OZ and back in 8 days!
After a long journey from London Heathrow with flight changing in Singapore and Brisbane we arrived at Hamilton Island and transferred by gold buggy to The Reef View Hotel. After unpacking we headed off down to the harbour to board our catamaran cruise around some of the islands.
The next day we visited four lovely properties spread out on the island. Palm Bungalows, Beach Club, Qualia and Hamilton Island Yacht club villas. They were absolutely amazing. Although they vary in prices they don’t in quality. The Qualia property actually hosted Oprah Winfrey last year! After the tour we made our way over to the iconic Whitehaven Beach, which was a real treat. It was a wonderful sandy, pure white beach.
Hamilton Island is a really pretty island and definitely worth adding to a long itinerary for some relaxation time to break up a hectic itinerary.
The next day we left Hamilton Island and flew to Sydney. We arrived and were met by our transfer and taken to Park Royal Darling Harbour Hotel. The next day we set off on a bus tour of the city which included many famous sites such as Bondi and its famous beach. After the tour we headed to the rocks area and a hosted dinner at the lovely Wolfie’s restaurant. This was in a fabulous setting and the food and service was excellent.
In the morning we checked out and were met by our host from Australia Eco Adventures for our Blue Mountains deluxe tour. This was a definite highlight of my trip. We headed out of the city and towards Featherdale Wildlife Park which was brilliant. I now know so much more about the Australia’s indigenous animals including the different breeds of kangaroo, snakes and spiders. The wildlife park is packed full of things to occupy a family and provides a good education on Australian wildlife. Next stop was the mountains with our brilliant driver and tour guide Jonny.
We headed through northern section of the Blue Mountains National Park breaking for pie and tea at Bilpin. We then stopped at a number of different viewpoints to enjoy the breath-taking scenery. After lunch we moved up through the mountains to Scenic world which is home to the world’s steepest incline railway. We were then treated to a show by members of the Koomurri Aboriginal centre and views of the famous three sisters. On our way back to the city we passed the Olympic village which was great to see. It was a fantastic day that I would highly recommend.
We also managed to fit in a lunch cruise in the Harbour, a tour of the opera house and a visit to the sea life centre whilst we were in Sydney.
We left Sydney and headed to Singapore where we made our way to the fabulous Shangri-La hotel. Out of all the hotels I stayed in The Shangri-La had the best service. Nothing was too much trouble for all of the staff. I would recommend this hotel to all my business and leisure clients. The hotel serves wonderful food in its many restaurants and has some lovely outdoor space including a gorgeous pool area. All in all, the whole trip was an amazing experience.