Tag: Family Holidays

~ January Adventures – Family Fun in Busselton, Western Australia ~

The first half of January has been busy in the extreme! My son Laurence and his lovely fiancee Maddy tied the knot on January 3rd. Our house was full to the rafters with overseas family staying and various guests popping around to see us. It was the happiest two weeks I could imagine.

Our visitors wanted to visit South West WA for a few days. I managed to book an 8 bedroom house in Busselton. We were so happy that Laurence and Maddy decided to join us as well. I booked a few places to eat and drink as there were 17 of us in all. I couldn’t imagine turning up en masse without a booking. I was teased constantly that everywhere had better be good, otherwise there would be complaints to travelswithali!

To find a house this large and in high season was a feat in itself. There were enough bedrooms to accommodate all of us, so no-one had to sleep on the floor.

Our first lunch was spent at Shelter Brewing Company, right on the promenade overlooking the beach. The food came quickly and the beer was served in paddles, four at a time. Great for beer lovers who got the chance to sample a few.

After checking in and everyone choosing a room, we unpacked and headed to the beach.

Busselton Jetty is the longest pier in the Southern Hemisphere at 1,841 metres long. At the end of the pier there is an underwater jetty and sculpture park. To see the sculptures there are scuba diving tours.

  • Busselton Jetty
  • “Spot the Brit”

There is a train that goes to the end and back for a fee. Otherwise a walk will take around 30 minutes each way. The beach is beautiful and great for small kids and adults who don’t like too many waves (me). With many restaurants, cafes and bars here it’s not difficult to find somewhere for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

  • Busselton Beach
  • Busselton Jetty

On our second day, a few of the boys played a round of golf and the rest of us drove to Dunsborough. I’ve written about Dunsborough previoulsy. It’s a small town full of quirky shops and small boutiques. We did all manage to buy a few items.

Wild Hop Brewery was booked for 4pm. A fantastic place in Yallingup. By the time we arrived many of the items had disappeared off the menu. Also some of the staff were quite rude. Anyway after a few drinks we still enjoyed it.

  • Lunch for 17
  • Relaxing after lunch
  • Winding down

On the morning of our last full day, we had a trip to Meelup Beach in the morning. I had booked a winery for the afternoon. Meelup Beach is also a child friendly beach with soft sand and beautiful clear water.

  • Happy as a sand crab
  • Taking a moment
  • Meelup Beach
  • Meelup Beach
  • Splashing through the waves
  • The Sandcastle Family

Next we were off to Lentedal Winery in Marybrooke, Margaret River. What a wonderful find this was. We had a table outside but under a shade cloth. Before ordering any food we did some wine tasting. After a scrumptious lunch we walked around the estate to look at the animals.

  • Where’s my pizza
  • Feeding the camels
  • Wine tasting
  • Group shot between the vines

We had an absolutely perfect time away together. There’s nothing like a family holiday. I’m not sure when we will all be together again like this, living so far apart from each other. People have busy lives and jobs to do. Flights are expensive and holidays are short. We made so many memories to treasure and look back on. I made a Whatsapp group and can look back and read all the hilarious messages that were posted daily.

I did manage a walk to the end of Busselton Pier with Anthony, quite an accomplishment!

Living it up in Lively Legian, Bali

After checking out of the Novotel, we took Grab Cabs to our next destination, The Pullman in Legian. Upon checking in I found that my request for adjoining rooms had not been accepted! We were all on the same floor though, us around the corner with Elena and Damian in two rooms with a room in between. I was a bit miffed as I had asked twice for this and in plenty of time. Never mind, time to move on and get settled for the next four days of more fun in the sun.

In the evenings there was always a PG film or cartoon showing.
Pull up a Seat and enjoy the show.

Our room was more than okay and the balcony overlooked some beautiful frangipani trees. I saw cute squirrels hopping from branch to branch, peering up at me.

After swimming in all the pools and eating lunch at the hotel, we headed elsewhere for dinner. Elena and I had our wires crossed as to the restaurant I had chosen. Ending up walking further than I had planned only to find that it was “Drag Queen” night. The place was packed and not entirely suitable for young eyes. Always restaurants aplenty in Legian, so we just ate next door.

The Pullman featured three pools, one was adults only. This one overlooked the ocean and a cocktail or two are easily available to watch the sun go down. With Legian being on the west side of the island meant we got to see some glorious sunsets.

Enjoying the kids’ pool

One afternoon Rosie and I were having a siesta in the room and ventured outside to watch the squirrels. They were extremely tame, but I chickened out at the last minute to actually hand feed them.

