House Swaps: the practical way to holiday

~ Last night I was researching article ideas for this blog, when I discovered the Aussie House Swap website. When you house swap, you exchange your home, unit, holiday home or apartment with another house swapper for an agreed period of time. You could even swap something unique like a houseboat or motor-home. The Aussie House Swap website has a series of excellent articles about the benefits of house swapping, and have given me permission to reprint all of them on this blog. Here is the first one.

In some ways, this is the easiest article on this site to write. That's because there are just so many advantages to house swapping as a practical and inexpensive way to enjoy your regular holiday break — or even the vacation of a lifetime, in that exotic locale you've always wanted to visit.

What makes house swapping a very practical way to holiday for most people is the enormous saving all parties make on accommodation costs. Remember, house swapping means just what it says — two homeowners literally exchange houses for an agreed period, at no cost to either party.

For most vacations of a couple of weeks or longer, accommodation is the single most expensive item on the budget. And even if it's not number one, it'll almost certainly be number two.

Just imagine having that cost deducted from your holiday expenses!

Through a vacation house swap, you'll also enjoy the tremendous convenience of a fully equipped kitchen. You won't need to go out for meals day and night, and can eat out purely when you want to. Besides the convenience, you will of course save a great deal more money this way. In fact, you probably won't spend much more on meals than you would if you'd stayed at home!

Some further benefits that house swapping offers are more space, privacy and comfort than almost any hotel, motel or resort can give you. And with Aussie House Swap, you can check out available swaps online, well in advance of your trip. This way, you are able to look at exactly what's on offer. No more arriving at places which don't live up to their glossy brochures. (And haven't we all done that more than once!)

Your house swapping partner/s will also be able to fill you in on what's hot and what's not in their neck of the woods, with up-to-date local knowledge, and their own recommended spots to visit. Places that won't necessarily be in the tourist guides. Possibly even places of great natural beauty, or fine cuisine, that are free from hordes of tourists. Or great eateries where you need to make an advance booking to get the best tables. Remember, local knowledge and personal recommendation always beat paid ads in a tourist guide or a weekly "What's On" magazine.

Lots of people even swap cars when they exchange houses during their holidays. If your swap involves a flight, you'll save on car hire — or avoid the inconvenience of always having to rely on public transport — that comes with a traditional hotel, motel or resort vacation to a distant destination. Once more, a significant cost saving accompanies the choice to house swap.

And talking of car swaps, even if you're going to a city to which you could have driven, by flying you'll be there much more quickly. You may well have a full extra day, or even more, in which to enjoy your holiday, by not having to drive there and back. And the cost of a flight (especially one booked early at cheaper rates) will be more than affordable due to the absence of accommodation costs.

Furthermore, partly because of the big cost savings, you may find yourself considering holiday spots you wouldn't otherwise have thought of. Perhaps even out-of-the-way places, far from the normal tourist beat, with no hotels, motels or resorts within miles. For example, a pristine beach, a trout stream or an outback cattle station may grab your attention as you scan the available swaps.

And there's no need to settle for the "same old same old" every year. This year, why not cross the Tasman and visit our friendly neighbours? Then next year, check out some of the islands. Followed by a visit to the mountains the year after that. There really is no end to the wonderful opportunities and possibilities that house swapping vacations can present. You can literally make each holiday a new and exciting adventure, with the extensive and growing Aussie House Swap database to choose from.

There's also, of course, the security you gain by exchanging houses with another swapper. Instead of leaving it empty, with mail, junk mail and newspapers piling up (in between being collected by the neighbours) — a virtual invitation to vandals and thieves — your house will continue to be occupied while you're away.

Not to mention that your swapper will be able to take care of your pets, saving them the trauma of going to an unfamiliar kennel or cattery, and you the trauma of paying the bill when you get back home!

In fact, there are really only two problems with taking a house swap holiday: firstly, choosing between the many delectable alternatives which are available, and secondly, deciding what to do with all the money you'll save!

How much does it cost?
Aussie House Swap membership is only $65 per year! However, if you do not manage to house swap in your first year we will give you another 12 months membership absolutely free! This is our guarantee to you! For $65 (less than the cost of one nights motel accommodation) you can make as many house swaps as you like within your 12 months.

Article courtesy of Aussie House Swap website.
Image for illustration purposes only

New Hotel Opens Inside Monument Valley

~ On my next trip to the United States, I am heading south to see one of the greatest iconic American landscapes of all: Monument Valley.

The natural formations of Monument Valley, the ones we have seen countless westerns and TV commercials, stand so close that you feel like you can reach out and press your hand to them…the Mittens - left thumb, right thumb, and the third monolith Mitchell's Butte, rising to the right. There is an amazing panorama with colours so vivid that it looks like a Hollywood stage set. The landscape is painted with the colours that that you find in Navajo art and jewellery: a turquoise blue sky, white clouds, and a vast desert rich in reds sprinkled with green and jet black accents.

