Novotel Ningaloo Resort Hotel, Exmouth, Australia

Last February I went to Exmouth for work and stayed in the Novotel twice. It is a very small town in rural Australia where the main attraction is either for their port or the whale shark. The town can be explored within a few hours unless you participate in some of their famous dives. The hotel provides free shuttle to town every hour so just let the receptionist know your plans and they will arrange the transportation accordingly.

The first time around they were out of the usual standard rooms so I got a free upgrade to their Superior. It was quite nice as they have a cool bathtube right in front of my room and it was a pool-view room too. The only negative about this hotel would probably be their lack of escalators and lift as well as the distance between the lobby and their rooms. I had to lug my luggage up the two flights of staircase on both visits and it was not very pleasant. 

Mattress was comfortable although they seemed to be a combo of TWO single mattresses. Hmm..

The room was relatively clean although I found hairs and stuff in the corners of their bathroom. @@

Overall, I would say their standard room is pretty similar to the Superior or Deluxe aside from the size of the room and also the availability of the bathtub. They have free laundry services as the washing machines and dryer are located just outside most rooms but it is all self-service.

I would say, asking for a room nearest to the lobby or on a ground floor is a smart move if you are planning to stay here as you would save on the distance you have to lug your heavy luggage around. Wifi is also restricted to the first 30 minutes or 50mb whichever comes first but there is a free computer which can be used for free to surf the net.

Check out their exquisite mineral water bottle! I love the whale shark logo, do you?

Colonial Tramcar Restaurant (Revisited), Melbourne CBD

This is a late post actually. Yes, AGAIN. LOL. Life's pretty busy after the wedding so finally, I only got time now to slowly go back in my back-dated posts. We went back to Colonial Tramcar Restaurant some time in December last year and I only finally got to get these uploaded. It's hubby's first time and he's happily taking shots of the tram! Haha. Adorable!

If you asked my opinion, I would probably recommend the luncheon menu compared to the rest; mainly because the price is pretty decent compared to the rest and had four courses. The menu is the same as my previous visit (I don't think this will ever change :P) and so we had the hummus and capsicum dip. 

"Hummus dip: A smooth blend of chickpea and tahini with a hint of mint, served with crisp lavosh

Roasted Red Capsicum Dip: Fresh roasted capsicum blended with Australian cream cheese and tapenade, served with golden baked water crackers"

It was really nice and we both agreed that the capsicum dip far surpassed the hummus with its smoky flavours and creamy texture.

I recommended the duck terrine to Hubby but I don't think he enjoyed it much. LOL. I probably should let him make his own decision without influencing them :P Sorryyyyy

"Duck Terrine: Tender confit duck terrine wrapped in prosciutto, accompanied by a wild berry relish and cornichons
Smoked Salmon & Avocado: Smoked Tasmanian salmon and avocado mousse, dressed with baby capers, red onion and tomato salsa"

Anyway, I liked the cold confit and when eaten with the relish and bits of the gherkins, I find them very enjoyable, especially on a hot afternoon. I guess this is pretty subjective and believed that Hubby probably would have enjoyed the smoked salmon better. :D

The following were some of the drinks we took during our lunch. They offer unlimited flow of drinks and liquor so don't go too crazy okay? ;)

Mains were a fillet of steak each and I love my steak medium rare. On this occasion though, somehow I felt that my steak was not as good as my previous visit. I am not sure whether its the seasoning or the way it's cooked. It is still pretty decent but I would not be raving about it after I am done.

"Grilled Chicken Breast: Marinated in herbs on a bed of sautéed spinach served with seasonal vegetables and a rich reduction
Victorian Farmed Eye Fillet of Beef: Paired with a rosemary and thyme scallop potato, fresh seasonal vegetables, onion marmalade and red wine jus"

PS: I love their onion marmalade by the way!

The meal is concluded with a cheese platter. I simply love their quince paste! I cleaned them off their bowl during my first trip and the second one wasn't any different.

"Chef’s Selection of Local Cheese: Matched with a quince paste, golden crisp water crackers, and a spiced fruit loaf"

The fruit loaf was not my favourite but Hubby seemed to like it LOL. It felt slightly dry to me but I could probably blame that on the nuts and biscuits. Anyway, it was pleasant enough a dish.

Coffee and baileys rounded off my lunch perfectly. Chocolates were handed out at the very end too.

I have always enjoyed my experience with Colonial Tramcar probably because of their excellent service and the quaint environment enhance the dining experience even more. Definitely worth visiting, even after the first time.

Cherry Hill Orchards, Yarra Valley

During my last trip to Melbourne, I finally visited a cherry farm! Cherry Hill Orchards was located in Yarra Valley and about 30-45 minutes drive from my in-laws' place. 

