Oz Trip Report (w/ a splash of Abu Dhabi)

[moish]

great report! one thing which I don't understand is you went to Abu Dhabi and stayed in an Aloft !?!

what dont you understand?

[moish]

Ah, I thought it was part of the uniform...

outside of the airplane they had to wear the headgear seen in the pic i posted by checkin, but after take, they were able to "let their hair down"

[harry]

Looks more like this.

no it is not air force one.

it is a flying pentagon!

also used as support for the air force. They have 4 or 5 of them.

[harry]

one was recently in australia as support for clinton.

[ChAiM'l]

no it is not air force one.

it is a flying pentagon!

also used as support for the air force. They have 4 or 5 of them.

Did you click on the link I posted?

[Yordai Dooma]

Incredible TR! I am quite impressed that you do this with children! Keep it comin!

a few questions:
1) When you end up in these small hotel rooms, where do your kids sleep? Do you bring along pack n plays? Do they fall asleep easily with you guys in the room?
2) As you mentioned, you guys do appear to travel quite heavy...How do you pack for such a trip? How many of those bags were food? Do you label each suitcase for different locations so you dont unpack everything wherever you go? Just curious how you deal with it all and the kids...
2) Do you do ALL the "research" before your trip excluding the flights and hotels? I.E. did you already know where you could go to get a SIM card and sights you wanted to see etc?
3) Did you wear your yarmulka throughout your trip? If not, were you easily recognizable as a frum jew?
4) You posted your itinerary in the OP. Can you tell us how long you stayed in each location?

Thanks! You are an inspiration to us (me) that trips like this can be done with kids.

[moish]

1) When you end up in these small hotel rooms, where do your kids sleep? 

i order a crib, as its usually free. then i try to get an extra bed for the older one. i dont attempt to get it until i actually arrive at the hotel. firs person to ask is the person who brings the crib, as 75% of the time theyll bring it without any questions. if that doesnt work, ill ask the front desk myself. if that doesnt bear fruit, my kid will sleep on the coach with extra blankets, pillows

Do you bring along pack n plays? Do they fall asleep easily with you guys in the room?

no, yes

2) As you mentioned, you guys do appear to travel quite heavy...How do you pack for such a trip? How many of those bags were food? Do you label each suitcase for different locations so you dont unpack everything wherever you go? Just curious how you deal with it all and the kids...

clothing that we need, and all food that i mentioned. probably 1.5 suitcases was food. the night before the trip after all the food was packed, i weighed them and they were all overweight so i just emptied out as much as i could with the intention of buying what was missing in Australia. they have a very good 'list' which came in pretty handy. we pretty much knew where the various foodstuffs were kept so no need to list it. we did however keep track of the dinners we had and crossed them off as we consumed them. it was easier this time in the sense that my infant was part time nursing so no need to bring shelf milk, unlike my round the world trip to india and china 2 years ago

2) Do you do ALL the "research" before your trip excluding the flights and hotels? I.E. did you already know where you could go to get a SIM card and sights you wanted to see etc?

i did 80% of the research prior to the trip, with the rest being done on the go. SIM card is a bit tricky since its not so easy to find online which company offers or has the best price for blackberry internet service. my research usually starts with wikitravel, then frommers online, then tripadvisor including the forums there. then i usually have one or 2 guidebooks with me. i pretty much know what i want to do in each location, but dont have a set in stone itinerary. the final itinerary usually gets set when i arrive in the location, taking into account weather considerations and speaking it over with the concierge. and after all that i still dont do everything i had planned.

3) Did you wear your yarmulka throughout your trip? If not, were you easily recognizable as a frum jew?

i wear a cap wherever i go, the only exception on this trip was shabbos, when i stayed in the heart of the jewish community in the st kilda section of melbourne. the only other times i wear a yarmulke is when visiting a shul, cemetery, jewish museum or holocaust museum. case in point, 3 weeks ago i was in berlin with my family, a pretty 'safe' place for jews. yet in the last week or two, there were two incidents of harassment.
i dont think i was recognizable as a jew to the average gentile. jews of course have 'jewdar' and you could probably pick me out from a mile away

4) You posted your itinerary in the OP. Can you tell us how long you stayed in each location?

so far, a day in abu dhabi, then arrived in melbourne thursday night, and headed out for the great ocean road sunday morning

[Achas Veachas]

outside of the airplane they had to wear the headgear seen in the pic i posted by checkin, but after take, they were able to "let their hair down"

Yup! Had the same thing on Emirates

[Moishebatchy]

great report! one thing which I don't understand is you went to Abu Dhabi and stayed in an Aloft !?!

