Our top 5 travel packing essentials

Arriving to find you’ve left something key out of your suitcase is a hassle. Frequent traveller Benjamin Law makes like Joan Didion and shares his packing list here.

Travel enough and it’ll eventually happen to you.

You find yourself in a new town, it’s midnight, and though you’re exhausted and have completed your late check-in, you realise you haven’t packed toothpaste.

Or it’s the morning and you’re dressing for that fancy interstate work event, only to discover you didn’t pack a belt. Or socks. Or shoes.

All it takes is one thing missing from your luggage and you’ll find yourself madly reduced to running down the main street on foot (yes, you forgot to pack your myki or Opal, too), searching for the nearest chemist on Google Maps in an unfamiliar place, blinking weirdly because you’ve run out of a very specific type of contact lens solution for your eyes. Find other personal care products you must take on your next trips by clicking the last link.

If this is you, start doing what American writer Joan Didion did by keeping a personalised packing list inside your closet.

Back in her day, Didion’s included skirts, jerseys, leotards, sweater, underwear, shoes, cigarettes, mohair throw, bourbon, baby oil and a typewriter.

Mine includes underwear for every day I’m away (plus one extra), noise-cancelling closed back headphones(so screaming kids and engine noise don’t break my brain), dark bottoms and light tops (so all possible combinations work) and iodine throat gargle to destroy illnesses caught mid-air.

Also vital: a portable USB charger, so I don’t need to get on my hands and knees like some garbage animal, desperately looking for an AC outlet to charge my phone on an airport floor.

Still, even my foolproof packing method isn’t entirely watertight, as proven the other week when I jumped in a taxi at my final destination, only to tear a massive hole in my crotch.

I was MC-ing an event the next morning, it was 11pm, and I didn’t have spare trousers.

The lesson here? Always pack two pairs, always demand a sewing kit, and there’s no disaster a safety pin can’t fix.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

Benjamin’s list of travel essentials:

1. Noise-cancelling headphones

Whatever you do, don’t skimp on these. Decent ones (Bose is the gold standard) will set you back several hundred dollars.

But once they’re switched on, hotel lobbies become offices, engine noise disappears and screaming infants become white noise. Best investment, ever.

2. Stainless steel water bottle

S’well makes the best. They’re insulated like a thermos, lightweight and you can fill them up at most airports with filtered water before you hit the gate.

Save money, save the environment, save your sanity.

3. Laptop

There’s a reason you see them everywhere: MacBook Airs are still the best portable computer ever made.

Just the right number of ports, lightweight enough to stow in your magazine sleeve and powerful enough to smash out email after email mid-air.

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4. Speedos and Goggles

If you’re a swimmer and travelling in Australia, swimmers and goggles take up nil space.

And chance encounters with lakes, public pools or beaches en route are the best reset for the most weary traveller.

5. Pawpaw ointment

Air travel is drying, which means cracked lips and cuticles. Pawpaw ointment will fix you.

Another unexpected bonus? It’s decent emergency shoe polish.

Need more tips on travelling? Check out Air travel tips

Exploring the world’s largest sand island starts with the perfect K’gari homebase.

The morning light is still soft, but it’s already a perfect sunny day. We left our K’gari homebase at Kingfisher Bay Resort with our guide, Peter Meyer, at 9 am to make the most of our time to explore all that the world’s largest sand island holds. The size of K’gari is hard to grasp until you arrive here. This is no sandbar. Stretching 120 kilometres, unique lakes, mangrove systems, rainforest, 75 Miles of beach, historic shipwrecks, small townships and even one of Queensland’s best bakeries are all hidden within its bounds.

But first, one of the island’s most iconic sights: the pure silica sand and crystal clear waters of Lake McKenzie.

Laying eyes on it for the first time, I’m finally able to confirm that the photos don’t lie. The sand is pure white, without the merest hint of yellow. The water fades from a light halo of aqua around the edges to a deeper, royal blue, the deeper it gets (not that it’s particularly deep, six metres at most). The surface remains surprisingly undisturbed, like a mirror.

Arriving with our guide before 10 am means that no one else is around when we get here. Which means we have the pleasure of breaking the smooth surface with our own ripples as we enter. As a self-confessed wimp with chilly water temperatures, my fears are quickly assuaged. Even in the morning, the water stays around 23 degrees – perfect for lazing about all day. But we have more sights to see.

