Angela and Eric in New Zealand and Australia

NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA ADVENTURE
2009


Sunday, August 23rd: Eric and I arrived in LA for our 10:50 P.M. Flight on V Australia (Branson's newest airline). We could not be checked in until 4:00 P.M., so off to find a beer and lunch. Afterwards, we looked through the shops to find a book for Eric. At 4:00 P.M.
VAustralia opened the counter, checked our bags and through security we went. The terminal for VAustralia is actually MUCH better than the terminal Quantas flies from as this point. There were some different shops and places to eat. In the Quantas terminal, there is only one small restaurant and on my last trip I ate there and was less than satisfied.

We boarded the plane around 9:30pm. We were greeted by the different VAustralia crew with great big smiles. Welcome champagne in the premium economy section and we take off. While watching a movie, dinner of beef, fish or a great pasta dish was served with wine. Lights out at 1 A.M. LA time. I slept for 10 hours or so, watched 2 movies, had breakfast and arrived on August 25th in Sydney. We cleared customs, rechecked our bags at 7:30 A.M.for our8:50 flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. We boarded our hour and a half flight to Christchurch. Here, we cleared customs again and got our rental car. Eric drove on the right side of the car on the left side of the road and through roundabouts like a pro.

We drove into the lovely countryside to this AMAZING property with only eight suites situated on 30 acres of private property. It is called Otahuna Lodge as it is located in the Otahuna “suburb” of Christchurch. Here Belinda and Jimmy (the chef) are outside waiting for us. They whisked our bags off to our room, give us a quick tour of the property and up to the top floor suite, known as Garrett Suite, that we called home for the next two days. Amazing views, a stunning bathroom and such relaxing music playing softly in the background, we immediately felt relaxed and rejuvenated at the same time.

After hot showers and clean clothes, we headed downstairs to enjoy a fire, a glass of local wine for me and local beer for Eric, and canapés as well as meeting the other couple staying there. We were then escorted to the library at 7:30 for a private dining experience with the lights down low and candles burning plus another great fire and some Michael Buble playing softly. After a FIVE course meal with wine pairings, completely stuffed, relaxed and exhausted, we went to bed at 10:00 P.M..

Wednesday, August 26th, we awoke at 7:00A.M. and went downstairs to the kitchen at 8 for homemade gluten free muslie, regular muslie, fresh fruit, homemade breads and bagels, as well as fresh coffee and orange/ginger/carrot juice (juiced in a juicer just for us) combined. Then, the Sous-Chef cooked eggs and bacon for Eric and bacon for me made from the lodge's own pigs, and cured by the head chef, Jimmy. It was all so delicious!








Brian, the owner of the ground operator that swain uses, picked us up at 9:00am for a private tour. The MOST beautiful sunny day! We drove up to the top of the mountain ridge for AWESOME views. Seeing cows along the way and stopping for sheep herds crossing the road from one pastor to the next, we made our way to the quaint, charming village, once the only French settlement in New Zealand, Accora. We had lunch at Billy's Hayes overlooking the bay and then walked around the village a bit. We were scheduled to take a harbor cruise but due to strong winds, it was cancelled. Brian took us along the most scenic drive back and through Christchurch so we could see the city. We also saw Christchurch’s major river through the center of town. It was fun to see the differences, because their major river, would barely have counted as a creek here in Florida. Once back on property, we walked the grounds for some of Eric's spectacular photos and through the garden of lavender, rosemary and huge gum trees, complete with bunnies hoping through. After an hour of wandering, we went back to the room to freshen up and back down for drinks and canapés and another outstanding five course dinner paired with wines! All the food and wines are local within an hour drive at most. For example, this morning, Jimmy, the head chef, went to a neighboring dairy farm and bought milk that was milked that morning, he brought it back and made mozzarella cheese and served it with dinner tonight! At dinner, we met one couple that one is co-owner of a Relais and Chateau outside of London, another couple including board of tourism representative for Lake Tahoe and she is a travel writer based in Sydney. The third couple is a lovely couple from South America that enjoyed taking in all the conversations.

Thursday, August 27th we had breakfast at 8:30 and then upstairs to our top floor suite to pack. We said our goodbyes to Hall (the co-owner/co-creator of this lovely place) and his team and got on the road by 10:30. It was a gorgeous drive through gorges and past many sheep farms. Just before dark (5pm), we arrived at the hopping little “city” of Queenstown. Young people were busily making their way back to their hotel after a day on the slopes. We checked into the Novotel on the lake, nothing great but clean and well located. We headed out to see what Queenstown had to offer. We had been told of Fergburger so we stopped in the four table joint (two inside tables and two outside under heat lamps) for a huge bun with a large, thin burger piled high with lettuce, onion, tomato and tomato relish(their very yummy answer to ketchup). We had a Speights, local brew and then on our way around town a bit more. We ended up at Dux de Lux (sister bar to one we had passed in Christchurch that our guide had given very high marks), which is a microbrewery. We had a beer and watched the hustle and bustle of the ski crowd. Even a Springer Spaniel joined the fun for a while. We headed back to the hotel for an early night.








