BDU: Hyatt Regency DFW

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

After spending time in the Admirals Club at LAX, I bid farewell to my friend C as she headed back to Chicago.  I spent another half-hour or so there before leaving for my gate.

I'm not accustomed to boarding flights where there are large numbers of passengers with status so when they called for boarding for first class and those who had various levels of status with AA it was a little shocking to see how long the line was.  The good thing was that these were all experienced travlers so the boarding process was efficient and it was an uneventful flight to Dallas.

I had debated between booking a room at the Grand Hyatt DFW, which is attached to the terminal, vs. the Hyatt Regency which is located on the DFW Airport property.  The Grand Hyatt is a category 3 hotel (12K points per night) while the Hyatt Regency is a category 2 hotel (8K points).  While the convenience of the Grand Hyatt was a bonus, in the end I decided to save the 4000 points and booked the Hyatt Regency.

It was after 11 PM by the time I reached baggage claim - though of course my bags would be transferred to the plane to Memphis so I only had to deal with my carry-on.  The shuttle bus was over half-full and after another stop or two I found myself in line to check in.

I was a little disappointed at how long the line was, probably 7-8 people deep.  The three people at the front desk were all assisting weary travelers but after getting only semi-decent sleep on the flight from Fiji I was dead tired and didn't really want to wait any longer.

That's when I noticed the kiosk.  As I was only 3-4 people from the end of the queue, I decided it would be worth it to see if it was working.  I swiped my credit card and it spit out a room key and a receipt for me.  Presto! I was on my way to my room.

BDU: Flying to Los Angeles

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

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:40 PM.  The folks from Rosie Holidays picked us up in plenty of time to make our flight.  In fact, there were very few people in line at the counter when we arrived.  Since C and I were flying in business class we were able to walk right up to the counter.  When the agent realized D was with us, she allowed her to use our line as well. Very nice!

The Nadi airport was undergoing a large renovation while we were there so there wasn't much to see once we got through security.  Even now, nearly a year later, the renovation is not complete but it looks much better than it did while we were there.  Ben, of One Mile at a Time, was there just last month and you can check out his post to see more up-to-date photos.

We made our way to the Fiji Air Tabua Lounge.  Our business class tickets afforded entry for C and me and my Priority Pass Select card (a benefit of having the Citibank Prestige card) allowed D to enter.

Fiji Air Tabua Lounge Entrance

BDU: Snorkeling Trip

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 we recovered from our overnight flight to Fiji we thought about what we might like to do in this island paradise.  We settled on a snorkeling tour that we were able to book through the hotel's activities desk.

We were booked with an outfit called Whale's Tale and the crew was a fun-loving bunch.  There were probably 20-25 of us on board as we sailed toward what I believe is a private island owned by the tour company.  There was a semi-permanent hut there with cooking facilities and picnic tables, several other grass-topped huts to provide some shade and a sand volleyball court all set up.  The name of this dot of sand? Snorkel Island, of course!

Yes, it's Snorkel Island

BDU: Hilton Fiji

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

It was still quite early, around 7 AM, when we arrived at the Hilton.  The good thing is that the staff is quite accustomed to having folks arrive at all hours.  We did have to wait a little while to check in as several people on our flight were also staying here.  The open-air lobby was quite inviting and the seating was quite comfortable.

Hilton Fiji Lobby Seating

Hilton Fiji Reception Desk

BDU: Flying to Fiji

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

Melbourne is very nearly at the very southeastern tip of Australia.  Fiji is northeast of the continent and it is one time zone earlier.  That meant our 5-hour flight to Nadi (pronounced NAHN-dee, even though there's no second "N"), which left around midnight, would land us in Fiji first thing in the morning.  This was the only flight with award space and we took the only three award seats that were available nearly a year in advance.

BDU: Melbourne 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

While Sydney is well-known for its famous sites like the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, we weren't sure what there was to see in Melbourne.  Turns out it's more a financial capital for the country and while there's plenty to do and see, it's not quite as touristy.  But they do have a hop-on/hop-off bus and a free trolley system that helped us get around town.

The closest bus stop was caddy-corner from the Victoria Train Station.  I thought it was a beautiful building from the outside and wish we'd stopped in to look around.

Victoria Station

BDU: Park Hyatt Melbourne

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

Our flight from the Ayers Rock airport (by way of Alice Springs) landed in Melbourne mid-afternoon.  While we certainly expected the weather to be cooler than Uluru and the desert, I was a little surprised at how much cooler it was.  Knowing Melbourne was further south than Sydney I had expected to need a jacket but with the wind blowing, long sleeves felt good too after the sun went down.

We didn't have to wait long at all for our shuttle driver to arrive at baggage claim and after walking next door to the international terminal to collect more passengers we all hauled our luggage out to the curb for the trip to our various hotels.

It was on our drive from the airport that I saw the native wildlife for this trip (besides the ibises in Sydney). We were speeding along a multi-lane highway when I looked at a large grassy field on our left and first thought cows were grazing there.  But the ones atop the ridge looked odd for cows and when I looked closer I realized they were kangaroos (or maybe wallabies).  Unfortunately we zoomed by too quickly to get a snapshot.

We arrived at the Park Hyatt and were warmly greeted by the bellman who took charge of our large bags.  The front desk staff were uniformly young, attractive and quite helpful.  They confirmed we'd booked a club room and pointed out the restaurant to us where we were entitled to breakfast during our stay.

Entrance to the Park Hyatt Melbourne