FNQ Holiday - Day 4 (Kuranda)

Today we finally had the rain that had been forecast for our stay, we have been so lucky with the weather and were ok to accept the rainy weather, it would have been better to have another nice day but it wasn't going to happen. After breakfast we decided to visit Kuranda and see if we can see Barron Falls, which were bursting with all of the rain. 

We arrived at the Skyrail entrance, we decided to take the Skyrail to Kuranda and return instead of driving up, an interesting way to experience the Skyrail in the rain and clouds and at times you couldn't see the cable in front or any of the towers holding the cable up. We also had to close the windows on the cabin as the rain was coming inside.

We got out at the two stops to explore the rain forest, in the rain and also walk out to the Barron Falls lookout, which was a new viewing platform that allows you closer access to see the falls.

Kuranda township wasn't as lively as we remembered and we were unsure if this was due to the rainy weather or a victim of the pandemic, it used to always be bustling with loads of tourists. On our previous visits we've eaten at the pub (Kuranda Hotel Motel), but it wasn't opened which is a shame as it did good pub food.

We returned to Smithfield on the Skyrail and the clouds had moved in and at times you couldn't see the cable in front of you. We collected the car and returned to Port Douglas and the weather had fined up so we took an afternoon dip before getting ready for dinner.

The view heading towards Kuranda

The Barron Falls

The view from our cabin

FNQ Holiday - Day 3

Another relaxing day in Port Douglas and a very mixed bag weather wise. Most importantly it hasn't rained today and whilst the sky was mostly overcast it was still warm. We enjoyed another delicious breakfast at the resort we ventured into the town centre and had a pub lunch and dinner at the resorts restaurant Aluco. 

I also managed a massage in the afternoon to truly relax and then we once again enjoyed a swim in the lagoon pool and we made use of the hot tub on our sun deck. All in all an extremely relaxing day.

Another view from the resort foyer looking out over the lagoon

A morning walk along the beach to work off our breakfast

 

FNQ Holiday - Day 2

Today was a very relaxing day, a sleep in, a walk around Port Douglas town centre, Lunch at Osprey (Thala Beach) and then an afternoon in the lagoon pool and our private sun deck, I don't know how I will manage a few more days of this.

We even decided to order room service tonight as we couldn't be bothered venturing out. Such a hard life.

Port Douglas Four Mile Beach

Port Douglas

The view from Osprey Restaurant (Thala Beach)

 

FNQ Travel Day - Sydney to Port Douglas (Day 1)

The day finally arrived for us to make our way to FNQ and specifically Port Douglas to explore the area and spend time relaxing at a resort, which is the first time we have stayed at this type of accommodation. This was also a postponed trip from 2020 due to the pandemic. The flights were repurposed Melbourne flights and we rebooked the accommodation after having to cancel our plans from June or July 2020.

We started out early as we had a 09:30 flight and successfully used our points to upgrade the flight to business class. As we had lounge access we wanted to make the most of it so we headed to the airport at 07:00 and surprisingly it was a fast 20 minute ride. We dropped off our bags and went through security (priority lane), then up to the Qantas Business Lounge for some breakfast.  there was a queue to enter but it moved pretty quickly, space was a bit limited. This was our second visit to the Business Lounge since operations resumed and once again you had to queue at the food counter to request what you wanted to eat, the line moved quickly.

The flight to Cairns was pleasant and uneventful and it was nice to be travelling in a wide body A330-200. The refreshment service was pleasant and then the crew left us alone to relax, as we were seated in the middle of the aircraft and with all the window shades drawn the cabin was dark, so whilst Jeff enjoyed a movie I relaxed with a magazine or two that I'd been trying to read for months.

On arrival we picked up our Toyota Camry and after a stop for some coffee we made the journey north to Port Douglas. The weather was interesting at times we drove through some heavy rain and then it cleared up just as we started the coastal part of the drive and enjoyed seeing the beach and waves so close to the road. We also spotted a few waterfalls beside the road.

We checked into our resort: Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa and before long after a quick tour of our one bedroom penthouse apartment we were soon in the pool / lagoon 3000 m2 which is in the centre of the resort and you can swim around past the various rooms as many rooms step out onto the lagoon a truly amazing way to relax.

Our lounge and dining area looking out to the tropical gardens of the resort

There is also an outdoor verandah

The lagoon view from the Aluco restaurant and bar

The view from our room which overlooks the lagoon

Brisbane at Easter (Easter Saturday 2021)

 A day exploring Brisbane City and a very mixed bag weather wise. The day began with a 4km walk along the river taking in the city skyline and many pedestrian / bike walkways. A very relaxing way to spend Easter Saturday. A little bit of retail therapy and a delicious lunch of gyoza.

The afternoon we relaxed at the hotel, the rain kept us away from trying the hotel pool. We enjoyed a delicious meal at the hotel and some great wines. All in all a very relaxing Easter Saturday and we travel home on Easter Sunday.

Brisbane skyline from the Goodwill bridge

Brisbane Skyline with construction of The Star

Brisbane has an interesting skyline

The bar area in our hotel - Novotel South Bank

Brisbane for Easter (Good Friday)

 We planned a quick getaway for Easter to visit BrisVegas and hopefully catch up with friends who we hadn't seen in over a year due to the pandemic and the inability to get into Queensland (which the locals were thrilled about). Earlier in the weekend when the announced a snap 3 day lockdown we thought that our plans would be dashed once again because of the pandemic, but on Thursday the lockdown ended and BrisVegas was good to go.

