australia – Affordable Luxury

24 Hours in Canberra

Whether it’s your first time in Canberra or your first time since your year 5 excursion, we’ve got a jam packed 24 hour itinerary for you! Forget about Parliament House, Cockington Green and Questacon, because we’ve got a day of luxury and relaxation planned. Scroll down and check it out!

7am – The cupping room

Start your day off with a hearty start and a quality cup of Joe! There’s no better place to satisfy your needs than at The Cupping Room. Having one of the best baristas in the world manning the machines, you’ll be well looked after. With the menus continually changing with the seasons, there will always be a good variety of fresh bites to choose from. If you’re stomachs grumbling for a feed grab their grilled fish with koji and leek cream of their beetroot cured salmon with a kataifi egg! Whatever you get, you sure won’t be disappointed!

10am -Unwind at the Botanical Gardens

Begin your morning relaxing and strolling through the serene landscapes of the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Boasting a wide variety of native plants, walking paths and lush greenery, it’s a great place to have a stroll or read a book. Want to take relaxing to the next level? Within the botanical gardens lies Jindii Eco Spa, a relaxing oasis for you to get a massage or a simple soak. Whether you want to bathe in minerals and detox or get a hot stone massage, there will be something for you!

1pm Visit the Canberra truffle festival

If you’re visiting Canberra in the winter months, you must head to the Canberra Truffle festival! Celebrating one of the most decadent foods in the world, this festival elevates the luxurious truffle by integrating it into many dishes and products. You’ll find products here such as truffle crème brulee, truffle pizza and even truffle beer! Expand your taste buds and sample some of the best truffle you’ve ever had presented by Canberra’s top bars, cafes, restaurant and wineries! If you head there around lunch time, they might even be conducting some truffle hunts so get in there quick!

3pm – Have an afternoon nibble or sip at Pialligo Estate

Located on the banks of the Molonglo River, Pialligo Estate is the perfect place to watch the sunset, enjoy good company and have a sip! Their vineyard produces some of the best wine in the area and is highly recommended by locals. They also have an olive grove, fruit orchard and market garden in case you wanted to try any of the local nibbles! Don’t worry, if you don’t have any room for their local preserves or oils, you can purchase a small sample to bring home!

7pm – Grab dinner on Lonsdale Street

After a day of relaxing, it’s time to dine like kings! If you head over to Lonsdale Street, you’ll be spoilt for choices as it is a notorious hub for activity and good bites. Wherever you go, you won’t be disappointed, however, we definitely recommend Lazy Su. It is a Japanese, Korean and American fusion eating house which packs a punch! The food is loud and will definitely tantalize your taste buds! Dishes include tea smoked duck breast, buttermilk fried chicken ramen and wagyu cheese steak spring rolls.

9pm – Wind down for drinks at The Highball Express

End your night at the hip and Cuban late night joint, The Highball Express! Thing Cuban themed tropical styled bar is famous for their cocktails in highball glasses and it is the perfect way to settle down for the night. Enter through the custom built spiral staircase and take you last sips for the night! With over 500 varieties of rum and some spectacular cocktails, you’ll be spoilt for choice!

Whether you spend a day or a week in Canberra, there’s always something to do! But don’t worry, we’ve sorted out where you can stat at Aabode.com!

Vivid Sydney: A Glowing History

Sydney is back with Vivid for its 10^th annual celebration and the city will once again be lit up from the 25^th of May until the 16^th of June!

Not too long ago, lighting designers, Mary-Anne Kyriakou and Bruce Ramus, who collaborated with English musician, Brian Eno projected light paintings onto both sides of the opera house. The idea of this festival was introduced by the NSW Tourism Board as a part of an initiative to attract more tourists. And what started as a Smart Light Festival for energy efficiency in 2009 has now, turned into a world famous exhibition with some of the most fascinating light installations and sculptures that attracts over millions of people to the city every year. This 23-day festival, full of light and music, exhibiting some of the most creative minds bridges art, technology and commerce together. It’s more than just lit-up displays, it’s also a platform where leaders come together and share their innovative ideas with everyone. And the best part is, all the installations on the streets all over the city are all free!

