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Post by chech on Apr 23, 2015 23:03:20 GMT
Looking at the tour below for Australia with Monograms. It would be a more independent form of travel (day or couple day tour at each major location) and likely has a group that is doing the same itinerary. If you get a moment to look at this itinerary, let me know what you think. It's the most comprehensive one of the centre/east part of the country that I can find. And how would June be in Australia. Don't care about the cold. Looking for sunny skies. monogramstravel.ca/Booking/Monograms/Product.aspx?trip=5IPDT
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Post by Oz-T on Apr 23, 2015 23:39:49 GMT
The itinerary looks great, Chech. It ticks the boxes for many of the iconic sights and does it efficiently in the available time by using air travel.
There seems to be a few times when you have spare time to do your own wandering or to latch onto an optional tour. I can guide you on these. The Fiji part is just Nadi, which is not a particularly riveting place. The Coral Coast is much nicer and I can recommend a nice tour we did down there three years ago - you can easily take the public bus to get there.
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Post by bet on Apr 23, 2015 23:41:27 GMT
I'm not an expert or an Aussie Chech but you might not get sunny skies in Melborne, Adelaide and Tasmania in June, where as the center and top end you will.
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Post by tassiedevil on Apr 24, 2015 11:24:57 GMT
I just checked (thought I read it somewhere), Australia in general is suppose to have warmer but wetter winter this year. I can talk about Hobart, as that is where I live. Winter is when we get a lot of our rain, but we are the second driest capital city in the country so the chances are there will be more rainfall in all the other places except Uluru. Our average temperatures are about a degree or 2 lower than Melbourne with an average around 12 degrees.
I see that you would be staying at Wrest Point Casino, which is literally across the road from where I work. They still have in the gaming rooms, machines where you can get a free coke or 3 (or other soft drinks and hot coffee, chocolate and tea). If you walk at my speed (which is fairly quick) it is about a 25 minute walk from the city.
I notice they offer an excursion to Phillip Island. This is the tour I did and thoroughly enjoyed it. www.gowest.com.au/our-tours/penguin-parade-day-tour/ I paid extra to be in the high penguin traffic area, as mentioned in you Monograms excursion, but see that that are will be closed from May to November this year. I've also done their Yarra Valley wine tour.
I will try to answer any question you have, but after Tuesday I probably won't be back on here until after you have left.
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Post by renmarkable on Apr 24, 2015 19:44:56 GMT
it's a great tour you will see more of Australia than many Aussies do. the only note of caution I would sound is that the crossing to kangaroo island is notoriously bad, and June is possibly the worst time if year for it,And I wonder what contingency plans they have in place? appartment from that small note if caution, I would give it a ten out of ten!
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Post by chech on Apr 25, 2015 19:04:52 GMT
Thanks all. Still trying to plan things out but it looks like Australia might be a late August/early September adventure (or maybe October....hmmmm). I'll take closer look at the hotels and that and ask what you think of them (there is a choice but I'll only upgrade if the base one is really not a good selection). As it stands, my plans are looking at Norway or Switzerland late May/early June. Australia in late Aug/early Sept, Costa Rica in Nov or Dec....and Egypt maybe in February. So many choices. So little time!
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axl
New Member
Posts: 18
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Post by axl on Apr 28, 2015 5:57:19 GMT
Chech I am excited can wait for you to do all your tours hope you have a wonderful time just waiting patiently for your tour tales feel like I am their too
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Post by chech on Apr 29, 2015 1:47:34 GMT
Well, Australians, just waiting for a price confirmation and if it is what I think it will be, I won't be going to Australia this year. I'll be cruising through the Northwest Passage!
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Post by chech on Apr 29, 2015 16:04:13 GMT
Okay...delete last. No solo cabins left...will have to book that one for next year....so Australia is back on.
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Post by chech on May 6, 2015 0:24:36 GMT
Okay....so if I leave on 10 October...I can be in Fiji for my 50th Birthday. How is the middle of October for a visit?
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Post by Oz-T on May 6, 2015 4:07:47 GMT
Mid-October is an ideal time weather-wise, Chech. Australia will be well past winter as it's mid Spring. The coldest place will be Hobart, Tasmania (17C days and 8C nights) and October is the wettest month there (it rains on average every second day, compared to every third). You should expect 20C in Melbourne and 22C in Sydney. Cairns will be around 30C. Alice Springs/Ayers Rock will get to around 31C and Darwin/Kakadu gets to 33C. These are pleasant, warm days to us, but then again, we're not used to snow or Newfoundland.
