The Pacific Pearl

Our home away from home for our last family holiday December 2012. The ship comprised of 14 passenger decks, we were in outside cabins on deck 11. We chose this deck as it was on the same deck as the children's centre and children's pool. Cabins were not huge, but big enough to sleep, washing and store all our belongs needed for our 10 day trip. On deck 12 we made use of the 2 large pools and often sat out on deck to watch movies on the big screen. The buffet could also be found on this deck. Deck 14 had a running / walking track which of cause was made use of by Dad and the Dwarfs being the sports minded people they are. The library and theatre on deck 8 as well as the shops and café on deck 5 were also visited frequently. We look forward to traveling on the Pearl again soon.
 

The Big Pineapple, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

In 2008 we took 5 of the 7 little Aussies (2 were not yet born in 2008) to the Gold Coast, pretty much because they were rather young still, loved the Wiggles and had learned thanks to an ad on TV there was a Wiggles World in Queensland. We were lucky enough to score some very cheap airfares and so though why not? Might as well keep the youngsters happy and it had been a very long time since I had visited Queensland myself, I think I was 8.

I had remembered going to the Big Pineapple as a child on the only ever 'proper' holiday I went on with my parents, so was some what keen to go back. By 'proper' holiday, I mean the only holiday I ever went on as a child that didn't involve tents or a relatives house. We also had family staying up on the Sunshine Coast so we were able to catch up with them also. They found a lot to entertain them, were completely fascinated with the big, oversized pineapple, which had things to look at and read on the inside of it. We then took a train ride around the plantation, in which it was explained to us how they grew the pineapples and macadamias. We finished off with a tour around the animal farm, which is always a huge hit with little kids and a meal in the food court.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Sanur Paradise Plaza Suites, Sanur, Bali, Indonesia

Our home away from home while we were in Bali in 2007. We were recommended Sanur by an Balinese expat as she said that being away from the party area of Kuta would suit a young family better. We had a 3 bedroom suite, with 2 bathrooms, lounge, kitchen and dining room. The rooms were very clean and comfortable, although I do recall having a couple of visitors in the form of these little lizards and the tiniest ants I have ever seen. They were no bother though. There was a large swimming pool which was very handy to cool off in upon returning from an outing in the humidity. A kids club kept the Dwarfs well entertained with water slides, video games, movies and various other activities. The restaurant onsite kept us well fed and the cost was so minimal that a 3 course meal brought to our room each night wouldn't have even bought us a Happy Meal in Australia! The odd bits and pieces could be purchased from a convenience store onsite. The staff were friendly, efficient and absolutely loved children. Staff would often come and feed our younger children for us and insist that we enjoy our meals. Reception had an information centre and contacts to drivers, so we could easily book tours and a free shuttle ran between the Paradise Suites, the local shopping centre and the local beach.

 

More information can be found at: http://www.sanurparadise.com/plaza-suites/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia

Back in 2005 when we only had 4 of the Dwarfs, we took a trip to Tasmania as none of us had ever been there before. We stayed in Launceston, but made the 3 hour drive across to Port Arthur as we had heard much of the history behind the place, both from a century ago and the more recent unfortunate incidences. Upon arriving, we were all issued with a card. The object of this card was to discover the history of the person on the card, where they came from, why they were transported to Tasmania and what happened to them once they were here. The majority of the time the were sent here for stealing something which I guess we would find petty like a scarf or a loaf of bread. We wondered around the old prison buildings which gave us an insight into the kind of life these people would have lead. Such an eerie feeling wandering around but a great lesson into our own Australian history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Water Temple, Sebatu, Bali, Indonesia

While in Bali in 2007 we were taken by our tour guide to the Spring Water Temple. We drive past many rice fields and through forest for about 30 minutes to Sebatu to where the temple is located. After R got over the shock of having to wear a 'skirt', we entered the temple with the Dwarfs who had a great time looking into the springs and seeing fish and different water plants. The gardens and buildings where beautiful and even the wet weather didn't put a dampener on our trip here.

 

Ocean Park, Manila, The Philippines

Ocean Park, what can I say. If you have children and you happen to be in Manila, make sure you plan a stop at this place. We started with a tour of the aquarium, which was like other aquariums we've seen and equally as fascinating to the Dwarfs. It took about an hour and a half to wonder around and see all the attractions and sea creatures. For dinner we stopped off at the markets attached to the Ocean park which had a variety of take away shops to choose meals and snacks from. After dark, we donned our ponchos (in case we got splashed) and enjoyed the Musical Fountain Show, this show used water fountains, lasers and characters to put on a entertaining show. For more information on Manila Ocean Park got to: https://www.manilaoceanpark.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noumea, New Caledonia

Noumea was our first port of call on our P&O cruise December 2012. Being the main city, there were a lot of attractions to see such as the Museum, Aquarium, shops etc etc. However, unfortunately for us it was Sunday and everything except McDonalds was shut. There was a market which sold food, handcrafts, jewellery and souvenirs, so the Dwarfs had some fun buying themselves a few keepsakes, learning to use a difference currency and communicating with others who speak in a different language. There was a similar market operating at the tourist information centre. We then walked around the Marina and the Dwarfs enjoyed spotting all the different kinds of fish and looking at all the boats and yachts. We stopped off at McDonalds for lunch, before the weather turned bad and we headed back to the ship. We are headed there again in February as part our South Pacific cruise and look forward to hopefully going on a weekday and having better weather.