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Published: March 10th 2008
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The view from our balcony in Noosa. You can see the pool right outside, then the sea just beyond that. Luvverley! Returning to Airlie Beach, we had to spend a night on Hamilton Island in order to make a flight connection the following day.
H.I. is an island resort comprising of a number of hotels, restaurants, marinas and a few private residences. We stayed the night at the Reef Hotel where we had spectacular views overlooking the Barrier Reef and rather impressive accommodations.
The first thing that struck us was how many golf buggies there were. The island is a reasonable size and so the buggies were the main mode of transportation.... and there were literally HUNDREDS of the things!
Although our time there was brief (and pleasant) we would not be in a rush to return. It was pretty expensive but seemed somewhat - 'sterile' is the best word I could use.
Noosa was a different ballgame altogether. One of the favourite places on our trip, the best way I could describe it is that Noosa is to Australia what Cannes is to France - a top-class, sophisticated resort (without the pretension and bling). We stayed at an apartment called 'Tingirana Noosa' and it was beautifully located overlooking the pristine beach and fantastically well-equipped. The weather here was also
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We hd a quick dip in the infinity swimming pool. Ahhh... the best we experienced the entire trip which obviously contributed to our favourable perspective. Oh, and to add to the whole allure, the surfing championships were also taking place at that time... on the same beach!! A big thanks to Jeff in Brisbane who originally recommended Noosa (a place I'd never previously heard of) to me.
Our second day in Noosa, and we visited the recommended market at Eumundi. Fantastic! As everyone knows, I am not a great market-lover but this place was wonderful, selling lots of unusual crafts, arts and clever bric-a-brac. Let's put it this way, after a morning there we had to buy another suitcase!
Although we had been in Oz for around 4 weeks, we had yet to experience the stereotypical tradition of a barbecue. As there was one supplied on the terrace of our apartment, we bought a load of steak, shrimp and salad-y stuff and enjoyed a sumptuous alfresco meal that evening. No beer-butt chicken, though!!!
On our final day we met up with our old friends Tom and Suzanne, and their son David. They were our neighbours in Horsley 4 years ago before moving back to Australia. We had a lovely
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Steph having her morning coffee on the balcony day catching up with each other and enjoying a good lunch in Coloundra.
Our last night in Australia was commemorated by a great meal in a Noosa restaurant called Lindino's. Very appropriate as one of the many consistently excellent aspects of our trip was the standard of the food we enjoyed.
On to Hong Kong where we spent 2 fantastic days shopping, sightseeing, shopping, eating and shopping. We stayed at the Shangri-la hotel on Hong Kong island, which is probably the best hotel we have ever stayed in. Although arriving late, the charming Guest Services representative was there to meet us at the hotel door, whisk us directly to our room on the 48th floor (overlooking the harbour) and checked us in ... in our room! This was typical of the service we were to discover over the next couple of days - it's very easy to get used to, too!!
Hong Kong is a shopping paradise and an activity we indulged in until our feet bled, the credit cards melted and my wallet died. Of course, my views on this are in no way influenced by the fact that there are a couple of electronics stores there...!.
We
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As seen from our room in the Shangri-La. Yep, pretty smogy place! took a small tour on the second morning and saw the Peak, the Fishing Village and the spectacular harbour lights at dusk.
We left that evening for our flight back to blighty and we were welcomed by a few friendly faces of the same cabin staff who we flew with on the way INTO Hong Kong. It was like meeting old friends and they treated us very well indeed,.
Well, that's it. I'm writing this just as we are starting our descent into Heathrow.
Steph and I agree that this really has been a trip of a lifetime and despite the erratic weather overall, has provided us with so many memories we will treasure forever. The only way it could have been any better (apart from the aforementioned weather) was if we had shared it with family and friends as, when you are so far away, you do miss them and think of them often.
Highlights? Too many to recount here and we will still be saying 'Remember when the....' for a long time as we recall different episodes.
However, our favourite times were probably Perth, Otago Peninsula (with Robert Brown), Hong Kong and Noosa. That is
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Found in the Hong Kong fishing village of Aberdeen not to take any shine from anywhere else but those a re places we would revisit without hesitation. The Barrier Reef and the rainforest at Thala Beach were also remarkable but were probably the two places where we were most affected by the inclement weather. We loved our respective Sydney Harbour Bridge and Franz Josef Glacier walks and would certainly like to return to Queenstown and Brisbane again also.
Actually, thinking about it now - it was full of highlights, made special by wonderful accommodation, terrific people, excellent food and breathtaking sights and sounds,.
I wonder if it's not too late to ask the pilot to turn around....?
Gary & Stephanie. 10th March 2008
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