YOU could hear the cheers in Sydney of the boarding, skiing, even snowball-throwing set as our snow country received a healthy white coating to get the 2008 season underway.

But Kevin O'Neill (pictured) was saying ``cheers'' for another reason.
He puts it in his beer - literally!  The Snowy Mountains Brewery founder has been stocking up to ensure supplies for the rest of the season - and beyond!

Snow is a vital ingredient. Not just any old snow but some retrieved from the first fall each winter to make his first batch of each season something special.

“The first snow of the season is symbolic for me; it almost marks a new season for the beer,” he said.
“If you drink one of our styles with a batch date marked July, you are likely to be drinking some of Charlotte Pass's finest and first.”

O’Neill says he was inspired to start his own brewery after he took refuge in a Snowy Mountains resort watering hole after a day on the slopes four years ago. Since then he had become one of Australia's most respected micro-beer producers, winning national awards and critical acclaim.  His German-style Charlotte Hefeweizen scooped the major award as best wheat beer at the Australian Hotel Beer awards last October. His Crackenback Pale Ale rates in the top 20.

You can read all about Kev's drop at www.snowybeer.com.au

HERTZ SPEEDS THINGS UP

And it's all quite legal.

CAR rental giant Hertz now has an on-line check-in for customers in Australia to reduce the time it takes for renters to collect their vehicles … and I can hear the “it's about time” cry from here.

By checking in at www.hertz.com.au you provide personal information such as contact telephone numbers, address and drivers licence details before you leave home.  This streamlines the rental process, minimizing the time spent at the check-in counter on arrival and getting underway with minimal delay.
“Waiting time is wasted time,” says Hertz sales and marketing chief Wayne Burgoyne.  It's bad enough on a business trip; worse when you're on holiday with ankle-biters in tow after a less-than-fun flight.

Hertz now has over 8000 locations worldwide, including over 220 in Australia. For more information, talk to your travel agent.

WHEN TWO'S DEFINITIELY NOT A CROWD

A SURVEY tells us ‘time poor/cash rich’ couples are the boom travel sector of our time with 76 per cent of couples now taking at least two holidays a year.

It also tells us more couples are taking extended weekends away than ever before and that more are into top-bracket adventure/eco-tourism programs.

The Holidays For Couples survey indicates this market sector is booming both domestically and overseas. The survey also showed a whopping 82 per cent taking two or more weekends away each year and 33 per cent enjoying up to five extended weekends away every year. Many were cramming in leisure time ahead of starting families or were at the other end of the equation - empty nesters.

Another interesting result was that almost 40 percent of those surveyed said they were looking to combine a cultural experience with a first-class travel itinerary . . .  every thing from tiger safaris in India to skiing the place-to-be-seen Sun Valley, Idaho, in the US.  More, however, were conventional adherents of the ``tropical escapes and island holidays'' concepts.

Holidays For Couples will detail the findings and destinations in their October issue.

PILLOW TALK?

Shhhhhhhh - We're Asleep

I'VE heard tell of many who reckon a good night's sleep whilst on holidays is a waste of time.

Not this globe-trotting veteran, however. Which is why a note from my old mates at the Amari Hotels and Resorts chain (they're an Italian-Thai combination) commanded my attention.

Guests at their showcase Horizon Club, in the Ocean Tower of Amari Orchid Resort in Pattaya (a much-maligned just down the coast from Bangkok) are offered a choice of pillow to promote the zzzz's.

A special ‘pillow menu’ has a range from ultra-soft to ultra-hard. Your call!
There's a range of Wheat Pillows, filled with 100 per cent wheat grains; and anti-stress Millet Pillow, filled with millet grains to help ‘evacuate stress and muscular tension’ and a Beauty Pillow  which follows facial contours ‘for a radiant awakening’.

Not for you? Try the Neck Support Pillow, filled with air-blown fibres to provide restful neck support or the Cervical Pillow to deliver a night free of neck pains - even a hypoallergenic Synthetic Pillow to keep allergies at bay.

Make sure to visit www.amari.com/orchid for more about the pillows, all about this grand Pattaya property or any of the other umpteen city and upcountry Amari havens throughout the kingdom.

DOING IT THE DUSIT WAY

DUSIT International, whose original, downtown Dusit Thani Hotel is an icon of the hospitality industry in Thailand, a destination where pampering is second nature, has just been named Best Hotel Group (Asia Brand) in the Travel Weekly (Asia) 2008 awards which measures voters in the millions.

Dusit's global sales director Simon Burgess says he was “delighted” at the acknowledgement and promises continuing expansion of the marque with new properties due to open in Pattaya and Koh Samui. Also on the launch-pad are two properties in Cairo and Abu Dhabi.

EAT YOUR HEART OUT

FIJI'S Plantation Island Resort has extended its popular value-added, seven-night family accommodation/meal deal until March next year, but you'll have to book by August 30 this year.

Prices are from $819 per adult based on two sharing a spacious bure with two children under 12 years of age for six nights.  A third child adds $180 . . .  all in all, not a bad deal when you consider that includes all meals during your stay.

The offer also includes a free overnight at Raffles Gateway, Nadi, airport-hotel transfers and the Malolo Cat transfers to and from the island.  The property has a dedicated kids' club and (while they're in good hands) the Mamanuca Islands only nine-hole golf course plus two bowling greens.

See a travel agent pronto or visit www.plantationisland.com.