As it was school holidays the breakfast buffet was crowded and noisy, also expensive. There was a long wait for coffee from a state-of-the-art coffee machine, operated by one man, and no other options available. So the next day we opted to eat at nearby cafes.

Exploring around the cafe while waiting for breakfast

Anthony continued his daily regime of walking two hours everyday, even in the heat and humidity. I managed a 15 minute walk to the shopping centre nearby. Holidays in Bali are all about relaxation, reading and swimming for me, with a cocktail to hand.

We had a drink one evening on the beach and watched the sun go down.

We didn’t venture to the beach much in the daytime. The sea on this side of the island is good for surfing but not swimming.

One night Anthony and I walked back along the shore. The waves gently lapping around our ankles and enjoying the cool breeze. As we bent down to put out shoes back on a not so gentle wave jumped up and soaked us. Luckily we didn’t have much further to go and squished back to the hotel.

All in all there is something for everyone in Legian. A place to go if you want to party all day and night. Restaurants, bars and cafes line the roads and the beach. Upmarket hotels and budget places jostle for space, most with an oasis of calm and tranquility at the back. A wonderful time creating memories with family.

💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢 💢

In this post I’ve Set the Mood, and Pulled up a Seat to watch the trees and leaves.

Family Adventures in Benoa and Legian, Bali

I decided to change things up this time for our family holiday in Bali. Four days in peaceful Benoa and four days in lively Legian.

It was extremely late by the time we arrived due to a delayed departure. The lobby was large and spacious with enormous high ceilings. Checking in took a while but we were finally given our keys and taken to our rooms. We were assigned interconnecting rooms for Elena, Damian and the kids, and an upgrade for myself and Anthony. There are two parts to the Novotel and the block we were staying in was across the road and away from the beach. I was disappointed to start but after the first night was feeling quite happy with this arrangement. It seemed less busy and the adult and kids pools were just below us.

Novotel Swimming Pool, Benoa, Bali
View from our balcony

I had a great night’s sleep, but Anthony said it was too noisy for him. When I stepped onto the balcony I realised that we were very near the road.

Benoa, Bali
Novotel, Benoa, Bali

The road doesn’t look too busy in this shot, but the bikes are a big problem!

Breakfast was served in the beach block across the road. This is manned by two attendants who try their hardest to stop the traffic. The bikes especially just drove around them and the cars mostly ignored them!

The above photos show some of the artwork on display around the Novotel.

A buffet was on offer serving up all kinds of traditional food plus fresh fruit. There was an egg station plus waffles, pancakes and donuts for the kids. Something for everyone.

Novotel, Benoa, Bali
Walking back through the landscaped gardens

Over the next four days, we swam in the ocean, played in the pools and relaxed. We found some fabulous restaurants for dinner but stayed at the hotel for lunch.

One day we took a tour on a glass bottomed boat to Turtle Island. The kids loved the boat. Out at sea was exceptionally busy with all kinds of activities. I thought I had seen most water sports, but all of a sudden we saw a flying lilo with someone holding on for dear life.

Benoa, Bali
Benoa, Bali
Benoa, Bali
Seaweed Forest

The sea here is tidal so the optimum time for swimming was around 1 pm. Anthony and I swam every day, but the kids preferred the pools. There is a forest of seaweed, undulating beneath the sea and I wasn’t keen on swimming over this. The feeling of feathery tendrils sweeping your legs was most disconcerting.

Waiting patiently for the tide to come in

Some more of the sculptures around the hotel

One of the things we enjoy about Bali is the food, always tasty and full of flavour. Unlike the others I prefer something not too spicy, whereas they all have a dish of sambal on the side.

Some of the dishes we ate. The top dish is called Rijsttafel, a Dutch word that translates to Rice Table. It consists of many (forty is not an unusual number) side dishes served in small portions, accompanied by rice prepared in several different ways. Popular side dishes include egg rolls, sambals, satay, fish, fruit, vegetables, pickles, and nuts. Source: Wikipedia. One of Anthony and Elena’s favourites.

Family dinners were not complete without Ipads and earphones. This meant we could all have a leisurely dinner. Although you couldn’t ask for better behaved munchkins.

Spot Rosie!

Last day in Benoa, ready to hit the road for Legian

See you in Legian!

😎A Family Holiday in Seminyak, Bali😎

At the end of every year around December, we usually go to Bali for a family holiday. This year was no exception and we chose Seminyak this time. I booked a beautiful resort around 10 minutes to the beach. The beach in Seminyak is more for looking at than swimming, unless you are a pretty good surfer. The resort was called Montigo Resort Hotel, although there was renovation work going on at the time, our rooms and the pool were unaffected by this.

