drron
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2002
- Posts
- 36,395
As some know we are currently in WA.It has been a tale of problems.The first plan was for August 2020 which was for the Silo Art trail,some northern wildflower viewing and possibly Margaret river.It wasn't long before those plans fell over.We then read a TR from @JohnM and were sold.An Abrolhos cruise it was going to be.
www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au
So plans were put in place for March this year.The Silo Art trail,Back to Perth via Margaret River,Leisurely drive to Exmouth and a whale shark swim and back to Geraldton for the cruise.Then flying straight back to BNE.The easiest part of the planning has been the flights.They have all been AA awards in J.They have been changed several times with points and taxes refunded virtually immediately when cancelled.Booking even at short notice not a major problem - the flight over on 8/4 was booked through AA 6 days before weleft.Yes 2 J awards on QF costing 20000 points and $19.30 each.We had tried to cover all possibilities.We wanted to spend a week in Sydney before the trip but didn't trust the WA Premier so had flights booked from BNE on 2 separate days a well just in case.
It certainly became apparent that megalomaniac Mark was a serious risk to our plans.However when he decided to have an election on 13th March we decided to put back our trip to 28/3 hoping a big win might result in more sensible border policies.That diidn't pan out well.The first problem was when the Perth hotel we had booked for our first 3 nights cancelled our reservations.Simple.We just forgot Perth and booked to fly on 1/4.
So it came to @%/3 and we flew to Sydney.Everything was looking good until the Premier who kept QLD safe from Covid didn't and Premier Mark proved he had not changed his spots.So we were faced with the prospect of cancelling totally and fly back to MCY or try and salvage something of the trip.First confirmed that if we had been in NSW for 4 days we would be let into WA without Quarantine.Got our G2G pass and rebooked on our 15th day in NSW - 8/4 to fly to PER.
That would allow us to do the whale shark swim and the cruise.It did mean the silo art trail,Margaret River and Perth had to go.Mrsdrron takes care of those reservations.Although stressful the individual tourist businesses were fantastic with full refunds every time.
So once here we felt our problems were over except for a niggling worry NSW might come up with community transmissions and we would get a call from WA Health.But on our first night here came the news of the Cyclones in the India Ocean.Hoped they might change direction but no luck.So we now find ourselves in involuntary hotel isolation with the trip to Exmouth cancelled because for the first time in 65 years a cyclone is due to make landfall near Geraldton.
So next the TR proper will begin.
Not shipwrecked or mutinying, waving - from the Abrolhos Islands
A few weeks ago, I tipped up the bucket and shook out the ever-mounting list of bits and pieces, looking for something to do. Ah-ha - a visit to the Abrolhos Islands has been sitting in there for quite a while but keeps getting forgotten. Better knock that off. The Houtman Abrolhos Islands...
www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au
So plans were put in place for March this year.The Silo Art trail,Back to Perth via Margaret River,Leisurely drive to Exmouth and a whale shark swim and back to Geraldton for the cruise.Then flying straight back to BNE.The easiest part of the planning has been the flights.They have all been AA awards in J.They have been changed several times with points and taxes refunded virtually immediately when cancelled.Booking even at short notice not a major problem - the flight over on 8/4 was booked through AA 6 days before weleft.Yes 2 J awards on QF costing 20000 points and $19.30 each.We had tried to cover all possibilities.We wanted to spend a week in Sydney before the trip but didn't trust the WA Premier so had flights booked from BNE on 2 separate days a well just in case.
It certainly became apparent that megalomaniac Mark was a serious risk to our plans.However when he decided to have an election on 13th March we decided to put back our trip to 28/3 hoping a big win might result in more sensible border policies.That diidn't pan out well.The first problem was when the Perth hotel we had booked for our first 3 nights cancelled our reservations.Simple.We just forgot Perth and booked to fly on 1/4.
So it came to @%/3 and we flew to Sydney.Everything was looking good until the Premier who kept QLD safe from Covid didn't and Premier Mark proved he had not changed his spots.So we were faced with the prospect of cancelling totally and fly back to MCY or try and salvage something of the trip.First confirmed that if we had been in NSW for 4 days we would be let into WA without Quarantine.Got our G2G pass and rebooked on our 15th day in NSW - 8/4 to fly to PER.
That would allow us to do the whale shark swim and the cruise.It did mean the silo art trail,Margaret River and Perth had to go.Mrsdrron takes care of those reservations.Although stressful the individual tourist businesses were fantastic with full refunds every time.
So once here we felt our problems were over except for a niggling worry NSW might come up with community transmissions and we would get a call from WA Health.But on our first night here came the news of the Cyclones in the India Ocean.Hoped they might change direction but no luck.So we now find ourselves in involuntary hotel isolation with the trip to Exmouth cancelled because for the first time in 65 years a cyclone is due to make landfall near Geraldton.
So next the TR proper will begin.