I only saw this pamphlet on our way out. It was a shame as we didn't know that cherries we picked are now to be charged by the kilograms. According to my in-law, before this they allow you to buy just the amount you wanted. This explained the huge amount of left-behind buckets we saw filled to the brim with cherries on our way back. 

Nevertheless, the cherries were sold at about AUD10/kg (still cheaper than the markets in downtown Melbourne but it's not cheap if you ended up with two buckets of cherries). We did not plucked that much so thank goodness but it was still a hefty 3kg between the two of us. For estimation, a quarter of the bucket would yield more a less a kilo.

Anyway, they have a bus system which will transport their visitors to the orchards and back. The farm was huge!

Munching on the cherries were quite fun but after the first hour I was pretty tired and ready to call it a day. It can be really hot especially since it was summer. I stepped on so much dropped cherries my sandals were stained throughout with blood-like red color by the time I left.

They are located at:

474 Queens Road, Wandin East,

Victoria.

Open daily during cherries season (mid-Nov to early January) except Christmas. 

9am to 5pm

Movie World, Gold Coast - A Review

Another famous amusement park in Gold Coast would probably be Movie World. It is something like Disneyland but instead of all the Disney characters, you get the ones from DC Comic. As we did not play most of the rides, we had a lot of extra time to take photos with all the mascots and do plenty of shopping. Haha.

They had a stunt show which is usually packed, so any hope of getting good seats meant getting there early.
It was my second time so maybe it was not as impressive to me but my sister and her boyfriend loved the show... Haha

Then there's the usual procession where all your fave comic characters would be out to greet everyone in their respective rides. Looney tunes characters are all gonna be there as well..

And here we are with Scoopy and the gang! :D

We posed with nearly everything available..LOL

And then we hit Ben & Jerry for a gigantic milkshake and some ice cream...Sadly, the milkshake got a little too much after half a glass and I felt pretty queasy after that. *sad face*

We moved on to more poses and if I am not mistaken there was a Rio show in 4D? Fun times!

And check out Marilyn Monroe with the famous flying dress pose. LoL. They even made the blower active every few seconds so it's more realistic. Heh.

And we have Tweety, Sylvester and Daffy putting on a cute little show right in the middle of the park too! Adorable~

A summary of the highlights of our day would be:
    4D cinema (RIO)
    All star parade: 3.30pm
    Hollywood Stunt Driver: 11am, 1.50pm
    Meet character (Looney Tune Dance Party 10.45am; Scooby Doo 2.30pm)

It's a very family friendly place and I had fun even though it was already my second time. And there were plenty of great T shirts to buy at relatively reasonable prices. ;)

For more on my day in Gold Coast, do check out my post on Day 3 in Gold Coast

SkyPoint Observatory Deck, Gold Coast - A Review

Sky Point Observatory Deck is located 230m off the ground on Gold Coast and is worth a visit if you wanted to get a birds' eyes view of the beach and its surrounding areas. You can even do some Tower Climbing but we were not interested and just purchased tickets to visit the observation deck. The general admission for an adult is about AUD24 but there are some discounts online if you purchased them early like us ;) There is a cafe up there but we were just happy to sit around their many couches and enjoy the view. Wifi is also available so you could update your Facebook with the photos taken. A small area is sectioned out for a video which showcased the history of Gold Coast etc if you are interested too.

It is easy to spot this tower from the surrounding area if you want to visit as it is the TALLEST building in Gold Coast but otherwise, here's the address:

SkyPoint (Observation Deck)

Level 77 of the iconic Q1 Building, Surfers Paradise Boulevard, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast

Final picture before we leave for our dinner

For more info, check out my Day 2 in Gold Coast and my review on SeaWorld

Sea World, Gold Coast - A Review

One of the many amusement parks in Gold Coast would be Sea World. This reminded me of Hong Kong's Ocean Park ;) so you can expect to see some similarities between these two parks. The only biggest difference for me would be their souvenirs' quality. The ones here are slightly better than Ocean Park's.

We had all the shows lined up and thanks to my sister, we had plans on how to tackle all the shows efficiently. We started with the Fish Detective Sea lion Show (10.15am, 2.30pm) --->Penguin Feeding (10.45am, 3.00pm) ---> Imagine Dolphin Show (11.15am, 3.30pm).

In between, we managed to cover the animal exhibits and plenty of photo taking as well...

There were plenty of walrus and sealions feeding when we were walking pass and sooooo.....more photos!!!

We also managed to watch the farm animal slots where they have sheep shearing, some dog performances and many more.

And last but not least, I got everyone to play Battle Boats with me and we were all drenched by the time we finished. Then we used the "dryer" to blow ourselves dry (some-what). Yayyyy! Hahahah...

We actually went back to the hotel before proceeding with the rest of our plans but for more about our day, do check my full blog post about it HERE