Meet a new Mornington Peninsula wine and food experience

Fancy a top-notch wine and food experience without having to worry about driving?

Mornington Peninsula standout Ten Minutes by Tractor offers its Mornington Peninsula Escape for $295 per person every Thursday as part of its membership of Ultimate Winery Experiences.

With return transfers from Melbourne CBD included, wine tasters with a hunger can leave the city behind for a hosted day at the winery and its restaurant.

The experience begins with sparkling wine on arrival, followed by a six-course lunch in the two-hatted eatery.

After lunch, guests continue to the cellar door for a guided tasting, exploring a selection of cool-climate wines and the stories behind them.

The group departs Malebourne at 10.30am and returns at 3:30pm, leaving plenty of time for tasting.

I've added this to my "to do" list for next time I am in bleak city. 

The wines of Ten Minutes by Tractor are always outstanding. Unfortunately, they no longer send me samples. Hint, hint. Maybe I somehow offended them?

See https://www.tenminutesbytractor.com.au/Experiences/Peninsula-Escape

Land of the Fee makes life difficult for African soccer fans

The United States seems determined to make life as difficult as possible for soccer fans from "unfriendly" countries hoping to attend the World Cup.

In addition to sky high ticket prices and inflated transport costs, there are also issues over visas and visa bonds.

Fans from five African nations this week got a potential $US15,000 saving - provided they are already in possession of match tickets.

The Trump administration confirmed that ticket-holding supporters from Algeria, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Tunisia will now be exempt from the outrageous requirement to post a bond before entering the "land of the fee".

The five were among 50 countries included in the requirement, which is intended to reduce visa overstays and was part of a wider immigration crackdown (apparently focused on black folk) by the White House.

But African fans planning a trip to a tournament spread across the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 still neede to have plenty of cash.

"We are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets," US assistant secretary of state for consular affairs Mora Namdar said in a media statement.

But in order to have the bond requirement waived, ticket holders from affected countries must have registered with the online FIFA Pass system by April 15. If not, tough luck.

Travellers from Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal are targeted. Those who did not secure their visas before December will not be granted entry to the US.

BBC Sport Africa also reported that some Ghanaians have been denied US entry visas.

Image: Cote d'Ivoire fans

Central Otago stakes a claim for meetings and events

Events organisers are increasingly opting for venues that encourage attendance by offering enticing leisure options for pre- and post-event activities.

Central Otago is making a major play for conventions and meetings business with the soon-to-open Cromwell Memorial Events Centre (Te Puna Mahara) aiming to become one of New Zealand's leading integrated business events destinations.

Set against the backdrop of the Kawarau River and Lake Dunstan, the new facility will open in July and is just a 45-minute drive from Queenstown International Airport.

Its location in the heart of the esteemed Central Otago wine region will increase its pulling power.

Purpose-built to host small to medium-scale conferences, meetings and business events, Te Puna Mahara has a 400-seat auditorium designed for conferences, keynote presentations and functions (MICE).

Gifted by mana whenua, the name Te Puna Mahara can be translated as “a repository of memories” or “centre of remembrance”.

Central Otago's attractions include world-class wineries, five of New Zealand's great rides, spectacular walking and cycling trails, adventure activities, and a range of boutique accommodation.

AirAsia cancels flights from Australia

Budget airline AirAsia has announced a decision to suspend services between Melbourne and Adelaide and Denpasar in Bali.

Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, general manager of Indonesia AirAsia, said the current operating environment has made these routes "no longer viable".

“This decision has been made in response to the sustained increase in global jet fuel prices caused by the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East," he said.

"This operating environment has led to the need to re-focus our network on routes that remain operationally viable at this time.

“AirAsia understands the suspension impacts long-made travel plans and we apologise for the inconvenience this decision has caused, and we want to thank our guests for their support and understanding.”

The airline's teams are contacting affected customers directly, detailing the options available.

Where possible, AirAsia is committed to getting guests to their destination either through date changes, or via its Kuala Lumpur hub.

The last flights operating between Melbourne to Denpasar and Adelaide to Denpasar will be on June 18. The impacted services are operated by Indonesia AirAsia.

Wine tasting, a stroll and some hairy cows

There is more than just wine to enjoy at the Two Hands winery cellar door in the Barossa, local tourism folk report.

One of the newer experiences in South Australia's wine central is the Kraehe Nature Trail, promoted as a "serene, self-guided walking experience" in Marananga.

The "easy-going" trail starts at cellar door and winds along the Kraehe House Block vineyard, offering views of Seppeltsfield Road palms and the historic Marananga church, with opportunities to also engage with the resident Scottish Highland cattle.

Featuring informative signs on local history and sustainability, along with 250+ new native plants, the family-friendly trail is open during cellar door hours.

The cattle came about because Two Hands proprietor Michael Twelftree has always loved cows and when the opportunity came to have his own, he jumped at the chance.

⁠Brutus was a character in Twelftree's favourite childhood comic, Asterix, and is now the name of a bullish hairy critter.

Records show that Highland cattle are the oldest registered breed in the world and, interestingly, a group of Highland Cattle is not called a herd but a “fold”. The Two Hands fold are free to graze around their large acreage paddock living the high life.

See https://twohandswines.com/pages/brutus-family

Massive upgrade for Toronto

 

Canada’s busiest airport is to get a much-need upgrade that will help it service increasing numbers of passengers, news hub Travel Pulse reports.

The upgrading project at Toronto's Pearson International Airport broke ground this week and is being billed as one of the biggest airport infrastructure projects in Canadian history. 

The first phase of the decade-long renovation will see airfield technology upgrades and expansion, as well as an overhaul of the baggage network.

“The future is very bright, and our 52,000 workers will expand to 68,000 jobs over that term, as well, at a time where good jobs, stable jobs, are very important to the country and locally,” says Pearson CEO Deborah Flint.

During phase one, which is earmarked at $3 billion dollars, a new, state-of-the-art airfield lighting control and management system will enhance visibility and guidance to support operations on runways and taxiways. 

In Terminal 1, new luggage carousels will be installed, and investments are being made across 30 kilometres of its baggage infrastructure, with new cameras and sensors for early-issue detection being added.

"We know that in today's time, Pearson must be ambitious, we must be dynamic, and we must be transformative,” says Flint.

Pearson welcomed 45 million passengers in 2025, and expects to grow to 60 million by the early 2030s.

Flint said the project includes a new high-speed taxiway to improve movement of airplanes between gates and runways.

"You hear it at many airports, but in this case, as it's completed, you'll hear less of the pilot saying: 'We're here early and we're waiting for a gate.' So this will help with that."

Ontario transportation minister Prabmeet Sarkaria told reporters at a news conference that Pearson is an important piece of infrastructure in the province and country.

"It's a huge step forward to modernize and expand a cornerstone of Ontario and Canada's transportation system," Sakaria said. "It means upgraded infrastructure, improved passenger experiences, expanded capacity and the ability to support Ontario's growth for decades to come."