Southern Ocean Lodge Archives - Australia 2000 Travel

March 26, 2014

Thank you from Lois Carley

Hi Karen!

What an amazing adventure! It was first class all of the way! We truly made memories as a family that will last a lifetime! I can’t thank you enough for all of your planning and preparation that went into this amazing journey. Everything was meticulously arranged in advance and it was absolutely wonderful to have this assurance throughout our vacation.

We stayed in 5 different locations in 3 weeks and they were all so different and so wonderful that we all felt like we had experienced the absolute “best” that Australia had to offer! That was really cool. The resorts that we stayed at were nothing short of spectacular! And the staff at each resort were the best we have ever encountered. We received such unbelievable customer service – it was truly a joy!

Wolgan Valley was so beautiful! Steve was able to relax in a day?s time (which is unheard of for him!). God’s country for sure! The kids did the Glow Worm Cave tour and thoroughly enjoyed that! A must see, in their opinion. Our time spent there was to die for!

Next was Southern Ocean Lodge – what an amazing place that was! So remote but so beautiful. Again – the staff were so accommodating and made us feel so comfortable. A spectacular experience all around.

On to Lizard Island??and the only word that could explain that resort is “WOW”! I could have stayed there forever! We are world travelers but we’ve never been to a more beautiful resort! The staff was unbelievably accommodating and the beaches are unsurpassed in their beauty and privacy. On Christmas Day we took out 2 dinghies and had picnic lunches packed and found our own little private beach! It was a Christmas totally unsurpassed in every way. We will never forget our time spent there. And the weather was just perfect!

The rainforest was so different from the places we had just been to! Silky Oaks Lodge was very special. We loved our rooms and the peacefulness of the surroundings.

Sydney was a very fun and interesting city. We all enjoyed our time there. The Sydney Bridge Climb was amazing and we’re glad that we did it. And the day spent with Colin on the sailboat was grand! He is such a nice man and totally took great care of all of us. It was so interesting to hear all of the stories he shared with us. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed it immensely. He really prepared quite the feast for all of us too! He’s quite the chef! Very fun.

New Year?s Eve was enjoyable as well. Steve and I were invited on the roof of the Shangri-La Hotel by the GM there – so we had a front row seat for the spectacular fireworks! We’ve never seen anything like it and will remember it always. I think we’re ruined for life as far as fireworks go! And last, but not least?.the Pub Crawl was AMAZING! Truly the exclamation point of our journey! Our pilot was fun and informative and we got to see parts of Australia that we’d never seen! It was great to experience the local culture of the smaller towns – we absolutely loved every minute of it! What a great day that was!

I also wanted to express to you how flawlessly our transportation worked throughout our trip. Drivers were prompt and friendly and everything went off without a hitch.

Karen, I really want you to know how much we all enjoyed this “once in a lifetime” experience! You are truly the ultimate professional and for that I thank you! You organized and planned a vacation of a lifetime for us that suited our family to a “T”. We will all remember this forever and the time and work you put into this for us was apparent at every turn. 5 stars!

So many people have asked about our magical trip to Australia and what a dream it is of theirs. You will be the first and only agency that I will recommend to anyone who asks!

All the best!

Lois

April 9, 2012

A Traveler’s Notes from Australia

My trip to Australia seems ages ago but my memories run deep.? The land down under is indeed full of beauty and spectacle and amazingly friendly people.

Here are a few of my favourite places and things unique to Australia:

First there’s the delicious lamington! (Ha! Did you think I would start with the Sydney Opera House? Not focused on the uber-tourist trail with this little blog post. Besides food always comes first!) If you’ve never had a lamington, you must try one (or two) immediately…if you can find a place that makes them…or you’ll have to make your own. Lamingtons are sponge cake cut in cubes and dipped in a light chocolate frosting and sprinkled with coconut. They are divine!

The spectacular Great Ocean Road! (Yes I know this is on everyone’s list but there is good reason!) The highlight of my very long but incredible day was a helicopter ride to see the Twelve Apostles and Shipwreck coast from an unforgettable vantage point!

Lots of great wine! From the three wine regions (of which there are plenty!) that I visited across Australia and the few wineries that I was able to experience in each area, here are the standouts…

Margaret River:
There are the bigger, more well known estates like Voyager and Vasse Felix that are consistently good so I will focus on the houses that offered me the most memorable experiences and wines that were fantastic in my opinion (not to mention some interesting names!)

