What makes for the perfect holiday? It’s certainly something we have considered at length as we move into the next stage of our development. You could ask a hundred people and get a hundred different answers. Potentially, you could ask those same hundred people on a different day or even on the same day but after dinner, and get even more variations on what makes an ideal break.
Travelling has evolved from the classic Australian ‘up the coast’ week on the beach. When choosing a holiday now, people are able to consider a smorgasbord of options, and can be weighed down by additional pressures such as achieving Instagram worthy photos as well as an inspiring, ethical, sustainable (whilst still affordable) journey. It’s not always enough to come back with a Bintang singlet and knock off Prada sunglasses...unless that’s what floats your boat. Either way, it’s all about choice.
And yet - Easter holidays have just finished up around the country, and here in the Noosa region, familiar conversations about overtourism and being ‘loved to death’ have had their regular airings. Clearly, there are a lot of people out there who share similar ideas about what destinations make for a good holiday recipe. So much so, that globally, there are fears that popular locations lose something of their magic amongst the hordes of people who adore them.
It’s a bit like having a favourite cafe that becomes hugely popular. You may have been going to the same place for years, sitting in your favourite seat, enjoying the salted caramel mud cake special that they offer on a Thursday. But as soon as you have to queue out the door, and you find that the special sells out before you get your table, then something shifts. You might still enjoy the consolation carrot cake, but it’s not the same.
There is no solution to this problem. Places get popular for a reason, and tourists will continue to flock to these destinations. Indeed, the towns that rely on the tourism dollars would suffer immensely if they didn’t come. So how do we travel sustainably, still visiting the places we love without destroying them completely?
Branch out. Explore the fringe. Get excited by the discovery of somewhere just off the beaten track. Sometimes, somewhere new, you might be offered a slice of cake that - until that moment - you had never tried, had a preconceived negative notion of, or perhaps had never even heard of before. You try it - perhaps excitedly, eagerly anticipating the new experience, or maybe hesitantly, nervously assuming different = not so great. And it might be mind blowing, great, good, average or anything in between....but you did it. You had an experience and made a lasting memory. By tweaking one ingredient, you can create something to talk about, to reminisce over in years to come. Your salted caramel Thursday’s might just all blur into one, but the times you went someplace different, trying something new, they stay with you.
It’s these moments. These are what we believe makes travelling great. New experiences, opening your mind, expanding your knowledge, throwing all kinds of new colours onto your life’s tapestry...or new ingredients into your cake recipes. Going to a new cafe in a new place, that serves seven types of new cakes that you have never tried before. Discovery. Exploration. Memories make for a great holiday. Go for something a little out of the ordinary, something memorable, something to write home about. In the Noosa region, the Hinterland is waiting for you. It’s still easy as cake to day trip in for your beach fix, but there is also a variety of new experiences that you may not have noticed from Hastings St. And the fact that you can add in Instagram worthy photos whilst on an inspiring, ethical and sustainable journey - that’s just a bonus!
Comments