Sydney’s Metro Aspire Hotel … special rates to coincide with refurbishment.
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Sydney’s four-star Metro Aspire Hotel is offering a special launch rate to celebrate the completion of a full-scale multimillion-dollar refurbishment that will complement its proximity to the ICC Sydney, the city’s new convention, exhibition and entertainment precinct.
The hotel is tucked away in a quiet, tree-lined street a block from the Powerhouse Museum, just outside the Sydney CBD, minutes from Central Station and a short walk to the new ICC in Darling Harbour.
All rooms have new king-zip beds, new furniture, flooring and bathrooms, as well as smart TVs, new VoIP digital telephone connections and high-speed internet. The hotel has its own secure underground carpark.
To celebrate the launch of the newly refurbished hotel, Metro Aspire Hotel Sydney is offering a package deal from $119 per night for two people in a Premium room, with buffet breakfast for two and a late checkout at noon.
The offer is valid for travel until March 15 .
- www.metrohotels.com.au
King George River Falls … record rains ensure a great show.
The wettest December on record in the Kimberley will power spectacular waterfalls during Ahoy Buccaneers’ three special wet-season expedition cruises in March, with the low-cost operator also offering a 10 per cent discount for bookings made by January 31.
The record rains mean that famous Kimberley coast waterfalls such as King George River Falls, Kings Cascades and Casuarina Falls will thunder spectacularly for months to come.
Ahoy Buccaneer’s 25-guest motor yacht, Oceanic, will offer three 13-day adventure cruises between Broome and Wyndham through the wild and remote islands of the Buccaneer and Bonaparte archipelagos, enabling guests to experience the dramatic excitement of tropical monsoon storms, beautiful sunsets and lightning shows, gushing waterfalls and lush scenery.
Each cruise is now available from $3600 per person twin-share for a swag each night or $4500 per person twin-share in a double or twin cabin.
Fares include meals during the cruise and daily excursions as well as local transfers.
- Phone 08 9193 7650 or visit www.ahoybuccaneers.com.au
The Chinchilla Melon Festival … loads of sweet fun.
Queensland has a 2017 full of the weird and wonderful, including the Chinchilla Melon Festival (www.melonfest.com.au) from February 16-19, the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival, on the Sunshine Coast on May 28 (www.goomeripumpkinfestival.com.au) and the Mary Poppins Festival (www.marypoppinsfestival.com.au), at Maryborough from June 23 to July 2.
The former will be packed with watermelon-fueled obstacle events and just about the only thing not on the menu is melon-choly.
Thousands will flock to the small town to participate in events such as melon skiing, melon bungy, melon ironman and a melon chariot race.
Plenty of wildlife … Kangaroo Island lives up to its name.
SeaLink’s three-day, two-night American River self-drive package to Kangaroo Island will run until February 28, with prices for the package starting at $365.50 per adult.
The package includes return SeaLink coach and ferry travel to Penneshaw, two nights’ accommodation at Mercure Kangaroo Island Lodge in a king bayview room with buffet breakfast daily; three days’ hire car or self-drive option, pre-dinner wine tastings of five Kangaroo Island wines; a $50 dinner voucher to use at the Mercure’s Reflections Restaurant, a self-guided nocturnal walk, free honey ice-cream from Clifford’s Honey Farm, entry to Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, and pelican feeding.
The deal is valid for bookings and travel until February 28, excluding Kangaroo Island Cup dates of February 16-18.
- Phone 131 301 or visit www.sealink.com.au
Tjungu … ‘meeting together’ of local Indigenous people and visitors.
Visitors to Uluru this year will have eight major events to partake in at Ayers Rock Resort, ranging from Indigenous cultural activities and immersive art installations to quintessentially Australian outback activities, spiritual health and stargazing.
Among them is the monumental art phenomenon of Bruce Munro’s Field of Light, which has been extended until March 2018, and the Tjungu Indigenous Cultural Festival from April 22-25.
Tjungu means “meeting together” in the local Anangu language and this year’s event will see returning artists and ambassadors joined by emerging and established Indigenous performers, sporting heroes and artists. Highlights include an Anangu welcome to country, lively markets showcasing Indigenous art and bush tucker, a short-film festival, Indigenous fashion parade, traditional and contemporary Indigenous musicians and bands, and the Tastes of Tjungu, an outdoor desert dining experience hosted by a celebrity chef.
- Phone 1300 134 044 or visit www.ayersrockresort.com.au
John Rozentals is a freelance writer whose passions are travel, food and wine. He lives at Molong in the Central West of NSW, from where he hosts Oz Baby Boomers, a lifestyle-resource for mature Australians, and Molong Online.