New Asian journeys go above and beyond for wildlife lovers

Luxe travel group andBeyond is marking 20 years in Asia by launching five Limited Edition Small Group Journeys for 2028. 

Each of the tours will be hosted by an expert whose life’s work is bound up with the landscapes, species and cultures they reveal. 

The collection will include:

# Red Pandas and Tigers, Nepal, with naturalist Harsha Jayaramaiah
# Snow Leopard Expedition, Ladakh, with wildlife scientist Dr Raghu Chundawat
# Rediscovering Monkey Kingdom, Sri Lanka, with andBeyond private guide Toby Sinclair
# From Himalaya to Kolkata, a Ganges cruise, also with Sinclair, who was an associate producer on the BBC series Ganges
# From Patna to Kolkata, a Lower Ganges cruise, with historian and author Rudrangshu Mukherjee

The journeys build on andBeyond’s Asia story, which began in India in 2006 and has since grown to include teams in Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, as well as its first owned lodge in the region, andBeyond Punakha River Lodge, which opened in 2023. 

Specialising in tailor-made, high-end travel, andBeyond says it is guided by its philosophy of “Care of the Land, Wildlife & People”, weaving conservation and community support into every immersive nature, wildlife and cultural experience.

Departures are limited, with intimate group sizes, expert expedition leaders and access "shaped by long-standing regional relationships". 

See www.andBeyond.com

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts does its bit for the less fortunate

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is among my favourite hospitality brands; its hotels have a relaxed charm across the board. 

Mövenpick this week launched its 11th year of Kilo of Kindness, inviting guests, staff and local communities to come together through simple acts of generosity that can make a meaningful difference.

Running until November 27, this year's global activation will see 90+ Mövenpick hotels partner with local charities to collect the essential goods most needed by their communities, from non-perishable food and school supplies to clothing and personal care items.

Since its launch in 2015, Kilo of Kindness has grown from one simple idea - that even a small contribution can make a difference. 

Adrian Williams, Chief Operating Officer for Accor Pacific, says: “For more than a decade, Kilo of Kindness has demonstrated the incredible impact our hotels, Heartists (hotel staff) and guests can have when they come together with a shared purpose. 

"Across the Pacific, we see first hand the difference these acts of kindness make in the communities where we live and work. Whether it's donating essential items, volunteering time or supporting local causes, every contribution helps create meaningful change and reflects the spirit of hospitality at the heart of Accor.”

Across the Pacific, all four Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts will take part in this year's global activation, working with local charity partners to respond to the needs of their individual communities.

In Australia, Mövenpick Hotel Hobart will partner with the Hobart Women's Shelter for the fourth consecutive year, collecting non-perishable food, clean clothing, toys and everyday essentials for women and children escaping family violence and homelessness. 

Mövenpick Hotel Melbourne on Spencer will continue its partnership with DV Collective, while in New Zealand, Mövenpick Hotel Auckland will partner with Auckland City Mission and Mövenpick Hotel Wellington will once again partner with Wellington City Mission. 

The 2026 activation will also encompass World Kindness Day on November 13. 

How to get involved: Visit Movenpick.com to find a participating Mövenpick hotel.

Virgin Australia drops seven-hour Halloween sale

Virgin Australia is jumping on the Halloween bandwagon with some "seriously spooky-low airfares".

The Australian carrier has launched a seven-hour flash sale available to book from 4pm AEDT today with fares starting from $55 across domestic and short-haul international destinations.

Virgin says the sale includes weekend escapes and holiday getaways to international destinations like Queenstown, Bali, Vanuatu and Fiji from $388 return.

Fares will be available to book here from 4pm until 11pm,

Some of the offers include Sydney-Ballina (Byron Bay) from $55, Brisbane-Newcastle from $99, Melbourne-Gold Coast from $105 and Perth-Adelaide from $209.

International return economy lite fares include Melbourne-Queenstown from $388, Brisbane-Port Vila (Vanuatu) from $519, Melbourne-Denpasar (Bali) from $525 and Sydney-Nadi (Fiji) from $539.

Here’s a robot delivering your pasta

Meals delivered by robots are now a reality on Australia’s Gold Coast.

No more men on noisy motorbikes.

Serve Robotics and DoorDash have launched Australia's first footpath robot delivery service with an initial launch in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.

Starting today, DoorDash customers ordering from Gnocchi Gnocchi, Southport - the pilot’s first participating restaurant - can choose to have their order delivered by a Serve robot. 

More local restaurants will join the launch in the coming weeks, with any future expansion informed by feedback from the community.

Serve robots travel at walking pace, give way to pedestrians and are designed to safely navigate footpaths. They are supported by “trained remote supervisors” who can assist where needed and each robot displays a contact number for members of the public with questions.

“This is the first time we've taken Serve beyond the United States, and the Gold Coast is the right place to start,” said said Ali Kashani, CEO and co-founder of Serve Robotics

“ It has the walkable neighbourhoods this technology is built for and a city that has shown it welcomes innovation. After delivering for more than 4,500 restaurants at home, we're here to give local restaurants a new way to reach customers and to earn community trust one delivery at a time.

"The City of Gold Coast opened the door, DoorDash brought the restaurants and customers, and Griffith University in the Health and Knowledge Precinct gave our fleet a home. It all leads to the moment I'm most looking forward to, when a Gold Coast family opens their door and finds a robot has arrived with dinner.”

The project is part of DoorDash’s broader multi-modal delivery strategy, which brings together a range of delivery technologies to create more flexible and efficient ways to serve consumers and local businesses. These deliveries typically fulfil orders within short distances, in relatively dense, urban areas, while drivers take on longer-distance orders.

