Etihad Airways Flight EY12

Time

The check in didn't take as long as expected. I got on with no problems at all. Well, my luggage was only a bit over 10kg, so it looks like I can buy much more stuff on the way back, hahaha! All the delays is because of BAA, so I can't fault Etihad at all.

We took off 30 minutes late, but arrived only 10 minutes late. Since I had to wait 3 hours for my next flight anyway, what time we landed actually didn't matter with me. In fact, the flight was so comfy I wished we'd spent more time in the air.

Rating - 3

Comfort

We flew in an Airbus A346. The seat configuration was 2,4,2. It was a pretty empty flight, so people were pretty spread out and there was no queues for the toilets! The seats - has the bend back head rest which I like, had a footrest which I like, but the length is quite short - which I don't care about at all!

There are many things to occupy your time. They provided an excellent range of newspaper and mags at the waiting area. Their inflight magazine is not bad at all. The best thing though is definitely their in flight entertainment. I managed to finish off all the movies I started on the Cathay flight. Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer (crap), Paris, Je T'aime (very French), Fracture (very gripping), Chaos (an EXCELLENT movie). The screen was big, has all the usual controls, and it even operates as a touch screen. There are loads of videos on demand and the remote is really good. The headphones they provide are excellent. Well padded and comfortable, and most importantly, not too big.

The time flew by in a flash. I didn't sleep so I'll report on that the next flight. And if that's not enough to keep you occupied, you can watch the takeoff and landing on the screen as they have a vi-cam attached.

Rating - 3

Service

The check in desk was quite good. They checked that I had the right visa, assured me about my luggage for my transfer, and adviced me that it took awhile to get to the gate.

Once on board, the staff were very polite. I didn't need them much as my in-flight entertainment was very good. They constantly brought us drinks, took away rubbish and stuff. They cater to all the people who are fasting for ramadan, and served their meals when they could eat too.

The best thing though, is actually the information they provide you. The co-pilot was so informative about EXACTLY what was happening, and spoke in very clear English.

Rating - 4.5

Allowance/Gifts

Well, the magazines at the boarding gates were great. You also get socks, earplugs and a mask, so that's all the stuff you need and none of the stuff you don't. I don't know how lax they are with extra allowance, but I don't think I will try to find out.

Rating - 4

Food

Well, since they won the Skytrax award this year for best in-flight catering, I was expecting big things. My meal was pretty good, don't get me wrong, but I didn't think it was better than other meals I've had. I think they were pretty generous with their food though, and I love their constant supply of drinks, so I never felt I was thirsty or anything.

Rating - 3.5

Value

My London to Jburg return costs me 439 booked online. As I booked at pretty much the last minute, I think it was an ok deal. However, considering the plane was half empty and I am sure I received much better service and a lot more miles, it was great. I've also decided 7 hours is probably the ideal time for a flight, so having a break instead of going direct is probably not a bad idea!

Rating - 3

Jumbo Points - 21

Info

London-> Abu Dhabi
27 Sep 07, 13:05 - 23:15
Website

Day 1 31/8/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Hong Kong

Highlight

• With nothing to do, we arrived at the airport a little too early. The check in wasn't actually open so we had to wait in line. It seemed thought that everyone else had the same idea, so there was a huge line at check in by the time they opened.
• We ate our weight's worth at the Qantas lounge - which was quite boring btw, then ate some more on the plane.
• Business class - it's definitely better, and the service on Cathay is ten times better than Qantas.
• Arrived at the airport, with our boxes of apple, and had no problems getting out. The airport was so busy and the crowds were so huge, but we only had a short wait.
• Got to uncle's house, observing the night views and all the new buildings that have been built in the last couple of years.
• No more food for us, off to bed.

Food

• Qantas lounge:
  • roast beef sandwich
  • turkey cranberry roll
  • tomato roll
  • apple juice
  • champagne orange juice strawberry
  • peas and potato curry salad
  • caesar salad
  • asparagus soup with croutons
  • pea and ham soup
  • chicken nuggets
  • falafel
  • cappuccino
  • chocolate biscuit
  • cheesecake
  • chocolate tart
  • blue, brie and cheddar cheese
• Cathay dinner:
  • Starter
    • seasonal mixed salad served with palm sugar dressing
    • mustard marinated prawns with roasted zucchini and salsa Verde
  • Main course
    • Grilled beef fillet iwth green and yellow beans potato and leek gratin and red wine thyme jus
    • lamb tagine with mixed fruit cous cous
  • Cheese and Dessert
  • Fresh seasonal fruit
  • chocolate cake with King Island cream
  • cappuccino
  • praline
• Cathay refreshment:
  • Starter
    • fresh seasonal fruit
  • Noodle Soup and Savouries
    • Wontons in noodle soup served with chilli sauce
    • chicken and lamb satay on fried rice with satay sauce
  • Dessert
  • lemon tart
  • chocolate brownie
  • cappuccino
  • praline

