MTA website judged in Top 3 at Opal Awards !!

Recently MY TRAVEL AGENT attended the 2011 Corroboree convention for Aussie Specialist travel agents from all across North America. This year the event was held at the Crown Promenade Hotel in Melbourne, and one of the signature events was the 18th annual Opal Awards Gala dinner.

Awards were given to Aussie Specialist travel agents and industry partners in recognition for innovation and expertise in selling Australia to consumers in North America.

MY TRAVEL AGENT's website was judged in the Top 3 in the category of "Outstanding Website Design by an Aussie Specialist".

We are honored to be recognized for our work in upgrading our website so that our clients can have the BEST information they can have before booking an Australian dream vacation with us.

Next year we'll be shooting for NUMBER ONE with regards to the website.  Feel free to check out our website HERE, we hope you enjoy it .....

Too close to call

The highlight of this trip to Australia was going to the Melbourne Cup! We all got dressed to the nines with our hats and fascinators. The day started with a 30 minute cruise up the Yarra River to the Flemington racetrack. We then went into the Carbine Marquee (hospitality area) for drinks and lunch. We watched some of the pre Melbourne Cup races on TVs. Just before the main event we walked over to the Lawn Stand boxes. Watched the horses walk out onto the track and load into the gates. Then they were off! Not only did I get to witness the race that stops a nation, I experienced the closest race in Melbourne Cup’s 151 year history! It was too close to call and the photo finish was amazing. It took almost as long to announce a winner (3 minutes) as it did to run the race. We then went back to the hospitality tent area to drink more while some people cashed in their winning tickets. I unfortunately did not back Dunaden, the winning horse.

QANTAS

Not sure if I am glad Qantas is back to flying or not. Australia is not a bad place to be stranded. I am enjoying the food and wine too much. Maybe it is a good thing they are flying or I would gain too much weight. Also another bad thing is my husband is not here with me. So, after spending the day at the Melbourne Cup (only horse race that stop an entire country), I will have to continue on my trip down to Tasmania and go home when planned on November 6th.

Gone WILD

Australia to me is all about the people and the animals. This blog is all about the animals. While on Kangaroo Island (South Australia) we saw koalas, 1 echinda, seals & kangaroos. Today we went to Phillips Island (Victoria) and saw koalas and the famous little penguins. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are four thousand words…..

Southern Ocean Lodge

After the chocolate and wine pairing, we moved back into Adelaide to take a small plane (max 30 people) over to Kangaroo Island. It is a short flight at 20 minutes. By the time we arrived at Southern Ocean Lodge, the sun had set. I was impressed with the lodge the minute we walked in. It was too dark to see the view so the lobby as the main focal point. We walked over to the open bar and had more wine before our 9pm dinner which was another exceptional meal. I am not a foodie but I cannot stop talking about the food!

Once in bed, night 3 was the first night I slept straight through for 7 hours and when I woke, OMG what a view from the rooms! I do not believe there is any stop a guest goes that does not have this magnificent view of the ocean. My roommate and I were lucky and were assigned a family two bedroom suite and she was gracious enough to let me take the room with the tub in the bath.

Our first day was spent exploring the island. We first stopped at a spot to search for Koalas. Found five in three different trees, including a mother and her child. From there we went to the Remarkable Rocks and although I had been there before and the wind was blowing, it was interesting walking around these granite boulders. We then moved over to the New Zealand fur seal colony. There were not as many as I remembered from my last trip here. We stopped at a spot for an outdoor lunch of grilled King George White fish. We did stop one kangaroo on our way out of the field heading to Seal Bay. Here there were more of those seals laying on the beach then my previous trip. I believe there were more cubs also with their cute faces. It was a full day and we continued to Little Sahara (sand dune) and Vivonne Bay (voted best beach in 2002). Looked for little penguin babies in their burrows but I had no like seeing any. We then went to a field with over 50 kangaroos for a snack and you guessed it wine! Finally back to the lodge for another great dinner.

Day two at the lodge was to spend however we wanted. I am surprised nobody set up a spa treatment. I stayed in our living room tweeting and answering emails until midday. Enjoyed lunch (had the King George White fish again but this time battered as fish & chips). Did the optional Cliff walk with a lodge guide. After that it was time to pack. Our 48 hours on Kangaroo Island were over and time to fly to Melbourne. New city – new adventure, to be continued……