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Started By
Message
Oceania/ Indonesia
Posted on 3/23/24 at 1:29 am
Posted on 3/23/24 at 1:29 am
Headed to the land of Oz in June for a wedding. It's been over a decade since I was there, so I know a lot has changed. Looking for recommendations on food, attractions, and activities for our trip.
We’ve booked most of the travel and lodging and it looks like we’re heading out late May.
The tentative itenerary is as follows.
* A two night layover in L.A. to take the kids to Disney.
* Two nights in Fiji to break up the long flight for the kids.
* Six nights in Brisbane for the wedding, koala sanctuary, Morton Bay bugs, wineries and other.
* Five nights in Tasmania for distilleries, breweries, wineries, and oysters.
* Five nights in Rotorua for hangi, hakas, and healing geothermal pools.
* Three nights in Queenstown, can't remember what we planned here but hopefully it's not too cold.
* Three nights in Syndey to do the bridge walk, harbour tour, and sightseeing.
* Five nights in Bali for mud pits, elephant jungle rides, beach excursion, and street food.
* Then back to Fiji overnight to start our trip back home.
Any recommendations on food, attractions, and activities are welcomed.
We’ve booked most of the travel and lodging and it looks like we’re heading out late May.
The tentative itenerary is as follows.
* A two night layover in L.A. to take the kids to Disney.
* Two nights in Fiji to break up the long flight for the kids.
* Six nights in Brisbane for the wedding, koala sanctuary, Morton Bay bugs, wineries and other.
* Five nights in Tasmania for distilleries, breweries, wineries, and oysters.
* Five nights in Rotorua for hangi, hakas, and healing geothermal pools.
* Three nights in Queenstown, can't remember what we planned here but hopefully it's not too cold.
* Three nights in Syndey to do the bridge walk, harbour tour, and sightseeing.
* Five nights in Bali for mud pits, elephant jungle rides, beach excursion, and street food.
* Then back to Fiji overnight to start our trip back home.
Any recommendations on food, attractions, and activities are welcomed.
5
Posted on 3/23/24 at 6:21 am to BigDropper
Damn a month long vacation. Jealous.
Posted on 3/23/24 at 10:21 am to Napoleon
quote:Pray for me. We're taking the kids (21, 15, 9) with us.
Damn a month long vacation. Jealous.
Posted on 3/23/24 at 12:42 pm to BigDropper
quote:
Five nights in Bali for mud pits, elephant jungle rides, beach excursion, and street food
I wouldn’t recommend any of these activities in Bali. Travel to Thailand if you want to do these things.
This post was edited on 3/23/24 at 12:45 pm
Posted on 3/23/24 at 2:07 pm to benson32
quote:That's on the 2026 menu...
Travel to Thailand
Posted on 3/23/24 at 3:34 pm to BigDropper
Sounds like an awesome adventure but that's a lot of flights (ten ?) to be dragging three kids on. Have you thought about just staying in Australia the whole time and renting a car - doing Queensland, Uluru, Great Ocean Road, South Australia?
Posted on 3/23/24 at 3:40 pm to BigDropper
quote:
Five nights in Bali for mud pits, elephant jungle rides, beach excursion, and street food.
We did Bali for our honeymoon. No idea if that thread still exists but I did a fairly extensive report. That was almost 8 years ago though.
Posted on 3/23/24 at 4:27 pm to AUFANATL
quote:Tell me about it... My wife is great to travel with because we see and do a lot, but she's also horrible to travel with because we move way too much for my liking.
Sounds like an awesome adventure but that's a lot of flights (ten ?) to be dragging three kids on
Posted on 3/23/24 at 4:29 pm to AbitaFan08
quote:Wish I could find it, anything memorable from that trip?
We did Bali for our honeymoon. No idea if that thread still exists but I did a fairly extensive report. That was almost 8 years ago though.
Posted on 3/23/24 at 10:22 pm to BigDropper
Posted on 3/23/24 at 11:31 pm to AbitaFan08
Cheers for the link!
Posted on 3/25/24 at 10:17 am to BigDropper
Wow that sounds amazing. Indonesia and Bali is on my bucket list because I want go surfing there with my now grown children. Have your kids ever traveled that distance before? I am sure you breaking it up will help but just let them know( especially your youngest) those long plane rides can be brutal. Definitely give us updates and a final summary of all your stops when you return. Safe travels and 
Posted on 3/27/24 at 6:20 am to BigDropper
quote:
quote:
We did Bali for our honeymoon. No idea if that thread still exists but I did a fairly extensive report. That was almost 8 years ago though.
Wish I could find it, anything memorable from that trip
Bump
Posted on 5/28/24 at 3:04 am to FLBooGoTigs1
First leg of the trip was a 48 hour layover in L.A. Went to Disney/ California Adventures.
Stayed in a suite at the Element hotel in Anaheim the first night. Then moved to the Marriott Los Angeles Airport. Apparently, you're not allowed to smoke Marijuana on premise.
Hit up a taco truck (on day two) for lunch. Burritos were healthy and the Birra was as expected.
