Lucy loves Australia

It’s worth thinking about when school holidays are and aren’t when you plan and book your holiday to Australia

Because the seasons are back to front in most of Australia then it’s not actually back to school time Down Under. In the the southern half of Australia the seasons are reversed, while the top half of Australia is ‘tropical’ so has ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ instead of more recognisable Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Anyway as I was saying, because the seasons are ‘back to front’ then our summer holidays coming to an end does not mean its back to School for Australian small people. In fact they have all been at school throughout August!

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Outstanding business class service for less on Etihad Airways to Sydney and Melbourne

My lovely friends at Bridge & Wickers have just announced a Bank holiday weekend 3-day business class sale on Etihad airlines with business class flights to Australia for only £2399. This is a very very good price! Business class tickets to Australia usually start around the £3k mark so quite a few hundred pounds saved off that with this offer. Not to mention Etihad has an outstanding business class service, and you can choose between Sydney and Melbourne as your Aussie destination.

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Small person splashing  ‘Between the Flags’

The iconic yellow and red of the Australian lifesavers on patrolled beaches can’t be missed. And being a big fan of all things Australian I couldn’t resist these super cute little lifesaver swimsuits.

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Your cheap flight to Australia? – AirAsia

Now this isn’t going to be the most sophisticated blog post I’ve ever written, and do excuse me while I mostly cut and paste this from TravelZoo but WOW this is bl**dy cheap! Only £449 return. Seriously good price. I’ve not seen a return flight for under £500 to Australia for a long time…

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Want to leave footprints like this? Run Uluru!

Firstly, I have to point out this is not a plea for sponsorship! Much as I do go out for a ‘run’ (jog!) once or twice a week, a marathon runner I am not Even Mr Loves Australia who happily sprints off for a 12km run like it’s a stroll in the park hasn’t competed in a Marathon.

BUT if you’re a long distance runner, and are happiest with a 26-mile stretch in front of you, then this has my vote! Here’s more about the Outback Marathon which is taking place this weekend (31st July)…

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Splashing in the HUGE pool at the Sea Temple in Palm Cove

We stayed in some amazing accommodation while visiting Tropical North Queensland last month. Obviously I do a fair bit (OK tons!) of research before we go, but I also got a lot of help from the fabulous team at Bridge and Wickers. I like booking my holidays to Australia with Bridge and Wickers as it’s pretty much a no-brainer as they have high standards like me As you can imagine I am a reasonably (alright, very!) demanding client so anyone with the patience to deal with me must be good.

Actually I do have to add that Bridge & Wickers have in fact just won the ultimate ‘Ozcar‘ from Tourism Australia as the best travel company so you don’t just have to take my word for it!

So here’s where we stayed and a mini review of each place:

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Fancy Christmas on 4-mile beach, Port Douglas?

As ever you all seem totally obsessed with flying to Australia for Christmas. I could write about this every week I am sure and you won’t tire of it (don’t worry – I would tire of it!)

BUT as I know I am going to get asked again and again, I’ve done some research (OK, hands up -  I cheated and got the lovely people at Freedom Australia to do all the research!) and I’ve found you some options for flying to Australia for Christmas. AND (be impressed!) some of the flights are less than £1k.

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Baby on seaplane flight over Heart Reef. Start that GBR experience early, I say!

I’ve seen the Great Barrier Reef in lots of different ways – from the air (in a seaplane), from a boat, from an island, on foot (yes!), snorkelling, in a semi-submersible, and of course if I was a little more accomplished I could have also seen it from a dive.

There are lots of ways and places to access the Great Barrier Reef – but here are my tips for getting there with babies and children.

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Small person in a big rainforest

When you think Rainforest then you might immediately conjure up an image that’s more ‘jungle’ than what’s sometimes the case. Now of course parts of the Rainforest in Australia are in the Tropics in Queensland, and it can definitely get quite hot and steamy in there, but you still don’t need to be an intrepid explorer to enjoy them.