“DoorDash is focused on building a delivery platform that gives customers and merchants more choice, while continuing to support the Dashers who are central to our platform,” said Simon Rossi, vice president for DoorDash APAC.

“This pilot program will help us understand how footpath robots can complement existing delivery options for short, local trips creating another convenient way for Gold Coast customers to access the neighbourhood businesses they love.”

Customers can opt-in or out of robot deliveries.

The partnership is intended to give local restaurants another way to reach nearby customers, particularly during busy periods. What Serve and DoorDash learn during the pilot program will shape how the service grows, and any changes to delivery zones.

While it might work in certain areas, in others I suspect local youths might have fun attacking the delivery units.

City of Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said he welcomed the Australia-first robot food delivery service on the Gold Coast.

“We know that the Gold Coast’s future economy will be shaped by technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and we want our city to be a place where those technologies are developed, tested and put to work,” he said.

At the end of each shift, robots will return to Serve’s operations depot at Griffith University, the first university to host a Serve operations team.

Since Serve began operating, its robots have completed deliveries for thousands of restaurants across U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta. The Gold Coast marks Serve’s first operation outside the United States.

End of an era as Barossa veteran releases his final wine

It is the end of an era with veteran Barossa winemaker Rob Gibson this week releasing his final wine.

Gibson's Bin 75 is a limited-release 2024 Barossa Shiraz. Just 2,000 bottles, made to age, were produced - in the year Gibson turns 75.

The wine also marks 30 years since Gibson and wife Anne established Gibson Wines at Light Pass.

“The Bin 75 represents a lifetime of learning," Gibson said. "This will be my final new wine release. After talking about retiring for many years, it’s time for me to step away from winemaking.

“The Bin series has always been about wines made with time in mind - wines to lay down, to age, and to open on special occasions. Bin 75 is the most personal of them all.”

My sample has arrived but Gibson says he's not sure it's ready to drink. I'll do my duty and open it this weekend.

Gibson, a former Penfolds viticulturist, has been working across both vineyard and winery over six decades, including in Chile and Argentina.

A geologist, viticulturist and winemaker, he has built the family-owned winery around an intimate understanding of soil, site and the art of blending, a philosophy he has always called Dirtborn.

Premium fruit was set aside from some of the best parcels across the Barossa and Eden Valleys for his final offering, which was matured for 24 months in French oak.

As Gibson steps away from winemaking, Gibson Wines also enters its next generation. 

Second generation winemaker Adam Fiegert, Gibson's son, is stepping forward to help shape the winery's next chapter, carrying forward the Dirtborn philosophy, grower relationships and connection to place that have defined Gibson across three decades.

The Bin 75 has an RRP of $385 and is now available at Gibson Wines Cellar Door, Light Pass, and online. It is available in wooden three packs or single boxes.

See www.gibsonwines.com.au.

Eating well in the Maldives starts with the right meal plan

The Maldives is a fairly magical travel destination; spectacularly beautiful.

And it offers a serious point of difference.

On most holidays, a disappointing hotel restaurant is a minor problem: you walk down the street and find somewhere better to wine and dine.

In the Maldives there is no street. 

Almost every one of the country's resorts has an island to itself, so whatever its kitchens serve is what you eat, three times a day, for the whole stay. No UberEats, no local takeaway.

That makes the meal plan one of the biggest decisions of the trip, and one of the least understood.

LuxAtolls, an independent website that compares the Maldives' 180-plus resorts, has catalogued what each one actually puts on the plate: every restaurant, its menu where the resort publishes one, and exactly what each meal plan covers.

Which is extremely useful if you are planning a trip with a gourmet focus.

 "The resort is the holiday," says founder Tym Lewtak, a long-time travel marketer who keeps going back to the Maldives. "Two properties with identical star ratings and similar nightly rates can be wildly different choices."

Nowhere is that truer than at the table.

All-inclusive in the Maldives doesn't mean what it means in Cancun, or the Caribbean, or Byron Bay. There is no standard.

At one end, a plan might be three buffet meals and house drinks in a single restaurant. At the other, Hurawalhi in Lhaviyani Atoll pours unlimited cocktails, wines and Taittinger champagne, and its sister island Kudadoo includes a meal at the 5.8 Undersea Restaurant, an all-glass dining room 5.8 metres under the sea.

The price gap between plans is just as wide.

LuxAtolls' Maldives Pricing Index found that across the 45 resorts selling both as paid upgrades, the all-inclusive supplement averages 173% more than the half-board one, largely down to the drinks. Most resorts now offer a choice: 113 of the 183 properties tracked have three or more meal-plan tiers.

Drinks are also where the bill creeps up. Every bar tab attracts a 10% service charge and 17% GST, so a US$20 cocktail actually costs US$25.74. Over a week, a couple spending US$200 a day on extras pays about US$400 in tax alone, which is often what tips the sums towards all-inclusive.

Prices on LuxAtolls are shown in US dollars, and its quotes include the service charge, GST and the US$12-per-person-per-night green tax, so the price quoted is the price paid.

The Maldives isn't only for big budgets, despite its reputation for luxury. Entry-level resorts start at around US$300-400 a night for two, breakfast included.

"There is a $5,000-a-night Maldives," Lewtak says. "There is also a $400-a-night Maldives. Most people only ever hear about the first one."

LuxAtolls' all-inclusive guide, resort reviews and quote service are at luxatolls.com.

Images: 5.8 Undersea at Hurawalhi; Coco Bar at Hurawalhi. Supplied by Luxattols.com.