We started the day with a BBQ breakfast and then a wander along the boardwalk up to the lookout on the beach. We then sat on the beach while the youngest among us swam around pretending to be a whale for a happy 45 mins.
Lunch today was a 15 min drive away at Hamelin Bay Winery. The other adults were able to do wine tasting and the kids and I took advantage of having phone reception so I could check some emails and they could play Roblox/chat to their friends. The winery was gorgeous and we left with 4 bottles and lots of positive comments about the food.
After some early afternoon quiet time (and a replacement bath mat because holy crap do kids bring a lot of sand inside haha) we wandered back to the beach, this time with the esky and my beach tent ready for its first use. The beach tent was an epic fail but the kids had a great time making sand castles and swimming for hours and my niece (who is 12) basically asserted herself as the “stingray whisperer” and all the stingrays were following her up and down the beach. She named them all…. stingy, stingy junior, Ray-Ray, stingarette….and so on.
Dinner tonight was sausages (on the BBQ again) and the game of choice was “game of life” with B winning.
We headed off today for our first “family vacation” with my bestie and her two kids in tow. We all drove from Perth together in her 4WD.
We left Perth at 9:30am and stopped in at the Old Coast Road Brewery in Myalup as stop 1 after about 90mins of driving. This was a good stop for us as we did our food shopping the day before so didn’t need to go into any major tourist towns to get anything on the way and it gave the kids lots of space to run around if they wanted to. The brewery had some great beer options (including a few low % ones for drivers and stein sized takeaways) and we were lucky enough to organise our lunch stop to be at the same time as some friends of mine from Canberra who were coming the opposite way!
Stop 2 was at “Amaze’n Margaret River” which was another 90 mins away and has a hedge maze and mini golf on site. They also have a little cafe for those looking for a coffee spot and some scones. It was $26 per adult ($18 per child) to access the maze and that was without the mini golf. As we arrived around 3pm they did say we might struggle to get nigh activities done before closing at 5pm so we just did the maze. We found our way to the centre lookout quite easily but did have to use a little bit of google maps assistance to get out haha.
We then drove our final distance of 30 mins (with a short stop for fresh bread) to arrive at the Hamelin Bay Holiday Park where we had a 6 person ocean view cabin booked. Now, booking this was a pain in the butt! They open Dec/Jan bookings by phone on May 1st and I rang over 200 times (across 2.5hrs) before I finally got through and the only 2 nights were left in January one these dates. So we took what we could get. This cabin is fantastic though – right on the beach, sleeps 6 (1 queen bed, 2 single beds, 1 trundle bed, 1 rollaway bed) and is fully equipped including a Weber BBQ with gas bottle. There is no phone reception or wifi here which is sort of awesome and sort of a challenge. They also run off bore water which is good to know before you arrive as you need to bring your own drinking water.
As well as the amazing stingrays (see photos further down) we also saw plenty of very chonky kookaburras.
We walked on the beach, paddled with some friendly stingrays and watched the sunset before a few games of “hand to hand wombat” and bed.
Home today! I booked TICBALI on the way out again. This time I paid:
– $275000 IDR ($27 AUD approx) for the private transfer from Ayana Segara to the airport . The driver was early and very professional
– $800000 IDR each ($75 AUD approx) for priority VIP service and access to the Premier lounge. The lounge on its own was $580000 IDR each
Both costs were well worth it. The transfer cost was comparable to other private companies and the VIP service meant we skipped the queue at checkin and used the diplomat queue at immigration! Our guide then walked us through the airport and to the Premier Lounge.
Premier Lounge is not a business lounge, it’s a pay per use one. If you are used to business lounges it may come as a shock as it’s definitely not the same. Think the equivalent of the air Asia lounges at KL. Despite being a bit more casual, it had comfortable chairs, power points, free food and free soft drink – all of which are very nice when you are travelling home on crappy Jetstar.
Can’t wait to see the fur babies in about 7 hrs time!
Today (Day 5) we stayed in the resort and spent most of the day lounging by my favourite pool and listening to the ocean.
For dinner, we visited Kisik Restaurant which is right down on the cliff face at Ayana Resort. It serves fresh seafood which you select and specify the amount you would like.
The view is SPECTACULAR. I booked a couple of weeks ahead so I would say we had one of the best sunset spots for dinner and I loved watching the waves crash up against the cliff.
Dinner consisted of satay sticks for an entree, salad, soup (with a non shellfish option for me), a skewer of assorted sea creatures for B and a swordfish steak for me…and then a chocolate mousse for dessert! All the food was excellent (as were the cocktails) and I can’t fault the service. I have given this place 5/5 on trip advisor.
On the way back up to our main hotel area we walked through Rock Bar which was absolutely packed! Very different to our first night there. You can see from the photo below what a spectacular venue it is down on the ocean.