Here’s my mini guide to how you can ‘rein in’ the rainforest – and when I say ‘easy’ ways to explore the rainforest I mean ’so easy you can take your baby and small children with you easy’…

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Intrepid me snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, from the beach of Green Island

So I’m back. Back from the land Down Under. Returned from Australia fair. No longer chucking shrimps on the barbie and swimming in the stinger net. Sob sob.

First off – yes I realise it’s taken me a few days to write but there’s this thing called jet lag you know… not to mention the unpacking. Why oh why did we take so much stuff? I do know the answer to that actually and it’s called ‘children’

So what did I love the most, what did I forget was fab, what did I wish I could do every day…? Let me tell you:

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Lovely beachfront pool at Castaways

Am currently residing in Mission Beach, Queensland and loving it. Am a HUGE fan of Mission beach and this is our third visit here on our many travels Down Under. Mission Beach is actually a number of beaches all in a row (making up around 14kms of the sandy stuff) about 2 hours drive south of Cairns. We are in ‘North Mission’ (as opposed to Wongaling or South Mission).

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Small person at helm of Sailaway – Low Isles cruise, Great Barrier Reef

Answer: Port Douglas

An old joke the Douglas (dug-less) one, and probably more funny if you’ve had a nice glass of wine (which I’d had when I wrote that).

I want to do a ‘while I am here’ post about lovely Port Douglas in Tropical North Queensland.

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My ideal diet: prawns & bubbles!

I got asked a question this week (thanks Frank!) that I actually get asked all the time… why am I not living in Australia? (given that I am clearly quite taken with the place!). Well the answer is…

… actually there are a few parts to this answer, and in explaining it I’ll showcase exactly why I love Australia.

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Our Cathay Pacific 747 about to depart London

OK, it’s joint first place with Singapore Airlines, but I couldn’t call it! Cathay Pacific were really great to fly with to Australia and the stopover options are really good…

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We received brilliant service and attention on Cathay Pacific, as did small people

So I think I’ve (finally!) worked out how to manage jet lag when flying to Australia. And be impressed – this is also when travelling with a baby and a toddler!

If I can whip jet lag into shape in these circumstances then any grown-ups on their own should have no problems (my challenge to you!)…

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Just a quick “G’day” from Down Under! Yes I am in Australia. I am ‘loving it’.

Have heaps to tell you soon, but first I need a little bit more sleep (oh, and a cold beer!)…

Quick summary of what’s to come…

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If you are traveling with infants, toddlers or children to Australia, chances are your criteria for choosing a flight are going to be a little bit different to, say, a backpacker. But if you are after the cheapest fare you can get, you might want to have a quick think about what that might mean… a longer stopover en route, a less comfortable airline, a lower standard of facilities on board, less choice of flight times…, etc.

Flying as a family to Australia is no mean feat and it’s a very good idea to book your flight wisely!

Here are my tips…

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Now you have 2 choices here (well, sort of 3)…

• you can decide where you want to stopover and pick the corresponding national airline
• you can fly with an airline that has a few different routes to Australia
• or you can ask an expert…

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It’s easy to get tempted by the ‘cheap’ airfares you see advertised to Australia, but remember there is sometimes a catch…

• the cheapest flights to Australia are not always the most direct
• the cheapest flights to Australia may not be to where you want to go
• the cheapest flights to Australia might not be for when you want to travel

And it’s also definitely worth remembering that the cheapest flight to Australia may well not be the most sensible option if you value your sleep, your comfort, and your sanity

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OK… so if you’ve been following the ‘planning’ tips then so far you know WHEN you want to go to Australia on holiday and also what you need to do BEFORE you book your flights (get a visa!). Now… how to get there!

Technically you can overland most of the way to Australia (see Ozbus) and you can sail there (read to the end)… but most people tend to take a plane. Here’s how I go about booking my (cheap if I can help it!) flights to Australia.

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