Australian Gourmet Traveller - (11)November 2019 (1)

34 GOURMET TRAVELLER

PHOTOGRAPHY DANIELLE LIU (NOBU MATSUHISA).

News

Globe-trottingchef

BenjaminCross

beganhiscareerat

Rae’sonWategos

in ByronBay

beforeopening

a restaurantin MallorcawithJulian

Lennon.Then,in 2008,hesettled

in Bali,becominganexperton

Indonesianflavours.Heis themenu

mastermindforAquaBlu, a former

RoyalNavyvesselnowkittedout

asanexpeditionyachtwith 15 luxe

sea-facingsuites.Whenit setsoffon

itsmaidenvoyagethroughtheEast

Indonesianarchipelagothismonth,

itspassengerswillenjoymealsthat

incorporateIndigenousspicessuch

ascloveandnutmeg,andsustainably

sourcedseafoodincludinggiant

Papuan prawns.aquaexpeditions.com

Withsolotravela

strongtrend,some

linesareoffering

sweetdealsforthe

long-marginalised

lonesightseer.

Ponantis ditchingthedreadedsingle

supplementondozensofvoyages,

includinga music-themedcruisealong

SouthAfrica’scoastline,departing

CapeTownon 17 March2020.

Solopassengersalsopaynoextra

onAdventureResorts& Cruises’

seven-nightjourneysthroughthe

IndianstateofKerala’spalm-fringed

backwatersaboarda nine-cabin

traditionalwoodenbarge(until

April2020).au.ponant.com,

adventurerivercruises.com

Interestin boating

aroundidyllic

destinations

suchasGreece

andCroatiais

skyrocketing,so

active-holidayspecialistUTracksis

urgingearlybookings.Newoptions

includeaneight-dayTuscanyBike

andSailtourthatcombinescycling

withtall-shipsailingtotheislandsof

ElbaandGiglio(departsSeptember-

October 2020).utracks.com

TH

EL

ATESTINCRU

ISE

S

FR

OM

RA

UO

DN

HT

OWE

DLR

Before toolong

ChimuAdventuresco-founderGregCarteris “stoked”that

singer-songwriterPaulKellywillbethespecialguestonits

21-daySongsin theSouthAntarcticcruisein 2021.Kellywill

performthreetimeswhileaboardthe200-passengerOcean

Endeavour, whichdepartsUshuaia,Argentina,on11 March

2021,onanexpeditioncruisethatalsoswingspastthe

FalklandIslandsandSouthGeorgia.“Antarcticais a magical

place,andhavingPaulaboardwilljustaddtotheexperience,”

saysCarter,anavidfanwhoalsoplaysguitar(hejokesthathe

mightjoinKellyonstage).If mega-starviolinistandconductor

AndréRieuis moreyourjam,APT’s15-dayMagnificentEurope

rivercruisedepartingAmsterdamon 13 May2020,includesa

performancein Colognebythemaestroandhisorchestra.Or

perhapsa celebritychefis musictoyourears?Nobuyuki

“Nobu”Matsuhisa(pictured)willbeaboardCrystalEndeavor,

CrystalCruises’firstluxuryexpeditionship,whenit departsBali

on 15 October2020,boundforCairnsviaRajaAmpat.During

the16-daycruise,hewillhostthreeintimateomakasedinners

anda cookingdemonstration.chimuadventures.com, aptouring.

com.au, crystalcruises.com

SAILING AWAY

OceaniaCruises’sixmid-sizevesselsnowofferdeeperimmersioninto

destinationsviatheupscaleline’snewGoLocaltours.Becomea sheep

farmerforthedayinSpain,haggleovermeatandvegetablesina Buenos

Aires market or head out fishing off Italy’s Portofino.oceaniacruises.com

Cruise news

HELLO,WAVE SEASON!

Australia’ssummercruiseseason– knownas “waveseason”becauseit’slikea waveofdealsand

bookings– is underway.ThroughtolateApril,thecountry’slargestcruiseoperator,Carnival

Australia,whichrepresentssevenlinesincludingPrincess,Cunard,HollandAmericaandP&O

Cruises,willmake 625 callsto 34 Australianports.Andas thenation’s$5billioncruiseindustry

continuestogrow,portsfromBrisbanetoBroomeareinvestinginmajorinfrastructure.Newly

refurbishedFremantlePortis abouttoexperiencethebenefits:it willbehomeportforthe

superlinerSunPrincessfora record 141 daysfrom1 November.Withstudiesshowingpassengers

arelookingforimmersive,culturalexperiences,Princessis expandingitsLocalConnectionstour

program.NewexcursionsincorporateFremantle’sLittleCreaturesbreweryanda cookingexperience

with The Agrarian Kitchen cooking school co-founder Rodney Dunn near Hobart.princess.com