Day 6 was our last full day in Bali and was a very lazy day. There was more reading by the pool, more cocktails and more naps in cabanas.
We finished the day off with another visit to the Thalassotherapy Pool at sunset (I love those jets – all 60 of them!) and dinner at Hon Zen Teppenyaki Restaurant.
Hon Zen was the most expensive place we ate at while visiting this resort but holy cow, it was worth it! We had the Teppenyaki set menu which was around $180 AUD each but included A5 graded Wagyu beef. B really loves his Wagyu….and we have eaten it in Japan a few times so the cost wasn’t exactly a surprise for us.
A tip for this restaurant – when you book ahead make sure to clarify you definitely want the Teppenyaki at the grill. We had some miscommunication around this but they were able to make some space for us so we were very lucky to sit and interact with Tony the chef.
This morning we got on the first shuttle to Kubu Beach which is a private beach and bar accessible to the resort. We got to go down a beach lift to avoid the 200 stairs (hooray) and started out on lovely lounges right on the beach.
After about 20 mins a loud family moved in next to us so we moved to the private cabanas in the beach bar that overlook the ocean.
After a lazy morning and lunch time with beach/poolside drinks and snacks, we prepared to head out for our one and only day trip while we are here. This was very much a relaxing holiday and not a touring holiday! I also really struggled with what I wanted to do for day trips here as I try very hard to only promote ethical tourism and unfortunately that can be hard to source here. Things like coffee plantations, all animal experiences and some of the rice plantations were a no go for me personally.
In the end, I booked with Bali Suta tours and arranged for a half day tour to Uluwatu Temple to view the sacred site, watch some traditional fire dancing and then enjoy a local seafood dinner down on the beach. We were collected at 3:30pm on the dot by our driver and drove about 60 mins in busy traffic to the temple. If you get motion sickness take medication as it is VERY windy on the roads and traffic is mental. Also, it goes without saying that you should dress modestly when visiting a religious site.
Etymologically the word “Ulu” means “the end, top, or peak”, while “Watu” means “Stone”. So Uluwatu Temple means a sacred place built on the top of a rock. Uluwatu Temple sits on a 70-meter-high cliff protruding above Indonesian Ocean. Because of its unique location, visitors to the temple have to take a long stone stairway to reach it. Note: stairs are not my friend so allow extra time if you need it.
The temple heads east, unlike other Balinese temples which face west or south. There are hundreds of monkeys roaming along the path outside the temple as they live in a small forest out the front. All the tourist guides and documents state “these monkeys are classified as very smart” and known to hold tourists items hostage for snacks. The monkeys are fed and protected by temple staff as they are believed to guard the temple from bad influences.
After we visited the temple, we had arranged tickets to watch the traditional Kecak dance near the temple, where there is an open theatre. The dance and songs tell the story of the Ramayana as the sun sets behind them. I was prepared before we went that this is a large cultural attraction and gets very busy – since Covid they also don’t do it as often so it does attract a huge crowd. I would say well over 1000 people.
You will also notice from the above image and video the sun is absolutely BAKING hot in the stands. We were using the religious site sarongs as sun shelter and it was still horrendous….and today wasn’t even that hot! Come prepared for the 30-60mins you’ll be in direct sun before sunset starts.
After viewing the dance and enjoying the traditional singing, we located our driver again (that could have been a bit of a nightmare but our guy was so organised…and boy did I tip him well for that!) and then headed to Jimbaran Beach to have a seafood dinner on the beach. I selected the restaurant (Bawang Merah Beachfront Restaurant) based on recommendations for their fresh seafood (for B) as well as their availability of some other options for me who can eat fish but is allergic to shellfish.
Our driver dropped us back to the hotel around 9:30pm and we are exhausted. Too much sun! I wasn’t so exhausted that I didn’t squeal excitedly when I spotted today’s housekeeper towel effort….
We spent the day at the resort today. We enjoyed the included breakfast at Sami Sami and then were lucky enough to snag a cabana next to the Ocean Beach Pool again.
After some reading and fresh juice, we walked up to the spa for our “gifted” 90 minute couples massage to make up for the noise on our first night. It was a lovely pressure point massage in a very peaceful garden setting.
After the massage we were lucky enough to score a cabana back at the ocean beach pool again (very lucky, I may have stalked some people) and spent another few hours listening to the ocean crash while lazing near the pool.
We then caught the little shuttle bus which runs around the different parts of the resort over to “Rimba” which is the more family focused area. We checked out the huge pool system (complete with water slide!) before heading up to the rooftop bar.
Up at the bar “Unique” I finally got my beautiful sunset. We ate some delicious Mexican food and I had the infinity pool pretty much to myself as I floated around drinking mojitos and enjoying the view.
