Archive for the ‘South Pacific’ Category
Club Med Vacations for Familes,Singles and Couples
Club Med Vacations offer All-inclusive packages for singles, families, adults, honeymooners world wide.
If everyone in the family has a different interest, or maybe you’re travelling by yourself, or possibly planing a family reunion. We’ve got the prefect vacation, one that will satisfy everyone’s needs…. CLUB MED. Did you know that Club Med invented the “all inclusive” vacation back in 1950? They are still offering the same great value that they did when it all started. A single price covers your room, 3 meals a day with wine or beer at lunch and dinner, most sport, entertainment, activities for the kids, they even include the fun!
Each village at Club Med is set in the most idyllic location and each has its own personality, a few are only for adults, many include children’s programs (from babies to teenagers), some are more sports intensive than others are. This is a world unto itself; everything is readily available and with easy reach: restaurants, bars theatres, nightclubs, sports and excursions. The clubs international flair allows you the opportunity to mingle with people from all over the world. The villages most frequented by American’s are throughout Mexico, the Caribbean and the South Pacific, if that’s too close to home, don’t worry, there are villages throughout the world. Here, is the freedom of choice and the chance to re-connect with your fun-loving, relaxed spontaneous self.
Club Med is the world’s largest sports school with facilities for all of the most exciting sports. Trained instructors will help you learn something new or develop your skills. Whether you’re an experienced athlete or an amateur – Club Med gives you everything you need to play and progress at your own pace: instruction at your level of ability, with plenty of the latest equipment, from tennis to diving to rock climbing to biking to kayaking. Oh and did we mention; at many sites you will actually have the chance to run away and join the circus, flying on the trapeze, juggling and more. (Many clients plan their Club Med vacation only at villages that offer a circus, it’s that much fun!).
Several villages offer intensive sports programs such as dedicated dive centers, SCUBA Program, golf academies, tennis Academies and intensive tennis clinics.
For those of you travelling with children, you’ll enjoy your vacation that much more, knowing your young ones are have the time of their lives, with other children from all over the world! You have the opportunity to spend as much or as little time together as your child prefers. Your child will be delighted with the sports, arts, learning experiences, and even kid-size meals, all under the safe guidance of qualified leaders.
No matter what your age or vacation inclination it’s at Club Med that you will have the time of your life. Call the travel professionals at James TravelPOINTS, together; we can pick a village that is just right for you 1-800-538-7461, www.travelpoints.com.
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Sydney, Australia
Welcome to a land where convicts were the first settlers, where kangaroos, koalas, and wombats still roam, and where everything seems a little different. When it is summer here, it is winter there. The Pacific Ocean is on their east coast. Driving on the left is right. Welcome to Australia and the land Downunder!
Having just returned from a delightful visit to Sydney, I can say that Sydney tops my list of favorite cities. The people there are very friendly and genuinely like Americans. There is an enormous range of interesting things to see and do.
Central Sydney can be easily walked. It is a city where my husband and I were able to explore historic buildings along the waterfront, wander through lush parks, shop for bargains in the street markets, enjoy exceptional entertainment, and sample a vast array of fine food. It is easy to access the beaches and outlying areas by ferry, bus or light rail.
The city was settled in 1788 when the first convicts arrived from Britain, establishing a prison colony at Sydney Cove, now known as the Rocks. Today many Sydneysiders are proud to trace their heritage to these original settlers. One can catch a glimpse of the past in this bustling area that was named for the rugged cliffs that were once the dominant feature here. The Rocks Market, open every weekend, is a beehive of activity. It has a wide variety of quality craft and food items.
The two dominant features of Sydney Harbour are the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The bridge is best remembered as the site of the spectacular millennial fireworks show. My husband and I awoke one morning to see over 5,000 marathon runners crossing the bridge. This was the run to determine who would compete in the Olympic marathon in September.
The famous Sydney Opera House, with its unusual multi-arched roof, is home to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Australia’s premiere opera, ballet and theatre companies. We had the privilege to attend a performance of the Symphony in the Concert Hall, the largest hall with seating for 2690.
Sydney’s restaurants are not only numerous and of the finest quality, but they are remarkably inexpensive when compared with other cities of the world. There is something for every taste. Some of the regional specialties that we sampled included kangaroo, emu, crocodile, octopus and a wide variety of fresh seafood including Balmain bugs.
We spent one morning exploring Homebush Bay, the site of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The architecture and immensity of the complex is overwhelming. The Olympic Park Railway Station will be able to accommodate 50,000 people per hour during the games.
A day trip that I highly recommend is a tour of the Blue Mountains, an area of dense forested valleys, canyons with steep cliffs and waterfalls. We took a four-wheel drive adventure along an exciting back road to the Cathedral of Ferns, a pre-historic rain forest, before visiting the famous Three Sisters rock formation. One of the most rewarding stops was at a wildlife park where I had some eyeball encounters with koalas, kangaroos, snakes and emus.
A two-hour drive along the coast north from Sydney is the scenic way to get to the Hunter Valley, Australia’s oldest wine-producing area. Our two-night stay included accommodations at the Convent Pepper Tree, a beautifully restored 1909 convent that is now an elegant guesthouse. It is located in the heart of more than 80 wineries and 40 restaurants. The highlight of our stay was soaring 1200 feet above the vineyards in a hot-air balloon.