Friday, August 28th, we awoke to our 5:30 am wakeup call to get ready for our Milford Sound excursion. It’s our plan to coach out do the cruise and fly back for some great views. We boarded the coach around 6:45am and began the drive making a couple of stops on our way out of town to pick up a few others. As the sun appears, the driver receives a call stating that the Milford pass is closed due to high avalanche possibilities. Instead we now head for Doubtful Sound. Doubtful is not so well known (at least not in our office), yet. We learned that Milford could fit into Doubtful TEN TIMES! The waterfalls were plentiful and each more powerful and mystical than the last. We cruised around for about an hour and ate the picnic lunch that was provided while we listed to great history of the area. We were, unfortunately, unable to fly back as it was a bit socked in so we took the coach back. We were disappointed to miss the views from above, but it just wouldn't work. Back in town we stopped at a great little Indian restaurant for dinner and another early night to bed.

Saturday, August 29th, we are up at 6:30 to pack, check out and store our bags, walk the four blocks across town and check in for the jet boat safari and nature walk on the Dart River. We were a bit early so we walked two doors down to a great local bakery for fresh, hot croissant, ham, cheese and yummy tomato relish, as well as a great latte. We boarded the four wheel drive “coach: with three other couples and headed to Glenorchy for today’s adventure. A 45 minute drive brought us to this sleepy farming town whose claim to fame is it's famous locale. All the residents have been extras in at least one of the following international films, Lord of the Rings, Wolverine, X-men #4, White Fang, Vertical Limits- just to name a few. Also, one set of mountains in the distance is the picture on Coors Light cans, bottle lables and boxes. The population is around 102; 29 of which are students. They also boast the smallest library, they say, in the world. We did a bit of splashing through smaller parts of the river in the four wheel drive minibus, a quick walk through some of the forest and then on board the jet boat. This was my second experience on a jet boat, the first being Fiji. This one was very different. You could feel the small rocks under the boat many times and once, we even hit bottom during one of our 360s. We stopped at some gorgeous points on the river to see crevices that fed the river from way up above and some lovely mountain views. One mountain boasts a HUGE waterfall that is the overflow from Lake Unknown. This name suits it as you would never know it was there unless flying over. Back to the little town for more exploring, dining and /or shopping. Then back to Queenstown to get our bags and car to drive out to Blanket Bay Lodge. It is a grand entrance through the sheep farm up to this lovely wood and stone lodge. Here Judy meets us, whisks us inside and gives us a quick tour of the facilities. Our bags and car keys are waiting in our room when we arrive. We head downstairs for a quick bite and then out to walk one of the property's trails along the coastline of the lake. Upon our return we meet a South African couple now living in Sydney. They were trying to set the timer and get pictures of themselves, without much success. Eric took their picture with a few different back drops and they reciprocated the favor. Then we went up to the room to freshen up in out suite overlooking the lake with a great gas fireplace and huge private deck. We met the other 3 couples in the bar for pre dinner drinks and canapés. Each couple was then escorted through to the dining room, to private tables for dinner. Great fires burning set the stage for a lovely four course dinner and we are done! Back up to that huge, lovely room for a little relaxation before another early day and flight.


Sunday, August 30th: This morning we were woken at 5:15 and had breakfast. We then headed for the airport. Our 8 am flight took off (we did not show id and our luggage tags printed for us to attach), made a brief stop in Christchurch, then across to the North Island. We made an approach at Rotorua and at the last minute the pilot hit the gas and we were told it was too cloudy to see to land. We were diverted to Hamilton and then on the bus back to Rotorua, 3 hours later we got our rental car. Eric drove us through the sulfer fuming city, into the mountains to the gorgeous property, Treetops Lodge. We checked in and went down to our cabin. We relaxed for an hour or so then back to the main lodge for pre dinner drinks and canapés which are complimentary to all guests. We met another American couple in their 30's who were there to do mountain biking and also met couple in their late 40s from Auckland. We were all escorted to private tables for a lovely 5 course dinner. Afterwards Eric and I went back to our cabin and watched a movie before going to bed.