Seminyak is approximately 20 minutes from the airport, or should be! With the traffic problem that Bali has it’s easily double this time. It is full of resorts, cafes, restaurants and bars. It was hard to know where to start when going out to eat.

The Resort

We spent most of the day around the pool, going out for lunch and dinner and resting in the afternoon in our rooms away from the heat. All except Anthony that is, he just loves a walk in the heat and still managed to walk two hours everyday.

I enjoyed time with the children splashing about in the pool and having manicures, pedicures and foot massages at the beautiful spa at the hotel

Out and About

Chair made from recycled water bottles
The walls are made from recycled window frames
and shutters
Abandoned flip flop structure

This installation is made up of 5000+ flip-flops installed at the famous Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak, Bali. Washed ashore on beaches along Bali’s West coast, the discarded soles have been collected by employees of Potato Head. The flip-flops are not coloured or changed in any way; they are merely sorted by colour and re-arranged into a new visual reality. 

“I want to show people a different perspective of what we consider rubbish. Everything we throw away comes back to us: via the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil we grow crops and raise animals on.” – Liina Klauss

There is a famous beach bar/restaurant in Seminyak called Potato Club and it was fairly close to our hotel. It overlooks the beach and has a massive bar area and upmarket restaurant. To access these areas and the beach you first have to walk through a tunnel of bamboo and on one side there are small glassed in studios depicting recycling techniques. 

We didn’t stay here, just walked on down to the beach to watch the sunset and found a restaurant overlooking the sea.

The food in Bali is delicious and there are many fusion type restaurants. Unfortunately we all succumbed at one point to “Bali Belly”. Luckily it didn’t put too much of a dent into the holiday.

Dining

The famous Bebek Duck

This place was extremely upmarket! It was so nice though but not entirely suitable for the children, but have to say we enjoyed every morsel.

A very laid back warung with outdoor dining. Plenty to look at and explore for Lachie and Rosie. Plus more mouth watering dishes for us to share.

The Beach

Local Women having a well
earned rest
I Saw A Ship Go Sailing By

🎂Celebrations🎂

On the morning of our departure it was Anthony’s birthday. The staff very kindly sang Happy Birthday to him much to his consternation!

Going to Bali with the family is always such a treat and despite upset stomachs we all had a wonderful time. It was then onto Hong Kong for us and back to Perth for them. 

Can’t go wrong with a cocktail

~ Melbourne Moments – July 2023 ~

After getting over our initial disappointment with the accommodation and realising we had to stay or spend more to move, we got on with enjoying Melbourne. There were lunches and dinners, mixing it up sometimes about who went out with whom, but mostly having fun family moments.

One thing I enjoy about Melbourne is the fantastic murals and artwork and the fabulous sculptures on display.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder“

These two paintings were next to the beautiful eye mural, so I looked up “My Dog Sighs” and realised that is the name of the painter. Click the link to find out more about this wonderful painter, who gave away his work free for ten years, but is now a world-wide renowned painter.

I had to cross the road to get the full impact of this mural, absolutely stunning.

Found in Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Victoria

Quirky paintings on meter boxes

St Kilda, Victoria

There were many of these steel sculptures along the Yarra River, they look brilliant when lit up at night.

Walking around Melbourne and its suburbs is like being in a gigantic art museum, but outside. I much prefer looking at art outside than in a museum.

Views of the Yarra River

Lunchtime tipples

Below are five carved-wooden figureheads representing a dragon, woman, bird and man and lion.

They are placed where the river created a natural widening for the boats in the 19th century to turn around after unloading their wares.

Constellation Sculptures by Geoffrey Bartlett and Bruce Armstrong
Enterprize Landing

We finished our five day trip with a drive to a winery in Werribee, called Shadowfax. There wasn’t a table available inside so we made do with outside and a heater. This was good news for the munchkins as they had the run of the garden and we could see them from our table. The food was delicious and the wine was flowing.

Shadowfax Winery
“if only!”

Thanks for coming along for the trip to Melbourne with us!

~ A Trip to Melbourne – July 2023 ~ Delays, Disasters and Dirty Apartments

The day we left started well, we got up on time, after that not so well. We left our house 15 minutes late and after ten minutes drove straight into heavy traffic. Looking at Google maps it still seemed ok, but then it just kept adding on minute after minute. After not moving for 30 minutes, we decided to turn at the next break in the road and try another way. For reasons only known to my dear hubby he didn’t do as Lady Google suggested but went his own way. We could only turn back if we drove up the kerb and over the grass divider which he did! I thought we had lost the bumper at the very least or an oil leak with the noise the car made bumping back onto the road.

