About Briar
Briar Jensen is a Sydney-based freelance travel writer. Her blog covers travel tips, reviews, insights and inspiration, travel accessories and gadgets.
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Author Archives: Briar's Travel Beat
Learn healthy cooking at Sprout
It starts with a cheese so blooming beautiful it’s almost too good to eat. Encrusted in finely chopped herbs and adorned with delicate pastel petals it awaits on a platter at Sprout Cooking, Adelaide Central Market, in South Australia. Sprout … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking School, Food & Wine, South Australia, Travel
Tagged Adelaide Central Market, cooking school, food, healthy cooking
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Pelican capers on Kangaroo Island
“I feel like a first-rate idiot with a seagull on my head,” says John Ayliffe as he stands on the waterfront at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island surrounded by a shivering squadron of pelicans. Dressed in khaki waders, industrial rubber gloves, … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Australia, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Travel
Tagged family fun, Kangaroo Island, Kingscote, local characters, Local events, pelican feeding, pelicans, South Australia
6 Comments
Bangkok back in business
According to this report from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, as of the 3rd March the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) has scaled back their protests in Bangkok, dismantling the temporary rally camps at major intersections in the city. This … Continue reading
Posted in Thailand, Travel, Travel News & Events
Tagged Bangkok, land of smiles, travel, unrest
2 Comments
Cruise packing tips – five items that make life on-board more comfortable
I recently travelled aboard Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess on a six-night round-trip from Sydney to Tasmania. (You can read my story on the cruise at Escape.) This was my first ‘big ship’ cruise, though at 2000 passengers, it’s smallish, as … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cruising, Packing Tips, Travel
Tagged clothing, cruising, fashion, packing, packing tips, travel accessories, Travel gadgets
8 Comments
Gift an experience: 10 Sydney experiences to inspire, excite and thrill
Can’t think of a gift for that special someone? Then give them an experience they will remember long after the Christmas tree has dropped its needles. Here are ten Sydney experiences for the grandkids to the grandparents, the adventure-lovers to … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Animals, Australia, Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Segway, Sydney, Travel, Travel Accessories & Gadgets
Tagged animal parks, family fun, Hawkesbury, jet boating, sailing, Segway, sydney, travel
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Five (more) inexpensive travel gifts
Sometimes it’s the little things that can make our lives easier, especially when on the road travelling, so here are a few more ideas for inexpensive travel items that make great gifts. (You can see my first five ideas here Five … Continue reading
Posted in Travel, Travel Accessories & Gadgets
Tagged Phone accessories, travel, Travel gadgets
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Five travel gifts for under A$40
Here are five gifts for the travellers in your life – from the corporate traveller to the happy camper. Or indulge yourself and make your travelling life a little easier! Portable power board (power strip) Laptops, mobile phones, tablets, Kindles … Continue reading
Posted in Travel, Travel Accessories & Gadgets
Tagged boating, camping, caravans, travel accessories, Travel gadgets
6 Comments
Sydney’s top pub grub
More than 100 reviewers ‘risked life and limb’ to visit over 500 pubs in New South Wales, says Keith Austin, editor of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Pub Food Guide, which was launched in Sydney last night. But only about … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Food & Wine, New South Wales, Travel
Tagged Dining, Food and Wine, Hotel food, Pub food, Pubs, sydney
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Enhance your travels with a good book
A good book, or books, can really enhance your travels. I’m not talking guide books, but any book with a strong sense of place; fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction. On my last trip to Germany I was on the trail of … Continue reading
Grimm, Grim or Grymm? A modern day fairy tale
Did you know when the first English translation of Grimm’s fairy tales appeared in 1823 many people thought they were ‘grim’ fairy tales? Which is not too far from the truth, as many of the stories in the first edition … Continue reading
Briar's Travel Beat 