Upon arrival in AUH, I hired a porter for 20 Emirati Dirhams ($5.44). As with Dubai, no mention was made of the numerous Israeli stamps and student visas at passport control. Went outside and found a taxi big enough for all our suitcases and we were off. As our stay in Abu Dhabi was short, I had a hard time choosing where to spend the night (http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=14096.0) but ended up choosing the aloft to get the SPG stay credit. As a platinum with SPG, we were upgraded to a “suite”, which must’ve been the smallest suite I’ve ever stayed in. They also gave me 2 vouchers for any drink at the hotel. (We ended up using them for a couple of beers at the rooftop lounge). The hotel has absolutely no local character, but it did the job. It’s located across the street from the Capital Gate, and the rooftop bar affords a great view.

[moish]

Part 5: The Great Ocean Road

On motza”sh, I went back to the airport to pick up a car for our journey on the GOR. It’s not the first time I’ve driven on the left side, but it still takes a few minutes to get used to. The key is to keep thinking in your head, stay on the left and the big turn is right. Sunday morning we stopped off at the kosher market near the “Adass” shul to pick up some local goods, and we were on our way.
NOTE: Be prepared for sticker shock in Australia. Usually, I try to stock up at supermarkets, where drinks etc. are cheaper, but in Australia, the equivalent of a 20oz soda was around A$4! I also recall a “sale” at a gas station for 2 small bags of potato chips for A$5! With the US dollar so weak against the Australian dollar, everyday items were a small fortune.





The Great Ocean Road is considered to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world. Besides for the wonderful view if the coast, there are also places along the way to stop off,  see kangaroos, waterfalls, koalas in the wild as well as amazing rock formations. Rainforests, glow worms at night and whales in the winter. Theoretically, one can, and probably should, give this drive a few days, but budgeted with time as I was, that was simply not possible. I budgeted 2 days, 1 night and I barely made it back to the airport by the skin of my teeth. (And about 4 camera speeding tickets mailed to me at home ). But I did get a nice taste, and would definitely recommend it if you have at least that much time. If you have less than that, I’d say to give it a pass, as you won’t do it proper justice.

Our first stop was Bells Beach. I had read that it’s a world class surfing destination, and hosts some international surfing competitions. I was hoping to see some serious waves and professional surfing, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary surfing wise. I guess it wasn’t the right season. However, the views from the cliff-top car park are spectacular and well worth a visit.

[moish]

We then headed out to Anglesea, and the golf course there (1 Golf Links Road). According to the guidebooks, kangaroos hang out at the golf course and we were excited to finally see some. We were a tad concerned at the entrance where there’s a big sign stating that entrance was permitted to members only, but that didn’t deter us, and we continued through. After parking in the lot, it was quite difficult to figure out where the ‘roos hang out – the grounds are enormous. I actually bumped into another tourist family who told me they were searching for about a half hour with no luck and then proceeded to leave. I asked some of the golfers leaving where I would be able to see some and was told there were no kangaroos that day. I still didn’t give up and started walking on the course itself. Out of the corner of my eye I finally spotted them!  However, there were huge signs all over the place warning to stay off the course, and I didn’t feel comfortable bringing my family on. I went to the clubhouse and offered to buy a round explaining that I didn’t come half way around the world to not see kangaroos. The guy at the clubhouse then told me that it would be okay to go onto the course as soon as the golfers finished that hole. So, to make it easier, from the parking lot, enter at the main entrance and follow the path to the first cabana. Once there, you should be able to see them in the distance.

[moish]

(Although it was wonderful to finally see the ‘roos, it was a bit of a letdown, as these kangaroos are clearly pets of the golf course and not wild as I was hoping.)

[moish]

Our next stop was Erskine Falls for a really nice hike to base of the waterfall and back, which was beautiful.
 

[moish]

[moish]

Next, we drove to Kennett River to see wild koalas. As soon as you turn off the GOR onto Grey River Road, take a look at your odometer. Drive for 1km and then start looking into the gum trees where you’re guaranteed to spot koalas. We brought binoculars which proved to be invaluable. They’re tough to spot, but with patience, you’ll see them. We must’ve spotted at least 20. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled!

[moish]

[moish]

After that it started to get dark and we headed to an area called Maits Rest. Glow worms are abundant along the GOR and theoretically you can find them on your own, but I opted to take a glow worm tour. It started off as a very informative night tour through the Maits Rest rainforest and ended with the viewing of thousands of glow worms which was cool. The tour is given by a fellow who is quite passionate about the area, as he grew up in one of the lighthouses nearby.  Total cost for my family was A$20. http://www.greatoceanwalk.asn.au/markstours/tours_available.html

We then backtracked to Apollo Bay to spend the night at the Sandpiper Motel which wasn’t anything too special, but was clean and comfortable. They also offer free wifi, but I arrived after the reception closed (9:30pm) so I didn’t get the wifi code. (They left my room key under the mat)

[AsherO]

@Moish, great trip report, please keep it coming

[Ergel]

@Moish, great trip report, please keep it coming

+1

[mmermss]

@Moish, great trip report, please keep it coming

+1