October is nicely placed because you're past the depths of winter and well short of the wet season and hot temperatures (sometimes past 40C) in the Top End. The Fiji bit isn't relevant temperature-wise because they get around 30C every day of the year. I would always avoid Fiji in Jan-March because the tropical wet season is so anti-tourist - they get 12 inches of rain in every one of those three months and you stand a good chance of being caught in a cyclone.
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Post by chech on May 6, 2015 18:04:42 GMT
Awesome. That jives with everything I'm reading...so October it is....wonder if I can get chocolate cake in Fiji.... I get the minor surgery done Monday and if that works well, I'll look at Norway or Italy for June....Australia for October....Egypt for February 2016 and the North-west passage for Sept 2016. Being cat-less is proving to be expensive.
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Post by Oz-T on May 6, 2015 21:23:38 GMT
You ought to be able to get a chocolate cake in Fiji, Chech. And they'll stick a candle in it too, if you ask. But they're more likely to want to celebrate with you by offering you a sip of kava. Now here's the problem for you: it's not alcohol so you can't reject it for that reason. But it'll numb your lips and tongue, so maybe you can find a polite way of declining it, perhaps a better way than describing it as dirty dishwater....
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Post by chech on May 7, 2015 0:00:53 GMT
Oh good....I'm "allergic" to dirty dishwater! LOL
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Post by Oz-T on May 7, 2015 3:36:14 GMT
Would it make a difference if I told you that Fiji's 'dishwater-looking" kava has a mild narcotic effect? .... oh, I thought not.
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Post by chech on May 7, 2015 11:55:41 GMT
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Post by Oz-T on May 7, 2015 22:14:42 GMT
Hmmmm... maybe you could pioneer a new treatment for plantar fasciitis... ..... injecting Fijian kava into the right spot. * * I cured my own plantar fasciitis a more simpler way.
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Post by chech on May 8, 2015 13:01:25 GMT
LOL....I may have to get the injection and that pic actually makes me squirm! So...anything simpler than stretching, icing, rolling on a lacrosse ball, getting custom made orthotics, wearing laced up supportive footwear that is changed twice a year, shockwave therapy and now physiotherapy?
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Post by Oz-T on May 8, 2015 22:49:13 GMT
Yep, two visits to a physiotherapist guy cured it. He did extreme massage on the plantar region of the foot, digging his thumbs in so hard that he was deliberately tearing tissue in order to initiate healing in a more structured matrix. It hurt like hell on both visits but it was actually doing a more efficient version of rolling the foot over objects (we ease off when it hurts, whereas another person will keep the pressure on the sole of the foot). I flinched a lot, but endured the pain, then did it all again the following session a week later.
The massage therapy broke some of the fibres and tissue, but not so much to be debilitating. Over the next couple of weeks I was walking with a bit of a limp, but that's what I'd already been doing suffering the plantar. Then things improved, so much that the plantar fasciitis has completely gone and it's now two years with no problems. I still occasionally massage the heel area myself, with deep thumb pressure, but the remedy was so good I have to think a bit to remember which foot it was. That's as good a recommendation I can make.
You seem to have had the condition for many years, whereas I had it a month or two before seeking a cure. That might mean many more sessions until the matrix of muscle fibres are separated enough to encourage a more orderly pattern upon healing. That means a bit of pain, but to me it was worth it. I know what you're going through with this; plantar is one of those lingering pains that can really frustrate.
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Post by chech on May 8, 2015 23:21:59 GMT
Ah, you're lucky. Sounds like you nipped it in the bud! This is my second bout in the same foot. First one resolved with a change in footwear and some massage back in 09. The second started 1 1/2 years ago and started slow. Changed footwear and there was little change. I didn't start looking at aggressive treatment until last autumn. It does feel like it is slowly - very slowly - resolving with everything that has been done and is still being done. I know using the lacrosse ball to massage the foot is a big help (and yes, painful! LOL). And there is a spur there which doesn't help. I'm looking to see if I can go back for more shockwave and have it focus on the spur area a bit more. I think too that I should try walking more trails than streets. Always walking a flat surface probably isn't doing it any favours.
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Post by Tonnet on May 9, 2015 23:08:11 GMT
The Monogram Tour looks pretty good, Chech.
It is a nice time of the year to travel in the north. Darwin and Cairns share an even temperature at this time - about 31/32ÂșC with cooler nights. The southern portion of the continent is much cooler and will suit you well. Also at this time of the year you will see quite a display of our wild flowers. April to October sees a huge migration of the southerners to the north to escape the cold of the lower latitudes. Fiji has a very even temperature but the humidity will be starting to climb.
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Post by chech on May 10, 2015 1:25:26 GMT
Yeah, I'm impressed with the tour touches on everything I want to see in the east/central area. And nothing says I can't go back to tour Western Australia.