Hong Kong & China 2007

Simple Plan:
Oz -> Hong Kong -> China -> Hong Kong -> UK

Expaneded Plan:
Sydney -> Hong Kong -> Beijing -> Hong Kong -> London

Date:
31/8/07 - 14/9/07

Flying:
Cathay Pacific Business Class!! + Air China :(

Cost:
$$$$$$

Things you see everywhere in Australia

Hayman Island

• blue water
• sandy beaches
• trees
• resort staff
• conference guests
• American tourists
• kids
• people in swimming costumes
• alcohol
• wedding

Day 6 11/8/07 - Australia

Hayman Island -> Hamilton Island -> Sydney

Highlight

• Our last day. We got up this morning with a bit of apprehension, not only because it was actually going to be 26 degrees, the warmest it has been all week, and sunny too, but also because we ha to contemplate the thought of packing.
• For our last breakfast, we didn’t even stuff ourselves, but I did have another champagne cocktail.
• The weather was nice enough for us to enjoy some last minute catamaraning. It’s certainly better here than Thailand, as there is actually wind and the area is much bigger, plus the water is so much cleaner.
• One last dip in the pool, before we checked out.
• We managed to play the golf driving range, pool, racquet ball and croquet before our transfer back, this time on a luxury charter boat instead of the normal boat.
• The flight back went smoothly, we didn’t miss our check in, didn’t go over in our luggage and the flight was not delayed.

Food

• Azure breakfast:
  • croissant with strawberry jam and smoked salmon and cream cheese
  • almond Danish
  • apricot Danish
  • chocolate muffin with melted chocolate chips
  • omelette with everything except cheese
  • zucchini and onion
  • eggplant with Napolitana sauce and cheese
  • mushrooms
  • duck sausage
  • bircher muesli with stewed prunes, cherries and berry compote
  • champagne cocktail with blue cheese and fig
• champagne
• orange juice
• carrot cake

Day 5 10/8/07 - Australia

Hayman Island

Highlight

• Slokky said the weather was going to be horrible today, so I planned a slow day with nothing to do, little did I know it was just his ploy to do nothing, as the sun was shining and the weather was the warmest it had been all day.
• Watched the fish feeding frenzy around the lagoon
• A late breakfast was in order after the excesses of yesterday’s dinner.
• A slight change of plans because of the weather, we decided to take a dingy out to visit a few of the island. Unfortunately the waves were too rough so we couldn’t go either, so onto Plan C, we got a boat transfer to Blue Pearl Bay 2.
• The boat transfer was lots of fun in itself actually, if you like riding huge waves at high speed and getting your face splattered with water.
• There was still glimpses of sun when we arrived on the spectacular Blue Pearl Bay, so we bit the bullet and dived straight into the snorkelling. The water was spectacular, there were so much fish everywhere, and they would just swim right up to you. We snapped lots of pics so hope they turn out.
• Unfortunately, the sun went into hiding again, so the water turned cold very quickly, and we had to leave the water.
• 2 pieces of misfortune greeted me. 1, I managed to scratch my leg against some coral, resulting in some pretty bad stings. 2, the speed boat ride back was even more exciting. We were going really fast and actually overheated, meaning that we were stranded in the middle of some wavy water for over 5 minutes. I was glad nobody threw up.
• Went to Spa Chakra to try out the steam room and plunge pool. For novelty value only really, it was nothing exciting.
• We wanted to grab a sunset cocktail at the Beach Pavilion, but it was closed early because of yet another wedding, so we walked along the beach to take advantage of the low cloud cover, to try to watch the sunset. However, the tide beat us to it, and we couldn’t actually walk out enough to see the sunset. Still, watching the sky change colour is magical enough.
• Had a quiet night in, to give our stomachs a good rest, and to actually eat some of the food we brought with us. Some instant noodles, cake and chocolate later, our load was lessened, but we were bringing a bit of chocolate home.
• Finally tried out the War of the Rings board game that we borrowed. It took forever to set up, had a million rules, even though we only used the "simplified rule". It could potentially be a very good game, if you remember all the rules that is…

Food

• Azure breakfast:
  • mocha
  • strawberry Danish
  • peach Danish
  • raisin scroll
  • smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel
  • scrambled eggs
  • baked beans on poppyseed bun
  • eggplant Parmigiana
  • bacon and leek frittata
  • eggs Benedict with salmon and bacon
  • roast tomato
  • spicy beef sausage
  • mixed fruit with 4 cheeses
• palmier
• kim chi ramen
• banana
• English breakfast tea
• seashell chocolate

