Lodge Review: La Perruche Rouge, Rimatara

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Tara

La Perruche Rouge (the Red Parakeet) grabbed my attention the minute I started seeking out accommodation on Rimatara. The website is in French but Google Translate is your friend! I was surprised how close it is to the airport, the access road is just 5 minutes up the road.

The lower level is where the Kato family (the owners) live and the reception/dining area. The guest bungalows are on the higher level.

Our bungalow

Small but clean bathroom. No kitchen or even a kettle but the family will boil water or heat up simple food for you in their kitchen.

The bungalow has a king sized bed and a single bed.

The bed linens are to die for! Embroidered Rimatara Lorikeets! Of course I wanted to buy some but they don’t have any extras for sale. Aline said she had them custom made in Bali. Next time I go there I have to look for embroidery shops!

Back at the reception/dining area. Meals are served family style and are very good! Most people have a demi-pension plan which includes breakfast and dinner.

Back at the bungalow we had a nice porch to relax on and enjoy the view!

You can book a variety of tours – birding of course and some cultural experiences. The “Decouverte de taro” one totally cracked me up – they were charging people to do what my husband has done for free in his family plantation since he was a kid growing up in Rarotonga! Still for a Western tourist it would be new and different. This was a fantastic little pension and the owners were lovely! I highly recommend a visit here. You need to book via their website and pay cash on arrival. Actually you can pay when you check out but I hate carrying cash around so chose to pay up front.

Hotel Review: Radisson Plaza Resort, Tahiti

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Tara

*** Sadly this hotel is no longer with Club Carlson, it is now with the Pearl Hotel group. You can no longer book it with points. ***

As luck would have it, we had 2 days to kill in Papeete as the next flight to Rimatara was only 3 days a week and we were booked for Friday. This was a perfect opportunity to keep costs down by using my Club Carlson Visa benefits of getting one award night free after booking one. The Radisson Plaza Resort in Tahiti was a very nice property although the location was inconvenient to get to. Most people will take a taxi from the airport for around $50-ish but budget travelers can use the local buses which stop in front of the airport to get downtown. This bus will leave you near the Grande Marche and you will need to walk a couple blocks to get an onward bus to the Radisson. Just ask the locals, they will make sure you get the right one. In the map below you can see the location of the Radisson, the Intercontinental (review to come) and the Marche Municipale. It will cost around $5 per person in bus fares to get there. The photo below shows where you get off the bus for the Radisson. The last bus is around 5:30 pm but I would get there by 5 just to be sure.

I was pleasantly surprised to see we were upgraded to a suite overlooking the beach! There was a living area, balcony and powder room downstairs and the bedroom with full bathroom upstairs.

The wonderful view from our balcony!

The van that takes you downtown twice a day (8:30 am, returning 12:00 and 2:00 returning 5:00pm) is fairly small and you need to book in advance. Otherwise you will have to use a taxi or the local buses. They drop you off and pick you up behind the tourist office.

The swimming pool was really nice but I was disappointed to see the jacuzzi had cold water.

This is where I get ideas for our upcoming bathroom renovation. I love tropical decor!

On Thursday evenings, don’t miss the fantastic Marquesas dance show! My husband managed to get us a great table up front (guess it pays that he speaks their language)! It doesn’t have to be expensive. Thankfully it wasn’t some over-priced buffet and you could order what you want from the menu. Pasta dishes are around $20-25.

My husband is actually a Cook Island drummer so wanted to jam with the band! Even award nights attract a resort fee of around 1800 XPF and city tax 300 XPF per night. Award nights are 44,000 Gold Points (2nd night free with Club Carlson Visa). Reviews on Trip Advisor are mixed, most people have more issues with the location rather than the property itself. There are no dining options within walking distance so you can buy food at the market and bring it back.

When leaving for the airport at 4am on check out day, we were reluctantly prepared to have to pay for a taxi but got lucky. There was a large bus picking up a group of tourists and we arranged with the driver to pay 1000 XPF each to be dropped at the airport.

Lodge Review: Pension Maurice et Delphine, Ua Huka, Marquesas

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Tara

Forget your hotel points, in the Marquesas, you will be staying in small guesthouses with the locals called pensions – and that’s half the fun! Pension Maurice et Delphine is in the village of Hokatu which is the best location if you are hoping to see Ultramarine Lorikeets.

You can’t beat the loction, on a cliff with a great view of the sea!