We then caught the shuttle bus back to our part of the resort (Ayana Segara) where I discovered A TOWEL ELEPHANT WITH A FRANGIPANI! Amazing.
We arrived at midday yesterday after a 15hr (yes I did say fifteen hour) delay – thanks Jetstar you giant bag of dicks. I used the TICBALI service on arrival who meet you in arrivals, priority pass you through all sections and then transport you to your hotel. That was $50 well spent as we were walking out of the airport 45 minutes after we arrived and saw on social media afterwards that wait times were closer to 2.5hrs for others.
We checked into Ayana Segara which only opened about 4 weeks ago. It’s part of the Ayana resort which is four different locations all near each other and with shared facilities – which means 17 restaurants, 12 pools, many bars and a beautiful day spa. Plus a private beach! They also do towel art. I love towel art.
After check in, we enjoyed the view from the room and the closest pool, before heading to Rock Bar for dinner. Rock Bar is built into the cliff rocks near Jimbaran and is pretty amazing. No beautiful sunset for us *shakes fist at clouds* but the view was still lovely and the food was great.
Our first night was rough with 5 star resort pricing not stopping bogan jerks from carrying on. I spoke with a manager this morning who was apologetic and arranged for us to move rooms and have a free massage. Hopefully tonight is better!
After our included breakfast we headed to see how busy it was at the Ocean Beach Pool which is the much instagrammed infinity edge pool that overlooks the ocean. We got lucky and scored a cabana as well as a very empty pool!
After laze in a cabana and a refreshing fresh juice we went to try out the Thalassotherapy Pool. I had never heard of one before but apparently it is the therapeutic use of sea water and minerals to promote health and wellness. You basically work through over sixty different jets at 32 stations over an hour and oh boy, am I sore afterwards! We will likely do this again though, it was amazing after 8hrs in airports and on a plane.
After the Thalassotherapy spa we lazed around another pool with some cocktails…then a 4th pool with yet more cocktails….it’s kind of the theme for this trip! After an hour in the pool number 4 which was an infinity pool on the roof, I declared it “my pool” and refused to get out so we had dinner at the Luna Rooftop Bar. I ate from my spot in the pool in case you were wondering. We almost got a sunset tonight.
Plans for tomorrow include more pools, more cocktails and a massage!
With travel restrictions lifted in most places and four vaccinations each – where are we going in 2023?
Current booked trips are:
– Hamelin Beach and Pemberton in January with family
– a surprise WA destination for Bs 40th birthday in early April. We can’t travel internationally around his birthday due to school holidays and my SILs wedding so he’s agreed to a drivable week long adventure
– Phuket in April/May!!! I am so keen for this
Where else? Maybe Vegas. I could visit Vegas. Oooooh or Europe. Or even Bali since I have jetstar vouchers. Hmmm.
This morning we enjoyed a lovely sleep in and some baby goat watching from the warmth of the cottage. The miniature horses were also chilling out the front of the cottage so I made sure they got some love!
It was a bit of a gray and drizzly morning so while we waited for the rain to clear up we headed to Duckett Mill Winery and cheese factory. We had a delicious tasting board with wine/cheese pairings as well as one of their famous toasties for an early lunch.
After lunch we headed to the Denmark Animal Farm to pat and feed some very cute baby animals. It was very muddy (yay rain) but still pretty cool to get to interact with all the animals.
After the animal farm we took advantage of a slight break in the weather and explored Elephant Rocks and Green Pool beaches. There is some amazing rock formations down this end of WA.
We then headed back towards Denmark with a stop at Bartholomew’s Meadery (yummm honey and mead) and some beer paddles at Boston Brewing. Phew! Now back to our farm cottage for some relaxation, treats and goat pats. Home tomorrow
Today we checked out of our accomodation in Albany to head to a farm stay in Elleker (halfway between Albany and Denmark). On the way we stopped at the Whaling Station for a walk around and history tour. Definitely worth a visit! We arrived right on 9am when they opened which was a good call as by the time we left at 11am the car park was completely full.
After the whaling station we drove out to the Treetop Walk in Denmark. It’s about an hour drive from Albany but it was absolutely amazing! When it’s busy there are some wait times but the 600m long walk up 40m through the tress was accessible, easy and really pretty. I don’t like heights but felt okay the whole time as it feels secure and has a good height on the enclosed railings. We also walked through the ancient tree walk which had some red eucalypts that were over 600 years old.
From here, we drove to our farm stay and checked in. It is a gorgeous little cottage on a working farm with a bath overlooking the paddocks. They also have baby goats!!! Dinner was homemade scones and a cheese platter from the farm owner as well as some bubbly.
Mel's Travel Blog 