Day 4 9/8/07 - Australia

Hayman Island

Highlight

• After the decadence of last night, we went for a very light breakfast, as we were going for a feast tonight.
• Today they decided to tidy our rooms nice and early, so the room was already all made up after breakfast.
• The sun decided to stay hidden today, so that stopped everyone else from going on the sailing trip with us, so we had the boat, Lady Dee, all to ourselves.
• Lady Dee is the ultimate luxurious vessel. There are 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen area. We didn’t stay inside for very long though, taking in the scenery of lush green island and blue water.
• Our crew were Beth, from the Hawkesbury, and Christian from Germany. They were really nice, and let us go wherever we wanted. It was like having a private charter. I got to drive for a bit – it was easy as they did everything else and all I had to do was turn the wheel.
• After some trouble negotiating a path between the coral, we were dropped off on Langford Island, with a long stretch of beach sticking out, where we had lunch. Besides a few snorkelers also out on a boat, we had the whole place to ourselves. Probably a good thing that the sun decided to stay hidden though, otherwise we won’t want to leave.
• We had better luck finding deck chairs at the lagoon pool today, as most guests were probably holed up inside, away from the wind. We only lasted about 5 minutes in the pool before we gave up.
• What else to do on a overcast, windy day? We had a go on the 9 hole putting green, borrowed a board game, browsed the retail shop, took a door of Spa Chakra, and played a long game of snooker.
• The highlight of our dining experience is The Chef’s Table, prepared by Glenn Bacon, the executive chef at Hayman Island Resort, which is held twice a week and has only 18 spots. We dined in the hotel kitchen, on a long table, and enjoyed being spoilt by the top quality food and wine on offer. The highlight of it though, was definitely touring the kitchen, including the chocolate room where free samples of Valhona chocolate truffles were on offer, and watching all the bakers at work for the next day’s breakfast.

Food

• Azure breakfast:
  • mocha
  • peppermint tea
  • grapefruit juice
  • blueberry Danish
  • raspberry Danish
  • cheese scroll
  • mango and natural yoghurt with dried fruit and nuts
  • poached egg with hollandaise
  • Sicilian lyonnaise (pork) sausage
• lunch on Lady Dee:
  • orange juice
  • apple blackcurrant juice
  • carrot cake
  • fruit platter
• Chef’s Table dinner:
  • Don Perigon champagne
  • kingfish tartare
  • steamed Brunny island oysters with sake
  • mud crab and reen papaya salad with plantains
  • 2006 Henschke "Coralinga" Sauvignon Blanc
  • Guinea hen, savoy cabbage, black pudding and pork hock compression
  • 2006 Haan "Prestiage" Viognier
  • Hiramisa kingfish with baby abalone, enoki and pearl barley “risotto”
  • 2005 Dog Point Chardonnay
  • Pave of wagyu nine score with snail tart and Montpellier butter
  • 2001 D’Arenberg "Coppermine Road" Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Purple carrot gelle and sherbet
  • Variations of orange
  • 2004 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon

Day 3 8/8/07 - Australia

Hayman Island

Highlight

• Our waterskiing plans didn’t eventuate as the kinds were too strong, so we ended up having a long breakfast.
• We did our hike around Hayman Island. The walk is on a pretty gentle, well marked path. The views were amazing, but the highlight was definitely landing on Blue Pearl Bay 1, while looking over to Blue Pearl Bay 2 (can't be reached on foot) with its crystal water, pebble beach, and the moored yatch around.
• Tried to go swim at the lagoon pool, but all the deck chairs were taken, so we had to go back to the main pool instead. Slokky jumped into the big pool for about 1 minute before deciding that it was too cold.
• We were curious what paddle skis were, but turned out to be some very nice kayaks. Paddled around in some very rocky water for awhile.
• Dinner at Azure again, this time for the seafood grill. I tried to eat my money’s worth with oysters, but only managed 18 before I was defected.
• Too full to even move, we retired to watch Zodiac in our room, one of the best movies to come out this year.

Food

• Azure breakfast:
  • champagne cocktail
  • pineapple juice
  • latte
  • hot chocolate
  • smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel
  • raisin bun
  • miso soup
  • chicken sausage
  • spicy beef sausage
  • beef steak
  • smoked salmon and spinach egg pot
  • French toast
  • pancake
  • fried potato
  • hash brown
  • grilled mushroom
  • Bircher muesli with berry compote and strawberry yoghurt
  • fruit and cheese
• marble cake
• seafood grill dinner at Azure:
  • oyster
  • prawn
  • crab
  • squid salad
  • pumpkin and sausage salad
  • salmon and potato salad
  • bean and egg salad
  • roast beef salad
  • couscous and fish salad
  • sushi
  • salt and pepper squid
  • chilli prawns
  • chicken and sweet corn soup
  • lobster and clams paella
  • Thai fishcakes
  • vegetable tempura
  • steamed whole fish
  • deep fried yabbie
  • fried salmon
  • fried kingfish
  • fish skewer with lemon
  • curry octopus
  • roast beef
  • chocolate mousse
  • passionfruit cheesecake
  • tiramisu
  • flourless chocolate cake
  • coffee slice
  • chocolate raspberry slice
  • crème caramel
  • orange poppyseed cake
  • carrot cake
  • fruit tart
  • fresh fruit
  • blue cheese