Finally getting to the airport carpark with 30 minutes to spare before the flight, we still had to wait for the bus to terminal. When we got to the counter we found that the flight was delayed, yay! so the check in clerk put our bags on the belt and they almost made it, but not quite. Apparently our seats had been given to someone else! We were outside of the required check in time. We were offered another flight at midnight getting in at 5 am, but really 3 am Perth time. What would we do all day? We had booked a carpark for five days, I couldn’t cope with such a late flight.

In the end I booked another flight for the afternoon, at great cost but saving time, Anthony would have gone on the midnight flight at no cost and having hours to kill.

What would you do? Are you Team Ali or Team Anthony?

I can’t believe we missed the flight, the reason – being complacent with my dear hubby and not giving him stress to hurry himself along.

The flight we took was delayed for over an hour, so we didn’t end up getting to our apartment until 10pm.

On landing the first thing I did was check my messages, as luckily Elena Damian and the kids had all made their flight. Oh my! the photos she sent of the apartment! She refused to sleep there that night as it was truly appalling. Absolutely filthy dirty throughout, although the beds did have clean bedding. There was a family already there – of cockroaches! Our apartment was better but the smell of smoke was awful.

I am now having an ongoing dispute with Booking.Com about receiving some compensation.

Anyway I’ll end this diatribe now and just say in the end we had a fabulous family time. It’s been over six months since we were altogether.

The first two days for us were spent getting to know Melbourne again. Elena and Damian visited the aquarium and zoo where the kids had the best time.

Melbourne is such an easy city to get around, there are tram and bus stops everywhere and the train routes are excellent. We bought a Myki card which enables you to tap on and off, there is also a free zone in the middle of the city.

  • Melbourne
    St Patrick’s Cathedral
  • Colourful trams
  • Lunch on the Yarra
  • A busking Darth Vadar
  • Dusk from our balcony
  • Stacked container building
  • Waiting for a tram
  • More trams
  • Melbourne Skyline
❤️ Out on the town with the newly engaged couple ❤️

Just a few of the photos I took on the first two days.

Bali Safari and Waterpark Antics

During our week in Bali we spent a day a the Bali Safari and Conservation Park, with time in the waterpark after. I think we were all amazed about what a fantastic place this is. We had a conversation about the ethics of these types of places but upon reading about the park and also walking around we all agreed that wonderful things were happening here.

Upon arrival there is a bus to take you to the actual park. By the time we arrived the Tiger Show was about to start so we hopped off the train and went to find seats. The seating areas were extremely full but we managed to get good seats.

It was all very exciting at first with the tigers running around and climbing trees. Then the poachers came on reflecting what is happening in the real world, the whole audience was quite shocked when the tiger ran off and a fake one (obviously!) was brought back in a trap. Hard to explain to Lachie and Rosie.

Next up was the Elephant show, which again started off fun until, you guessed it, poachers again. These elephants are very well trained and one started limping and then fell down, dead! The whole audience gasped and both kids started crying, with other children also crying. We had to leave in a hurry.

I took mostly videos, so most of the photos are just clips of these. I had some fun with Canva compiling these!

It was an incredibly hot day but almost every 10 metres were Safari staff carrying trays with ice cold beers and water.

After the shows we got on the train again for our safari tour, which takes you through the park to view the many animals that live here.

We all had our favourite animals, for me it was the spotted deer, so many babies.

Our guide and commentator was very funny and informative, explaining about the various animals and constantly cracking jokes.

Lunch was next and we walked around looking for somewhere suitable for all of us. There are many options available but we chose a food hall type of venue with air con blasting away.

Although there were many more animals to see we were all hot and tired and wanted nothing more than to get wet. So off to the waterpark it was.

I’m not sure who had the most fun, the adults I think. There were also two pools for swimming with two large slides as well.

The parrots below sit on perches and can fly around freely. If you’re very brave like Elena and Damian they will climb onto your arms and pose.

Some information I found from the Bali Safari website:

BIG CAT SHOW

The tigers in the Big Cat Show are not deprived of food in order to elicit show behaviours and performance. All our animals receive a daily balanced diet based on modern zoo nutrition recommendations and scaled according to their body weight.

