Traveller Letters: Cancelled Qantas connection a missing link in our holiday

GROUP THERAPY

I was intrigued to read your cover story, (Traveller, March 20) about all the wonderful islands ringing Australia. However, there was no mention of a wonderful experience to be had on a group of islands that barely ever gets a mention. I refer to the Cocos Keeling Islands, an Australian external territory. This one is closer to Indonesia than it is to Australia but well worth the extra mileage.

We know a family who has been working there for five years now and the life they have been able to provide their two children is remarkable. At age five and seven they are able to swim with sharks, (they don't bite) dive to a good depth without masks as well as cook and eat the fish they catch almost at their front door, Their parents can kite surf, board surf and body surf,. So, go on travellers, take the road less travelled and go see this amazing group of islands.

Carol Reed, Newport, VIC

COAST WATCH

Must the monolithic Crowne Plaza Terrigal, NSW, get all the accolades in your guide to the NSW central coast (Traveller, March 20)? They're already at the top of the results list for any internet search for Terrigal accommodation and then they get two thumbs up from Traveller as well.

Dig deeper for accommodation and you'll find other lovely places like Tiarri Terrigal, where I stayed recently - an adults-only oasis that's an easy walk to the beach and Esplanade, with a friendly, attentive host for whom nothing is too much trouble. The price is good too; a fraction of what you'll pay at Crowne.

Kerrie Wehbe, Blacktown, NSW

COOK BY THE BOOK

Ben Groundwater's cover story for Traveller about Australia's many islands was interesting but his brief comments about Norfolk Island's early history were wide of the mark. Captain James Cook certainly "discovered" the island during his voyage in the Resolution in 1774. But he did not land there, as suggested by Ben. Further, the "penal colony" - as in the "island jail" used to further punish repeat offenders or incorrigibles - was not established until 1824, 50 years after Cook's sail-by. A subsidiary colony (using convict labour) was, however, established in March 1788 to pursue flax production and general farming which proved totally unsuccessful and was abandoned in 1813.

Martyn Yeomans, Sapphire Beach, NSW

EDITOR'S NOTE The National Library of Australia in Canberra, in an article on its website, states that James Cook landed on the north-west corner of the uninhabited island and spent the morning there ashore. Cook was said to be impressed by the sight of the tall pine trees which covered the island and the flax in the undergrowth.

YOU BEAUT UTE

The recent spate of letters regarding the shortage of rental cars in Tasmania reminds me of a work trip I took there during the pilots' strike in the late 1980s. I needed to visit a customer in Launceston on urgent business but my firm could not book a hire car for love nor money. Nothing was available. So I thought I'd wing it. I flew from Melbourne to Launceston on a RAAF Hercules (a story in itself).

Fortunately, the customer was located a short walk from Launceston airport, so I dragged my suitcase down what was then a country road and secured the order I was there for. It did not escape my attention that literally across the road from them was the Thrifty depot, chock full of cars – all locked up and temporarily out of business.

Explaining my predicament to my customer, he said, "What about a rent-a-ute"? So I rang the nearest service station and, sure enough, they had one available. After a short taxi ride, I was barrelling down the Midland Highway towards Hobart in a diesel one-tonner, suitcase bouncing around in the tray at the back. It served me well for the rest of the week, and I was sad to have to hand it back.

Jim Picot, Altona, VIC

SCAN PLAN

Rod McCallum of Garran, ACT (Traveller Letters, March 20) could download the Qantas mobile phone app and access his frequent flyer card this way. It's easy to scan the barcode via your phone to earn points at all the places where Rod would usually tap his physical card, such as for fuel.

Jenny Gray, Sydney, NSW 2000

CUB REPORTER

We experienced all that Melinda Dawson describes in her letter, "There's a bear out there" (Traveller Letters, March 13) and a great deal more. Through Rocky Mountaineer, we booked a fortnight's experience encompassing the famous train from Vancouver to Banff, a wonderful day long coach trip from Banff to Jasper (via the Icefields Parkway, including a walk upon the Athabasca Glacier), and the Rocky Mountaineer from Jasper to Vancouver. We finished with a week-long cruise through the Inner Passage to and from Alaska on the MS Neiuw Amsterdam with many unforgettable land-based excursions. Our own particular bear sighting was a black cub with a watchful mother bear, just out of Banff.

Graham Devries, Camberwell, VIC

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