Day 2 7/8/07 - Australia

Hayman Island -> Knuckle Reef -> Hayman Island

Highlight

• Had a very enjoyable breakfast at Azure, sitting by the window looking right on the beach. It was a bit too cold to sit outside though. Only tried a small selection of food as we were going diving!
• Boarded Seaflight, run by Cruise Whitsundays. The oat was top class, and Hayman guests get special treatment (but we have to pay more than everyone else). Met Anne and Britney from USA, who were here for a birthday trip.
• Lots of activities on board, but we couldn’t actually fit everything in!
• Glass bottom boat – quite enjoyable, the marine biologist explained a lot of stuff, like what all the corals are called and what you were likely to see.
• Was looking forward to the "Subsea Adventure", a submersible. But it turned out to be not very exciting, we couldn’t see very much.
• Got suited up for diving, had a 1mm long suit with a 5mm short suit, but it was still freezing cold. We dived for 45 minutes but I couldn’t stand the cold. There were some pretty fish and coral, but much much less to see than The Similans and even our first Cairns trip, so in that sense was disappointing. The highlight was probably seeing (and touching ;p) Wally the giant wrasse again. I actually still had 90 bars of air left when we came up.
• We wanted to do a 2nd dive, but because of bad planning by them, we actually could not fit it in. Never mind, it was way too cold for me anyway, and it meant we could actually eat lunch.
• Lunch was not very exciting. We only got the leftovers of everyone else, and they actually packed up while we were trying to eat anyway.
• We only had about 15 minutes for lunch before we were whisked away for the next activity, which was a helicopter flight back to Hayman, visiting Heart Reef, Langford Island, Whitehaven Beach. The view was spectacular and was definitely worth the money ($349). We also saw a few whales on their migration from Antartica.
• Swam in the famous Hayman pool, but only the inside pool as nothing else was heated.
• Listened to the jazz and piano player in the Club lounge while Slokky ordered a girly mocktail.
• Watched them replace and wipe everything at turndown even though they only cleaned the room not too long ago.
• Had a quiet night in, looking at wedding photos, watch TV, read Harry Potter and of course the laptop. The free wireless access has to be the best feature of the resort.

Food

• Azure breakfast:
  • smoked salmon
  • assorted cold cuts
  • blueberry muffin
  • apple danish
  • rye bread
  • smoked salmon baked egg pot
  • hash brown
  • chicken sausage
  • chipolata sausage
  • croissant with strawberry jam
  • chocolate croissant
  • skim cappuccino
  • apple juice
  • pineapple juice
  • omelette with mushrooms, cheese and tomato
  • bacon
  • poached egg
  • brie with dried fruit
  • assorted fruit
• Lunch on Seaflight:
  • apple juice
  • bread roll
  • tortilla wrap
  • cold cuts
  • prawns
  • steamed mussels with tomato
  • crab stick salad
  • pasta salad
  • rice salad
  • potato salad
  • chicken
  • pineapple and melon
• tutti frutti mocktail ($12)
• English breakfast tea
• hot and spicy instant noodles ($1.50)
• chocolate seashell
• palmier

Day 1 6/8/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Hamilton Island -> Hayman Island

Highlight

• Things didn’t start off on a good note. For some reason, my usually reliable dad was late. It took him over 10 minutes to get ready to leave. Because he was usually so good, we didn’t factor in that it would take him so long to get ready, so we ended up missing our plane by 2 minutes, as all the Jetstar check in all “automatically” closes exactly 30 minutes before the flight is scheduled to leave. We knew the plane was still here, but they refused to let us on, even if we were on our honeymoon. The guy at customer service was quite helpful, but he just kept stressing that he had no power to actually get us on even if he could. He booked us on the next flight, but that was not for another 6 hours, and we had to pay $120 in late fee, which he tried to waive, but didn’t manage to.
• Defeated, we tried not to let that ruin our day, and spent the morning at Oatley with my relatives, looking at our wedding video and photos, and opening all the cards and presents.
• We made our way to the airport for the second time, we were 1 hour early, but still managed to be one of the last people to check in.
• Once we arrived at Hamilton island airport, things went very smoothly. From the seamless transition to our luxury cruise transfer, to the checking in process and the huge welcome cocktail that was served.
• The Resort was as we expected. After being in Asia, Hayman Island Resort certainly does not beat them in service, but I believe it is the best resort in Australia (not that I have the authority to say of course, more of a gut feel kinda thing). Our room was very nice, not as big as Aspasia, but good enough that I can spend the whole week there.
• We did an orientation of the resort where we found out all the Internet was free, and we could get wireless everywhere, all the restaurants, the club lounge, our room, and hence my consistent blogging 
• Since we were up at 4am this morning for that flight we missed, we were dead tired, and retired early for bed (after the fantastic turndown service) after our beautiful dinner at La Trattoria.

