NEWSLETTER

Dear friends

Hope you’re enjoying the very start of the slow change to summer. I know it's a hard time for some in this cold rainy winter of ours but there are wonderful compensations – delicious slow cooked meals  and luscious sweets and glasses of good red wine....it's a great time to explore your own city and gather some new ingredients and recipes and create something yummy...and it's also a wonderful time to escape...which is what this newsletter is all about.

What an adventure!

I’m just back from our first Girls and Pearls Safari in Broome - 20 wonderful women staying in luxury at the Pinctada Resort Cable Beach...basking in warm sunny days and all sorts of exquisite delights and discoveries. 

We found a side of indigenous Australia that many women remarked was so positive and so interesting. We learned about food and connection to the land as our friend Neville showed us how his “supermarket in the scrub” works. Fascinating.

We dressed up to head out to the Broome Races, on the pindan racetrack looking over Roebuck Bay...a great spot to have a catered lunch and champagne.

More champagne the following day – French of course, served with sashimi pearl meat with ginger, shallots and soy – to accompany a special pearl lesson at the Paspaley showroom in Broome’s town centre...

It was later we all swathed ourselves in pearl delights for dinner....some wearing beautiful pieces worth around $200,000...I wore a tempting “Wilma Flinstone” necklace worth a cool $18,000...we all felt very special and looked (and were wearing) a million dollars.

We rode camels along the sand at sunset and had champagne (yes again!) served on the beach by our own lovely waiters Ronaldo and Andrea...I have to say the combination of paddling in those clear warm waters and looking out to sea on a magnificent day...and surrounded by women who were all simply great company – that takes a lot of beating!

We were lucky enough to visit a private gallery space where a number of famous Aboriginal artists were painting in the cool of the morning under the palm trees.

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It was so interesting to learn some of the symbolism of the works...and I have to say one painting chose me – a limited edition print – I fell in love with the colour and vibrance of it...and then counted the 20 circles or waterholes, each encircled with what could have been a string of pearls....

So, I haven’t come home with pearls but many great friendships and experiences and a painting that almost uncannily is a symbol of our time in this inspiring part of Australia.

We still have places on our August Broome Girls and Pearls safari – 12th to 17th – click here for itinerary.

Have a look at our Broome photo gallery for more photos from our wonderful trip.

There are still spaces on our lovely girls trip to Vietnam from 11th to 17th September - it's one day longer and still the best value in the world...including your international and internal flights, luxury accommodation, most meals, activities and oceans of spa treatments.  We stay in the World Heritage listed town of Hoi An and on a private beach in Quy Nhon.....I visited in April and have to tell you that Hoi An has got even better as a place of pilgrimmage - the tailors, silversmiths and little shops filled with pretty things, lovely art galleries and a gentle pace of life that makes you relax...and that's even before you've entered the supreme bliss of the spa treatments.  $4195....and NO Single Supplement!

Click here for sample itinerary.

Now I'm a newcomer to these and finding my way.  Please join me on Facebook and we will reward you.  Click on the Facebook icon on our website and describe your best Gourmet Safari experience - we will pick a winner and invite you and a friend to any Sydney safari you'd like.  Tell your friends and help us increase our numbers on both Facebook and Twitter!

It’s here and it’s beautiful – our series has just finished on SBS TV – 13 episodes of the best Italian food in Australia. And there’s 160 minutes of extra recipes.
Order from us – its $25 including postage! And I’ll sign it for you if you like.

We’ve had a couple of places come up on safaris as people have had emergencies and been unable to fill their spots this weekend – 5 places on Saturday’s Mediterranean on Wheels and just 2 on Sunday’s Vietnamese walking tour of Cabramatta. If you’d like to join us, please contact the office by email or phone.

Greek Islands: 2 spots left  
Vietnam Gourmet: 5 spots left 
Vietnam Gorgeous Sep: 10 spots left
Vietnam Gorgeous Oct: booking now
Kangaroo Island: 10 spots left
Broome: 10 spots left