Karen Lawson, CEO at CareerOne.com.au

As CEO over at Career One, Australia's best job search resource for job seeker & employment opportunities, Karen Lawson has her hands full. 

However, she has never lost her love of travelling. “I travelled for 2 years in my 30's and I am very lucky to have been able to see much of the wonderful world we live in.”   These days, whenever there is an opportunity to take off she doesn't need much pursuading – she is ready to go. Here she share some of her favourite escapes…

“I have never really discovered the joys of camping, even when you add a 'gl' infront of it and come up with 'glamping' it s still not what I call fun. Call me shallow but I do love 1000 count bed linen, fluffy bathrobes and rooms so quiet you can hear yourself breathing!”

Karen says he has a real soft spot for Argentina, which she describes as ‘a world within one country.'

“You can go to the most glorious beaches, drink fabulous red in Mendoza, explore the rainforests and spectacular Iguazu Falls on the northern border of Brazil and marvel at the Moreno Glacier in the south. Plus Buenos Aires is one of the most diverse exciting cities in the world.”

Now based in Sydney travel is very much centred around her love of luxury food, wine and experiences.

Karen is English and was recently ‘best man’ at her brothers wedding in the UK where she took advantage of being able to add in a little side trip to Croatia. “We stayed in the penthouse at the 5 star Valamar President – which was huge and had a balcony so big we could have sub-let it (as long as we had rights to the hot tub!).”

“After spending time in Dubrovnik wandering around the beautiful old town, eating great seafood and coming to terms with white wine at 15% alcohol, we travelled by bus to the stunning island of Korcula, staying in a boutique palace called Lesic Dimitri. Each apartment is different and they have a fantastic spa and restaurant.”

One of the most memorable luxury hideaway experiences Karen has taken was when she travelled from Hobart in a Merc Benz C class (“more NASA spaceship than car”) driving along the most beautiful scenery to reach Saffire Freycinet, a stunning luxury lodge which is winning awards left right and centre.

“Looking from the air like a floating Manta Ray along an ocean floor of Tasmanian bush and greenery you enter the resort via its tail. Two levels of glass look onto a natural scene of beauty to grace many a coffee table book. The pink granite Hazard Mountains frame land, see and sky. It’s our constant companion to our 2 days there. We were welcomed with Tasmanian sparkling wine and escorted to our luxury suite for check-in. Soft woods, contemporary pinks, blues and creams merge suite with landscape. There is no mini bar it’s literally a fridge stocked with full size bottles of boutique wines, bottles of Larke single malt whisky, gin and lots of gourmet munchies.”

“This is definitely a spot for wine and food lovers. The great thing is that is all plus two activities a day are included in the price. We walked to Wine Glass Bay look out in the drizzling rain it was still beautiful with a few curious paddy melons (small wallabies) to entertain us along the way. We took advice of others and ensured we created time for us rather than rush about. One afternoon we simply went from lunch in the lounge to a different sofa and played scrabble as the staff made one Chocolate Martini after another! One moment I will never forget is donning waders (not my sexiest look!) and walking out into the estuary in an Oyster Farm. Our guides were fantastic. We waded a bit further to an iron table – there in the middle of wilderness our guides pulled from their backpack, a white linen table cloth, champagne glasses and we ate oysters pulled from the waters just seconds before, totally and utterly amazing.”

If you are job hunting why not check out http://www.careerone.com.au

Hi, I'm Alison Carmichael-Rulten the Publisher of Vacation Goddess, and I want to thank you for visiting Vacation Goddess – the one-stop shop for insider travel news, deals, 'Guest Goddes's stories, and of course our personal travel experiences. Plus, as we love to cruise we also try to find some amazing cruise deals for you too. From luxury, longer escapes right down to weekend breaks we know you love everything travel related. Here at Vacation Goddess, we hope you will find loads of inspiration and of course some amazing travel deals. We love a holiday at a great price and that's why we seek out what we call 'Champagne Experiences, on a Sparkling Wine Budget.' We constantly showcase a variety of special deals and offers and from time to time some very special competitions. Our recent 'Win a Trip to London' competition received over 24,00 entries. We invite you to visit us often, join our mailing list and please tell your friends

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