Food

• cornbread, marble cake, palmier
• Hayman cruise:
  • champagne
  • bacon and chicken quiche
  • fruit skewers
• midori cocktail
• dinner at La Trattoria:
  • foccacia with balsamic oil and tomato salsa
  • zuppa minestrone ($17)
  • pappardelle allo scoglio ($34)
  • tuscan pizza ($27)
• camomile tea

Hayman Island 2007

Simple Plan:
Oz

Expaneded Plan:
Sydney - Hamilton Island - Hayman Island - Hamilton Island - Sydney

Date:
6/8/07 - 11/8/07

Flying:
Jetstar deathstar

Cost:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Natone Hills Fly Fishery Bed & Breakfast

Room

Wow, I didn’t expect to have a big 3 bedroom house to ourselves. We had 3 big bedrooms to choose from. Our pillows were nice and comfy, but the double bed was a bit small and hard. All the beds were equipped with towels and electric blanket.

The place had a big living room, with some comfy but old chairs. The bathroom was spacious and newly done up, not fancily, just functional.

There was a carport out the front too that we had to share with the pigeons.

Rating - 4

Facilities

We had access to the fully stocked kitchen, flour, egg, cereal, pots, pans, all kinds of tea and coffee. You want it, it was available. There was a huge fridge, but alas, no freezer. We had a very small TV (a good thing). The bathroom even had toothpaste and loads and loads of toilet paper.

There was also a laundry and second toilet, a dartboard, loads of brochures. The best thing though, was that it was a working farm and in the morning you could go watch the cows being milked and have a go yourself. There are lots of tracks and paddocks you are free to wonder across as well.

Christine and Ian were very nice and very friendly. They talked a lot and invited us into their lives. They showed us around the place but left us alone too.

Rating - 4

Location

The location is both good in bad. Situated on a farm around 30 minutes from Burnie, it meant you couldn’t just get to the shops and go to restaurants or freshen up when you want, but the setting was so beautiful and quiet. Also because it was a farm there was no mobile reception.

Rating - 2.5

Food

We were given 6 fresh eggs, white and wholemeal read, loads of different jams nad butter, a huge supply of cereal and milk (sadly because of the law they couldn’t give us the fresh milk, which gets sent to be packaged), tea (green, peppermint, camimole, jasmine, breakfast), coffee, hot chocolate. They had sugar, flour, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, so I was able to whip up some pancakes for breakfast!

Rating - 4.5

Value

I couldn’t believe how cheap it was, at $60 a night, including breakfast supplies. I would definitely come back for more.

Rating - 5

Snooze Points - 20

Info

Greta Road
Upper Natone
North West Coast
TAS 7321
Phone (03) 6436 2181
Website

Riverfront Motel

Room

It was one of those holes in the wall. There’s enough room for you to walk between the two single beds, and that’s about it. We had a big suitcase so we had to step over it to get anywhere. The bed itself? The pillow was extremely flat, with a very soft mattress. The bathroom had a shower, a very small sink and nowhere to put your stuff.

Rating - 1.5

Facilities

Well, the light was not working so we had to make do with just the reading light. The kettle was one of those dumb one with no on/off button. It just boils when you plug it in, which of course meant it doesn’t turn itself off either, so you have to wait around to hear it boil before you turn it off. We were given biscuits and fresh milk, but there are really no other facilities. The curtain also don’t reach all the way past the bottom of the small slits of windows, and let the light through. Good thing we had a very early morning flight so it didn’t matter that much.

The service was very efficient (hey at least they had our booking!), I managed to arrange my check out the night before all without a problem.

Rating - 2

Location

It’s not in Hobart itself, but it’s not too far away. It’s easy to eat to Hobart if you have a car, and it’s actually a bit closer to the airport. However, except for a winery, there’s really nothing much around there. We couldn’t enjoy the supposedly beautiful views because we arrived after it was dark and headed off very early in the morning.

Rating - 2

Value

$75 per night, “discounted” from the rack rate of $79.

Rating - 2

Snooze Points - 7.5

Info

897 Brooker Highway
Berriedale
TAS 5001
Phone (03) 6272 6721
Website

Things you see everywhere in Australia

Hunter Valley

• vineyards
• Americans
• tourists
• happy people
• tourist trap

Newcastle

• uni students
• country town

Day 3 6/5/07 - Australia

Newcastle -> Sydney

Highlight

• Wow, the first holiday I haven't enjoyed for a long time. I'd forgotten why I don't go on holidays with my family...I swear when I have a family, I am not going to annoy them!
• After another restless night, with the front door alarm going off constantly and drunk uni students patrolling the halls, we set off for the Honeysuckle Markets, Newcastle's premier market. Well, put it this way, there were about 10 stalls that's about it, so we were able to buy some bread and veg and go home to have brekkie.
• On the way back, drove past some of the "sights" of Newcastle, the Red-Light District, and the Newcastle Steelworks.
• After our "lunch", it was time for the long drive home, watching a game of soccer, before finally arriving home.