Monday, August 31st: Our black water rafting was cancelled due to flooding from all the rain over the past few days. We then tried to arrange a horseback riding tour throughout Treetops property with an 82 year old man, to learn about the area but it was too slippery for that. We then planned a walk to the bridal veil waterfall and just as we were about to begin the walk, the rain came down in buckets and did not stop all day. We went for a quick 5 minute walk with the Maori chef and then, after seeing the things in the forest that he cooks with, we returned to the lodge where he did a Huka for us. It was such a unique experience. He said a prayer, spoke some kind words to us in his native tongue and then sang. After that he did one of their fairwell “dances”. We packed up and drove the 4 hours to Auckland. We found the property, Mollies which feels a bit like a South Beach home. It was formerly a mansion converted to a hotel. There were amazing cars in the parking lot and bit of a pretentious crowd there for an event. We decided against dinner on property, even though we would have like to experience the opera singer while dining. Instead, we walked to a cute Thai restaurant a few blocks away. When we got back to the hotel, we repacked for Kangaroo Island, as the plane is too small for the large bags. By 10 pm we were in bed as we were to be up by 5 am tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 1st: We checked out and drove the 20 minutes to the airport, boarded our flight to Adelaide, checked in with Regional Express- REX- for our 25 minute flight on a 33 passenger plane over to Kangaroo Island (known as KI). We grabbed some lunch and walked through all the shops and at 5:05pm we boarded our plane for a 5:25 departure. We flew into KI where Graham, the owner and host of Stranrear Homestead (B&B) picked us up and drove us to their 2,000 acre farm (wool and meat sheep) for our first night. Lynn, his wife me us on the front porch and gave us a tour. Fifteen minutes later, we had a marvelous dinner with an Italian family touring Australia for a month on a self drive. An exquisite meal, using vegetable and herbs from their personal garden, meat from their farm and homemade breads and desserts, and off to bed as it is now two and a half hours later to our internal clock (still on NZ time).







Wednesday, September 2nd: We awoke and had breakfast with the Italian family and a surprise guest, Craig, the owner of Exceptional Kangaroo Island (the touring company we book with on KI). After breakfast, Tim, one of Craig's guides, picked us up for a full day of touring. We started at Seal Bay where we saw many sea lions. They are actually seals hut called sea lions as the mature males get a very blonde mane, like lions. These seals also actually have hair rather than fur. This is the first time I remember learning that seals and sea lions are directly related to, evolved from, if you will, dogs. From here, we drove to a great park where we saw many Roos and a few wallabys and even one echidna which is an egg laying mammal unique to Australia. The Echidna has a platypus looking nose and hair that resembles a porcupine. They were believed, at first to have a pouch for their young when, in fact, they simply surround the baby( they have only one at a time) with muscles and carry it that way. We then went to the small town of Parnado to have coffee and Anzac (this stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corp) biscuits (cookies) and chocolate cake in the covered area donated by the local Lions Club. They have grills inside that used to include a place for 50 cent donations but too many grills were damaged by people trying to get the change so they are now completely complimentary. We drove around the island some more looking for wildlife and came to a small farm, only 1200 acres, where EKI has a couple of tents with grills and toilet facilities nearby. We walked around looking for Koalas while Tim made a salad, cooked potatoes, fish and cheese. We ate, had a glass of wine (beer for Eric) and then off to find Koalas in their natural habitat. Our last stop of the day was Duck Lagoon. We finally found a koala with a joey in her pouch and some great bird life including black swans with their new hatchlings. Tim took us 2 minutes to the airport to meet our driver from Southern Ocean Lodge who took us to the lovely property. This is a deluxe, all inclusive property on the Southern Ocean where all the rooms have direct ocean front views. This property is fairly self-sufficient, they have rain barrels for all water and in the summer with not much rain they have pumps to bring water from the underground. They also have a waste management system of worms that eat and break down the solid waste, then the water is sent through a filtration system and back into the ground. The property uses local olive oils, wine, beer , meat including organic chicken and lamb. We had a great dinner and then to our room for some relaxation and then sleep.














Thursday, September 3rd: We had a great breakfast at 8:30am, Tim joined us for coffee, and took us off for a ½ day of touring. We went out to see THE REMARKABLES (HUGE granite rocks) and fur seals, walked through the forest and heard some great history on the importance fire in the Australian forests. We headed back to the hotel for a late lunch (all meals, beverages and touring are included in the pricing). Great views out to the ocean including a rainbow that ran horizontal that reminded us of Northern Lights. Lou (wife of the husband/wife team that manages Southern Ocean Lodge) took me on a site inspection to see the spa with two treatments rooms and relaxation room with breathtaking views. We then looked at the different suite options, one has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, three larger suites have hot tubs on the balconies and rather than the regular fireplace with methane gas, these suites had tables with the fire in the middle. Very unique! At 4:45pm we loaded up with 2 other couples to go back to the airport, back on the 33 passenger, 25 minute flight to Adelaide. We picked up the rest of our bags the airline had stored for us that they put on the conveyer belt with the luggage from the flight. Very convenient! We hailed a cab to North Adelaide Heritage Apartments. This was a 5 star rated apartment in the richest part of town. We had a full kitchen with all the breakfast foods/drinks stocked as well as a great garden area with both gas and wood burning BBQs; living room and three large bedrooms, one large bathroom with a double jacuzzi tub. The owner met us, showed us around and told us how to walk to some great restaurants and pubs. We walked through the park to the Indian restaurant, “Beyond India”, for a lovely dinner.