We stayed 3 nights and the first night we were the only guests. We were lucky enough to get the bungalow Mata Otemanu which is on the corner of the property so we had views of both the sea and the valley. This valley is where I got my first glimpse of the beautiful Ultramarine Lorikeet as pairs flew swiftly and sporadically through the valley.

The bungalows themselves are small but cute. They don’t have kitchens but they do have a kettle so you can boil water for ramen noodles! No hot water so we had to take quick showers in the afternoon before the sun set and it cooled down.

Wild horses (which can be seen from the verandah) were not going to drag me away from my lazy birding! Most people book demi-pension which gives breakfast and dinner. In June 2014, this was 5900 XPF per person. The breakfast is a typical island continental breakfast of bread, fruit, coffee, tea and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Dinners will have a variety, usually seafood but they were very accommodating when I told them I don’t eat seafood. My husband was loving the island style food (like he grew up with)! Meals are served at Maurice & Delphine’s house which is a short walk from the bungalows. At night, there are no street lights so you will need a torch/flashlight to get back.

My husband got into some ukulele jamming with the family after dinner!Maurice & Delphine have a small convenience store and Maurice is a master wood carver so you can see his workshop and buy souvenirs if you want.

In front of the house/shop you can see a typical Polynesian vaka or canoe.

Maurice & Delphine are lovely people. This is one of the reasons people visit the Marquesas – to see how the locals live and interact with them and you can’t ask for friendlier people! Delphine’s English is better than Maurice’s so be prepared to communicate in French. The bird guide (whom I will talk about in a future post) is their nephew and they are happy to organize any birding or sightseeing you need on the island at reasonable prices. There is no internet or email here so you have to call them by phone to book accommodation and once again, be prepared to speak basic French! Airport transfers are 2000 CFP return.

Contact Information

Address: Vaipae’e, Vaipaee, Ua Huka, French Polynesia
Phone: /92–60–55

Motel Review: Tahiti Airport Motel

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Tara

Tahiti Airport Motel isn’t an eco-lodge by any sense of the word, however unless you have enough IHG, SPG or Club Carlson points, you will will probably find yourself staying here in between flights to the amazing Polynesian islands where you find the rare birds.

This is how close it is to the airport – literally right across the street and up a short hill. I have to admit giggling over the Trip Advisor reviews where people say they paid over $20 for a taxi to come here! In this photo, we have just come out of the terminal and there it is, you can’t miss it!

Follow this little side street (note the mural) up the hill to the reception.

Since I always want to earn more miles if possible, I used Rocketmiles to book this hotel. There was a promo running last month and I got 3000 bonus miles which posted very promptly so I am am very impressed with the service! If you join using my links (the 3000 mile bonus one may not be working when you read this), then you and I both get 1000 miles bonus!

Prompt point posting from Rocketmiles!

The rooms were in nice bright colours, clean and had free wifi so I quickly caught up my emails. I was so paranoid about missing our expensive flight to Ua Huka, I set 4 alarms – my phone, my husband’s phone, the clock in the room and the wake up call from reception! All went well, actually my iPhone woke me but I can confirm that the reception was within 5 minutes of the time I requested the wake up call.

Breakfast officially starts at 6am but they will let you have it early if you have to check in very early to your flight. Our flight to Ua Huka left at 0630 am! It’s a simple continental breakfast but fills the spot!

Hotel Review: Comfort Hotel, Perth City

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Tara

Comfort Hotel Perth City is situated in East Perth, and offers affordable, clean hotel and studio rooms. Just 15 minutes walk to Perth CBD or use the free public transport (CAT BUS) nearby. A good buffet breakfast and other meals are available at Bluerock Cafe, located on site.

While you could use Choice Rewards points to stay here, at 25,000 points a night I don’t think they represent a good value. You would do better to book on their website if they have a special running or use Pointshound or Rocketmiles to earn miles with your booking. I think that Choice Rewards points are best saved for Europe.

If you like Korean food, there is a Bulgogi Restaurant just a couple blocks away that offers meat you cook yourself at the table which was good fun. I thought it was hilarious that there is a buzzer to call the waiter at each table even though it’s a small restaurant and easy to get the waiter’s attention with a wave.

Also in the area are some interesting old buildings and mini-parks.

Lodge Review: Yanchep Inn, Western Australia

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Tara

Nothing beats staying in a National Park such as Yanchep to have the best access to early morning birding. It’s so easily reached from Perth too!

Be greeted by the official welcoming committee of Western Grey Kangaroos!

