Reflections on an Australian Adventure
As I type I am sitting in a Business Class seat aboard a Qantas Boeing 787 flying from Perth to London Heathrow experiencing the 4th longest non-stop flight currently operating in the world – a massive 17 hours 8 mins according to my entertainment screen.
How did I end up here and particularly how did I end up in Business Class? I must admit I am asking myself the same question, but I will try to explain this turn of events. The Business seat is easy – I was upgraded at the gate as I boarded – but how did I end up in such a position?
For this I must (in part) thank you as the reader of this blog as you may well be one of my clients who has booked a long-haul trip with me. Many of those trips have been placed with a supplier called Gold Medal and as a result I was offered a place on their “Mega Fam” to Australia. The flight back from Perth represents the final element of this Mega Fam and if there is one thing I have learnt this week it is that suppliers such as hoteliers, experience providers and even airlines are very keen to impress agents on these trips, thus the upgrade to Business!
The Mega Fam has been just that – mega. Over a 10-night trip we have crammed in a huge amount. There were 12 agents on the trip, split into 4 groups of 4 along with representatives from Gold Medal and in the case of my group a journalist from Travel Weekly. We all headed to different areas of Oz before meeting up in the Northern Territory to experience Uluru.
My group commenced their Fam by visiting Sydney. 2 nights in the Shangri La 5 Star hotel overlooking Sydney Harbour with activities including surfing on Bondi Beach, climbing the Harbour bridge, guided tour of the Opera House and a nighttime cruise. We also visited the zoo and travelled to the wine region of Hunter Valley.
Uluru proved as magical as I expected, there is a real power to the place. Watching the sunrise over the Rock is an experience I will not forget. We were due to then catch the Ghan train from Alice Springs but to prove even Travel supplier arranged trips don’t always go to plan this was unfortunately cancelled due to a derailment of a freight train. However, the sunrise balloon ride put in place as an alternative went a long way to make up for it!
A visit to Adelaide brought a high-level roofline trip around the Adelaide Oval cricket ground plus a private dinner. We then visited Kangaroo Island which is a magical location and recovering remarkably quickly from the devastating wildfires of 5 years ago. Our group stayed at the Ecopia, a 5 Star self catering luxury retreat. I had the further privilege of a villa all to myself. Waking to the sunrise and seeing Kangaroos feeding outside is another stand out experience. We also had a guided trip onto the beach at Seal Bay, getting up close to the critically endangered Australian grey seal.
A final night saw us back in Adelaide experiencing the 5 Star Eos hotel. Whilst it is a casino hotel and not really my preferred style, the quality of the hotel and its position overlooking the Oval is magnificent. I even managed to go for a run along the river in the morning, Adelaide is a city to which I will definitely return.
So, what is the point of these Fams? Yes, for those of us fortunate to get a place they are pretty special and a wonderful working holiday, but what they are mainly for are equipping us with that extra knowledge to make your trips that bit extra special. I now feel much more confident to advise over an Australian trip. There are things I have booked for guests I now wouldn’t do the same way as a result. There are experiences that I would highly recommend that I didn’t even know existed before the trip.
There are some big sporting events coming up in Oz in 2025, but even outside of these, I can’t reinforce enough this is a country that has to be on your list of ‘must do’. However, I would advise a little longer than 10 nights and (sorry) I can’t guarantee an upgrade to Business!
Until next time
Geoff