Food

• Fosterton Farm Linseed sourdough ($4.80)
• Fosterton Farm corn sourdough ($4.80)
• Fosterton Farm farmhouse sourdough ($4.80)
• Fosterton Farm pumpkin, fetta and rice parcel ($3)
• Mayan Coffee cappuccino ($3.20)
• Bionnarie Dairy labna, duetto
• Hunter Valley Cheese Company gold washed rind cheese
• omelette with mushrooms

Day 2 5/5/07 - Australia

Newcastle -> Pokolbin -> Newcastle

Highlight

• Woke up really early because of the bird calls outside the dorm room, so we ended up having breakfast really early and leaving the house by 8:30am. As a result we got to the Hunter Valley around 9:30 am, so of course nothing was open yet.
• First stop was the Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop, which wasn't opened yet, so we had a wonder around the Pokolbin Chocolate & Jam Company General Store at the Pokobin Village Resort.
• Too impatient to wait, we went to the Hunter Valley Gardens Village (HVGV), where there is a beautiful church with stained glass windows overlooking the gardens (incidentally there was a wedding there too).
• There are plenty of shops around HVGV to poke around in, my favourites were The Waiters Friend, selling all manners of kitchen stuff, and of course The Hunter Valley Chocolate Company, where they craft some delicious chcolate, my favourite being the chilli chocolate. They didn't have the dark coffee beans we wanted, so the girl was kind enough to call their other shop and store some aside for us.
• We hadn't actually tasted any wine at this stage, so we thought it was time to give it a go.
• We started off at the Bluetongue Brewery, but since we had to pay to taste the beer, so we just had a look before moving on. You can go on brewery tours, but seeing we've been on tours before, we gave it a miss.
• Across the road was the Binnorie Dairy, it was very crowded, but the setting as beautiful, overlooking a lake and vineywards, so we didn't mind waiting around. When we finally did, we got to taste test the whole range of their cheese, duetto, marinated fetta, labna, mascapone. Their cheese offering was excellent, we were really pleased so bought up big.
• On the way there, we passed a really nice looking winery, set in the valley and they had a huge balcony, so we decided to use that as our first wine tasting stop. I am so glad we did. The Keith Tullochwine Winery was excellent, a small brewery that only makes a small collection of wines, on sale at the cellar store or at the Small Winemakers Centre, and restaurants only. The best thing about this place is the way you do tasting. You pick your spot on the spacious balcony or inside, and they bring you glasses and the wines one by one. They only produce 2 whites, three rds and a dessert wine only. The wines were of pretty good quality, and the service was excellent. Each wine was explained to you and you can relax with your tasting, reclining on the comfy couches. There are also newspaper and mags to read. We spent over an hour there and ended up joining their wine club as well as buying a dozen.
• We went back to the Smelly Cheese Shop but it was so crowded that we didn't stay there long. They have a whole range of their own cheeses as well as cheese from all around the world. If you're here on a quiet day it's well worth a wander, especially in their cheese room.
• The Hunter Valley Cheese Factory is located at McGuigan Cellars. We walked through the range of their cheese, including the marinated fetta, fresh herbed cheese, the smelly Gold Washed Rind, 2 goats cheese: the Branxton White Mould and Grape Vien Ashed Brie, a strong blue and a cheddar from Queensland. The marinated products were not as good as Binnorie Dairy, but we really enjoyed the washed rind. We also managed to pick up some excellent olive oil.
• Across the road for some lunch at the Australian Regional Food Store, but alas, the lunch menu was boring and unimaginative, not to mention expensive, so we made to with 2 mediocare coffees, before heading next door to the Small Winemakers Centre for more taste testing. Not only was the person rude and slow to us, but the wine was pretty ordinary. We left there in a hurry, plenty more cellar doors where they are more welcoming.
• Finally we made our way to the reason we went to the Hunter in the first place, the Meander on Marrowbone Road event as part of the Harvest Festival. Unfortunately it was a bit late in the day, and also because we'd drunk our weights worth in wine, we only managed to make it to 2 out of 5 wineries. Draytons Family Wines where they were offering a winery tour. But before that, we got to taste a few of their offerings, and picked up a dozen reds for the price of $4 each! The wineary tour was pretty informative, and covers the whole process - I've been to a few winery tours in my lifetime, and I actually never remember much of it...
• Our 2nd stop on Marrowbone Rd was to the McWilliams Mount Pleasant Estate, one of the oldest winery in the Hunter. They had a photo exhibition, showing wine making there in teh 50s, taken by famous photographer Max Dupain.
• Our last stop was to get our chocolates from the . I never realised why this was the last stop, as the girl mentioned the shop was just down the road. As it turned out, Slokky had "misinterpreted" and thought we had to go to the factory at Lovedale instead. So 20 minutes later, we found ourselves at the factory shop, where we watched two workers making chocolates. A few taste of fudge later, we came away with bags of chocolate treats.
• We wanted to go to Restaurant II, but it was booked out. So Slokky suggested Honeysuckle Wharf, the supposed Newcastle equivalent to King Street Wharf. Well, in terms of architecture, that's correct, but in terms of shops and people, there were like 1/4 of the people. Since we were with mum and dad, we didn't really get ot eat at where we wanted, so ended up at Twist Cafe Bar, which is not a highlight. Read about it in my review here.
• Got forced to go to Coles to buy soap, even though there were still heaps left, then got forced to eat "yam dessert", even though there is no sugar in it at all.
• As usual, Elaine refuses to sleep early and also refuses to keep the noise down when other people are sleeping, so had to stay awake even though I was really really tired.