The success of this festival was not all that glowy at the beginning. Punters who were asked to get involved in the festival were highly confused about the entire idea and concept behind Vivid. But what made Vivid find its voice is the Vivid Ideas, where innovative ideas are shared and the whole exhibition was made in such a way that everyone could participate.

How has it changed over the years?

In 2012, the festival attracted more than 500,000 visitors and Janelle Monae, an American R’n’B singer gave one of the most memorable performances at Vivid. In 2013, the numbers increased to 800,000. In 2014, the festival teamed up with The Star and Carriageworks. In 2015, Vivid took a bigger step to include musical events and held multiple talks, making it more dynamic.

What to expect this year?

This year, Vivid is showcasing over 317 events. And at least 100 of them will all be magnificent light works! The Opera House is obviously lighting up, but not just the harbor area is to look out for. Australian collaborative team Kathryn and Martin Bevz are bringing their ‘Light-Hearted’ installation in Chatswood. They are combining their backgrounds in teaching, architectural science and illumination design to create installations that focus on simplicity. Taronga Zoo is having its wild light displays with ‘Lights of The Wild”, where their displays will be all about animal conservation.

Carriageworks is returning with its 4^th ‘Curve Ball’- the warehouse party of the year, featuring a performance from FKA Twigs.

Get inspired by the Vogue Codes Summit, where speakers will talk about the power of technology and the B2B Rocks that will talk about startups in Barangaroo.

Getting Around

Let’s say, a lot is going to be hot and happening, but navigating your way through Vivid is not that easy. What used to be a quiet winter evening around the harbor area in the city now buzzes with people. So early in the evenings or weeknights are best times to go! Take the public transport or pre-book parking, or else it’s going to get really hectic! Make sure you eat first and hit up the popular installations first and try to be there before the lights are on!

Book your accommodation now on Aabode.com to make the most out of Vivid Sydney 2019 make some bright memories!

Winner of Aabode’s Gold Coast Getaway!

Written by winner of the competition, Krystal McKinley

Logging into Instagram and seeing a notification from Aabode that I was the winner of return flights for two and three nights accommodation at the Gold Coast I was completely over the moon! As most of you know, i’m a total compaholic and while I’ve had a small handful of wins, this one tops them all, I couldn’t wait to enjoy this little getaway with my husband and all it took was a simple follow, like and comment!

Departing from Sydney we arrived into the Gold Coast in just over an hour and caught a courtesy shuttle to pick up our rental car from East Coast Car Rentals then made our way to pick up the keys to our accommodation for the stay, a beautiful apartment at The Rocks Resort.

Our apartment was huge offering 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a very spacious open kitchen and lounge room area and my favourite thing about the place was the stunning ocean views on one side and forest views on the other! We were just metres away from the beach, walking distance to cafes and only a 10 minute drive to restaurants and bars.

Once we settled in it is was only lunch time and we didn’t want to waste the afternoon inside so we decided to check out the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary which was only about an 800 metre walk from our apartment.

This place is massive and I would highly recommend you give yourself at least a couple of hours here to experience all there is on offer. There are feeding shows and free flight bird shows as well as a miniature train ride that takes you around the park, you can walk around at your own pace and there are plenty of photo opportunities along the way. Popular areas of the sanctuary would be the free range kangaroo enclosure where you can feed and mingle with the resident kangaroos and there is also a treetop adventure park on site where you can challenge yourself to climbing over obstacles amongst the trees!

Open: Daily from 8am – 5pm (except for Christmas and ANZAC Day)

Address: 28 Tomewin St, Currumbin QLD 4223

Contact: (07) 5534 1266

Price: https://currumbinsanctuary.com.au/tickets-and-encounters/day-pass

The following day we drove to a beach side cafe for breakfast and afterwards walked across the road to check out the coastline. The beaches looked absolutely gorgeous and the water was such a beautiful shade of blue, not even the dark clouds on the horizon could dampen the busy atmosphere taking place in the area. There’s also a sculpture located on the state’s border and it’s pretty cool to be able to stand in both NSW and QLD at the same time!

