BDU: Flying to Uluru and Back

BDU: Birthday Down Under - Trip Planning
BDU: Flying to Sydney
BDU: Park Hyatt Sydney
BDU: Sydney Activities
BDU: Sydney Opera House
BDU: Flying to Uluru and Back
BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
BDU: Park Hyatt Melbourne
BDU: Melbourne Activities
BDU: Flying to Fiji
BDU: Hilton Fiji
BDU: Snorkeling Trip
BDU: Flying to Los Angeles
BDU: Hyatt Regency DFW

Originally I had hoped return to the US from this trip on a Friday, which would mean minimal time off and build in a couple of days to recover upon our arrival back home.  But when the first class seat from Dallas became available on a Wednesday, it was too good to pass up, so I booked it.  Turns out that was a blessing.  If we'd landed in Australia on a Sunday, we would have been flying to Uluru, in the center of the continent, on a Thursday, staying until Saturday.  And as I noticed when I started searching for award tickets to Uluru - award seats on the weekend are rare creatures indeed, at least on Qantas.  As it was we managed to find three award seats to Uluru (one with indirect routing) and only two award seats on the return flight.

Those of us half a world away from Australia often forget just how large the country/continent is.  For comparison purposes, the distance from Sydney to Uluru is almost exactly the same as the distance from Washington DC to Amarillo, Texas - just over 1360 miles.

The rock formation the indigenous people call Uluru (OO-LOO-roo) is also known as Ayers Rock.  The Ayers Rock airport (AYQ) is quite small and so the majority of traffic from the east coast routes via Alice Springs, where passengers then fly smaller aircraft into AYQ.  Since there were only two award seats available from Sydney, I let my friends have those and I got up a bit earlier to route via Melbourne, where I would then fly to Alice Springs and we'd all fly into AYQ together.

My ground transfer picked me up right on time and I had no issues.  My friends were not so lucky.  Their pre-paid shuttle never showed but the staff at the Park Hyatt helped them to get a taxi.  Unfortunately that meant they were so rushed for time at the airport that they did not get to enjoy the business class lounge before their flight.  Fortunately Viator refunded their shuttle fees promptly.

I did stop in the lounges in both Sydney and Melbourne.  Both were quite busy but had pretty good food spreads.  But we were fed so well on the plane that I wasn't even hungry!  Quite a change from US-based airlines.

Our flight paths to the Ayers Rock airport (AYQ)
(map made on gcmap.com)

Fortunately our planes were on time and we met up at the cute little airport in Alice Springs (ASP).  At this point we were starting to see desert-like conditions around and it was quite warm.  As we flew toward AYQ, the ground definitely took on a reddish tint and it was easy to see why the area is known as The Red Centre of the continent.

Since there are limited flights to and from AYQ each day, we all had to fly out at the same time and we wanted to land together in Melbourne (our next stop).  Since there were only two award seats available, C purchased an economy ticket while D and I enjoyed our award seats in business class.  She said it was fine for a relatively short flight and fortunately, it was a very reasonably-priced ticket.

Our flight path to Melbourne

Next up: so what's the big deal about a rock?

BDU: Sydney Opera House

BDU: Birthday Down Under - Trip Planning
BDU: Flying to Sydney
BDU: Park Hyatt Sydney
BDU: Sydney Activities
BDU: Sydney Opera House
BDU: Flying to Uluru and Back
BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
BDU: Park Hyatt Melbourne
BDU: Melbourne Activities
BDU: Flying to Fiji
BDU: Hilton Fiji
BDU: Snorkeling Trip
BDU: Flying to Los Angeles
BDU: Hyatt Regency DFW

We happened to luck out and our visit to Sydney coincided with the one day each year that the famous Opera House is opened to the public for free behind-the-scenes access.  On my previous visit to Sydney I had taken the paid tour but on this trip we saw far more than we did on my prior visit, albeit without a guide.

I think I took roughly one thousand photos of the exterior of this icon.  I remember when family friends moved to Sydney in the mid-1970s and came back with photos.  Even as a child I just thought it was an amazing sight to behold.

