Our book expert Karen was invited to spend a relaxing and adventurous weekend away in Queensland, but when she found out that she would be spending her time in Ipswich, she wasn’t so sure what to expect. Sure, Ipswich is a growing suburb hub, but not a place Karen had ever imagined she would go on a vacation. But, boy, was she surprised!
“It just goes to show how blind you can be to the beauty around you if you only have a look,” Karen said after her weekend getaway thanks to Ipswich City Council.
“I’m as keen as anybody to travel overseas, but when you see that just at your destination, a train ride in my case away you can go to a vineyard, a beautiful botanical gardens, you can go in a hot air balloon, you can go on a ride on a motorbike, but it was terrific fun.”
“I found out that I don’t have to go all the way to Tasmania to see a lavender farm,” she says.
Take a tip from Karen, and the next time you decide you’re ready to take a holiday, think about where you can go locally.
Here are a few ways you can explore your local towns and cities like a tourist rather than a local: