Dating back hundreds of years, the hamam was to the Ottomans what the day spa is to the modern goddess – a place to bathe, relax, be pampered and gather with other women. Today, modern hamams are scattered throughout the city, but the historic hamams built by the sultans to serve the imperial mosques and the ritual cleansing dictates of the Koran are beautiful examples of the kind of breathtaking marble work and rich decoration that only Islamic architecture can do.

But a trip to the ‘hamami’ (in the local lingo) can be intimidating if you don’t know what to expect. For a start, it’s not a place for the prudish, but its worth baring your breasts and a bit of your soul for the indulgence. Read more

I’ve fallen for the private Balinese villa experience. A well-staffed luxury villa offers most of what you get from a 5-star hotel in Bali – lazy days filled with relaxing by the pool in beautifully appointed accommodation with great food, attentive service and on-demand pampering. And with the price of villas starting at less than the cost of a luxury hotel, it’s incredibly good bang for your buck. But for the uninitiated, searching for a villa is overwhelming because there are so many options to choose from. So, what to look out for? Read more …

* The ‘Big Five’ is a term coined by big-game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. The term is still used on wildlife safaris referring to the lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard.

Image: Bushman’s Kloof, South Africa

Admittedly, I’m not much of a camper and have always been slightly intimidated by the notion of outdoor music festivals, but when a ticket to The Dreaming Festival came my way I took it with a surprising burst of enthusiasm. I was in the mood to escape the city, rest in the arms of Mother Nature, get a little dirty and explore cultural expression outside my safe inner-city Sydney world of theatre, Indie-rock and art galleries.

The Dreaming Festival is touted as ‘Australia’s International Indigenous Festival’ and is one of only three festivals worldwide dedicated to the global Indigenous arts space. Drawing crowds of more than 24,000 people over three days and four nights, it includes a line-up of musicians, dance troupes, comedians, artists and performers from around Australia to the Pacific Islands, Africa, Haiti, Canada and beyond. Read more …

In the heart of the World-Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest, I discovered an unexpectedly unique spa treatment combined with an authentic Aboriginal eco-tourism experience.

At the start of Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa’s guided rainforest walk our Aboriginal guide, Juan Walker, tells the story of how his grandmother escaped the plight of being part of Australia’s ‘Stolen Generation’.  With news of men on horseback traveling through the area looking to remove Aboriginal children from their families to be placed in state custody, Juan’s grandmother was hidden in a woven ‘dilly bag’ and hung from a tree as the officers passed by.

It’s just one of the fascinating stories that Juan shares about his ‘bama’ (people), country and tribe, the Kuku Yalanji, that have lived in this part of the World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest for thousands of years and are claimed to be one of the oldest intact surviving Indigenous communities in the world.

Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa’s site is important in local culture. The property was occupied by forefathers of the Kuku Yalanji tribe and used as a resting place as it provided spring water, an abundance of edible, medicinal plants and bathing holes, including a natural waterfall that to this day is still considered to be sacred to women. Read more …

As a yoga therapist, she specialises in content development and presentations for the mass media and is best known for her role as the host of Australia’s YOGA TV (Network Ten and the Lifestyle Channel), which has been on air in the United Kingdom, United States, Turkey, Israel and New Zealand. Kris has studied Ryoho Yoga with Andzej Gospodarcyk and Lisa Foster, Ki Yoga with Jack Marshall and Zen Shiatsu with Sakis.

She has taught for Elix’r Health Club in Sydney, Virgin Active in Cape Town as well as corporate providers – Karma Yoga and Yoga for the Seasons.  She was co-founder of the Karma Detox Yoga Program and now teaches in Sydney in Rushcutters Bay Park (when the sun is shining) and runs yoga retreats with Peppers Salt Resort & Spa at Kingscliff and Peppers Anchorage Port Stephens, NSW.

As a freelance writer, author and editor Kris specialises in yoga, health/wellness, and travel with a focus on body and soul escapes. Kris currently writes for Australian Yoga Journal and female-friendly travel website, Holiday Goddess. She co-authored Yoga for Switched on Living (Pan McMillan 2002) and has written for marie claire magazine (South Africa), MiNDFOOD, Spa Life and dumbo feather … pass it on, and was a regular columnist and feature writer for body+soul (Sunday Telegraph, News Limited Australia).

As a marketer, Kris draws on her 15 years experience as Group Marketing Manager with Peppers Retreats Resorts & Hotels, and as Group Synergies Manager for Stella Group. She recently worked in the Media Unit of the Australian Red Cross and now works as the Editor-in-Chief/Writer for strategic communication and design consultancy, Gen.a. Kris is also the Founder of Exchange for Change – a fundraising campaign in support of Oxfam Australia.