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

BDU: Uluru and Kata Tjuta

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

When planning this trip I knew I wanted to re-visit Sydney (not to mention staying at the Park Hyatt there!) and one of my traveling companions had never been there so I always knew that was going to be an item on the itinerary.  But I wanted to do some new things too.  I'd already seen the Great Barrier Reef on my last trip so I decided on Oz's other great natural wonder, Uluru (OO-LOO-ROO). It wasn't until I started researching further that I learned there's another rock formation nearby, Kata Tjuta (KHAT-ah JU-tah).

We'd had lovely spring weather in Sydney but when our plane landed at they Ayers Rock airport, the weather was HOT.  It's a tiny little airport with only one luggage belt and two gates.  We were amused by the sign in the bathroom that asked people not to wash their feet in the sink.  You just know there had to be a number of incidents leading up to that situation!

Since Uluru is a national park, all the lodging is run by one company, similar to the way national parks here in the US are run.  While I couldn't use traditional hotel points for our room here, by using the ArrivalPlus card from Barclays we were able to use their points to offset the hotel and rental car charges.  It ended up costing us each about $100, which was not a bad deal at all.

And speaking of rental cars, this was my first opportunity to drive on the "wrong" side of the road.  Let's just say I was glad we were in the Outback and there wasn't much in the way of traffic.

The whole Ayers Rock area is fairly compact and our apartment was only about a 10-15 minute drive from the airport.  We got our bags unloaded, changed into weather-appropriate gear and set out for the park - which itself is only about 10-15 minutes away from the resort area.

After obtaining our park passes at the main gate, we headed into the park.  We could catch glimpses of Uluru here and there but then finally we rounded a bend in the road and there it was.  I wanted to stop the car and take pictures but there were "No Stopping" signs all over the place - so apparently I was not alone with that idea!

Hello Uluru!

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!