Luke Ballard | Travel and transport

Luke Ballard

Phone: +61 411 185 853

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25.01.2022 Happy Friday! Turn the volume up for a laugh .

25.01.2022 One of my favourite things about being Your Personal Travel Manager is getting excited for your holiday. As you can imagine, there is literally zero excitement in cancelling them. Pat, Sam, Corri and Finn were meant to be doing a Tuscan cooking class in Florence this weekend as part of their European Odyssey... so I took Tuscany to them and we cooked up a storm! Pasta with a home-made Chicken, Pumpkin, Zucchini, and Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce.... Chickpea and Green Salad Garlic and Mozarella Calzone Thanks for letting me play in your kitchen!!!

25.01.2022 A fact you may not have known: Uluru stands about 348 meters above sea level, which is 28 meters more than the Eiffel Tower! Let us help you book your NT holiday! Many resorts opening 1st August. #northernterritory #seeaustralia

21.01.2022 Where in the World Wednesday ? Hint: this city is known for Starbucks, Pikes Fish Market, Space Needle, Greys Anatomy..

21.01.2022 Where in the World Wednesday? Clue 1: If you go to our instagram ballardstravel it will reveal the answer :) .. Clue 2: Gangnam style..

20.01.2022 Time for space travel!

20.01.2022 Winter wonderland in South Australia Outback! #seeaustralia #flindersranges #southaustralia

20.01.2022 Sri Lanka is holding their annual festival Kandy Perahera with beautiful costumes, dances known as Festival of the Tooth.This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha Do you have a favourite Festival you have attended? #SriLanka #Festival

19.01.2022 Happy Feet! Here are all the amazing penguins you can see around the world. In Antarctica, South Georgia and Falklands you can see many in one day ! Which ones have you seen?

19.01.2022 This is a very interesting blog on Damascus Syria! Sometimes you form an impression from global media but the realities are very different ! We found the same when we travelled to Iran and met the friendliest people in the world and felt, safe, welcomed and loved the histiry and the food.

17.01.2022 Just like the movie Love Actually.. there will be some amazing airport arrival stories when this is all over!

16.01.2022 Tell us your memories from Scandinavia... This looks amazing!

16.01.2022 A definite for the Aussie bucket list! Swimming with the whale sharks in Western Australia

16.01.2022 Where are your favourite dive spots in the world? This was under the magical sea at Koh Toh near Koh Samui in Thailand ..

14.01.2022 Palm Cove near Cairns is calling you ... Try yoga under the palm trees There are direct flights Sunshine Coast to Cairns now and the weather is beautiful this time of year!... You can explore the Daintree, Port Douglas, Kuranda, Atherton tablelands, Cairns.. Photo credit Larinda Hopwood #tropicalnorthqueensland #queensland

13.01.2022 A bright spot today. As most of you know, earlier this year our Antarctic cruise was disrupted when, upon attempting to return to civilisation, the pandemic left our boat unable to dock and the passengers and staff stranded. You also probably know I jumped in and used my experience and knowledge to get everyone home. It was something I felt I had to do but it was also draining in a scary time for most people. It was very hard to see past the negative of a worldwide outbreak ...at the time. Today I received an email from Travel Managers HQ (National Partnership Office) to say I had received a card from NY. It had been sent in May but had only just arrived. 2020 has been an intense year and as a travel agent that intensity means daily doses of negative, bleakness, and despair. I joined this industry to build amazing holidays for people, not cancel them and spend all year chasing refunds. It’s been feeling heavy lately but this lovely card has reminded me why I do it and that my work does help even in the negative times. In fact, probably even more so in the bad times as I can genuinely help.

13.01.2022 New Orleans is one of my favourite cities ... if you click through the blog, I spend some time explaining why. It's such a great city that one year I went back 4 times. In one year. It's that good. My question for you today is what city do you keep needing to visit? What city sings to your soul in such way that you keep going back?... Tell me your city and favourite memory of it!