+Laurance – excellent reds in particular the Icon Cabernet

+ Evans & Tate – loved their whites and a beautiful pink Moscato
+ Wills Domain – excellent whites especially their Semillon
+ Knee Deep – fantastic, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc
+ Swings and Roundabouts – great reds and a beautiful Chardonnay

Yarra Valley:
+ Yering Station – this is a popular and quite commercial estate but they had a Shiraz Viognier (2008) that was amazing
+ Rochford – lovely, elegant wines especially their Chardonnay (2001)

Barossa Valley:
+ Schild Estate – very nice, smooth whites like the Semillon, Frontignac and Chardonnay and there was a fabulous blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre (GSM as the Aussies love their acronyms!)
+ Hentley Farm – fantastic Zinfandel and a Shiraz called The Beast (2010)! It was to-die-for…much more complex and interesting than The Beauty!

If you find yourself in Melbourne and you’re a huge fan of sushi, then you must try Jamon (www.jamonsushi.com) which is a little sushi place in the charming suburb of?South Yarra. The owner and master sushi chef (be prepared to meet Charles, a long-silver-haired Harley Davidson type dressed in black) prepares everything for you fresh that day – the menu is omakase so the chef will make whatever he chooses from the fresh fish, mushrooms and vegetables that he had gotten from the markets that day (you can just tell him what you may not prefer). It was like an opera watching him prepare the whole fishes and creating delicate pieces of sashimi from various parts of the fish, slicing the beautiful shiitake and enoki while grounding fresh wasabi root and sprinkling some of his homemade mustard. Oh, and in that tiny space of sushi bar for 7 and 2 tables for 2, they project Japanese animation on the large white wall in front of the
bar. It was a lovely, spontaneous and unforgettable experience!

Kangaroo Island is a spectacular place where you feel like you’re at the edge of the world…and you are! It’s on the Southern Ocean and there’s nothing between you and Antarctica! The island was bigger than I expected with so much nature to see…of all the beautiful natural surroundings, I would have to say that the Remarkable Rocks were a highlight and of the few man-made places, there is nothing more amazing than the Southern Ocean Lodge (www.southernoceanlodge.com.au) which is an eco-friendly resort that caters to your every whim! The rooms, food, guided tours, spa and hospitality are all absolutely second-to-none! If only we could have stayed longer…

Finally, after seeing so much natural beauty, I was ready for a big dose of urban culture when I reached Sydney. And the Art Gallery of New South Wales didn’t disappoint. The gallery is at one end of the beautiful Botanic Gardens and surprisingly had on view the works of some of my favourite modern and contemporary artists. It was the perfect closing to a fabulous holiday.

March 27, 2012

Journal Entries from Down Under Travelers

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Hi Karen,

We are about to depart for Flinders Range. The time at Southern Ocean Lodge was too short (as all the times are….Helmut calls this our appetizer trip….next time we come for the main course!)

The opera was glorious…one if those once in a lifetime experiences. But then so was the seal colony yesterday. Every day has been incredible. Helmut sings your praises daily!!

I feel as if I am keeping a journal with you!

Till later!

Marlies

March 26, 2012

Thank you from Colleen Berry

G?day Karen,

What a wonderful trip to Oz! You and your staff did a fabulous job in helping to make my second trip to Australia wonderful and helped me see new?and exciting parts of the country.

I loved Tasmania, Adelaide and the Margaret River area. Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island was just amazing, a once in a lifetime experience, and so wish I had stayed a third night. The small group tours across the itinerary were perfect.

Thank you for your patience in putting together a trip for someone visiting for a second time and my traveling companions visiting for a first time. The only downfall was not having more time or more money!

Thank you for making so many wonderful memories for me, Marianne and Rose.

Best,

Colleen

October 8, 2010

Thank you from Barry and David

Hi Karen,

As you know, we just returned from our amazing trip to Australia. It was good to talk with you yesterday.

Some more about our experiences:

The harbor views from the Grand Quay Suites were wonderful. We had a picnic dinner on the terrace one night, enjoying the views of the city and the Harbour Bridge at dusk. Sailer’s Thai was great, as was Hugo’s Pizza in Kings Cross. The service was wonderful at the GQS: one morning our breakfast was particularly slow to arrive, so they comp’ed our meal. Our guide on the Rocks Tour pointed out that another advantage of staying at the GQS is that when you are in your room, you don’t have to SEE the GQS (and the other towers that have been allowed to be built along the eastside of Circular Quay), which are an over-development eyesore on the harbor. There are also a large number of great restaurants strung along the quay.

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