By John Rozentals.
The Pan Pacific Melbourne South Wharf … located on the banks of the Yarra.
When Pan Pacific Hotels Group acquired its second Australian Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts property hotel – the Pan Pacific Melbourne South Wharf — in July last year, it did so with an ambitious plan to put its own stamp on the eight-year-old hotel.
A year on, the hotel has officially launched following an extensive refurbishment.
Located on the banks of the Yarra, the property first opened its doors as the Hilton South Wharf Melbourne in 2009, coinciding with the launch of the new Convention Centre and Plenary Hall at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, and the eight-year old building was due for a makeover.
Taking almost 10 months to complete, the multimillion dollar refurbishment has totally transformed the hotel into a uniquely Pan Pacific experience.
In a dramatic departure from dark red hues of the original entrance, the ground floor lobby now offers a serene, light-filled expanse of whites and blues and greys, interspersed with spectacular artworks that pay homage to the precinct’s maritime history.
Pan Pacific Melbourne’s 396 spacious guest rooms have been fitted out with an array of fresh new features designed specifically with guest comfort and functionality in mind.
Rooms have been repainted and recarpeted in earthy tones. Other new additions also include chic desk lamps and sleek timber side tables, as well as contemporary armchairs and ottomans.
Visit https://www.panpacific.com.
The National Anzac Centre … helping cement Albany’s reputation as a commemoration centre.
A second-passenger-half-price deal is available on a short-break cruise along the Western Australian coast designed to honour the Anzac troops who sailed to the battlefields of Europe during World War I.
The five-night cruise, aboard Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ Astor, will sail round-trip from Perth on January 6 next year bound for Esperance and Albany on the southern coast of WA.
The former whaling town of Albany was the last sight of Australia for 41,000 troops who sailed in convoys of ships to the trenches of Europe during the Great War from 2014-18.
Today it is cemented as one of Australia’s principal commemoration centres of the Anzac legend with an award-winning National Anzac Centre, numerous monuments of remembrance and a new ‘Field of Light – Avenue of Honour’ outdoor light installation open from October to Anzac Day next year.
The installation features 16,000 lights shining in the colours of local wildlfowers.
The cruise features lectures by war historian and author, Neville Browning OAM, who has penned more than a dozen books on Australia’s military history, and also war storyteller and author, Jon Doust, who will recount tales of his own family’s involvement in the Great War.
Fares are available from $1029 per person twin-share, with the fare for a second person half-price at $514.
Phone 1300 766 537 or visit www.cruiseexpress.com.au.
Winemaker Claudio Radenti … will take guests on a tour of Freycinet Vineyard.
The annual Great Eastern Wine Weekend returns for its fourth year from September 8-9, showcasing the best food and wines of Tasmania’s East Coast.
The event offers an opportunity to explore Tasmania’s East Coast wine region through a variety of special events, with vineyards, cellar doors and tourism operators opening their doors across the weekend.
This year’s calendar has almost tripled in size, with new events including a game-meat feast, wine-and-seafood indulgence on the beach, a long brunch showcasing the East Coast wine region, a vertical tasting of pinot, an artisan market and yoga in the vines.
Winemaker Claudio Radenti, for instance, will take guests on a tour of Freycinet Vineyard, where every drop is grown, produced and bottled on-site.
Radenti will then be joined by local wine guru Tim Goddard as hosts of the five-course sunset feast The Great Eastern Wine and Dine Dinner at Freycinet Lodge.
Visit www.freycinetlodge.com.au.
Tasmania’s Truffle Lodge … a quintessentially Australian bush-glamping experience.
Idyllically located right on the Derwent River and just 40 kilometres from Hobart, Tasmania’s Truffle Lodge offers a quintessentially Australian bush-glamping experience.
The new luxury eco lodge will open for its second season on September 1, with extended accommodation and communal facilities, a freshly restored beach and an expanded range of on- and off-site experiences and activities.
Additions include a private bush bath, a large shelter for outdoor activities and functions and a line-up of activities for those that are not seduced by the go-slow magic.
The truffiere which had been abandoned and covered in wild blackberry vines is now being nurtured back to life.
Each tent at Truffle Lodge is double walled and triple roofed for maximum comfort and features a handmade wooden bath, rain shower, extra-large deep double beds, a coffee machine, tea-making facilities and a bar fridge.
Rates are from $795 per night per person twin-share, including continental breakfast, self-help lunch, three-course dinner and all activities.
Visit www.trufflelodge.com.
‘thar she blows’ … the excitement of spotting a passing whale.
Captain Cook Cruises and Sea Life Sydney Aquarium are offering the ultimate day out for kids and adult marine lovers, with a Sea Life Sydney Aquarium and whale-watching cruise combo, operating daily until October 31 and offering savings of up to $40 per person.
The package starts with a morning visit to one of Sydney’s leading family tourist attractions, Sea Life, in Darling Harbour.
Walk underwater through over 100 metres of glass viewing tunnels and see Australia’s marine life like never before, coming within inches of huge sharks, rays and turtles and watch three different penguin species slip, slide and swim around playfully.
Before embarking on a Captain Cook cruise to see whales in the wild, guests will have the opportunity to learn more about whale migration at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium’s on-site activity hub.