As the rain clouds approached we hopped back into the car and thought about what other spontaneous activity we could do. Just a short distance from our apartment there is a place called Honey World on the way and decided to have a quick visit. Honey World has a whole range of honey and wax products available for purchase and also free samples of honey. I’m not the biggest fan of honey but they were very delicious! Entry into the building is free but for a small price you also have the opportunity to be guided by a bee keeper and shown the many hives and watch bees in action and what they get up inside of the hives, I would really recommend it, I learnt some things about bees I never knew and my husband is now even keen on having our own beehive!

Open: Monday – Saturday from 9am – 5pm, Sunday from 10am – 5pm

Address: 35 Tomewin St, Currumbin QLD 4223

Contact: (07) 5598 4548

Later that afternoon, my husband and I met up with a friend and tried our hand at Topgolf, a facility where people can play different games of golf from accuracy to hitting distances and are scored on their shots. You stand on a platform and hit as many balls until the game is over, the golf balls have chips in them that register where your shot landed and that is how you get your score. Table service is also available in your bays so you can order food and drinks without disturbing your game. It was so much fun and probably one of the highlights for me on the trip!

Open: Daily from 9am until late (except Christmas and ANZAC Day)

Address: Cnr. Roadshow Way and Entertainment Road, Oxenford QLD 4210 Contact: 1300 008 442

Price: https://topgolf.com.au/pricing

On our final day, we drove to Surfers Paradise and spent the day like tourists checking out some of the top spots in the area. This mall precinct is absolutely huge and you are really spoilt for choice when it comes to what to eat and what to do!

First up we went to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, an interactive museum full of weird and wonderful things found from all over the world. This museum was really fascinating and was chock a block full of interesting facts. Having read the books as a child, it was great to see it all in person!

Open: Daily from 9am -10pm

Address: Soul Boardwalk, Cavill Mall, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

Contact: (07) 5592 0040

Price: Click here

Then we moved onto Infinity, an interactive maze like facility where you have to move your way through obstacles in complete darkness and feel for a door that will take you into the next room. Some rooms have laser lights, one a galaxy full of stars and others obstacles hanging from the ceiling and coming out through the walls. Although nothing jumps out at you, if you have a fear of darkness, enclosed spaces and are unsteady on your feet, I wouldn’t recommend this place to you, but if you have a mind full of adventure and discovery you MUST go here! If you do find yourself stuck or lost, a staff member will be quick to assist you.

I couldn’t stop smiling the whole way through, it was just so incredible to experience all the wonder in each room and I absolutely loved it! Your own photography and videos are strictly prohibited in this experience however you get a photo taken half way through and are given the opportunity to purchase it afterwards.

Open: Daily from 10am – 10pm

Address: G31 Chevron Renaissance Centre, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

Contact: (07) 5526 8935

Price: https://infinitygc.com.au/tickets/

Lastly, this one is for all you feline lovers out there, a visit to the Crazy Cat Cafe! The cafe has two sections, the dining area which offers hot and cold drinks and a basic breakfast and lunch menu and the other section, absolute cat heaven!

For a small price you can go into the cat room and indulge yourself amongst the absolutely beautiful resident cats there from all different breeds. There are two time sessions on offer, 25 minutes or 50 minutes. You can simply sit on a lounge and wait for the cats to sit in your lap, you can lie on the ground with them or you can play with them using the many toys scattered around, if they’re in the mood you can even pick them up for a cuddle. Being a cat owner myself, I really loved this place and really enjoyed some relaxation time just being in the company of these cats!

Open: Monday – Saturday from 10am – 5pm and Sunday from 9:30am – 7:30pm

Address: 3131 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

Contact: (07) 5630 1110

Price: https://www.crazycat.cafe/book

On our final night in the Gold Coast we were even farewelled by a stunning sunset overlooking the city, what a way to end this perfect stay!

Interested in the property that Krystal stayed at? Book it here: The Rocks Resort Aabode.com

How travel can improve your mental health

Our daily lives sometimes gets the best of us and make us feel mentally drained. Looking after your mental health should always be a priority and travel is one way you can fuel your mind up again. We’ve just compiled some of the ways travel can beneficially contribute to positive mental health!

Stress reliever

Work deadlines, personal commitments and external pressure can really get the best of us in our lives. Taking yourself out of that environment and placing yourself in a new foreign destination is one of the best ways to clear your head and de-stress. Travelling allows you to explore and do things at your own pace with no expectations! It’s a great way to compose all of your thoughts and alleviate all of the pressures that you have.

It gives you time to reflect

During your travels, you’ll have time to evaluate your priorities and thoughts while learning valuable lessons along the way. By travelling, you’ll give yourself the time and attention you need to deeply reflect your principles, values and purpose. In a way, going to a new place can sometimes represent a fresh start! Often, a change of scenery is all we need to reignite the flame in our lives. Being stuck in the same routine every day is straining both physically and mentally, so a pause for travel might be the reflection time to need to continue your life with a bang!

It expands your perspective

When you immerse yourself in a new environment, you allow yourself to be pushed outside of your comfort zone. Whether you’re exploring new communities, meeting new people or trying out a new dish, you broaden your own perspective and allow yourself to learn new things! The experiences that you will go through are priceless as you embrace new cultures, sights and languages. After your journey, you’ll come back with a broader perspective of how other communities around the world function!

It builds resilience

Although travelling might be relaxing and exciting, it’s also intimidating and challenging. Travelling, particularly by yourself in a foreign environment, presents a lot of lingual, physical and metal barriers, By travelling and understanding how different communities function, you learn to adapt to an environment that is out of your comfort zone. By learning to deal with these pressures, as an individual, you’ll be able to become more flexible, patient and calm when dealing with complication in your everyday life!

It gives you time to be independent

In our daily lives, people often always require things from us and we always have a set routine. We know the tasks we have to undertake everyday to satisfy our own needs and the needs of others. Whether you’ve never moved out of home or if you’ve never travelled on your own, travelling can be the first step you take to promote your independence. Some experiences in a different place can seem daunting but accomplishing goals, solving problems and meeting new people will all be worth it.

Regardless of what you do and where you are, mental health is always a priority. If you need a helping hand to get started with your travels and accommodation, head to Aabode.com!

Gold Coast Grubs under $10

On a budget? Spent all of your money on a $20 smoothie in the airport? Rather spend your money on activities? Not to fear! We’ve compiled some of the best cheap eats in the Gold Coast that are $10 or under. Grab your spare change and lets go get some grub!

Weiner Haus

When you think of cheap eats, hot dogs are probably the first thing that pop up in your mind, but these dogs from Weiner Haus will blow your mind! With all of their food truck hot dogs $10 or under, they’ll blow up your taste buds but not your bank. These gourmet dogs are pimped up with toppings from sour cream and guacamole or Japanese mayonnaise and fried shallots!

Burgster

From crispy fried chicken wings to juicy stacked burgers, Burgster’s got it all. This packed burger joint always pleases the crowds with their specials which include $5 taco Tuesdays, $1 wing Wednesdays and $1 oyster Fridays. Feeling thirsty? Don’t worry, they also do weekly thirsty Thursday specials! Whether you wanted a quick bite or a satisfying sip, Burgster will take care of you.

Sandwich Bros

Sometimes nothing satisfies your hunger like a fat sandy, and that’s where the Sandwich Bros comes in. Whether you’re after some scorching hot toasties, loaded wraps, colorful salads or a thick sandwich, you have to run down to them! Grab your pennies and dimes, because they have lunch special sets for $10 and daily $7 special baguettes.

Govindas

We’ve got one for the veggie lovers and vegans out there too! Govinda’s offers a multitude of options at their store and it’s filled with healthy and abundant feeds. All the food is made in house daily and they have a mecca of options including hearty salads, hot plates, lasagna, filo pastries and cakes all under $10 dollars. We would definitely recommend the mini cheesecakes that only go for $4!

Harajuku Gyoza

If you’ve got a big appetite and you’re still looking a place to fill your mouth, Harajuku Gyoza will be the place to tantilise your tastebuds. Most of their steaming hot gyozas go for $10 or under and include flavours such as lemongrass chicken, takoyaki and cheeseburger! Still got some chump change after your juicy dumplings? Grab some matcha KitKat gyoza, chicken karaage or raindrop cakes!

We’ve got you sorted on where to eat. We can also sort you out on where to stay! Check out the amazing Gold Coast properties we have on Aabode.com!