Food

• baked beans, scrambled eggs and cheese on toast
• porriage with fruit and nuts
• Bliss Coffee Roaster cappuccino ($3.50)
• taste testing olive oils, jams, chutneys
• taste testing wines
• Australian Regional Food Store latte ($3.80)
• taste testing chocolate and fudge at Hunter Valley Chocolate Company
• mandarin
• Twist Cafe Bar dinner:
  • seared blue eye cod fillet in South Indian aubergine and potato curry topped with seared scallops and riata ($26)
  • pan fried yellow fin tuna served on sauteed kiper potato, asparagus and sundried tomatoes with wild roquette, basil oil and essence of balsamic ($26)
  • roased whole spatchcock with french lentils, currents, speck and merlot glaze ($24)
  • chargrilled bangalow pork cutlet with roasted parsnip and thyme mash, sauteed dbaby spinach and caramelised apple jus ($26)
  • seared atlantics salmon with beurre blanc, asparagus spear and potato rosti ($26)
• yam potatoes "dessert"
• peanut butter fudge

Day 1 4/5/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Newcastle

Highlight

• We started with dinner at Flemington's Saigon Pho, before taking the 2+ hour drive to Newcastle. The road was more crowded than I expected, but the road is nice enough.
• Elaine's campus dorm is very nice. The building is very new, the room is ver yspacious and there are some very beautiful BBQ area as well as a common room with a huge TV and Foxtel! Slokky might be spending more weeks here afterall

Food

• Saigon Pho dinner:
  • beef noodle soup ($7)
  • seafood combination in fried noodles ($9)
  • special fish with rice hot pot ($8.70)