ELEPHANT SHOW

The elephant is not ‘being forced at rifle point to lie down’ rather the elephant and actor together are performing a scene, this scene and the whole show highlights the story of human – elephant conflict in Sumatra and sends a strong message of elephant conservation to our visitors. Source: Bali Safari Park

There is also an established Sumatran Tiger Breeding Centre here which is the first place in the World to artificially inseminate a tiger.

Such a fun day was had by all, we were all glad to get back to the hotel for some relaxation before dinner.

☀️ Family Fun in the Sun – Sanur, Bali ☀️

We’ve recently returned from a fun filled week in Sanur, Bali. It was wonderful that we could all be there, a great family reunion. Originally I had booked a place in Seminyak, but after looking at reviews I really wanted a place where the beach was more child friendly.

I had booked us all rooms at Segura Village Hotel, which was right on the beach. Checking in at Perth airport was not as bad as I thought, there is an app you have to download and you need to show vaccination certificates. On arrival at Denpasar you need to buy visas. This rule was brought in again earlier this year.

After we had collected our luggage I looked for our driver which I had organised through Booking.Com. I thought I had got quite a bargain, but you get what you pay for! Our driver’s van was literally on its last legs and the exhaust falling off, it’s a wonder we didn’t all pass out from carbon monoxide poisoning.

As soon as we had checked in we headed to the pool to join Laurence and Maddy who were already five cocktails in!

As you can see it was evening before we decided to get out

Over the next week we relaxed and unwound either at the pool or the beach. The beach in Sanur is probably one of the more child friendly beaches in Bali. The tide has to be fairly high for a proper swim.

How elegant, Anthony said I should try this to improve my posture!

Lachie channelling his inner guru and Rosie building sandcastles

The hotel was set in lush tropical gardens and had two beautiful pools and a small baby pool with a slide.

I preferred the smaller pool surrounded by rocks and palms, it seems like the resident ducks did also.

The winding path to our room. We had the upstairs room.

Sanur has a 7km boardwalk all along the beach, I thought I would be walking off my buffet breakfast everyday, but found it was far too hot! Not for Anthony though who went for long walks every day, he loves the heat. Also the ladies from the shops are extremely persistent. I know they have been struggling for the last two years and we did buy a few items from them, but they did tend to hound you and even wait while you had lunch to corner you on the way back!

Bars, Boards and Alleyways

Dinners were either at the hotel or along the beach. As both Lachie and Rosie had long afternoon naps they were able to join in the fun.

We all love visiting Bali as it’s such an easy trip from Perth. A three and a half hour flight with no time difference. It’s reasonably priced and there’s so much to do. We had a couple of trips to a safari park and waterfalls (more posts!).

We’ll be back again next year, until then…

🌻 A Morning at Sunflowers Animal Farm, Burnside, Margaret River, WA 🌻

It was a very early start to the day, as both babes had been up since 5.30 am! So we were all out before 9 am for our drive to the farm. Dear husband had declined to come but would meet us later for lunch.

Sunflowers Farm is home to 350 animals and there are many you are able to pat, cuddle and feed. It seemed quite expensive to me but a lot of these animals are rescues and need medical treatment. The buckets of food are extra on top of the entrance fee. Our little Lachie was a bit nervous about patting any animals and was happy to just look.

Elena was in her element as she loves all kinds of animals.

  • This little guy was the tamest and so cuddly
  • Where’s my treats

Happy as pigs in mud!

As we walked past this King of the Walk, he suddenly put on a show for us and displayed all his fine jewels.

I’m not sure who were the greediest, the kangaroos or the goats

Laurence was the only one brave enough to feed this big bird!

Lachie in his happy place

There were lots of groans as I kept making everyone pose in different spots.

We spent around two hours here, but you could easily spend longer taking your own picnic and taking your time walking around. There is no cafe so bring your own drinks. Also no gift shop which made a nice change!

If you are ever down in this region of WA I would definitely recommend a visit especially if you have young children.

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

Monday Mural – Wildhop Brewery

On our recent trip to Dunsborough we had lunch one day at Wildhop Brewery. They had the most amazing mural along the front entrance and also a smaller one at the back.

The front entrance

It was fairly busy when we arrived and there was a queue of people in front of the mural, luckily they had gone by the time we came out.

This was one of the best places we visited. Beautiful grounds, family friendly and delicious food.

The special of the day was Roast leg of lamb which we all had plus roasted Brussels and roast potatoes. A gourmet lunch.

It’s a good idea to book as it gets packed out. We had the middle session! The food arrives very quickly but still 90 minutes is still a rush to savour your lunch.

Posted for Monday Mural