BDU: Sydney Activities

BDU: Birthday Down Under - Trip Planning
BDU: Flying to Sydney
BDU: Park Hyatt Sydney
BDU: Sydney Activities
BDU: Sydney Opera House
BDU: Flying to Uluru and Back
BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
BDU: Park Hyatt Melbourne
BDU: Melbourne Activities
BDU: Flying to Fiji
BDU: Hilton Fiji
BDU: Snorkeling Trip
BDU: Flying to Los Angeles
BDU: Hyatt Regency DFW

D and I had arrived at the hotel quite early.  Since C's flight routed via Brisbane, we knew she'd be a couple of hours behind us.  After getting settled in at the Park Hyatt, D and I did a little walking around The Rocks, as the area around the hotel is known, and found a place to have breakfast.  We noticed there were lots of little restaurants in the area and we ended up trying several places out for breakfast during our stay.  We'd have loved to have eaten at the Park Hyatt but since we only had Platinum status (and not Diamond status) our breakfast was not included and we didn't feel like shelling out the big bucks the hotel breakfast would cost.

By the time we were done with breakfast C had arrived and gotten settled into our room.  Though we were all tired from the flight, we were determined to do our best to adjust to our new time zone as quickly as possible.  We decided walking would do a good job of that so we set out for Darling Harbour, where I knew there were plenty of activities.

Without realizing it, we took a bit of a longer way than perhaps was necessary - but we also managed to avoid the steep hills in the area.  We walked along Hickson Road more or less along the waterfront.  The map says it's about 2.5 miles each way - our feet begged to differ by the end of the day.  Our feet think we walked AT LEAST 10 miles each way. :)

BDU: Park Hyatt Sydney

BDU: Birthday Down Under - Trip Planning
BDU: Flying to Sydney
BDU: Park Hyatt Sydney
BDU: Sydney Activities
BDU: Sydney Opera House
BDU: Flying to Uluru and Back
BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
BDU: Park Hyatt Melbourne
BDU: Melbourne Activities
BDU: Flying to Fiji
BDU: Hilton Fiji
BDU: Snorkeling Trip
BDU: Flying to Los Angeles
BDU: Hyatt Regency DFW

As I mentioned earlier, I spent a good six months or more reading about points and miles before my mental plans for this birthday trip started taking place.  One place that popped up frequently on the blogs was the Park Hyatt Sydney.  There were numerous references to how fantastic it was and how much everyone who stayed there enjoyed it.  Since it's also the #1 ranked hotel in Australia, it's not hard to believe that's true. It's located in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge and some rooms have direct views of the famed Opera House so who wouldn't enjoy that?  So of course that became one of my goals.

BDU: Flying to Sydney

BDU: Birthday Down Under - Trip Planning
BDU: Flying to Sydney
BDU: Park Hyatt Sydney
BDU: Sydney Activities
BDU: Sydney Opera House
BDU: Flying to Uluru and Back
BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
BDU: Park Hyatt Melbourne
BDU: Melbourne Activities
BDU: Flying to Fiji
BDU: Hilton Fiji
BDU: Snorkeling Trip
BDU: Flying to Los Angeles
BDU: Hyatt Regency DFW

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'd lucked out and found an award seat in First Class on the Qantas flight from Dallas to Sydney.  For now, that's the world's longest flight at over 7400 nautical miles (or 8578 miles as we think of it) and blocked at 16h 50m.  (Emirates is planning a longer flight, Dubai to Panama City, starting in March 2016.)  If I have to be anywhere for 17 hours, I want to be comfortable so I was thrilled when I found this seat was available.

Since my flight to Dallas was on a separate ticket, I could arrive as far in advance as I wanted.  I chose to take the early afternoon flight which would put me in Dallas around 5 PM.  There was another, late afternoon flight that would have arrived in time for me to catch the flight to Sydney which left at 9:15 PM but I wanted to arrive in plenty of time in case there was a delay or worse, the MEM-DFW flight got canceled.  That way I had a backup plan already in place.

