blog

After researching Kangaroo Island for an overseas visitor I decided to put together an itinerary for my own family to visit this beautiful Island over Easter. Kangaroo Island is one of the Earth’s last, unspoiled refuges. We flew into Adelaide, picked up our car and headed south to Cape Jervis where we boarded the ferry to Kangaroo Island. Our accommodation was in Kingscote which is the commercial hub of Kangaroo island and home to a number of shops, facilities, restaurants and nearly half of the islands population. Our itinerary –

Day 1 – South Coast – started the day at Raptor Domain with a reptile & bird show which was an educational, interactive and inspiring experience. We also visited Seal Bay Conservations park and walked amongst the Sea-lion colony. A truly amazing experience. Day 2 – Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park – where we cuddled a Koala, fed the kangaroo’s and drove back to Penneshaw for lunch at the pub. Penneshaw is the main town on the Dudley Peninsula and where you disembark from the ferry. The day also included American River which is a quiet friendly fishing village nestled on a hillside of native bushland. Day 3 – Today we joined a guided tour to discover the treasures of Kelly Hill Caves. We finished off the day with Flinders Chase National Park…WOW!

Admirals Arch & Remarkable Rocks – here you can walk among giant granite boulders that balance dramatically on the cliff edge, which plunges 75 metres into the turbulent South Ocean below. At Admirals Arch see where the powerful forces of nature have cut through the headland to create this natural geological formation. Here we saw New Zealand Fur Seals resting on the rocks. Day 4 – We drove north of Kingscote to Emu Bay, another beautiful, quiet beach area before heading back to Penneshaw for lunch prior to boarding our ferry back to the mainland. Kangaroo Island is an ideal holiday or getaway for those wishing to see Australia’s untouched beauty at its best. I can plan the perfect itinerary to suit your needs, whether you prefer to hire a car and do it on your own or would like to take a tour and guided during your stay – the choice is yours!

I was fortunate enough to be part of a Qantas walk through of the Airbus A380 in a hanger at Sydney Airport.  Firstly, after all the security checks, it was explained to us how the hanger was made wider and higher to fit this large aircraft in it.  It was absolutely amazing to be able to walk around and under this magnificent flying machine.

We were split into small groups of ten which allowed us to look right through the aircraft. The engineers were very informative and allowed us to sit, touch and experience everything within the aircraft. We sat in the cockpit, we sat in the seats in first class, economy class, then continued upstairs to premium economy and business class. As you will see from my photos the First class cabin is very spacious and each passenger can have their own privacy. After Qantas surveyed passengers it is only 4% of first class passengers that travel with a partner. With this in mind the individual seats have been designed to allow these passengers complete privacy from each other. Everything in first class is at the touch of a button.

Situated behind first class is economy. The economy class seats all have individual entertainment screens in the headrest in front, in the armrest is a power point for laptops (1 between 2), adjustable head rests and the seats recline back and as well as from underneath to minimise the disadvantage to the passenger behind.

There is a “self-serve” bar area for passengers that stocks drinks (non-alcoholic) and snacks.

Upstairs is premium economy which is more spacious then economy class. The seats are larger and there are not as many passengers upstairs. In front of premium economy is business class. This area is very spacious and offers the flat bed. If passengers are travelling alone the capsule design allows the passenger privacy. The business class seats are very comfortable and are controlled electronically by a touch screen.

There is also a camera at the top of the tail so all passengers can enjoy a “birds eye” view.

Other than the aircraft being so large and carrying so many passengers the other feedback is that is so quiet whilst on board.

It is very rare to be able to walk around an aircraft in all 4 classes of travel and I am pleased I did so.

Looking for the best place to stay in Santorini?

Fruit & Veg from the best stall in The Plaka [Athens] 

Best kept secret on Mykonos … Psarou Beach.   

The other “Venezia” – Little Venice in Mykonos

My favourite sunset in the world is a Santorini Sunset ..

I was lucky enough to spend 3 nights on castway Island recently. I would have to say that  its one of my favore Islands in Fiji.

The resort has just undergone some major refurbishments.The main swimming  pool had a facelift and a swim up bar has been added which looks fantastic.  They have also added a Kids only pool and cafe.

There are only 64 Bure on the resort ranging from Island, Beechview and Brachfront.

 One of the many things I love about Castaway is the hospitality received by all the staff. They really do make you feel welcome from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave.

Castaway has always been renowned for the good quality food, and with the new chef of 2 years  Lance certainly didnt let me down. I highly reccommend the meal package as it is such good value.  You can enjoy a cocktail at sunset at the Sundowners Pizza bar or a light snack at the Pool bar and Grill by the kids pool, or enjoy a wonderful al la carte meal at the  waters edge  restaurant.  You must try the wonderful degestation meal.

There are loads of activities to do on the island from snorkling,Banana boat rides, hiking, Parasailing, fishing,scuba diving and they will even take you to the surf breaks for those Surfing enthusiats

A great Island for everyone.

Slovenija 2014

Just a couple of water falls.