Friday, September 4th: We caught our taxi back to the airport for our 8:45am flight to Sydney. Here, we are net by David, Swains Sydney office manager and a great driver for our private transfer to the Four Seasons. We got checked in, walked over to The Australian for a Roo and pepper pizza. We then walked to the Bridge Climb office and checked in. We watched the safety video, filled in some information about ourselves, took the breathalyzer to be sure we had no alcohol in our system and got fitted and changed into our jump suits with no pockets. The suits are blue and grey to blend in with the color of the bridge, although they didn't share why that mattered, we assumed it has to do with not taking away from the view up to the bridge from down below. We were fitted with hankys that attached with an elastic band, hats that attached to hooks on our suits and lanyards to attach your glasses to the suit. No watches, nothing in your pockets and no cameras as we would be walking over Sydney's busiest highway. There were some great tidbits about the city that the guide shared through a unique headset designed for Navy Seals. They worked by vibrating the bones in your face so even though there were loud moments, we could still hear what was being said. That was a REALLY cool experience. I felt like we were part of a covert operation. It was a beautiful day and clear enough we could see the Blue Mountains. They are called that because all of the eucalyptus trees which omit vapors that kind of hang in the air and give the blue tint to everything from afar. All in all we were climbing the bridge for about 3 hours.
We stopped in a pub to watch some football highlights then back to the room to get ready for dinner. We met up with friends from our South Africa trip in '07, Nat and Neil. We went back to The Australian for drinks and to catch up. We walked through town a bit to Cafe Sydney. This restaurant, at the top of a very tall building, boasts great tables on the terrace with views of the city lit up. We heard Nat and Neils' engagement story. They got engaged on the Inca trail in Peru. We just missed them on our trip there at the beginning of the year.




Saturday, September 5th: We were up this morning and met up with our group for a great buffet breakfast at the Four Seasons. We all had a private transfer with Barbara Rake from Swain to the airport for our 5 hour flight to Broome, Western Australia. We arrived at the very small airport, were given a chilled towel by a rep from our hotel (Cable Beach Club), claimed our luggage and took the 7 minute transfer to Cable Beach Club. Tonight, Claire from the tourism board, picked us up and took us to a hotel's outside bar for cocktails, live music and then, at dark the didgeridoo player began, the moon began to rise, some HUGE bats began flying past and there in the mud flats, the LONGEST reflection of the moon you can imagine. It is broken up slightly here and there by dips in the mud so it literally looks like stairs to heaven! It was a very unique experience that gave us chills while listening to the didgeridoo. Then we taxied to a great seafood restaurant on the beach just across the street from our hotel. Walking back, we heard music playing at a wedding on the beach. What a great ending to a lovely evening.

Sunday, September 6th: Today, we met in the lobby around 9:30am and loaded onto a 4 wheel dive motorcoach to go to Willie Creek pearl farm. It was quite an experience to learn that they used to go after these clams because their shell was used to make buttons and many other products prior to the invention of plastic. Then, once plastic took over those industries, they began farming pearls. They open the clam shells, make a slit in them and insert a small piece of Mississippi mussel shell and return it to the creek.
It takes two years to make a pearl and they must continually clean the shells so no worms get in or other parasites that will endanger the clam. We took a quick cruise around the creek to see the clams in their holders. We also learned how the early explorers would run the boats into the mangroves before a “Willie Willie” (Aboriginal name for cyclone came). They also cleaned the bottom of the boat to rid of rats and roaches while they were aground, they would flood them out. Back to the hotel and down to the beach for a camel back ride that ended just after sunset. What a great experience! Some of the camels in our group have walked all the way across Australia at it's widest point and one even gave birth in the process. Our camel’s name was Wacko Jacko! It was great to hear the stories about each of the fantastic animals! Afterwards we met Beck, our hotel representative for a sunset cocktail. We all went to the room and changed and met at a lovely poolside Thai restaurant! Great ending to an adventurous day!