Hunter Valley 2007

Simple Plan:
Oz

Expaneded Plan:
Sydney - Newcastle - Hunter - Newcastle - Sydney

Date:
4/5/07 - 6/5/07

Flying:
or not

Cost:
$$

100 Great Things To Do In Australia

001 Explore Kakadu’s little brother Litchfield
002 Be cast for eternity onto salty Lake Ballard
003 Swim with wild seals at Baird Bay
004 Go on holiday save 100 lives at Mapoon
005 Reach the oasis of Ormiston Gorge
006 Visit the other remarkable pebble Mount Augustus
007 Open a half-million-year-old treasure chest Naracoorte Caves
008 Visit one of the world’s oldest art galleries Carnarvon Gorge
009 Go swimming with tuna at Port Lincoln
010 Hear a great set of pipes at the Undara Lava Tubes
011 Walk to Art in Melbourne
012 Stay the night in a light on Montague Island
013 Lose yourself in the bluest lagoon at Fitzroy Reef
014 Call the birds in on towering Mount Gower
015 Take a vow of silence in New Norcia
016 Be among the first to paint the hills in outback SA
017 Celebrate Australian biodiversity at Australian Garden
018 Adrift on a Dead Sea at the Pool of Siloam
019 Rent your own island in the Mackerel Islands
020 Get dragged around with Sydney by Diva
021 Look! Up in the sky! It’s your round! Flying Pub Crawl
022 Bathe in convict history at the Bogey Hole
023 Live the life of a keeper on Gabo Island
024 See Sydney from a VERY different angle
025 Paddle under a convict prison in Fremantle
026 Play catch with sharks on the Undersea Explorer
027 Lose your blues at Greens Pool
028 Be a postman for a day on the Outback Mail Run
029 Take the longest sheer plunge down Wallaman Falls
030 Stay at Kangaroo’s lighthouse trinity
031 Dive into the world’s purest cleanest water Mount Gambier
032 See the world at 300m per second in a Mig Jet
033 Gain some extremely remote access at Garig Ganuk Barlu
034 Find food for your soul at Flames of the Forest
035 Stride among the city of Gnomes
036 Watch over Australia’s moodiest lake Blue Lake
037 The Sound of Music at Mount Scoria
038 See blind shrimps and a million stars at Cutta Cutta Caves
039 Fly to the ancient source of Australian art
040 Visit our most haunted house Monte Cristo Homestead
041 See the other side of the rainbow Rainbow Serpent Tour
042 Twitter with the Twitchers at Coffs Coast
043 Stroll along the seabed with Seawalker
044 Find a home among the Banksias
045 Bathe in a boiling outback lake at Dalhousie Springs
046 Spot some of Australia’s oldest graffiti on Chambers Pillar
047 Get on your soapbox Australian Billy Cart Champs
048 Travel in a clattering time machine the Afghan Express
049 Take tea with the Morning Tea Ladies on Tiwi Island
050 Go French for a hidden tourism gem French Island
051 Go to sea in a tinnie at the Beer Can Regatta
052 Hold your breath for the dive of the century Fish Rock Cave
053 Fly in raft out on the North Johnstone River
054 Run with white lions in Mogo Zoo
055 Win your wife’s weight in beer Wife Carrying Champs
056 Don’t fence me in at Cameron’s Corner
057 Watch spawning cuttlefish off Whyalla
058 Proclaim yourself King for the night Kings Plains Castle
059 Walk through untouched lands Kakadu Hawk Dreaming
060 Visit an outback slice of the ’50s at Bells Milk Bar
061 Imagine the land before maps on the Great North Road
062 Catch your own seafood platter at Black Point
063 Prepare to circle the wagons in Bendigo
064 Hop on Tasmania’s newest ride Piners and Miners Tour
065 Play polo in Banjo country at the Geebung Polo Match
066 Make your own wine at Penfolds
067 Tinker with Tilba Tilba’s trinkets
068 Walk among the dolomites in the Hastings Caves
069 Make like Moses at Burning Mountain
070 Go deep underground with Douggie’s Mine Tours
071 Boogie-woogie on rails in the Blues Train
072 Rent your own cave in the Upper Blue Mountains
073 Visit Australia’s unknown Grand Canyon Capertee Valley
074 Share your secrets with the Whispering Wall
075 Find your way among the roses at Ashcombe
076 Bomb the Perry Sandhills on the banks of the Murray
077 Have the perfect family day at Parsley Bay
078 Stumble across Beautiful Betsy
079 Crawl through a goldmine at Arltunga
080 See the giant water babies at Point Ann
081 Crawl through a convict tunnel in Clarence
082 Visit a country within a country Principality of Hutt River
083 Back your favourite cane toad on Magnetic Island
084 Twirl a brolly from a previous century Old Umbrella Shop
085 Delve into your immigrant past at the National Archives
086 Visit Hans Heysen’s home among the gumtrees
087 Spot Australia’s rarest mammal at Two Peoples Bay
088 Dive into surfing heartland’s Blue Pool
089 See the walls come alive at Kurri Kurri
090 See the world’s largest acrylic painting at Broken Hill
091 Sail the postman’s run up the Hawkesbury
092 Join the outback pest war against the Yellow Crazy Ants
093 Roll with the pumpkins at Goomeri
094 Wander through the scarecrows in the vineyard
095 Step through the looking glass National Art Glass Gallery
096 Get the best coffee in the galaxy at Tidbinbilla
097 Ride fly eat and learn on the Flying Camel Tour
098 Pay your respects to Tom Roberts’ Big Picture
099 Drink the world’s most expensive coffee
100 Set your spider senses tingling at Australia’s Venom Zoo

Day 1 24/4/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Hobart -> Sydney

Highlight

• Another close brush to the airport, I was stuck on the M5 for over 30 minutes, meaning my trip took 40 minutes longer than usual. Luckily the rain delayed all flights so I made it with about 5 minutes to spare.
• The flight was full of old people and young families, all on holidays to Tassie or going back to see family. This all adds to the atmosphere of a holiday. So even though this was a business trip, it’s Tassie, so it can’t help but feel like a holiday.
• Got a taxi without having to line up, and 10 minutes later we arrived in the city centre.
• A swift meeting with the GM and other heads of, and then we were off to lunch.
• Walked down to Salamanca Place, which looked very different without the market stalls and the crowd. It was very pleasant, with the beautiful sandstone buildings, antique and arts shop, and glorious restaurants all housed in the restored buildings.
• A pleasant walk to my favourite bakery in the whole world, Jackman & McRoss, and watched the world (or the Tassies) pass by. A beautiful way to appreciate Tassie.
• Stocked up on supplies and walked back down the whimsical Kelly’s Step back to the office.
• The workshops went well. Tasmanians are so much more relaxed.
• After finally securing a cab in the heart of the CBD, made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We enjoyed a glass of wine and enjoyed our Jackman & McRoss takeaway, before boarding the flight back.
• Ahh, Sydney, rain, wait for taxis, traffic…it’s good to be home.

Food

• Jackman & McRoss braised rabbit pie ($8.50)
• Jackman & McRoss quince tart ($6.50)