We managed to change our flight to a more suitable departure at 10:05am and with daylight savings that meant it was only a 30 minute time difference by the time we arrived which was great as it still have us plenty of time to have lunch and then catch up with other friends for dinner.

A thoroughly enjoyable Good Friday and Easter catch up.

The view from our room - 8th Floor Novotel South Bank

Our very comfortable room for a few nights

What better way to enjoy a Mexican meal 

than to wash it down with a margarita

Newcastle, NSW - Chess, The Musical (February 2021)

 We managed a weekend away in Newcastle, NSW a 2.5 hour drive north from Sydney. We had planned this weekend in June 2019 to visit the town and see Chess in March 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic those plans were placed on hold until February 2021.

We had a half day on Friday, so after lunch we collected our rental car from the airport and headed north. 

Our accommodation; Novotel Newcastle Beach was a great place to stay for two nights, with easy walking distance to the beach and the light rail which we used a few times during our stay.

We found a good collection of cafes, restaurants and bars along the water front where we ended up enjoying our lunch on Saturday and dinner was in an Italian restaurant where we caught up with several friends that had also travelled to Newcastle to see the show with us.

Chess, the musical at the gorgeous old Civic Theatre was amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed the production.

All up we had a fun weekend and it was great to get away for the weekend.

The view from our hotel room

A ship departing Newcastle port

The lighthouse

The Civic Theatre stage for Chess, the musical

Ballina Food highlights (January 2021)

 I wanted to share some of the food highlights from our stay in Ballina, NSW. As we had a kitchenette in our suite we did a fair amount of self catering and ordering take away but we also ventured out to dine at some of the local eateries.

Confit Duck Leg - CHÉ BON

Troy’s Legendary Beef Eye Fillet  - CHÉ BON

Chocolate lava cake with pistachio custard  - CHÉ BON

Strawberries and coconut cream mousse  - CHÉ BON

Garlic Bread with Cheese - Ballina RSL Club

“Jack’s Creek” Black Angus Sirloin - Ballina RSL Club

Chicken Chasseur - Ballina RSL Club (Specials board)

Ballina - Lennox Head days 5 & 6

We've been very fortunate with the weather, another two perfect summer days with the temperature sitting around 28-29 degrees Celsius. We ventured out to enjoy the great weather by bike, which seems to be the normal modus operandi for our stay, we then come back and have a dip in the pool to cool off.

Evening sun set from our suite balcony over the Richmond River

Lighthouse Beach (East Ballina)

Fishing trawler leaving the Richmond River via the channel

Ballina mini holiday & Australia Day (Days 1 - 4)

Here we are again visiting Ballina in Northern NSW. I didn't think we would be back here so soon. We had originally planned to be in the Sunshine Coast, QLD but due to a COVID-19 outbreak in greater Sydney, just before Christmas 2020 the borders all came crashing down. We were lucky to have been holidaying in Queensland when this all happened and so with this upcoming trip looking unlikely that we would get back into Queensland we made the decision to change our plans for northern NSW.

We stayed at the Ramada Hotel & Suites Ballina Byron in October 2020 and we were impressed with the area, it has everything on your doorstep. The hotel sits on the Richmond River and the rooms either face south towards the river or north towards the town centre and hotel pool, there are some rooms that also face east which would also have views of the river. Our first night was in one of the hotel spa river view rooms and this was a pleasant ample sized room for shorter stays, then for the remainder of our stay we managed to secure a one bedroom river view suite, this room type comes with a mini kitchen which is perfect for longer stays and some self catering.

We flew to Ballina on a Qantas 737 (174 seats), they normally operate this route with Dash 8 aircraft (74 seats). Since the borders with most states in Australia are closed to people from Greater Sydney the demand for northern NSW has increased.

For this trip we decided to hire bikes for the duration of our stay, our previous trip we had a hire car towards to the end of the stay so we could explore, the bikes gave us the opportunity to make use of the many bike paths.

Our first day we picked up the bikes in  the afternoon and did a 7 km bike ride to get familiar with the bikes and also allowed us to get settled and sort out our plans for dinner. Day 2 we travelled 24 + kms up to Lennox Head, where we stopped at one of the local bakeries to grab some lunch and some water (the one thing we forgot to pack before heading off). The sun had come out and the day had warmed up and as it was a weekend everyone had come out to enjoy the perfect summers day. Day 3 we rode 22+ kms and took the bikes to South Ballina via the Burns Point Ferry, we enjoyed a swim in the sea with practically the entire beach to ourselves. 

Day 4 (Australia Day) we did a small ride to the north break wall 8 + km and back, as it was a public holiday there were people and dogs everywhere. The river was also very popular, we had not seen it so busy. 

Eating in Ballina has always been rewarding with the many options available and most on our doorstep. Our first night we returned to one of our favourite Indian eateries, the second night we finally got the chance to dine at the Ballina RSL. Our third night we picked up some Thai food and took it back to the hotel room to enjoy and for Australia Day we self catered and dined out on the balcony and watched the world go by. 

So far a very relaxing and wonderful break and we are only at the half way point of our holiday.

One of the many fishing boats that head out each evening

Enjoying the view on our bike ride to Lennox Head

A quick rest to admire the view

The beach in South Ballina