Exploring K’gari

ariel of in lake mckenzie on k'gari fraser island — Relax in the warm waters of Lake McKenzie. (Image: Ayeisha Sheldon)

This was the Personalised 4WD tour offered by Kingfisher Bay Resort, and my absolute top pick of experiences. Over the course of the day, we had the freedom to create our own bespoke itinerary (plus a provided picnic lunch along the way), with an expert guide who had plenty of stories and local expertise to give context to what we were looking at. From the history of the SS Maheno shipwreck, which survived the First World War only to be washed ashore by a cyclone in 1935, to a detailed description of how an island made of sand could sustain such diverse flora.

If it’s your first time to K’gari, the Beauty Spots Tour is another great option. Departing daily from Kingfisher Bay Resort (you’ll start to notice a trend, as many of the tours do start and end here), an air-conditioned, 4WD bus takes guests to the island’s most iconic locations, including the best places to swim, like Lake McKenzie and Eli Creek. The latter offers a gentle current, perfect for riding with a blow-up tyre out towards the ocean.

The next day, for a look at a completely different side of K’gari, I joined one of Kingfisher Bay Resort’s Immersive Ranger-guided tours to kayak through the mangroves of Dundonga Creek. This long, snake-like stretch of creek winds its way inland from the ocean outlet we entered by, at times too narrow for three kayaks to be side-by-side. Small insects buzz from leaf to leaf, while birds call overhead. Occasional bubbles indicate we’ve passed some fish that call this place home.

kayak tour through the mangroves at k'gari island — Learn about the island’s mangroves from your Ranger. (Image: Reuben Nutt/ TEQ)

If kayaking isn’t for you – or if, like me, you simply want more – other ranger-led experiences include nature walks and a dedicated Junior Eco Ranger Program for kids ages five to 12 (these run every weekend, and daily over the peak December holidays). Just ask for a timetable of upcoming tours when you check in.

While during whale season, Hervey Bay Whale Watch & Charters operates tours from the hotel’s jetty to get up close to the famous Humpback Highway of Hervey Bay, from 7 November to 31 May, attention turns to the Aqua Oasis Cruise. Departing from the resort every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for resort guests, adventure along the island’s remote western coast, pointing out wildlife like dolphins, turtles, flying fish and eagles along the way.

The cruise drops anchor so guests can jump into the water using the boat’s equipment – from SUP boards to inflatable slides and jumping platforms. Then refuel with a provided lunch, of course.

Unwind at sunset

two people drinking cocktails at sunset bar, kingfisher bay resort — Unwind at the Sunset Bar. (Image: Sean Scott)

As much as days on K’gari can be filled with adventure, to me, the afternoons and evenings there are for unwinding. Sunsets on K’gari are absolutely unbelievable, with Kingfisher Bay on the west side being the best spot to catch the colours.

The Sunset Bar, located at the start of the resort’s jetty and overlooking the beach, is the ultimate location for sundowners. Let chill beats wash over you as you sip on cool wines, beers and cocktails in a relaxed, friendly vibe. Personally, a cheese board was also absolutely called for. As the sun sinks, the sand, sea and horizon turn a vibrant shade of orange, with the jetty casting a dramatic shadow across the water.

When the show is over, head back to the hotel for dinner at the Asian-fusion Dune restaurant, or the pub-style Sand + Wood. But if your appetite is still whetted for more lights and colours, the evening isn’t over yet.

Settle into the Illumina stage for Return to Sky, an immersive light and sound show leading viewers on a captivating journey through K’gari’s stories and landscapes.

Indulge and disconnect

woman setting up massage room at kingfisher bay resort Island Day Spa — Find bliss at Island Day Spa. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Of course, there is a type of traveller who knows that balance is important, day or night. While Kingfisher Bay Resort offers more than one pool for guests to spend all day lounging by (they’ll even serve you food and drinks while you do it), you’ll find me at the Island Day Spa.

The masseuses could match the magic hands of any big city spa, and I felt the warm welcome as I walked into the light, breezy reception. Choose from a range of botanical facials, beauty treatments and soothing massages using traditional techniques (obviously, I couldn’t go past a relaxing massage). All products used contain organic, native botanical ingredients with nutrient-rich plant extracts to soothe skin and mind. To really indulge, try out one of the packages, couples treatment or even a pre-wedding day offering.

Getting there

kingfisher bay resort 4wd tour driving passed ss maheno on k'gari island — The world of K’gari awaits. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Getting to K’gari is shockingly easy. Find daily flights into Hervey Bay from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Kingfisher Bay Resort offers a shuttle bus between the airport, their headquarters in Hervey Bay and the ferry to take you to K’gari.

Our top 5 travel packing essentials

Arriving to find you’ve left something key out of your suitcase is a hassle. Frequent traveller Benjamin Law makes like Joan Didion and shares his packing list here.