco North Gregory Hotel and visit the tacky-sounding, but incredibly entertaining and informative, Waltzing Matilda Centre.
Bungle Bungles, Western Australia: Unknown to the outside world until about 20 years ago, this enormous of area eroded landscape looks like something from a CGI special effects department. In the north of the state the moon-like landscape is so extensive that you have to take a flight to appreciate it.
Cape le Grande National Park, Western Australia: Near to the town of Esperance, a remote port on the Southern coast, are the deserted and stunning beaches of Cape le Grande National Park. The sand is blindingly white, almost pure quartz, and it literally squeaks when you walk on it. The sea is an incredible shade of turquoise blue, and seals were the only surfers on the day we visited.
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia: Many visitors go to Bendigo or Ballarat in Victoria to see a historic mining town. Head instead to Kalgoorlie and see a real, living breathing town whose historic buildings are still in use. Visit the "superpit", a working gold mine right in the centre of town, and check out the "skimpy" bars full of modern-day miners and half-clad waitresses. No, Kalgoorlie is not politically correct, but it's definitely authentic.
Old Ghan Railway Track, South Australia: This remote outback road, along the historic Ghan railway line, is much less travelled than the better known Birdsville Track. You can take the luxurious modern Ghan train from Adelaide all the way to Darwin, or get your hands dirty and grab a 4WD. The 4WD track takes you along the more authentic, remote and beautiful old Ghan track that skirts Lake Eyre. Look out for genuine railway sleepers and pins, which are yours for the taking. Most of the towns along this route died when the trains stopped in the 1970s.
Coober Pedy, South Australia: Subterranean towns are rare. Even rarer are real towns where people, not just tourists, live underground to cut heating and air con bills. Churches, shops, motels and campgrounds are all available underground here. The name 'Coober Pedy' comes from the local Aboriginal phrase "white fella's hole in the ground"; the town is also famous for being the opal capital of the world.
Franklin River, Tasmania: Tasmania's remote West Coast receives a lot of rain, and the dark temperate rain forest is a world away from mainland Australia's deserts and tropics. The remote and brooding landscape of the Franklin River is sinister and appealing at the same time. You can see why the early convicts were desperate to escape, and why so few of them managed to so.