Monday, September 7th: This morning a cab was sent for us at 9 and we drove the 7 minutes to the airport and down to the private planes, where we met our pilot with King Leopold air. We loaded into the six passenger plane with small openings in the windows that you could rotate for more, less or no air to blow on you. Our 20 something pilot gave us each headsets with microphones so we could all communicate and we could also hear the tower and other planes and helicopters. We heard some fun stories about the area. One story was of a plane from Asia (China I believe) that was shot down and landed on the beach at Beagle Bay. The pilot had been given a package to deliver to relatives in Australia. Being they were under attack, and he did not know what was in the package, he failed to remember it when they were rescued. Apparently it contained quite a lot of very valuable diamonds. An explorer found them and traded many of them with Aboriginals for food, etc. The rest he turned in so that the army would take him despite his being color blind. The word was that the rest were stolen and the story goes that the aboriginals threw the diamonds into a well to keep from being caught and punished. The diamonds were never recovered.
An hour later, we arrived at Cape Leveque. It was beautiful white sand with pink dunes leading to dark red sand that covers The Kimberley. We swam and walked the beach for a couple of hours. Then the 4 wheel drive motorcoach arrived, we had some salad and sandwiches, loaded onto the bus and drove to a small aboriginal village for some shopping and a tour. Before we got back on the motorcoach, we had coffee, tea, fruit and cakes in the village. Then we drove 3 hours back to Broome. We all met for dinner at 8pm at the Sunset Bar and Grill and planned our trip to Margaret River.

Tuesday, September 8th: This morning we had a site inspection of a bungalow, which is far more our client’s style than the lead in category we stayed in. We saw their lovely spa and tennis courts. We were then picked up by Claire (with tourism board) to see the cruise port, China Town, the old outdoor cinema and some shops. We caught our 2 ½ hours flight to Perth, rented a car and drove 3 hours to Cape lodge, just outside of Margaret River. We met Drew, the GM, and had some wine produced on property, just for guests and some fantastic tapas. We look forward to seeing the grounds in daylight.

Wednesday, September 9th: Drew had breakfast with us and made some recommendations of what to see and do today. At 10:30, we loaded up and drove 10 minutes to a GREAT chocolate factory. Everything chocolate you can imagine including massage oils made for chocolate as well as chocolate soap.
From here we made our way through beautiful scenery to Voyager Winery for a tasting and some lunch. On our way to the point where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet, we saw a couple of Right whales playing near the shore. Then we carried on to the lighthouse which sits on the point where the oceans meet. It was incredible how rough the seas were and how windy it was. We had just come from very light wind and small waves where the whales were. We all enjoyed the quaint little town of Margaret River. We arrived back at the hotel around 5:30, cleaned up and went for pre dinner drinks with Drew. Then on to a fantastic dinner and amazing wine.




Thursday, September 10th: After breakfast of continental buffet and cook to order hot breakfast, Drew showed us the lead in category, midrange (we stayed in the top accommodations) and the house with guest cottage of 3 bedroom 2 ½ baths, kitchen, in door and outdoor dining with BBQ and guest house with 2 more bedroom that would be a great place for a few friends traveling together. By 10:45 we were driving back towards Perth. The cheese factory was open today so in we went to taste local brie, cracked pepper cheese and cheddar. Terry (nicknamed Bubbles due to her statement at Cable Beach Club that she has daytime bubbles(sparkling water)and nighttime bubbles(champagne and that's all she drinks.) bought some double creamed brie and table water crackers for the road. We made a food and gas stop in Fremantle, where it was raining quite heavily so we were disappointed by not being able to walk around and find somewhere charming for lunch. Since we could not walk around, Barbara bought us each a meat pie and ginger beer. Terry got the brie and crackers out and we had a feast in the Kia minivan while seeing sites in Fremantle. Then we checked into the Hyatt Perth and got cleaned up. We met in Barbara's room for a drink and then hailed a cab over to do a site inspection of one of the newer, boutique hotels in town. Great for leisure guest. The dinner was hosted by the hotel and Tourism of West Australia for our small Swain group of 5 and the HUGE group with Down Under Answers of at least 20 people. We were extra happy to be part of Swain's small group!

Friday, September 11th: This morning our airport transfer was at 5 am. We checked in and boarded our 6:15am flight to Adelaide where Swain had arranged a private transfer rather than the large motorcoach like everyone else. We were so spoiled! We checked into the hotel and registered for our weekend meetings at the Corroboree desk. Once we dropped our things we walked next door to the city's best market. So much fresh produce, butcher stands, fresh breads and cheeses and pastries. Eric tried another traditional meat pie and I tried a spicey lentil pie. We then went into a great wine shop and got some beer to take to the room while we relaxed a bit before our overview meeting at 4 pm, followed by the welcome reception hosted by V Australia- Australia's newest international airline. We were all asked to “wear a splash of red” and loaded into motorcoaches and transferred to Adelaide’s wine center (part of the University). There we were passed hor d'oeuvres. Beer, champagne and red and white wine, all locally produced. A couple of Aboriginal gentlemen sang, danced and played native music for us and then a couple of bartenders began spinning and juggling bottles that they lit on fire. For the grand finale, they hopped up on the bar and started to spit fire into the air. as the flight attendants handed out cosmopolitans. About this time Barbara Rake grabbed us and sent us out to their motorcoach where Ian Swain and David and other suppliers and travel advisors were waiting. We drove 15 minutes or so and arrived at the Ghan train for dinner. We had a site inspection of the Platinum and Gold services the train offers as well as a private car with meeting space and a few bedrooms if someone wants a private car for an event. They told us of a promotion we can offer our clients of complimentary upgrade from red to gold (Gold to Platinum).
Then we all had a great meal prepared by the chefs of the Ghan! Afterwards, some of us met others at a pub for some casual conversation.




