Two Cities, One Review: The Best of Adelaide & Perth
Jayne MacDonald, one of our travel experts at Travel Club Elite, recently had the opportunity to explore the vibrant cities of Perth and Adelaide on an immersive familiarisation trip organized by Tourism Australia.
In this review, which is also available to listen to as a podcast, Jayne will be sharing highlights from her adventure, from swimming alongside dolphins in their natural habitat to stargazing in the Outback under the breath-taking Milky Way. Whether you’re planning your own trip or just curious about what makes Australia’s western and southern cities so special, join Jayne as she recounts her unforgettable experiences:
With this being my first trip to Australia and after reading lots about it, I’ve been totally obsessed with the place and I’ve always wanted to go. I had such high expectations going in, but it really exceeded everything that I was expecting! When we first arrived in Perth we stayed in the Crown promenade, which was basically more of a resort where you had three hotels that were all sort of connected to each other. You had the Crown promenade, the Crown towers and the Crown hotel itself. It was an absolutely huge complex. You had the casino, theatre, loads of different bars all around, and the actual room itself was huge so I couldn’t fault the accommodation at all.
When we were in Perth, we also took part in a swimming with dolphins experience at Perth Wildlife Encounters in Rockingham – this was just incredible! The thing I liked about it most was the fact that we weren’t swimming with dolphins in captivity, which is not my thing at all, we were actually swimming in their domain. Before heading out we got geared up with wet suits on and all that sort of thing. We then went out and were chained to the floor underwater which meant you didn’t actually swim, you sort of floated with your snorkels on and the dolphins swam around us. They seemed to be more interested in us than they were of them, and you could tell from their behaviour that they were so fascinated with us just being there. So yeah, overall it was quite an incredible experience.
Our trip also included a series of events and workshops arranged by Tourism Australia, packed with sessions and presentations on the different regions and activities in Australia. It was quite informative really. We had something like 112 appointments and you did it in sort of a speed dating set-up. You went from table to table and they were telling us about their experiences in different areas of Australia from the northern territories in Queensland, to other areas like Sydney for example. All the different stands has people explaining to you what sort of activities and experiences you can do. They also talked about the different cities and accommodations. All in all, there was quite a lot to go through but I’ve had emails since with all the presentations in case we missed anything.
The next stop on our journey was Adelaide, a city I preferred to Perth. There was a lot more going on, a lot more to look at, and it just had a vibrant energy and offered a rich array of sights and activities. From here, we flew on a private jet to the Outback where we stayed at Arkaroola, a conservation-based wilderness sanctuary. That was my main highlight of the whole trip really as it really gave me an insight into the Outback’s unique landscapes and wildlife.
Tourism Australia did an excellent job to make sure everything was set out clearly during these tours and excursions, which really just simplified the whole experience. There was no hanging around or waiting for anything and there was no lines or queues either. We were never asking ‘are we going to be late for this’, ‘are we going to miss this connection’, it was all organised seamlessly, so I couldn’t fault them at all.
For anyone planning on visiting Perth and Adelaide, I would definitely recommend going out to the to the wilderness sanctuary that we went to. It’s quite easy to get to and you can get there in a few different ways. People sometimes drive there, you can take a charter plane or you can even take a helicopter ride – I would definitely recommend going there. You get to meet the Aboriginal people when you’re out there and you’re also able to visit the space observatory, which was incredible. In the space observatory we got to see the Milky Way, which was a great way to round of an amazing trip.
If you are interested in booking a similar trip to the one Jayne took, or if you would like to ask one of our travel experts a question, call free on 0800 707 6229. Alternatively, visit www.travelclubelite.com to view our wide selection of holidays to Australia, and send us your enquiry and enjoy exclusive savings when you book with us.
Be sure to check out our latest podcast episode where Jayne goes into more depth about her fantastic experiences, and listen to more travel podcasts from our travel experts on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple podcasts and YouTube.