Truck name is Mariscos Sabroso
Stayed in a suite at the Element hotel in Anaheim the first night. Then moved to the Marriott Los Angeles Airport. Apparently, you're not allowed to smoke Marijuana on premise.
Hit up a taco truck (on day two) for lunch. Burritos were healthy and the Birra was as expected.
Truck name is Mariscos Sabroso
Posted on 5/28/24 at 2:13 pm to AbitaFan08
Second leg of the trip was a 10 hour flight from LAX to Fiji via Fiji Air. Great hospitality by the cabin crew. Very accommodating and attentive.
Unfortunately, we were delayed over an hour for departure. Two beers, a 10mg edible, & two capsules of nyquil made me sleep through 7 hours of a 10 hour flight.
Unfortunately, we were delayed over an hour for departure. Two beers, a 10mg edible, & two capsules of nyquil made me sleep through 7 hours of a 10 hour flight.
Posted on 5/29/24 at 4:04 pm to BigDropper
ETA: PRICES
Stayed at the Ramada Wailoaloa. Decent accommodations. We booked a 2 room suite that fit our family of 5 comfortably.
It contained a kitchenette, complete with a microwave & dishwasher. As well as laundry units. We only stayed two nights and used the kitchen for breakfast. The hotel has two restaurants that serve decent food but nothing that's going to end up in publication.
Besides the hotel restaurants, we only ate out twice. Once at a place recommended by our driver. The Best Fish and Chips-Waimalika. It was pretty good but nit the best. The other was Vasaqa Fiji. Not recommended. Food was really meh. Seemed they put more emphasis on making food look good that making it taste good.
We only had two days for activities so the first day we hired a driver to take us to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. Pretty cool nature walk that boasts over 200 species of orchids. There's a nice hike up to a lookout that reveals a great view of the valley and bay. Upon returning to the trailhead, the attendant provided us with juice that tasted like watered down Tang. It was refreshing after hiking around the reserve.
After that we headed to the mud pools. Pretty fun experience for the family. Great memories. Nice thermal pools. They had showers and changing facilities but bring your own towel.
Originally, they asked for $450 Fijian dollars ($200 US) for the five of us. This included transfer to and from location, entry to Garden & Mud Pools, but I was able to negotiate $400FD ($175 US) for everything.
Stayed at the Ramada Wailoaloa. Decent accommodations. We booked a 2 room suite that fit our family of 5 comfortably.
It contained a kitchenette, complete with a microwave & dishwasher. As well as laundry units. We only stayed two nights and used the kitchen for breakfast. The hotel has two restaurants that serve decent food but nothing that's going to end up in publication.
Besides the hotel restaurants, we only ate out twice. Once at a place recommended by our driver. The Best Fish and Chips-Waimalika. It was pretty good but nit the best. The other was Vasaqa Fiji. Not recommended. Food was really meh. Seemed they put more emphasis on making food look good that making it taste good.
We only had two days for activities so the first day we hired a driver to take us to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. Pretty cool nature walk that boasts over 200 species of orchids. There's a nice hike up to a lookout that reveals a great view of the valley and bay. Upon returning to the trailhead, the attendant provided us with juice that tasted like watered down Tang. It was refreshing after hiking around the reserve.
After that we headed to the mud pools. Pretty fun experience for the family. Great memories. Nice thermal pools. They had showers and changing facilities but bring your own towel.
Originally, they asked for $450 Fijian dollars ($200 US) for the five of us. This included transfer to and from location, entry to Garden & Mud Pools, but I was able to negotiate $400FD ($175 US) for everything.
This post was edited on 5/29/24 at 4:19 pm
Posted on 5/29/24 at 4:42 pm to Napoleon
We booked our second day excursion back in November to take a boat to Castaway Island (where the film staring Tom Hanks was filmed), but we received notice that morning that the tour was canceled due to unfavorable atmospheric and maritime conditions.
Fortunately, we were able to book another tour with Captain Cook Cruises to Tivua Island. Boat embarked at 10am for a 90 minute boat ride that was a little choppy but the hospitality members and boat crew made it fun, playing instruments and singing traditional songs.
On the island they had FCFS cabanas on the winward side but we reserved a private cabana which were situated on the leeward side of the island. This was great because it was a very windy day. $1000 FD ($440 US) for a family of five which include an open bar of beer & wine, but they also had spirits for purchase, buffet lunch of salad, coleslaw, sweet potatoes, potato salad, stir fried rice noodles, fried rice, fresh fruit, fish, chicken, & lamb sausage.
Activities on the island included snorkeling, nature walk, glass bottom boat, and volleyball. They also had a dive master for anyone wanting to scuba.
Last call was at 3:30 and the boat departed for home around 4. The ride back was really fun with all us drunk tourists bonding with the staff and each other. My son lead beer-soaked renditions of Country Road & Tennessee Whisky.
The people of Fiji in the hospitality industry are super friendly and very polite. This was the best experience of the trip so far.
Fortunately, we were able to book another tour with Captain Cook Cruises to Tivua Island. Boat embarked at 10am for a 90 minute boat ride that was a little choppy but the hospitality members and boat crew made it fun, playing instruments and singing traditional songs.