Saturday, September 12th: This morning breakfast was hosted by Quantas and then up to the 11th floor for a 10 minute per room, hosted and themed by 8 sponsors. Each airline (Quantas, Jet Star and VAustralia) and wholesalers (Swain and Down Under Answers) and the Tourism boards from each state hosted a room and did games or gave chocolates or champagne, etc and presentations. After lunch, hosted by Mark Pushan's Company- Travel 2, we made our way to our tables where each of the Experiences visited for 5 minutes presentations. We learned about hotels, new tours like Bookabee Aboriginal tours, etc. and great yachting options, like Sea Sydney and DescardA, etc. Then we attended the Key note speakers’ presentation on social media and learned a few more special techniques. Tonight was the Swain hosted dinner. This year Ian and his team took all attendees to Penfold’s Estate in the heart of Adelaide. We heard commentary about Penfold’s for the whole drive from the hotel to the winery by a member of the Penfold’s team. When we arrived we took a tour, as we walked into the winery, Ian Swain, founder and owner of Swain Tours, asked Eric and I to join him (and his team) at their reserved tables at the front of the room which was quite an honor! The tour took us first to a huge vat with Helen Keller in very large letters. Apparently Helen Keller had come to visit the winery and they decided to test her brilliance. They asked her how much wine the vat would hold. This was a bit of a trick question as it is an irregular shape. Helen walked the entire perimeter and calculated it and was within 60 liters of the actual amount (it held over 2,000 gallons). They were so amazed, they printed her name and made a plaque and placed it on the vat. Once we passed this room we entered the room of American and French oak barrels. Through that room was the cellar with bottles dating back to 1941. There was one 1980 magnum worth $64,000 and a 1950 bottle of grange worth even more than that. After the tour, we were escorted to the tent Ian had brought in for the event. We each had dry Riesling and a Pinot Noir while we mixed and mingled and waited for dinner. We were all given a taste of something that turned out to be Grenache and Shiraz and Mourvedre blend. We played a game to see who would know most about the wine. Eric made it to the final 15 up on stage and then even the top 10 but the end winner lives in the US now, but grew up not only in Australia and even South Australia but literally on Penfold’s Road and he won 3 bottles of grange!

Sunday, September 13th: Breakfast this morning was sponsored by Down Under Answers. They brought in a comedian that was as politically incorrect as they come and absolutely hysterical. It got the morning off to a lively start. From here we went for our 5 minute appointments from 8:30 am to 6 pm with morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea breaks. Lunch today was hosted by Goway Travel. Some of the consultants on their pre-Corroboree trip started with a photography tour through Sydney. On the tour, they learned how to use different settings, get the right foreground and background, lighting, etc.(Something we can offer our clients). They did a photo contest and gave out some awards. We sat with Irene Morgan from Tourism NSW, whom I adore, at lunch today. We also joined Big Wave Dave and his colleague, Craig Wachholz. What fun people! Some new friends of ours, Kleaton and Catherine were at the same table and had gone surfing with Big Wave Dave and Craig upon their arrival from the states and said it was a fantastic way to get over jet lag and feel refreshed on your first day and by the time you are done, your hotel room is ready. Tonight is the gala, always hosted by Quantas that includes Tourism Australia's Opal awards ceremony. This year it was held in the historical Town Hall. The room was very elaborate and included a lovely organ. After the awards, our grand finale was the Quantas girls choir. Everyone really loved them!