All this, and more, is said to be the view from a guestroom balcony at the newly opened VIEW Hotel in Monument Valley.This one-of-a-kind hotel is big news for tourists but even bigger news for the Navajo Nation. This is the first hotel ever built on Navajo Tribal Park land, in the very first Tribal Park ever established, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the park.

Ray Russell, Director of Navajo Parks & Recreation, says "The VIEW Hotel is a groundbreaking event for the Navajo Nation. The location was selected because it is adjacent to the Park Visitors Centre which has served tourists for over 50 years. This project is our first step to utilize the tourism resources of the Navajo Nation in a manner similar to the US Department of Interior when they have partnered with the private sector to improve and provide visitor services in National Parks. The workforce constructing the hotel is over 90% Navajo Nation members. The hotel, restaurant and store will eventually provide jobs for over 100 people.”

Jobs in the Navajo are big news. The Navajo Nation (over 27,000 square miles, the size of West Virginia) has a staggering unemployment rate of nearly 50%. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley says “Job creation on Tribal land means economic opportunity but also translates into cultural preservation. When family members can find employment close to their traditional homes they stay connected with their culture and their language. This fosters an environment where traditional ways of the Navajo people can be passed from generation to generation. The VIEW Hotel in Monument Valley will provide opportunity in a very needed region.”

The VIEW Hotel is 100% family owned and operated – Armanda Ortega of the Kiy`anníí (Towering House) Clan welcomes the opportunity to host guests from around the world in a place of beauty and spiritual importance to the Navajo people. “Our hotel is designed with respect for the sacred setting in which it is located – it has been designed to exist in harmony with this unique land. Every guestroom has a view directly facing the Mittens and the exterior of the hotel will be from a colour palate of the red earth that surrounds us.”

The hotel is an environmentally friendly design with a low contour that conforms to the mesa overlooking the valley. The VIEW goes beyond what have become standard eco-friendly building practices using low-flow water devices, extra insulation, windows with energy efficient values, and fluorescent lighting. There are operable windows in public spaces including the soaring two story lobby that allows for natural air flow for energy efficient cooling.

Every guest in the 90 room VIEW Hotel will have a private balcony that faces the famous panorama of the Mittens and the great desert expanse. You can actually see four states from The VIEW which is located adjacent to the Tribal Park Visitors Center in Arizona – the formations in Utah stand to your left, the Mittens are in Arizona directly in front of you, and the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado rise in the distance. The third floor Star View rooms combine the vista of the majestic formations with an unobstructed view of the stars above.

The Bradman Collection Museum (Adelaide)

~ Sir Donald Bradman
Australia’s greatest cricketer and the world’s greatest batsman begins when Donald George Bradman is born in Cootamundra, New South Wales in 1908. It follows with him growing up in Bowral and moving to Sydney at the age of 18 where he represented his state the following year and then Australia at the age of 20.

He moved again to South Australia in 1934 to further his business and cricket opportunities and remained here until his death in 2001.

The Bradman Collection Museum follows his progress from club cricketer on to the interstate and international stage. It notes his rise to hero status in the 1930s and how that status has been maintained. It explores his major role in cricket administration and provides glimpses of the family man and all-round sportsman.

The History Of Bradman Collection
In the late 1960s Sir Donald Bradman was persuaded to place much of his personal material in the State Library of South Australia. Fifty-two scrapbooks documenting his playing career were organised by library staff over several years as photographs, menus, newspaper cuttings and telegrams were copied and mounted in chronological order. In return Sir Donald donated a significant number of personal items of memorabilia to the library including various bats, balls, trophies, clothing and other pieces which became known as the Bradman Collection.

Some were originally displayed at the Mortlock Library of South Australia from 1986 before a larger selection of pieces was moved to a permanent exhibition site in the library’s Institute Building in 1998. It was originally Sir Donald’s wish that a home for the collection might one day be found at Adelaide Oval and this took place in August, 2008 to coincide with the centenary of his birth.

The South Australian Cricket Association is now the custodian of the collection in conjunction with the Premier’s Department, State Library and the Bradman Family. The State Library retains the archival materials and management of the Bradman Collection website.

The Bradman Collection Museum
The museum, now housed at Adelaide Oval, is built around various periods of Bradman's life and career, including his career as a cricketer at Club, State and International level.

In the Theatrette visitors can watch key film footage of Bradman’s career including a lesson from the master on playing different strokes. Other artefacts include books by and about Bradman, some of the thousands of letters from fans from all over the world; an interactive display, and a reconstructed lounge room depicting how listeners in Australia would have sat around their radios listening to Bradman playing thousands of miles away in the 1930s.

The Bradman Collection Museum at Adelaide Oval…
Download a copy of the Bradman Collection Museum brochure...

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