On the island they had FCFS cabanas on the winward side but we reserved a private cabana which were situated on the leeward side of the island. This was great because it was a very windy day. $1000 FD ($440 US) for a family of five which include an open bar of beer & wine, but they also had spirits for purchase, buffet lunch of salad, coleslaw, sweet potatoes, potato salad, stir fried rice noodles, fried rice, fresh fruit, fish, chicken, & lamb sausage.
Activities on the island included snorkeling, nature walk, glass bottom boat, and volleyball. They also had a dive master for anyone wanting to scuba.
Last call was at 3:30 and the boat departed for home around 4. The ride back was really fun with all us drunk tourists bonding with the staff and each other. My son lead beer-soaked renditions of Country Road & Tennessee Whisky.
The people of Fiji in the hospitality industry are super friendly and very polite. This was the best experience of the trip so far.
Posted on 5/30/24 at 12:00 pm to BigDropper
What the hell do you do to be able to take a month long vacation of this expense?
and yes i'm jealous.
and yes i'm jealous.
Posted on 5/30/24 at 3:31 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:My wife and I are high school teachers so that's how we're able to take off for a month in the summer. We'll be in the red for this trip but should have it paid off by Christmas.
What the hell do you do to be able to take a month long vacation of this expense?
and yes i'm jealous.
Posted on 5/30/24 at 6:01 pm to BigDropper
Today is day 3 in Oz. We're staying in Manly which is a quaint little sea side town just 40 minutes outside of Brisbane.
Cool little town with plenty of shops and things to keep the kids entertained. Our first meal was at SeaVibes. They specialize in fried seafood. $80 AUD for four plates of fried seafood included a fillet of whiting, one shrimp, one scallop, two calamari rings, a fake crab leg, & chips. The side of slaw was $2.00 and sucked, but the fish was better than The Best Fish & Chips-Waimalika.
We booked a condo through Airbnb which has been very comfortable for the five of us. Manly Boutique Apartments. 2 bed rooms (one with a queenand the other with two twins and a trundle), 2 full baths, a nice kitchen, and washing machine. Dryers are not common on this side of the world so laundry has to hang to dry.
The place is located just a 2 minute walk from a bottle shop and IGA.
Day two, we took the kids to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Highly recommend doing this. We booked a koala photo opportunity that allows you to get close and pet the koala. I would have skipped this but the kids loved it. You can also book to hold a koala but we didn't take advantage of that.
There were over 100 koalas doing funny koala things.
Aside from koalas, there's also a roo feeding area. 100s of kangaroos and wallabies that allow you to hand feed them.
Last night we had a dinner for immediate family at The Manly Boathouse. Apps included Tasmanian oysters on the half shell, BBQ scallops on the half shell, oysters Kilpatrick, mac & cheese croquettes, & karage chicken. The Tasmanian oysters were the best bite of food all night. I did not put that stupid lemon or any horseradish on them.
Mains included baramundi & lamb shoulder with broccoli slaw and chips as sides. Not sure if this food is on their regular menu but the other food coming out of the kitchen looked good as well.
Leftover lamb shoulder made a great omlett for breakfast this morning.
Pops picked up the bill, but for 15 people I'd wager it was $4-$5k AUD with beer and wine.
Today we have lunch plans with the wedding party at Sirromet Winery where the wedding will be held, tomorrow.
Cool little town with plenty of shops and things to keep the kids entertained. Our first meal was at SeaVibes. They specialize in fried seafood. $80 AUD for four plates of fried seafood included a fillet of whiting, one shrimp, one scallop, two calamari rings, a fake crab leg, & chips. The side of slaw was $2.00 and sucked, but the fish was better than The Best Fish & Chips-Waimalika.
We booked a condo through Airbnb which has been very comfortable for the five of us. Manly Boutique Apartments. 2 bed rooms (one with a queenand the other with two twins and a trundle), 2 full baths, a nice kitchen, and washing machine. Dryers are not common on this side of the world so laundry has to hang to dry.
The place is located just a 2 minute walk from a bottle shop and IGA.
Day two, we took the kids to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Highly recommend doing this. We booked a koala photo opportunity that allows you to get close and pet the koala. I would have skipped this but the kids loved it. You can also book to hold a koala but we didn't take advantage of that.
There were over 100 koalas doing funny koala things.
Aside from koalas, there's also a roo feeding area. 100s of kangaroos and wallabies that allow you to hand feed them.
Last night we had a dinner for immediate family at The Manly Boathouse. Apps included Tasmanian oysters on the half shell, BBQ scallops on the half shell, oysters Kilpatrick, mac & cheese croquettes, & karage chicken. The Tasmanian oysters were the best bite of food all night. I did not put that stupid lemon or any horseradish on them.
Mains included baramundi & lamb shoulder with broccoli slaw and chips as sides. Not sure if this food is on their regular menu but the other food coming out of the kitchen looked good as well.
Leftover lamb shoulder made a great omlett for breakfast this morning.
Pops picked up the bill, but for 15 people I'd wager it was $4-$5k AUD with beer and wine.
Today we have lunch plans with the wedding party at Sirromet Winery where the wedding will be held, tomorrow.
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