12.01.2022 Wow clever Qantas flight path on the last 747 flight ! #qantas #travel

12.01.2022 SILO ART! There are popular landmarks worth visiting when we can go to Victoria again:) The Silo Art Trail can be approached from the south, starting in Melbourne, Ballarat, or Horsham. There are now 15 locations. It was painted by Fintan Magee, a Brisbane artist, who, after meeting a number of locals, decided that he wanted to paint a local sheep and grain farmer, Nick 'Noodle' Hulland.... There is now a trend around Australia ! Photo credit Vicki G #victoria

12.01.2022 Incredible Iceland ! Dreaming of future trips ...

12.01.2022 Earlier this year I went to Antarctica and South Georgia for what turned out to be the most life-changing trip I've ever had. I'm still discovering some of those changes now. Over the next few weeks I'll be finishing the post-production of all my photos from the trip, so stay tuned for my Antarctica/South Georgia blog. My question today for you is: what is the most life-changing travel experience you've ever had?... Answer in the comments and there's a very cool prize for the best story!

11.01.2022 The world's first Virtual Rodeo is live from Mt Isa at 6pm Saturday night !

11.01.2022 This should be on your bucket list in Australia and we have access to many great small group tours and packages on Kangaroo Island, South Australia! #seeaustralia #kangarooisland

10.01.2022 I took this photo at Brisbane Riverfire several years ago. Yet another event cancelled due to Covid-19... People have died, relationships have ended, our travel has been affected, local events have been cancelled, cardboard cutouts are replacing people at football games.... there seems to be no end of things having gone wrong this year. Today, I would love for you to tell me something positive. What is something awesome and good that has happened to you amidst all this chaos?

10.01.2022 In Las Vegas it is definitely worth doing a flight or helicopter to the Grand Canyon ! The landscape is incredible including Hoover Dam, Colorado lake system , Nevada desert and you can understand how large the canyon is . USA dreaming.. #Grandcanyon #helicopter #lasvegas

08.01.2022 Today is the 12th anniversary of my father passing away. The several days following were a blur. Between us, my mother and two brothers were not up to decision making, calling friends or relatives, making arrangements or sorting out the myriad of details that are the norm when someone passes. So it was all left to me. I called all the family and friends. I went to the funeral home to make the arrangements. I dealt with the banks, centrelink, and everything else official you h...Continue reading

07.01.2022 Incredible volcano lava ! Closest we have seen was in Hawaii and Indonesia. What is your volcano experience?

06.01.2022 This will melt your heart:) our Aussie animals are amazing.

05.01.2022 Why not escape to Hunter Valley NSW for some amazing wines, gourmet food or perhaps a hot air balloon ride !

05.01.2022 In 2014 I taught photography (mainly travel photography) in a different U.S. city every week - this map was the route. This was a massive undertaking filled with trials, setbacks, and quite a lot of amazing memories. We lived and travelled in a motorhome for 12 months and visited all 48 contiguous U.S. states (and then returned to Australia via Hawaii and taught there too.) Today's question: What's your best roadtrip story?

03.01.2022 Happy Friday ! This is sure to make you smile !

03.01.2022 What do we think? Are we hopeful? Are lining up to get it? Are we already planning on where we will go once we are vaccinated? Obviously there are a lot of questions... and as much speculation... But today's question is:... Assuming the vaccine is successful, and you can travel again without fear of contracting or carrying Covid-19, where is the first place you are going?

03.01.2022 ABC have done an amazing job in describing just how difficult the cancellation, credit and refund process is for travel agents. It's a long but interesting read, and if you're one of those people waiting and waiting to hear about your refund, this article might shed some light. From my end, I assure you that I, and everyone else at TravelManagers are doing our best to get you the best results as quick as we can.... https://www.abc.net.au//billions-tied-up-in-cance/12518578

02.01.2022 Where in the World Wednesday? HINT it is in South America and is a famous region for hiking..

02.01.2022 Incredible Northern Lights !

01.01.2022 Thank you for your patience, we are doing our best to chase the refunds and cancellations. This article and radio interview with government body AFTA explains why the delay with over 10 billion dollars affected.

01.01.2022 1 year ago I was in Iran. It is easily one of the most amazing countries I've visited and I can't wait to go back again. Friendly people, amazing food, and a culture and history that stretches back thousands of years. Where is somewhere you've been that you would visit again in a heartbeat?

01.01.2022 Actually it was yesterday... but the vaccine story was bigger news. Happy belated world photography day! Today I'd love to see your best and favourite travel photos!!!