THE ZEPPELIN TIMES 4CRB Travel Show, The Armchair TravellerSaturday 11 January 2020 10am on 89.3FM

www.zt.com.au •1300 786 888

Japanese jazz and cigar-box blues echo at amazing MonaHobart’s extraordinary Mona art museum has embarked on a 42-day music marathon but, as Peter Needham discovered on his first visit there, Mona is a fascinating place to spend a day – with or without music.

“Don’t miss Mona!” The instruction is standard for any visitor to Hobart, so I take heed. The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is one of Tasmania’s most visited attractions. Originally a winery, it has blossomed into a feast of art surprises.

An unmissable day trip from Hobart (or half-day if you prefer), Mona stands in the grounds of the Moorilla winery on the Berriedale peninsula. Most visitors reach it with a trip up the Derwent River in one of Mona’s two distinctive ferries. Each ferry is painted in camouflage (one in woodland camo and the other in alpine or naval camo) with distinctive interior decoration – such as sheep, which serve as seats.

Extended summer opening hours include extra ferry services running to and from Brooke Street Pier on Hobart waterfront, with Mona staying open till 6pm.

Alighting at the Mona Pier, I walk up 99 steps to the art museum, where Mona’s Tahlia Cavarretta gives an introduction.

Mona is the largest privately funded museum in Australia – or anywhere else south of the equator. It houses ancient and contemporary art – works that may be intriguing and curious, or sometimes confronting and bizarre – extracted from the collection of Mona’s owner, David Walsh.

Wikipedia describes Walsh as an “Australian professional gambler, art collector and businessman” who studied mathematics and computer science before making his fortune by developing a gambling system used to bet on horse racing and other sports.

Walsh went on to found Mona, which he has described as a “subversive adult Disneyland”.As others have noted, sex and death tend to recur as Mona art themes. And why not? Each is integral to the human condition. It doesn’t take long for most of us to work out

which we prefer.

At Mona, artworks range from the monumental to the petite and exquisite, from Alex Rabus’ dramatic, sexually charged interpretations of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale to Erwin Wurm’s “Fat Car”, a Porsche that bulges at the seams like an overweight sausage.

Not everything reflects sex or death. One of Mona’s most popular attractions is bit.fall by the German artist Julius Popp. Essentially, it’s a huge waterfall of words, the most popular search terms of the day writ on water to cascade down past sandstone cliffs. Mesmerising.

Walking between various Mona sections can take you through strange illuminated tunnels, artworks in themselves, some with eerie or compelling sonic background. Just stay on the pathway and don’t step off!

There are walk-in installations – like Alfredo Jaar’s ‘The Divine Comedy’, an interpretation of Dante’s poetic work, where a Mona guide acts as a modern version of the Roman poet Virgil, guiding visitors through a sample of purgatory, heaven and hell. Fasten your seatbelts – literally!

Not to forget the music. With 2020 underway and summer at its height, Mona is hosting a marathon of sorts. Forty-two days of free live music on the lawns at the museum continue all this month, until 31 January 2020.

Musicians have been plucked from a broad spectrum of genres, from Sinhalese pop to Japanese jazz, cigar-box blues to cassette tape DJs. With multiple acts lined up for each day there’ll be music to suit every summer mood. Mona’s music curator, Brian Ritchie, describes the 42 Day Mona Music Marathon as “a gloriously sprawling ad hoc, yet systematic, multi-genre celebration of sound-making in Tasmania and beyond”.

Ritchie continues: “The Mona music team have recruited musicians ranging from community-based groups through to international touring outfits. We always pay attention to cultivating diversity and

talent from outside the usual commercially motivated system. This means an emphasis on female talent, immigrant musicians, people living with disability and even a special Kwanzaa stream celebrating the musical achievements of the African diaspora.

“It’s serious music and serious fun, with relaxation, food and drinks on the lawn and occasional forays into the gallery spaces.’

Mona’s executive chef Vince Trim has fired up the Heavy Metal Kitchen, serving up barbequed, smoked and wood-fired eats alongside the Moorilla Wine Bar and the Source restaurant offerings.

Visitors to Mona can pull up a beanbag, sip on a Moorilla sparkling wine or Moo Brew beer and enjoy live music throughout the afternoon.

What’s on at Mona this summer:• Mona’s 42 Day Music Marathon runs till 31 January 2020.• Live music, from midday until late afternoon, with multiple acts lined up daily• Mix of local, interstate and international acts from a broad range of genres• Food, wine and beer will be on offer from Moorilla wine bar, Heavy Metal Kitchen and the Source restaurant• Ferries will run more regularly, with both the MR1 and MR2 operating. The last ferry leaves Mona at 6pm daily• Mona will be open 10am—6pm everyday throughout January. Last entry into the museum is at 5.30pm

The Professional Centre, Suite 1, 189 Ashmore Road, Benowa, Gold Coast QLD 4217Phone: (07) 555 79 888 | Free Call: 1300 786 888 Email: info@zt.com.au | Website: www.zt.com.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/zeppelintravel

AirlineRatings.com (www.AirlineRatings.com), the world’s only safety and product rating website, has named Qantas as its safest airline for 2020.

AirlineRatings.com has also announced its Top Twenty safest airlines and Top Ten safest low-cost airlines from the 405 airlines it monitors.

The top twenty are the who’s who of airlines and are in numerical order: Qantas, Air New Zealand, EVA Air, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Alaska Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Australia, Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, TAP Portugal, SAS, Royal Jordanian, Swiss, Finnair, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus and KLM.

“These airlines are clear standouts in the airline industry and are at the forefront of safety,” said AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief, Geoffrey Thomas.

“For instance, Australia’s Qantas has been recognized by the British Advertising Standards Association in a test case in 2008 as the world’s most experienced airline.”

“Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years and has not had a fatality in the pure-jet era,” said Mr Thomas.

AirlineRatings.com editors also identified their Top Ten safest low-cost airlines. These are in alphabetical order: Air Arabia, Flybe, Frontier, HK Express, IndiGo, Jetblue, Volaris, Vueling, Westjet and Wizz.

In making its selections, AirlineRatings.com editors and its industry advisors take into account numerous critical factors that include: audits from aviation’s governing bodies and lead associations; government audits; airline’s crash and serious incident record, fleet age, financial position and pilot

training and culture.

AirlineRatings.com editors only look at serious incidents in making its determinations.

“All airlines have incidents every day and many are aircraft or engine manufacture issues instead of airline operational problems. And it is the way the flight crew handles incidents that determines a good airline from an unsafe one. So just lumping all incidents together is very misleading,” said Mr Thomas.

AirlineRatings.com names Qantas the world’s safest airline for 2020

THE ZEPPELIN TIMES 4CRB Travel Show, The Armchair TravellerSaturday 11 January 2020 10am on 89.3FM

www.zt.com.au •1300 786 888

China’s tourism market generates USD 890 billionThe Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently announced at its fourth quarter press conference that 560,000 cultural enterprises in China generated CNY 6218.7 billion (USD 890 billion) culture and tourism revenues in the first three quarters, 7.6% more than last year.

In the first nine months of this year, about 4.597 billion domestic trips were made by Chinese travellers, up 8.8% year-on-year. Visitor arrivals to China increased by 4.7% to 108.76 million and outbound trips from China rose 8.5% to 119.9 million.

Official data also show that bonds issued by the National Development and Reform Commission for culture and tourism enterprises in 2019 had a total value of CNY 77.7 billion (USD 11 billion), more than five times higher than last year.

During the year, China invested a total of CNY 17.7 billion (USD 2.5 billion) in 85 international culture and tourism collaborations under the Belt and Road initiative.