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Post by chech on May 11, 2015 20:12:39 GMT
Okay, Australians. Surgery is done and was a breeze. I'm going to put down payment on an October tour. Question about hotels. These are the hotels offered that also have reasonable cost upgrades. Would any listed below be worth upgrading to? Sydney - Menzies can be upgraded to Pullman (but Menzies location looks better) Darwin - Vibe Hotel can be upgraded to Hilton Darwin Uluru - Desert Gardens can be upgraded to Sails in the Wind Adelaide - Majestic Roof Gardens can be upgraded to Intercontinental Adelaide Nadi, Fiji - Sofitel Fiji can be upgraded to Westin Denarau Island I'm quite happy with the regular hotel but will upgrade if there's a compelling reason to upgrade. Thanks.
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Post by Tonnet on May 11, 2015 22:34:20 GMT
A little hotel information for you, Chech.
Sydney - The Menzies is ideally located in the centre of the city on top of Wynyard Railway Station. Very easy access to all features by bus or rail and there is much within short walking distance.
Darwin - The Vibe is right on the waterfront with very easy access to the CBD. has some free WiFi.
Adelaide - Majestic Roof Gardens - don't know it personally but looks pretty good.
Nadi - The Sofitel is right on the waterfront and there is easy access to the main island on which it is located.
Some others may be able to further assist you but it looks like they have chosen carefully to give you the best benefit available.
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Post by Oz-T on May 11, 2015 22:52:39 GMT
I don't see any compelling reason to upgrade from any of these hotels, Chech. We rarely use hotel rooms when we're travelling - they're merely a place to sleep at night so we would not use the facilities enough to get value from an upgrade. Location would be the main reason to change hotels.
Sydney: The Menzies is slightly better positioned than the Pullman, but it's already a good hotel so no need to upgrade.
Darwin: Vibe Hotel is closer to the waterfront so I'd stick with it instead of the Hilton.
Uluru: We stayed at the Desert Gardens Resort at Yulara last November and the standard room was fine. Sails in the Desert is the resort just before it. I don't know what extras you'd be getting, but at $485 per night, it'd need to be damn good.
Adelaide: Majestic Roof Garden Hotel is just around the corner from Rundle Mall, the shopping precinct. It's a good location, not far from a cheaper hotel I stayed at with my son last year when we attended a football game. The Intercontinental is on North Terrace and not as central, although it's close to the Torrens River. At risk of offending the locals, Adelaide isn't a city of major attractions etc. But it's a quiet, pretty city all the same.
Fiji: Both the Sofitel and Westin are on Denarau Island (which isn't really an island at all; it's a part of the mainland, just SW of the airport). If you want luxury hotels that make you feel like a millionaire, all these hotels will tick the boxes for a price. We stayed at the Sheraton that's just beside the Westin when we attended a wedding there about three years ago. We didn't like Denarau Island much because it's so far removed from the traditional Fiji we had visited before. We stayed a week at Pacific Harbour which is closer to Suva and only went to Denarau for one day/night to avoid the 3 hour drive back to our accommodation on the Coral Coast after the wedding reception. Most of the wedding guests never ventured beyond their luxury hotel grounds, so they never saw any of the real Fiji we were experiencing. You'll be fine because your tour will take you to the parts of Fiji you should be seeing.
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Post by chech on May 11, 2015 23:14:13 GMT
Awesome....kinda looks like they offer good hotels and upgrades for those who want the luxury which I don't need. Central location is all that matters. Now I just have to wait and see if a solo cabin comes up on the Northwest Passage cruise for Sept....I might sneak in to a last minute spot...if I get it, Australia will be 2016.
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Post by Oz-T on May 12, 2015 0:30:28 GMT
I do like the sound of a tour company that allows upgrades like that, regardless of whether I'd really want it. The only question I'd ask is how they manage the tour from two different hotels. It sounds like some time would be wasted by the coach when it has to collect and drop off the tour group at separate places.
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Post by chech on May 12, 2015 0:46:25 GMT
Yeah. I'm guessing most go for the included hotel. Good part is that some cities offer no upgrade and when they do, no more than 1 or 2 are offered as upgrades and in some cases the upgraded one is like $1000 more. That's where The Woman would be. LOL
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Post by chech on May 12, 2015 20:13:22 GMT
Okay...looks like the Polar Adventure is a go for next year, so Australia is this October after all. And my travel agents have booked via Monograms before and have good things to say about it.
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Post by Tonnet on May 12, 2015 20:37:36 GMT
That's terrific, Chech!
You might just have the opportunity to catch up with a few of the friends in Oz during your travels!
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