Foreign Affairs says the release of an Australian woman while her Kiwi boyfriend remains in jail on drugs charges is not a case of which govt lobbied China hardest.

Sue Baxalle returns from an Aussie health and fitness retreat bursting with energy.

If you're going to be whacked by a golf ball, it may as well be hit by one of the greats, finds Cameron McMillan.

Alone on the barren, ocherous and mine-scarred landscape surrounding Coober Pedy, Fergus Blakiston feels like a man on the moon.

Ewan McDonald is set adrift on memory bliss after a Whitsundays yacht charter holiday.

Travel disasters give us great stories, but drama-free holidays are golden, writes Tristram Clayton.

If you are driving the Great Ocean Rd, stop at Merrijig Inn, says David Leggat.

Matt Heath takes in the best of Melbourne on a lads' weekend away.

Cameron McMillan spends a tiring but fascinating day walking the fairways with golf legends in Melbourne.

Untamed, unconventional and dramatic - Tasmania's people, like its land, have their own idiosyncratic take on the rest of Australia's claims to fame, finds Chris Reed. And they like a good night out.

Hmmm, red snapper mojito or beef tartare? Yoga or b-ball? Movie or massage? Chris Reed faces a cruiser's hard decisions.

Leaving the noise and hurry of Melbourne behind her, Rachel Bache heads to the tranquil lakeside town of Daylesford.

Penfolds' founder knew nothing about winemaking when he came to Australia in the 1840s, but his spirit lives on, writes Shandelle Battersby.

Sculptures strung like pearls around Bondi are fascinating, writes Catherine Smith.

Dominic Corry learns drinking and horse-riding are a good mix.

Sarah Ivey meets booty-waving emus with a thirst on, fair dinkum Aussies with a penchant for gourmet cuisine and more spectacular scenery than her trusty camera lens can handle.

Pastor who gave warning honoured preacher Frank Houston was a child molester says it took her months to get the church to take the matter seriously.

Lisa Martin finds exploring Australia's mining heritage from Sydney to Perth on the Indian Pacific is poetry in motion.

Downunder wakes up to sports tourism, but Dylan Cleaver passes on the hotdog.

Port Lincoln is known as Australia's seafood capital. And it doesn't disappoint Sarah Ivey.

Winston Aldworth stays at a stylish Sydney property.

Shandelle Battersby watches Australia go by as she rides The Ghan from Top End to bottom.

Stephanie Simons takes a trip to Sydney ... and finds a city that's a big country town at heart.

Graham Reid finds plenty to do in Cairns, if you like your action laid-back and tropical.

Western Australia's capital still holds strong links to the Dreamtime period, writes Elisabeth Easther.

Anne Gibson luxuriates on the 12th floor of this stylish Gold Coast hotel.

Australia's island state is a paradise for nature lovers and people who want to escape the modern day, writes Teresa Levonian Cole.

After meeting the denizens of land and sea at Heron Island, Rod Emmerson does not want to come home again.

Patrice Gaffaney finds an Aussie ecowarrior chef.