The cruise fleet grew from 281 ships in service in 2010 to over 400 in 2019, according to the Cruise Industry News Annual Report. With over 100 new ships introduced over the last decade, here are 10 that stand out the most:

Quantum of the SeasDebuting in 2014, the Quantum of the Seas ushered in Royal Caribbean’s newest class of ships. With several technological advances, the vessel was considered world’s first smart ship. The 4,000-guest Quantum introduced the first sky diving simulator at sea, a smart check-in process and the first robot bartenders.

MSC SeasideThe MSC Seaside stole the show in 2017, with a new format that brought passengers closer to the sea. The Seaside presented unique features such as a sea-level promenade that circumnavigates the sides of the ship with outdoor spaces, shops and restaurants.

Celebrity Edge The Celebrity Edge introduced new interior designs as well as attractions such as the Magic Carpet, an exterior platform that can be raised or lowered and has different functions depending on its position. The Edge also introduced the concept of “infinity balconies,” staterooms extending to the edge of the ship with a large retractable glass walls.

The cruise fleet grew from 281 ships in service in 2010 to over 400 in 2019, according to the Cruise Industry News Annual Report. With over 100 new ships introduced over the last decade, here are 10 that stand out the most:

Quantum of the SeasDebuting in 2014, the Quantum of the Seas ushered in Royal Caribbean’s newest class of ships. With several technological advances, the vessel was considered world’s first smart ship. The 4,000-guest Quantum introduced the first sky diving simulator at sea, a smart check-in process and the first robot bartenders.

MSC SeasideThe MSC Seaside stole the show in 2017, with a new format that brought passengers closer to the sea. The Seaside presented unique features such as a sea-level promenade that circumnavigates the sides of the ship with outdoor spaces, shops and restaurants.

Celebrity Edge The Celebrity Edge introduced new interior designs as well as attractions such as the Magic Carpet, an exterior platform that can be raised or lowered and has different functions depending on its position. The Edge also introduced the concept of “infinity balconies,” staterooms extending to the edge of the ship with a large retractable glass walls.

The Professional Centre, Suite 1, 189 Ashmore Road, Benowa, Gold Coast QLD 4217Phone: (07) 555 79 888 | Free Call: 1300 786 888 Email: info@zt.com.au | Website: www.zt.com.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/zeppelintravel

The most exciting ships of the decade

Le LapérouseLe Lapérouse was the first of a series of 180-guest Explorer-class vessels from Ponant, offering a luxury expedition product. The vessel also introduced an underwater lounge. Located eight feet beneath the water line, the space allows guests to experience the subaquatic world through sight, sound and feel.

AIDAnovaThe first LNG-fueled cruise ship, the AIDAnova was introduced in 2018 is the first in Carnival Corporation’s XL-class ship platform.

Disney Dream Following its original two ships, Disney introduced the Dream and Fantasy at the start of the decade. Interiors are based on Disney movies and characters. The two newbuilds grew Disney’s capacity by more than 100 percent.

Seven Seas Explorer The Seven Seas Explorer was the first new ship built for Regent Seven Seas Cruises

since 2006 and was dubbed by the company as the most luxurious ship in the world. The 750-guest vessel introduced one of the industry’s biggest cabins that includes a private spa.

Viking Star The first ship of 16 ships in a series for Viking Ocean Cruises, the 930-guest Viking Star led the river brand’s entrance into the ocean market in 2015 and the rest is history. With a Scandinavian interior design, the vessel was inspired by Viking’s river ships.

Greg MortimerBuilt in China, the Greg Mortimer is the first in SunStone’s Infinity Class for the expedition cruise market. Six more ships are confirmed to follow and a series of up to 10 newbuilds could be built in China by SunStone for charter clients by 2023.

Royal PrincessBuilt in 2013, the Royal Princess introduced a new class of ships for Princess Cruises from Fincantieri. Among the innovations introduced by the ship was the SeaWalk, a glass-bottomed deck.