Time for a new addition to our hall of fame and a worthy addition I feel. Wayne Bernhardson writes Southern Cone Travel, a blog that delivers detail and definite knowledge on the area.

The Southern Cone is literally the cone shape at the southern end of South America and includes Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and parts of Paraguay and Brazil. Wayne has spent almost 30 years travelling the region and is excessively well qualified in the art of exploration; just run your eyes down his about section.

Latest posts include the state of the Argentinean Airline, Aerolíneas Argentinas, what it is like to ride the colectivo (city bus) in Buenos Aires and the arrival of the Paris to Dakar rally in Argentina and Chile, odd but true, due to unmitigated circumstances that led to the suspension of the 2008 event.

Final word though to Wayne himself regarding his grasp of other languages,

“I speak fluent Spanish, less fluent German, serviceable Portuguese and desperation French.”

Desperation French huh? I know all about that…

I’m a big believer in channeling your inner child, mainly because I never grew out of wanting to play, in the sense of old-fashioned, silly, unself-conscious mucking about. It’s no surprise that I love theme parks, so it’s reassuring that our round-the-world STA Explorer, Neil, a 21-year-old graduate, chose to hit Universal Studios in Orlando to celebrate his birthday.

Neil’s post is a good read for anyone thinking of visiting the park - there’s so much on offer that it can be easy to waste your time being indecisive, or queueing for rides which are a bit pants. As his girlfriend Megan had been before, they quickly separate the hits from the dross, and particularly enjoyed the newer Incredible Hulk rollercoaster and Revenge of the Mummy ride, as well as finding that the old mechanical Jaws ride retains its charm.

They also highly recommend their on-site hotel, as ‘we ended up saving money by staying in a hotel more expensive and with more stars’ because ‘being on-site meant that our room key worked as an express pass for all the rides’. And they rate the Jurassic Park Cafe where you can actually find ’some healthy stuff along with the usual crap’ for lunch!

Check out their story if you’re a big kid looking for fun, and let us know your own favourite places for some serious regression.

English speaking and sunny, with vibrant cities and natural beauty: it’s no wonder us UK-dwellers flock down under when we’re after a Proper Big Holiday. Problem is, it also comes with a Proper Big Flight, which is tricky for most of us but hell if you’ve got a baby.

Thankfully, ‘Australia-obsessed travel addict’ Lucy has posted a  great article on taking your baby on a long-haul from the UK to Australia, with tips on adapting your routine to changing timezones, feeding, hand-luggage essentials, airports survival and the best bassinets.

And we’ve got a tasty snippet of news from STA Travel’s Tom: tomorrow is the last day you can book a £379 return to Australia on the new Qantas A380 with them (taxes, fees and all that bumpf inclusive), for travel between 18 March and 30 April 2009 - all the details are here.

In a brilliant twist, I found this post from James on the Little Nomads blog:

Parents, there is no need to reach for the sick bags or worry about placing stains on the new Qantas upholstery in Economy aboard the new A380. It already comes stained in a lovely green pea soup colour

So, add Lucy’s tips to the STA Travel offer and it looks like parents are sorted for Oz next summer.

Interesting news today that, after a decade of silence, Taiwan has agreed to reopen bilateral talks with China in Beijing on June 11th, focusing on tourism and charter flights. So in the spirit of the agreement I sought out a few blogs which can help any traveller enjoy this notoriously insular country.

Navigating public transport abroad can be tricky, so Wanderus blog have a useful post about Taiwan’s High Speed Rail (THSR) with details of route, prices and links to the online virtual tour.

Steven Crook has written an article about exploring Taiwan with children in tow, which manages to be both practical and inspiring and includes some little gems of advice from locals.

And over at TravelBlog, Jenny Reynan is teaching English in Taiwan for a year, so her journal is full of insights about Taiwanese culture and how and where to explore.

Much as we’d all love to be pair-of-pants-and-a-passport jetsetters, travel can get a little trickier when you have a puking baby pinned to your hip, a toddler toddling off into the wastelands of Heathrow, and a sulky tween refusing to try any food that isn’t Barbie branded.

It doesn’t all have to end in tears. Whether you’re taking a couple of weeks in the sun or planning a whole family relocation, there are plenty of parents online sharing their tried and tested tips for a safe and special trip.

Roaming Aussie Mum Guera has posted a brilliantly thorough guide to air travel with young children, from booking the flights, packing and boarding, to in-flight fun and even stopover strategies. Guera frequently flies with her 2 daughters so this is hard-won wisdom worth a look.

Kate and Matty Berger have embarked on an epic round the world journey with their 3 year old Toby in tow. Planning as they go, they are experts at spontaneous but child-friendly adventuring. This post collects all their advice, from practical issues like essential equipment and medicine to inspiring asides on maintaining routines, dealing with local customs and making sightseeing engaging and educational.

Finally, Rachael and Glen are keen travellers with three kids, and their tips for making long haul drives entertaining and stress-free are perfect if you’ve got a road trip planned with your little ones. Are we there yet?