Fortunately I have a friend in Dallas who works not too far from the airport.  We met up for a light dinner and had a great time catching up.  I didn't want to eat too much as I was looking forward to the food I'd be served on board.  I sure don't say that about domestic flights!

My friend dropped me off at the airport a little after 7 PM and I took the opportunity to visit the Qantas lounge.  Most of the foreign carriers at DFW only have one or two flights per day.  As a result they have relatively small lounges.  Qantas is no exception.

I found the entrance on the concourse.  As you can see from the photo a number of carriers are serviced from this location.  I walked through the doors and took the elevator up to the second floor.  There I found a desk where my boarding pass was checked and I was directed down the hall to the Qantas lounge, which was the first one on the right.

Ground-level entrance in Terminal D

BDU: Birthday Down Under - Trip Planning

BDU: Birthday Down Under - Trip Planning
BDU: Flying to Sydney
BDU: Park Hyatt Sydney
BDU: Sydney Activities
BDU: Sydney Opera House
BDU: Flying to Uluru and Back
BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
BDU: Park Hyatt Melbourne
BDU: Melbourne Activities
BDU: Flying to Fiji
BDU: Hilton Fiji
BDU: Snorkeling Trip
BDU: Flying to Los Angeles
BDU: Hyatt Regency DFW

(And you thought BDU = Battle Dress Uniform!)

Back in early 2013 I was listening to a travel podcast that mentioned a blogger who specialized in helping people earn and burn airline miles and hotel points.  I went to this blogger's website which lead me to a few other bloggers who did the same thing.  I learned that through strategically applying for credit cards and using the right credit card for specific purchases, it's possible to generate tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of points and miles each year.  After a few months of digging into what these bloggers were saying, I came to realize I could apply a great many of their methods and earn myself not only some free airfare but entire trips that were memorable both for their locations and the level of comfort in which I'd be able to both fly and stay.  With a "round" birthday looming in a couple of years (you know, a birthday that ends with a zero), I set a goal of going back Down Under with my travel buddies C & D and to do as much as possible using points and miles to reduce the costs.

C & D had some miles of their own. C is a bit more receptive to opening new credit cards on a strategic basis and thus has a bigger pile of miles and points.  D thinks it's a lot of trouble but was willing to open one new card to go along with her existing stash of miles.  I had a fairly large balance of points and miles but as a birthday present my dad was willing to fund my flights from his mileage balance (Thanks, Dad!).  As it turned out I did use some of my own for one flight but the the rest came from him.

If you're interested in the details of how we used points and miles and how you might be able to do something similar, let me know and I'll be happy to work with you to reduce the cost of your flights.  Nothing's ever totally free but it sure cost a lot less than it could have!

Turkey Trot - Getting This Turkey Home

Turkey Trot - Overview
Turkey Trot - First Class
Turkey Trot - Are We There Yet?
Turkey Trot - Ephesus
Turkey Trot - Mary's House and Basilica of St. John
Turkey Trot - Swissotel Efes
Turkey Trot - Taking the Bus and Priene
Turkey Trot - Putting on the Ritz
Turkey Trot - The Blue Mosque
Turkey Trot - Topkapı Palace
Turkey Trot - Hagia Sophia
Turkey Trot - Carpets and Grand Bazaar
Turkey Trot - Dolmabahçe Palace and Taksim Square
Turkey Trot - Bosphorus Cruise
Turkey Trot - Turning Blu
Turkey Trot - Getting This Turkey Home

This is a very long post but it's the last one for this trip....

C and D were flying back to the US on British Airways and American Airlines and their flight left much earlier than mine, so they left early and I got to sleep an extra couple of hours.  Of course, I paid for it on the other end of the trip as I got home much later at night but I got to experience the Turkish Airlines Flagship Lounge as well as the reputed excellent service and catering aboard their planes.

A representative from Sea Song picked me up at the hotel and escorted me through the airport as far as he could, which was through the initial bag scan, the counter service and right up to the Turkish TSA equivalent.  The folks at Sea Song were fantastic and I'd highly recommend them if you'd like to visit Turkey.