The reception area and adjacent restaurant have a warm safari lodge feel to them. You can get budget priced meal-of-the-day or order from a nice selection on the menu at higher prices.

Cars can be parked reasonably close to the units so you don’t have to carry your bags far.

This was our room, we could see lots of birds just sitting on the patio like Carnaby’s Cockatoos flying overhead and Splendid Fairy-wrens hopping around the bushes.

Everything you need is here including a toaster and mini-fridge. Not fancy but with all the wildlife around you won’t be spending much time in your room.Fancier rooms with spa bath and lake views are available if you are after a romantic getaway with a side dish of nature!

The Lakeview rooms are the newest addition to our accommodation. All rooms contain King Size beds, are air-conditioned, contain a television, bar fridge and large bathrooms. The Ensuites are fitted with a walk in Shower in the Standards or a Bath with Spa jets in our Spa rooms. All Lakeview rooms have either a Balcony or Veranda overlooking the Kangaroos and Loch McNess.

Whatever you choose, try to spend a couple days here to take in all the birds and just relax. Rooms are easily booked online.

Hotel Review: Palm Resort, Kalbarri

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Tara

Conveniently located in the town centre, the Palm Resort offers a range of comfortable styles of motel suites and apartments just walking distance from the beach. Relax in 5 acres of established gardens with heated outdoor spa, 2 swimming pools, BBQ’s, tennis court, netted cricket pitch, lawn bowls, children’s playground and green lawns.

The rooms are simple but clean and fine for passing the night and prices are very reasonable.

If you are lucky, the local Galahs will be on hand to welcome you in!

There’s a pub and a fish & chip shop about 5 minutes walk away. Food is of the cheap and cheerful variety which is just what we like! Sorry foodies!

Bookings can be done on their website, Pointshound or several other hotel booking engines.

Nallan Station – I Wish We Could Have Stayed Here

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Tara

When I was researching our trip to Western Australia, I found several glowing reports of birders who had stayed at Nallan Station and even had meals catered. Unfortunately, the owners haven’t been operating their station stay for several years. Even though the Queen of the Murchison provided great accommodation in town, there would have been something special about staying at the station and waking up with the birds. The accommodation is in the shearers accommodations and would suit backpackers or people seeking an authentic Aussie experience. I did take a peek inside the quarters, although they have not been maintained since they aren’t being used, you can get a good idea of what to expect.

If you are planning a trip to Western Australia for birding, it would be worth contacting them just to see if they re-open the accommodation. It’s also a good idea to call them if you just want to come for day visits. They seem happy to have birders visit. Please offer a donation to help them conserve this amazing bird habitat for future generations.

ABC Life on an Outback Cattle Station

Michael & Sandy were away when we visited but their son Jamie showed us around and was very friendly.

Nallan Station, Cue 6640

08 9963 1054 nallanstn@bigpond.com

Lodge Review: Queen Of The Murchison, Cue

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Tara

The Queen is one of those delightfully quirky small Outback lodges located in Cue. Originally there was a pub downstairs but they no longer serve alcohol. There are lots of cool knick-knacks to look at and this is the area where breakfast is served in the morning.

I think I was so overwhelmed by all the birds in the area I forgot to get photos of the rooms. The pics on the hotel’s website are pretty accurate. Carla, the very friendly owner was happy to swap fans around to make sure we were happy. The verandah is a great place to sit, relax and watch life go by. Prices are very reasonable and a continental breakfast is included. The one criticism I had was that if you are headed to Nallan for birding, you have to eat before you go, they won’t let you take the breakfast with you as a picnic. I’m just not the sort who can eat at 5am!

They have several pet birds in large aviaries downstairs.

The location is convenient to everything in Cue and there are a couple of eating places within walking distance. Laundry is available at the caravan park a couple km down the road and there is an internet place across the street which also has some tourist information.

Hotel Review: Leonora White House Hotel

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Tara

This is far from a birding lodge but if you are doing a long trip through the Outback, Leonora is a pleasant place to stop over. Some people may raise an eyebrow at the idea of staying at pub accommodation but that’s pretty much all that is available in these smaller towns. That’s not a bad thing, the locals are usually pretty friendly and enjoy talking to tourists. You do want to get a room as far away from the actual pub though to avoid noise and also try to avoid staying overnight on a weekend when the pub will be open later.

The Leonora White House Hotel is a historic building built around 1902 and does have loads of character.

Rooms are small and bathrooms are shared. They do have tv and you can get meals at the bar at reasonable prices. Go there with realistic expectations and you should enjoy the overnight stay.