We spent our night at Palazzo Versace - the first Versace hotel in Australia designed by Donatella Versace and located in Gold Coast. This is a fantastic 5-star luxury hotel including its own artificial beach besides the other trademark 5-star facilities. The next morning we headed to Dreamworld – home to The Big 6 Thrill Rides including the brand new Mick Doohan Motocoaster. We enjoyed ourselves at the Nickelodeon Central, Wiggles World, Tiger Island, the Australian Wildlife Experience (where you can get yourself a picture with a koala bear) and Australia's first and only stationary wave, FlowRider. After lunch at Dreamworld, it was time for some shopping at the Harbour Town, located just 15 kilometres north of Surfers Paradise. Harbour Town is an award winning shopping destination with more than 95 brand-direct outlet stores selling over 300 brands of the world's top name fashions and home wares direct to shoppers with savings of up to 60 percent below normal retail prices, every day. This is a great shopping place which I will definitely recommend to all my clients.

Tonight we were at Sofitel Gold Coast on Broadbeach with all our rooms having a fantastic view of the beach. Like the Sofitel Brisbane this hotel too had a direct exit to the Monorail station which connects it directly to the Conrad Jupiters Hotel. Our Indian travel agent group was quite enthusiastic and wished to discover the place more than what was shown to us. So each night after dinner we would all go out for a long stroll to discover more of the city.

On the third day, we were supposed to take a hot air balloon flight for which we were ready before dawn, but due to the unsupportive climate our tour got cancelled instead of which we visited the Q1 along with a visit to the QD - a beautiful and an unforgettable experience. Another activity that we took the same day was the visit to Mount Tamborine. It is a flora and fauna sanctuary in the Gold Coast hinterland. Situated only 40 minutes from the coast and at an elevation of 550 meters the mountain is renowned for perfect climate, spectacular views, lush farmland, subtropical rainforest and country hospitality.

Set amidst this natural beauty are wineries, country arts and crafts, restaurants, antique shops, galleries tearooms and nurseries. Our tour included a visit to the Tamborine Mountain Distillery which is owned by Michael and Alla Ward. This Distillery uses a traditional copper pot still to distil a variety of locally grown fruit and this fruit is used in a variety of handmade liqueurs. It is Australia's smallest operating Pot Still Distillery, but of world renown, including in Europe, America, Canada, New Zealand and Asia and has many awards to its credit. We continued to visit the Witches Chase Cheese Factory to see artisan style cheese and gourmet ice cream in the making. We tried a variety of award winning local cheeses including Tamembert and Witches Blue Vein – one of only two Queensland-made blue cheesess. This was followed by a visit to the fudge shop where there were over 40 different kinds of fudge. After a late lunch we headed back to the hotel for some rest before we left for Site Inspection of Conrad Jupiters followed by dinner hosted by Gold Coast Tourism. This was our last night in Queensland before leaving for the very popular city of Sydney.

Next morning we reached Sydney after a 1 hour and 30 minutes flight. We were received at the airport by Nadine Wilson from Tourism New South Wales. She was our cute and patient host throughout our stay in Sydney. Though Canberra is the capital of Australia, it is Sydney that has all the glitz and glamour and quite often is also mistaken to be the capital city. Endowed with a sparkling harbour, dazzling beaches and a sunny Mediterranean climate, its setting alone has guaranteed Sydney a place among the glamorous cities on the planet. The entire layout of the city shows that it has been crafted for tourists.

On arrival we were taken to an Italian restaurant called Casa Di Nico on the King Steet Wharf. The restaurant captures your heart not just with its outstanding food, wine and passion for Italy but also with the spectacular views of the waterfront.

After lunch we continued to the Sydney Aquarium which is next to the restaurant – a must - do in Sydney. It has a large collection of over 11500 aquatic life, the largest Great Barrier Reef Display in the world and an extensive collection of huge sharks and rays. We dropped our luggage at Metro Hotel, a decent 3-star accommodation on Pitt Street close to the majors attractions like the Darling Harbour, Cockle Bay Wharf, Star City Casino, Sydney Entertainment Centre and the Paddy's Markets. We took an evening harbour cruise with Captain Cook Cruises which takes you through all the best known landmarks - a great cruise to opt for to orient oneself with the city attractions and their locations. In the evening we took a short 10 minute walk to the Sydney Tower for a fantastic dinner at the revolving Sydney Tower Restaurant. A great option for Honeymooners who can dine along with getting 3600 views of Sydney.

The next day we were ready by 7:30 am to reach Jetty No. 06 at the Circular Quay to board a 12 minute cruise to Toranga Zoo. Toranga is an aboriginal word meaning “Water View” and it is certainly appropriate to the zoo's location on the north bank of Sydney Harbour with panoramic views across to the Opera House and the skyscrapers of downtown Sydney. There we were met by Arabella Hammond who along with her experienced volunteers took us through the Zoo. It houses a variety of animals and is a real treat for the nature lovers. The attraction I loved the most was the Energy Australia Seal Show, a 30 minute spectacular presentation by the housed seals and their trainers. We had our lunch at the Toranga Food Market. We boarded our ferry by 1pm to take on the Sydney Opera House Guided Tour. A great tour for those into art and music. Besides the tours, concert shows too can be booked here on prior notice.

The Sydney Opera House has a historic tale behind its making. The irony is that the Danish architect, Jorg Utzon who started building this fabulous structure left it half way and left for home and has not returned since then to see the iconic structure of Sydney in its complete form. The Sydney Opera House is now one of the busiest Performing Arts Centres in the world. Working with a new enriching, interactive audio-visual component, where images are projected onto the fabric of the building – the guides take you on an emotional journey. This is one of the major venues where live performances are held each day.

To be continued

CONTENTS | HOME | IMFAA | IHCTM | SCHNELL HANS