In only 15 minutes the fantastic open-water cruise takes passengers from Circular Quay, past the Sydney Opera House, Fort Denison and the beautiful eastern suburbs, before passing through the Harbour headlands and out to the open ocean.
Here the excitement begins as humpbacks are spotted visiting Sydney’s coastline as part of their annual migration.
Captain Cook Cruises offers every passenger a whale guarantee. If a whale is not spotted, passengers can cruise again for free.
The combo is priced at $99 per adult and $69 per child (4-15 years).
Phone 02 9206 1111 or visit www.captaincook.com.au.
Jimmy Barnes … doing small, intimate gigs for guests staying at the same resort.
A once-in-a-lifetime holiday experience in one of the most beautiful, and once unaffordable, destinations in the world — the Maldives — has been made totally exceptional by sharing that experience with Aussie musicians staying at the same resort and performing exclusive and intimate gigs at night.
Going to the Maldives is much cheaper than it used to be due to the decreasing price of flights and the entry of more affordably priced hotel chains. Now the Maldives is a popular destination for couples, families, groups of friends and singles as well as honeymooners.
Buy your adventure through The Perfect Wave and enjoy sunshine, white-sand beaches, water as blue as you’ve ever seen, surfing, diving, snorkelling and a fully equipped kids’ club with waterpark during the day … then relax in bean bags on the beach or dance on the sand to Aussie music legends.
Events being sold now are Jimmy Barnes with his family band, including Diesel and Mahalia Barnes, in September this year, and Powderfinger’s Bernard Fanning next April.
Visit www.perfectwavetravel.com.
Paro Taktsang temple … in Bhutan, one of the world’s last great Himalayan kingdoms.
Open the throttle on some of the world’s most spectacular roads on the back of a classic Royal Enfield motorbike with a 15 per cent discount on a range of Extreme Bike Tours’ rides in Sri Lanka, Rajasthan and Bhutan.
The discount applies to bookings made before August 31, and includes licensed riders and pillion passengers.
The 15-day Bhutan tour, for instance, takes riders on an adventure through the wide-open valleys and snow-capped peaks of one of the world’s last great Himalayan kingdoms.
Located on the ancient Silk Road, the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan is filled with ancient monasteries and long-standing forts scattered across the striking landscape once shut-off from the world.
The tour departs from Delhi next April 13 and is priced from about $7975 for riders and about $6540 for pillions.
Each tour includes fuel, meals, accommodation and transfers.
Visit www.extremebiketours.com.
Travelmarvel’s 2019 ‘Great Rail Journeys’ program … includes high-speed bullet trains across China.
Travelmarvel’s 2019 ‘Great Rail Journeys’ program showcases some 30 rail adventures across four continents, many of which can be combined with a range of premium river cruises and land tours to create dozens of holiday options.
New for 2019 are rail journeys through Spain and Morocco, adding to an exciting rail touring program which already covers a range of destinations across Europe, Japan, China, India, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
The program’s most popular tour is the nine-day ‘Edinburgh, the Highlands and Islands’, which includes travel aboard the iconic Jacobite steam train also known as The Harry Potter Express.
Prices start at $3295 per person twin-share, including an earlybird discount of $1000 per couple and an early-payment discount.
There is also a chance to secure a seat at the 2020 production of the Christ Passion Play held once every 10 years in the Bavarian town of Oberammergau. The 10-day rail holiday departs London and will include train travel through the scenic Bavarian Alps and visits to historical and picturesque castles.
Prices begin at $6595 per person twin-share.
Also new for 2019 are rail journeys across China aboard high-speed bullet trains, which will whisk travellers across vast distances to discover the incredible wonders of cities such as Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu and Shanghai.
Phone 1300 205 408 or visit www.travelmarvel.com.au.
Scenic’s Mekong … a range of earlybird options includes fly-free.
Scenic’s new 2019/2020 South East Asia program features an extended portfolio of cruising through Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar on board the all-balcony Scenic Aura and Scenic Spirit.
These 68- and 44-guest vessels have a staff-guest ratio close to 1:1 and are claimed to be the most luxurious vessels sailing the Mekong and Irrawaddy.
Scenic’s signature Enrich experiences also provide a point of difference, offering exclusive opportunities and special moments not available to the ordinary traveller, such as the Angkor Temple Gala Dinner in Siem Reap.
Scenic offers a range of earlybird options available until October 31, including a fly-free deal when booking any Mekong journey of 13 days or longer, or any Myanmar journey of 14 days or longer.
Scenic’s 13-day ‘Treasures of the Mekong’ journey from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap is from $7495 per person twin-share.
Phone 138 128 or visit scenic.com.au.
Fiji’s Volivoli Beach Resort … a haven for snorkelling and diving.
Book through Travel Online for a stay at Fiji’s Volivoli Beach Resort and save 30 per cent.
Pay from $965 per person twin-share for five nights in an ocean-view room, welcome drink, daily cooked breakfast, three-course dinner daily, free use of kayaks and snorkelling gear, airport meet and great, return airport transfers, bonus massage for two and transit pass.
The deal is valid for sale until September 30 and for travel before March 31 next year.
A haven for snorkelling and diving, Volivoli Beach Resort is located two and half hours north of Nadi International Airport.
It offers white sandy beaches, large swimming pool, restaurant and pool bar.
Phone 1300 883 887 or visit www.travelonline.com.
