By John Rozentals.
Keep the kids entertained with Lego.
Experience the magic of the festive season with a Lego® twist at Legoland® Discovery Centre near Melbourne’s St Kilda Beach with a Christmas Bricktacular running every day until December 24.
Kids can write a letter to Santa Claus and post it in the Lego mailbox. One of Santa’s elves – also known as Legoland Discovery Centre’s Master Builders – will grant five guests Lego-related Christmas wishes.
Families can also take a photo with the 1.9m-tall Lego Christmas tree, build a Lego penguin in the Creative Workshop, make their own Christmas-tree badges (weekends only) and enjoy festive cookies and cupcakes from the café.
Located at Chadstone Shopping Centre, Legoland Discovery Centre is home to two thrilling rides, a 4D cinema, a Lego model of Melbourne made from 1.5 million bricks, the Duplo farm-adventure zone for toddlers and 11 Lego build zones to keep kids aged 2-10 entertained.
Visit www.legoland.com.
The Mercure Hotel at The Fiddler.
Accor and the Lewis Land Group have opened the new-build 78-room Mercure Hotel at The Fiddler, in Sydney’s Rouse Hill.
The new hotel is aimed at business travellers, corporates, sporting groups and families looking for convenient, contemporary accommodation in the city’s north-west.
The Fiddler hotel precinct, where the new Mercure is located, is a major dining and entertainment hub.
The hotel features a fitness centre and swimming pool and complements The Fiddler’s existing entertainment precinct which boasts a choice of a la carte dining and beverage options, as well as new conference and business facilities.
Visit www.accorhotels.com.
Socialising at the SeaLink Kangaroo Island Racing Carnival. Image: Megan Cole.
The SeaLink Kangaroo Island Racing Carnival is a three-day celebration of racing, entertainment and food and wine from February 20-22 at Cygnet River Racecourse.
SeaLink is offering punters the best seats in the house with a range of Kangaroo Island cup-day packages.
The SeaLink Kangaroo Island Racing Carnival features two race days, the first on Thursday, February 20, followed by the main race day, the KI Cup, on February 22.
“The KI Cup just keeps getting bigger and better each year. The carnival brings with it a real party and racing atmosphere with the hotly contested fashions on the field competition and the fully-inclusive KI Cup Long Lunch Trackside Marquee,” said Julie-Anne Briscoe, SeaLink Marketing Manager.
SeaLink is offering Kangaroo Island cup-day packages departing from Adelaide, Cape Jervis, Penneshaw and American River for Saturday, February 22.
The package departing Adelaide includes morning coach pick-up and evening set down at selected Adelaide hotels, return SeaLink ferry, return transfers to the Cygnet River Racetrack and a general admission ticket.
The package is priced at $189 per adult and $86 per child.
Visit www.sealink.com.au.
On Austria’s Katschberger Advent Trail. Image: Michael Stabentheimer.
The Advent period in Austria is also known as “the most peaceful time of the year”, a time when deeply rooted folk traditions come alive in colourful, romantic ways.
Advent began on a Sunday four weeks before Christmas Eve. This is the day when advent wreaths, woven from evergreen twigs and decorated with ribbons and four candles, were placed in living rooms all over the country.
On each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, one more candle on the wreath is lit at dinnertime and many families read Christmas stories or sing carols together.
The first Sunday of Advent not only rang in the festive season in homes but also the Christmas markets opened their doors.
From cities to small villages, visitors can find Christmas markets everywhere they go.
The scent of roasted chestnuts and mulled wine, and stands with handcrafted goods & local treats will spread across the country.
These markets allow visitors to connect with locals and to experience Christmas spirits so different to those in Australia.
Visit www.austria.info.
A boat trip along the Chobe River provides visitors with very a different perspective.
When it comes to wildlife, there’s no doubt that Africa boasts an embarrassment of riches, from the ‘Big Five’ to the multitudes of wildebeest and zebra navigating the Great Migration to the last remaining populations of mountain gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda.
But if the lion is the most feared creature amongst these, the mighty African elephant is surely one of the most revered.
And for those really hankering for a truly unforgettable pachyderm experience, one of the best places to see these mighty giants in the wild is Botswana’s Chobe National Park.
Located in the north of Botswana, Chobe National Park is home to world’s largest remaining population of elephants, making an encounter all but guaranteed.
Visitors to the park have two main options to choose from — a traditional game drive in an open-sided 4W-drive vehicle brings herds into easy reach as they drink and frolic at the water’s edge on the banks of the Chobe River.
Alternatively, a boat trip along the river provides visitors with a very different perspective, as they glide past elephants wading in the water and swimming between islands, using their trunks as snorkels.
Dramatically perched on a hill above the Chobe River on the edge of the park, Sanctuary Chobe Chilwero is a fine base for a pachyderm adventure, with the retreat’s 15 suites providing a blend of modern design and distinctly traditional African finishes.
Suites at Sanctuary Chobe Chilwero are normally priced from USD650 per person twin-share per night for 1-3 nights, but guests can enjoy considerable savings using Sanctuary Retreats’ extended-stay offer.
Visit www.sanctuaryretreats.com.
Just part of Silversea’s Alaskan adventure.
Guests booking any classic Silversea Alaskan itinerary departing in 2020 or 2021 will receive complimentary round-trip economy air, or reduced business class air from $4998 per person.
The offer is available until January 3 and applies to 28 itineraries between Seward and Vancouver on board Silver Muse, and also includes a complimentary private scenic glass-dome train transfer from Anchorage to Seward.
The ship will transport guests through regions of spectacular, untouched beauty. Guests will discover tranquil fjords, freezing glaciers, jagged peaks and evergreen forests, plus an abundance of endemic wildlife and characterful gold-rush-era towns.
For example, the seven-day sailing ex Seward on June 4 is available from $7200 per person, based on double occupancy.
Travellers will have the opportunity to cruise the Hubbard Glacier, before calling in Juneau, Skagway, Sitka and Ketchikan.
Visit www.silversea.com.