Australia is an affordable vacation for Americans now with the great exchange rate. The Aussies are superb hosts, and Americans will feel very much at home with their casual way of life. Particularly this year, you couldn’t choose a more exciting place to visit than Sydney. Call James TravelPOINTS experts at 1-800-538-7461, www.travelpoints.com.
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Tahiti
Gale Stoakes is the Accounting Manager at James TravelPOINTS and recently traveled to Tahiti.
Looking for a gentle, relaxing and beautiful vacation? Look to Tahiti. If you haven’t flown Tahiti Air Nui , you are in for a treat. It was like air travel of the recent past in terms of service. The planes were new and clean and a wonderful turquoise sea blue interior. The flight attendants were attentive to passenger needs all in a professional and “quiet” way. About the only time we ever noticed them was when they were offering a refill to our wine glass. It was an eight hour flight from Los Angeles to Papeete.
At Papette we boarded the M/S Paul Gauguin which had just seen a $6 million refurbishment. Our cabin was spacious compared to pervious ships and had a nice balcony to port. The cruise was 7 days and we sailed to half a dozen of the Society Islands. It is very different from Hawaii with little commercial development and minimal population on most islands. The Islands are a French possession and the influence is pronounced. Snorkeling and diving are the main activities.
After a very pleasant cruise with a small passenger list we moved on to the Island of Bora Bora to the Pearl Beach Resort for a 3 night stay in an overwater bungalow. It was beautiful, relaxing and private. The water was bright turquoise, warm but refreshing. We swam and snorkeled from our private deck and marveled at the many fish from our glass observatory within our bungalow. It was a great time to relax, reflect, read, and enjoy the beauty of nature. If you are looking to be entertained, it is not in this part of French Polynesia. We highly recommend and it was a great place for a honeymoon!
Call the experts at James TravelPOINTS 1-800-538-7461/303 442-2340, www.travelpoints.com.
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Australia and New Zealand
If you’ve had thoughts of travel to the South Pacific in the back of your mind for awhile, now is the time to bring them to the forefront, and seriously look at a vacation to Australia and New Zealand.
A recent, and all too quick, trip “Down Under” amplifies the fact that this is not the place to go for a short-stay getaway. Be sure to give yourself time to recover from your long journey and rejuvenate yourself for all the high-energy fun ahead of you. A short 1 ½ hour drive from Sydney brings you to the village of Katoomba, and the Spa/Hotel Lilianfels. The Tatler Cunard Travel Guide named Lilianfels Blue Mountains as one of the 101 Best Hotels in the World. Their category is listed under “Five Great Escapes for the City Slicker.” Treat yourself to a Marine Mask Massage or soak in the whirlpool and float a few lazy laps in their indoor pool, with a spectacular view of the Jamison Valley. An extra day or two here will really get those Trans-Pacific kinks out as well as giving you the opportunity to visit the quaint garden towns of Leura and Bullaburra.
OK, now you are ready to storm Australia, from “Penguin Parades” on Phillip Island, a sunrise climb at Ayers Rock, diving at the Great Barrier Reef, Sky rails over the Kuranda rainforest and way too many other choices. Or, you could just run yourself ragged in Sydney, a vibrant city where public transportation choices included trains, buses, boats and monorails. Attend a performance at the famed Sydney Opera House; shop for opals in the district of “the Rocks” or the latest and greatest thrill is a “Bridge Climb”, where you don a “bridge suit” and harness and set off with a guide across catwalks, ladders and arches to the top of the Harbour Bridge, an exhilarating 425 feet above sea level.
While you’re in the hemisphere,… a 3 hour flight on Air New Zealand will get you from Sydney to Christchurch, on the south island of New Zealand. A trip from Christchurch south to Queenstown, via Mt Cook, is like a trip back in time.
If you love yourself, you will give yourself the present of a visit to Grasmere Lodge, a high country retreat just 75 miles from Christchurch. The 10 bedroom homestead was once the base for a sheep station covering 43,000 acres. Leisurely pursuits here include tennis, croquet, a heated outdoor swimming pool, fishing for the area’s legendary trout in one of five lakes or three rivers nearby, skeet shooting, bushwalks in Arthur’s Pass National Park and kayaking. For skiers there are two commercial ski fields and three club fields within easy reach, and heli-skiing from the lodge is available by arrangement. Their matchless cuisine and exquisite wine cellar offer unforgettable pleasures in a setting that defines serenity.
If you think you’ve seen it all, keep heading south. Expect to be amazed at some of the most indescribable scenic wonders on earth. Wow! That’s a pretty broad statement, considering there are lots of mountains and lakes in the world. But for some reason, the mountains and lakes and plains in New Zealand have an almost magical, primeval look to them. Round a corner and there’s a glacial lake, in a color you’ve never seen before. (Lake Tekapo, hmmm is it blue-green or green blue?) More exotic scenery is presented on the drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound, through the lush, temperate rainforest of Fiordland National Park. If the weather is good, the vistas will be spectacular. Should the weather happen to be rainy, countless, nameless waterfalls appear out of nowhere.
If this all seems a bit too tame for you, there’s always jet boating on the Dart or Shot over Rivers, and for the real adventure lover zip out to the Kawarau Bridge, the site of the worlds first bungee jump by AJ Hackett. This could be the leap, and the trip, that matches the name of the mountains surrounding Queenstown…The Remarkables.
James TravelPOINTS 1-800-538-7461/303 442-2340, www.travelpoints.com
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