El Nido Miniloc Island Resort (Part 1)

The journey towards El Nido Miniloc Island Resort

Palawan is located on the western part of the Philippines. Known as “The Last Ecological Frontier of the Philippines” because of its stunning landscapes and rich bio-diversity, Palawan consists of the 1,780 islands out of the total 7,107 islands of Philippines. Think about island hopping. Big time!

While watching the last scenes of the recent installment of the movie “The Bourne Legacy”, I was in awe of the stunning scenery. That for me was a picture of a good holiday!  My guess was right, that part was shot in El Nido, Palawan. That made us even more excited to our holiday in El Nido Miniloc Island Resort. We made our booking online through the El Nido group of resorts website and a representative from Manila was quite prompt in addressing our queries.  It would be good to do some research through online bookings and do some comparisons.

We traveled to El Nido via ITI ISLAND TRANSVOYAGER, INC. (ITI) is the only airline that offers direct flight from Manila to El Nido, Palawan and vice versa. The airfare includes refreshments while waiting for your departure and upon arrival at El Nido. The passenger seat arrangement at the departure lounge area was very organized and personalized. Talk about customer service at its best. Arrival at the LIO airport was also twice as fun. We were greeted by singing locals and another round of refreshments. The boat transfers to our respective resorts marked the start of our journey to paradise.

 El Nido Resorts Waiting Lounge at the ITI Hangar

 Assigned Seats

Refreshments before the flight

 The Philippine Buffalo was ready to welcome us too.

 A taste of more stunning scenery to come.

Our short ride towards the jetty.

LIO Airport

 The jetty at LIO airport

So off we went to our little paradise for few days. The experience was amazing and we savored every moment of it. Will be posting more of our El Nido adventures soon.

Experiencing Lakes Entrance

Life has been quite challenging in the past years that I have not been able to update my blog. It is only until early this year that my husband and I were able to make a long trip to one of Victoria’s popular destination. Lakes Entrance! 

Lakes Entrance has been a popular Gippsland holiday spot for more than 100 years. It is a tourist resort and a fishing port.  Lakes Entrance is situated near a channel connecting the Gippsland Lakes to the Bass Strait in eastern Victoria, Australia. I traveled with my husband recently and stayed for two days and one night. It was not enough for us to really enjoy the beauty of Lakes Entrance but it was enough for us who just wanted a quick weekend getaway.

Travelling to Lakes Entrance

Lakes Entrance is only 3.5 hours from Melbourne, making it an easy weekend getaway. We travelled by car so we took route A1 using the Princess Highway as the major road. You can also travel by train using the Bairnsdale station. Lakes Entrance can also be reached by bus using bus routes servicing the area. Refer to Lakes Transit, Dysons Bairnsdale and Vline for timetables and maps. 

The route towards Lakes Entrance

Accommodations at Lakes Entrance

Lakes Entrance Accommodation consists of Holiday Houses, Apartments, Penthouses, Cabins or Cottages. Along the esplanade, there is an array of accommodations you can choose from according to your budget and preference. There are lots of options and there are several websites you can refer for choices. Lakes Entrance Accommodation,  Visit Melbourne and Parks Victoria are good places to start. We stayed in one of the quieter part fronting the esplanade. We just had the basics and a free breakfast. 

One of the several accommodations along the Esplanade

Exploring Lakes Entrance

Water abounds in Lakes Entrance so make sure to get your gears ready. Here is a list of activities you can do while on Lakes Entrance. Of course this list continues depending on how adventurous you can be.

1. Engage in water-based activities. If you are a great swimmer or a good surfer, then the surf beach is the place for you. They even have place where the teach adults and kids to surfs within hours. 
2. Relax and enjoy the seaside charm. If you are not the swimming type,then renting the water boats will be a good idea. However, if this is not for you, then just sitting by the beach and enjoying the sights will surely bring your imagination miles away.
3. Take the eco-cruise and enjoy the scenery of the lakes and amazing wildlife. If you want to enjoy the vast waterways and enjoy the sight of abundant wildlife, then taking the Eco Cruise is a sure hit. Lonsdale Eco Cruise even offers freshly baked scones while on the cruise. Make sure to make your bookings as they make only one trip a day.
4.  Enjoy fresh and mouth wateringseafood. More than a tourist destination, Lakes Entrance is a fishing port. Traveling to Lakes Entrance will never be complete without feasting on their fresh seafood.Several restaurants offer wide selection of seafoods. Of course, nothing beats the trusted fish and chips.

Kids enjoying team games by the surf beach

Enjoying the sun and the sand! :-)

My husband posing with the watch tower in the background.

Kiosk for booking the Eco-cruise

The Entrance where the lakes meet the ocean

One of the lovely sights during the Eco-cruise

The big fishing boats

We really had a great time in Lakes Entrance and we already went back. During the second trip, we had a bit of time and we explored the neighboring towns of Nungurner, Metung, Buchan and Bruthen. Hopefully I will be able to post new blogs of these gorgeous places soon.

The Voice of Australia 2013

Congratulations to the the winner of The Voice Australia 2013, Harrison Craig. 

Aldous Huxley once said, "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." Indeed this holds true to The Voice of Australia 2013, Harrison Craig. Though he stutters, and finds it difficult to express himself when he speaks, Harrison Craig has made music his way of expressing himself better, in a beautiful way. Indeed, The Voice of Australia 2013 has placed voice competitions in a much better place of promoting music as a means of expressing one's artistry but also of one's personality, one's dreams. Dreams do come true! 

Luke Kennedy finished second, while Celia Pavey finished third. Danny Ross came at fourth. All finalist were all winners in their own right. Keep the music coming. Until the next season of The Voice Australia!

Courtesy of The Voice Website
http://www.thevoice.com.au/news/lives/free-download-youre-the-voice.html

Harrison Craig, The Voice Australia 2013