Traveller Letters: Crikey! Bonza left me high and dry

The 24-hour delay of a Qantas Sydney to Los Angeles flight in June, 2022, necessitated repeat COVID-19 tests within 24 hours costing $590. Qantas promised to refund the cost of the tests. Fifteen emails and six phone calls later, and with no refund up to October, 2022, I contacted NSW Fair Trading. They called the next day and within 48 hours, Qantas rang me. My relief was short-lived. Qantas accidentally cancelled my return flight to Chicago resulting in rebooking the same flight at an additional cost of $1200. My new best friend at NSW Fair Trading quickly escalated this with Qantas for a full refund of the tests and the extra cost of the rebooked flight.
Tessa Ho, Milsons Point, NSW

Let’s make it official

Thanks for your informative winter holiday guide (Traveller, July 8). While it was a tantalising and enjoyable read, the reference to Mount Wellington in Tasmania was extremely disappointing and jarring. It is impossible to miss that it is now officially referred to by both its colonial and indigenous names, especially as all physical signage, and just about every online reference, uses the official dual name kunanyi/Mt Wellington. It would have been great if the writers had taken the time to understand this and in doing so, respect the traditional owners. I can’t imagine they would have referred to Uluru as Ayers Rock. For the same reason, it is important that these small but important details are correct.
Kate Esser, Clifton Beach, Tas

Host with the most

I heartily agree with correspondents praising the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (Traveller Letters, July 15) and its care. On Gallipoli Peninsula we spent four days visiting all the sites no matter how off the main track and all were well-kept. If visiting there, consider staying at Gallipoli Houses. It is a delight. The host picked us up from the bus stop, drove us north to the August Offensive area and south to Cape Helles and all around the Cove, dropping us off with supplies and providing directions. Some climbing through steep and bushy terrain was involved and at most places we were alone and still remark on resting near The Nek gazing out over sea to Samothrace. It was one of our most memorable trips.
Tony Sullivan, Adamstown Heights, NSW

Grave oversight

Your correspondent rightly praises the work of The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. But they are wrong in saying the Commission cares for “23,000 Commonwealth cemeteries”. That should read 23,000 graves.
Peter Price, Southbank, Vic

No hahs in Doha

Anthony Dennis, in his encouragement to holiday in the Qatari desert (Traveller, July 8) and his review of air-conditioned luxury at a five-star hotel in Doha, just confirms my impression that the human race has a death wish. It flies in the face of logic and morality. It is an insult to our children and grandchildren. And it directly contradicts your recent policy of publishing articles about at least trying to be more responsible and sustainable when making travel choices.
Chris McGregor, Cabarita, NSW

Tip of the week: Taking a liking to Lucca

In agreement with Ben Groundwater’s column (Traveller, July 16), defending Italy as a holiday destination, I am standing in the breathtaking Piazza San Michele in Lucca, Italy on a beautiful summer’s afternoon, trying to comprehend the absolute beauty and intricacy of the church facade, and absorbed by the surrounding renaissance palazzo facades. I have just enjoyed a fantastic gourmet lunch at the nearby restaurant Buca di Sant’antonio (at half the price of dreary establishments elsewhere in Europe). Tonight I am off to see Turandot at the Puccini theatre in Torre Di Lago, but if you have other tastes in music, Norah Jones was here last night and Robbie Williams is on next week.
Peter Burton, South Melbourne, Vic

Hawaii five-oh

I recently took my family to Hawaii because I went there in the ’80s and had the best time. Well, times have definitely changed there for the worse. In the end I felt embarrassed because I’d talked it up so much only to find Hawaii is in really bad shape. Waikiki was entrenched with homeless people that spread the length and breadth of the island. The public toilets were putrid and beaches packed. The whole place looked run down, and real smiles were hard to find. Pearl Harbour was a joke and the food was shocking.
Chris Hartigan, Daylesford ,Vic

Here comes to the sun

In reference to your story on the world’s great short journeys (Traveller, July 27), the 80 kilometres-long Going-to-the-Sun Road in the US is one of the world’s most spectacular highways. It’s located in Montana’s Glacier National Park where the prairies meet the mountains. We drove the road in half a day, with stops at the many wonderful viewpoints, but better to spend the whole day and take one of the many walks.
Alison Barr, Rowville, Vic

Norway the right way

Your world’s great short journey story featured a photo in the print edition of the Atlantic Road in Norway but no description. We hired a car and travelled this amazing (toll free) road in June, 2022. It is a stunning 8.3-kilometre marvel of engineering, featuring bridges that twist impossibly into the air and breathtaking coastal scenery. The road is easy to navigate and there are plenty of places to stop and explore. Columna Transatlantica is a fascinating sculpture park that runs alongside one section of the road. Afterwards, continue to Bud, where you find Draagan, the salmon smokehouse of the Norwegian royal family for delicious tasting and purchases.
Amanda Berry,
EDITOR’S NOTE Sorry for our inadvertent tease in relation to the size of the photo though Norway’s Atlantic Road was mentioned in the introduction to the feature. And thanks to our reader for providing the welcome additional detail.

Stamp of approval

Before we left on a trip to London in June I flicked through my folders of Traveller “clippings” from years past and read up on your writer Keith Austin’s visit to the London Postal Museum way back in January 2018. It went on our to-do list and subsequently turned out to be one of the highlights of our London holiday. The Mail Rail Tour is one of the best experiences going in London. You don’t need to be a London Tube enthusiast to enjoy this secret miniature rail line buried deep underneath the busy London streets. The on-board audio commentary and the visual displays at abandoned station platforms are excellent and shed light on the goings-on of this hidden world. Thank you, Keith and Traveller. I’m not sure we would have discovered this gem of a museum if it wasn’t for your article.
Mark Darcy, Balmain, NSW
EDITOR’S NOTE: You can also save articles for later on our newly revamped website.

The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com