Monday, September 14th: This morning we left the hotel around 9 am and headed out to Maggie Beers' farm and winery for a cooking demonstration and tasting of chicken, mushrooms and sweet potatoes all cooked in ver jus and even salad with ver jus and olive oil dressing. (Maggie is much like the Aussie version of Martha Stewart. They were quick to point out Maggie has never been in prison). From here, we headed to the Jacob's Creek Winery for a brief tour, tasting and amazing lunch, hosted by Jacob's Creek and Barossa tourism board. Our next stop was the Penfold’s winery in Barossa (rather than the city). Here our group put on white lab coats and went up to a room that reminds you of High School chemistry. Each station had 4 red wines. The 1st was 2007 Shiraz blend which they told us the percentages of Shiraz, Greache and Mourvedre) the we tasted each stand alone of '08 and mixed '08 (with no percentages given) and then we had 3 attempts to make our favorite blend. Once we had our favorite, we were given empty wine bottles (the size of a split) to fill with our personal blend. These bottles had labels printed with our names on the Penfold’s label and assistant winemaker printed on them. The back label had spaces for our personal percentages of each varietal. It was really a great experience and so much fun. Our last stop of the day was Saltram, a part of the Fosters Group (with Penfold’s). Here we did tastings of a dry Riesling, a Chardonnay, a couple of Shiraz, blends and one secret tasting. We went through each one and the last glass of the surprise varietal or blend, was the opportunity for another game. This time, I was the last one standing after questions of the year it was produced, the region, the varietal, etc. and I won a bottle of the ‘07 Shiraz (Mamre Brook). We drove the scenic drive back as the sunset on our last evening in OZ (for this trip). Tomorrow is a day of traveling back to our FANTASTIC island! It was an outstanding trip, but there truly is no better place to come home to!

Until the next time, farewell Ozzieland!

35th Anniversary of THE TRAVEL AGENCY

In the fall of 1974, in the midst of recession, Jim and Ange Wallace left the security of Pan American World Airways to open THE TRAVEL AGENCY. This was the first travel agency in Nassau County. Now, 35 years later, faced with another economically challenging time, THE TRAVEL AGENCY continues to adapt and thrive.

The first location was a tiny, one room office in The Old School House on Atlantic Avenue. A young lawyer, Dan McCranie, had just saved the building from the ‘wrecking ball” and started his practice there. In fact, Dan and Jim rented a floor sander, refinished the floors at night in the cavernous downstairs, to open the very first artist coop gallery on the Island in 1975.

That first year, Jim manned the office and worked on getting the corporate business from the two mills to help smooth the way to profitability. Ange taught Spanish (and English and Journalism!) at the Yulee Middle School and helped with the office work afternoons and weekends. By summertime the fledgling business was growing sufficiently to support both of the young entrepreneurs and lifetime careers were launched.

There have been growth “spurts” along the way. In 1978, the birth of Angela C Wallace, was cause to find the first employee for the business. Susan Mc Cranie (now Siegmund), joined the staff bringing energy and organizational skills. About a year later, Laraine Brazell (now Burns!) left the Amelia Island Plantation to launch her career in travel. Laraine is now in the FIT department of Abercrombie & Kent. In 1985, Vicki Carter left the insurance industry and Lynann Mullis left the Amelia Island Plantation to join the sales force. Vicki and Lynann went to high school with Jim’s first daughter, Jann (Wallace )Miller. Both ladies continue their careers with The Travel Agency today. In 1995, Carolyn Music, recently retired VP with Barnett Bank became the receptionist, a position she holds today. Tracy Ann Lynch left the real estate industry to become a travel consultant in 1996. Janine Bruce joined the staff in 1997, and is now working from her home in Louisiana. Angela Wallace joined The Travel Agency in 1999, after graduating from FSU. She left for a 2 year stint as the Travel Industry Sales Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia returning in 2005. Debbie Kellogg joined the staff in 2004, after a successful career in travel in the Jacksonville area.

In 1980, The Travel Agency computerized their office with the airline computer system Mars Plus! This was cause for an open house billed as “Travel to Mars”. Computers were still a novelty then and almost as frustrating as they were helpful. Sabre, the state of the art airline system for decades now, soon replaced Mars Plus and helped the business grow substantially over the years.

At this time in the Travel Industry (1980’s-90’s), agencies were highly paid by the airlines, 10% base commission on all fare types. Then in 1995, the commission cuts began taking the base to 5%. In March, 2002, the airlines stopped paying any commission. The handwriting had been on the wall and Jim Wallace had made business decisions from renegotiating key contracts, to instituting transaction fees, to joining forces with Virtuoso (then API). Virtuoso is a unique, by invitation only, travel organization bringing together the top 1% of travel consulting firms with the top premium and deluxe travel suppliers around the world. Joining Virtuoso was an expensive investment but the marketing, educational experiences, and worldwide relationships have proved to be well worth the commitment both to the Agency and to their clients.

While the industry was morphing from “airline clerks” to true travel consultants, and now to trusted travel advisors, the demographics of the Amelia Island-Fernandina Beach area were also changing. The Amelia Island Plantation was a fledgling resort in 1974, and Summer Beach with its star anchor, The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, was not even being imagined! The changes in our community changed the clientele buying travel and the geography of being visible! So, in 1985, Jim and Ange opened a branch office in Palmetto Walk. Then, Island Walk came to them with Publix as an anchor and offered a prime location. With the sage advice of a local expert, Skee Dick, The Travel Agency opened their location at Island Walk ahead of Publix! From that vantage point Jim followed Publix’ progress so closely that many of the workers thought he was management from the home office! With the Island Walk location in place, Jim closed the Palmetto Walk location and the beloved Old Schoolhouse office. The visibility proved to be worth the hard work and money invested in the change.

By 1998, Jim realized The Travel Agency needed a different physical presence. In partnership with long time clients, Ron Gettig and Drs.Al and Anne Ramsay, he set off to locate and build Park Avenue Suites, office condominiums at the entrance to Amelia Park. Timing was perfect, as the now very successful neighborhood was just getting off the ground.

Jim knew that the travel industry was changing once again when he chose the location of the new office. With the help of longtime friend and industrial designer, Tom Powell, the new office was designed so each travel consultant had a semi- private office large enough to comfortably sit and confer calmly with clients. Owning the office also gave a measure of cost control.

In February of 2000, The Travel Agency held an open house that drew over 200 clients and friends at their new location 1401 Park Ave Suite A. It has been almost 10 years now since that opening. In that time, THE TRAVEL AGENCY has weathered the end of all airline commissions, the aftermath of 911, SARS, Jim’s retirement, and now the election year and the recession that followed. Both the world of travel and the travelers themselves continue to change. At THE TRAVEL AGENCY that continual change is met with optimism and enthusiasm. The staff works diligently to serve the community they call HOME while seamlessly orchestrating lifetime experiences around the globe.

Don't miss out!!

There are some amazing deals for the rest of 2009 and now for 2010! Regent Sevens Seas has 2-for-1's many with free air and all include shore excursions!! BUT, the promotion is over on Sept 30!! And, so is the promotion where we can get you $250 per person shipboard credit in additon for booking through us!! So you need to see if there is anything you are interested in this week!! Regent is already over 50% sold out for 2010!! Silverseas is starting 2010 with 60% discounts on everything! You can get additional discounts on top of that up to 75% on some sailings BUT these sailings will go up in price as certain sales goals are reached. Crystal has heavy discounts plus up to $1000 shipboard credits for booking now!! Call or e-mail your particular interests and we will help you sort out the best deal! For instance, we have found opportunities where you can sail Regent or SilverSea for less than Oceania! BUT, this situation won't last much longer!!

Regent Seven Seas has a gift for you!!

Travelmart promo from Regent Seven Seas!! Right now until Sept 30, get their BEST DEALS for the year and receive an additional $250 PER PERSON shipboard credits!!

Gastaad Palace is only open 6 months a year!

Magic in the Mountains!! Gstaad Palace is only open 6 months a year! 3 in the summer and 3 in the winter! In summer Roy Emmerson ( from Australia!) tennis weeks are a big draw! Ask us about the penthouse and the highest sauna in the world!!

St. Moritz is a great summer destination. St. Moritz Art Masters is going on next week and the following week is the famous world championship sailing race!! The Match Race! All can be best experienced from awesome Badrutt's Palace-gorgeous!

Oh my gosh! Another find!! Wait til you check out Hvar, Coatia and the little jewel Adriana Hotel and Spa! Spend a few days here while you pick your own olives and make your own olive oil! Stroll through the lavendar fields that the island is famous for! Spend the day at the 1930's Roman Beach Club! Charter one of their yachts for 1/2 or 1 day. It is gorgeous!

Wow! Travel Mart is off to a roaring start! There are over 2,800 of us here for the week! I just met with Tanja Pijfers from a jewel of a hotel in Prague! It was a 16th century monastary. Part of it is now a boutique hotel- gorgeous! The rest is still an operating monastery with an amazing library available for guests to view by appointment. The monks also have a brewery and do beer tastings of their own brew!!

Traveling Times

Up, up, and away!! THE TRAVEL AGENCY is off to VEGAS for the annual VIRTUOSO TRAVEL MART!! We will be working from our laptops, cell phones, and PDA's, so do not hesitate to contact us with any of your travel questions or bookings! We will be in the epicenter of the Virtuoso travel world. Over 3,000 Virtuoso travel advisors and travel suppliers will converge on the Bellagio from Saturday, August 15, until Friday, August 21! We will be meeting together to share ideas, the latest trends in travel, the latest promotions, and form the best relationships in the travel industry!!



For you, that means you will have at your disposal travel advisors that not only know the latest but are also among the best connected in the world right here on Amelia Island! We like to say that it is not just what we know, but who we know and WHO knows US, that allows us to provide our clients with the best travel values available. From our own Ritz-Carlton Amelia to trekking in Nepal we have connections that make you a VIP!



Keep any eye on our blog or follow us on Facebook or Twitter or keep an eye on our web page http://www.thetvlagency.com/ for all the latest on Travel Mart and what is in it for you!!