Friday the 13th (EMD) BNE-CNS via Capetown CC mini TR

[craven morehead]

Lovely morning





Breakfast at the Latitude 21 Restaurant the next morning with great views of the Marina and pool surrounds.



I had never received one of these slips of paper before in my welcome pack anyway the food is reasonably priced here and had I not been ALL Diamond and needed to pay, we would have stayed under the limit without too much effort.



Bacon & Poached Eggs with a side of Salmon for me.



Bacon & Omelette with Hash Browns for Mrs CM.



Seated just inside. Weather was a little more overcast by the time we came downstairs.









Very relaxing place to enjoy breakfast.

 

[craven morehead]

Nice afternoon





Thought about having a Spa but couldn't see a life jacket



Cracked a beer for something different



Decided to head down to ground level and soak in the view.



Tonights Dinner Menu:



Swapped our normal preferences tonight.

Seafood Gnocchi for me .... Yum!

The Restaurant Manager had managed to secure some "black stock" acceptable red wine for tonight. This was much appreciated and her subsequent review in hotel survey suggested as much.



So, for Mrs CM the medium rare 250gm Eye Fillet which was cooked to perfection. Once again the food here was a very decent standard



Night time shot.



Breakfast the next morning was Eggs Benny with Salmon then at midday I was flying MKY-BNE.



I'll be returning to this hotel in the not too distant future for work. Much better set up than the cheaper albeit it funtional ibis at the MKY Airport where I have logged numerous stays over the years. As a matter of fact the reception lady from ibis for many years is now at the Mantra and we caucght up for a good chat whilst I was there.

 

[NSun]

If I saw those pictures without reading I would've sworn it was Airlie Beach. I was up at Mackay just a couple of months ago and stayed downtown at the Rydges, so missed seeing the Harbour as you did. I'll have to stay there next time I'm in Mackay.

 

[craven morehead]

If I saw those pictures without reading I would've sworn it was Airlie Beach. I was up at Mackay just a couple of months ago and stayed downtown at the Rydges, so missed seeing the Harbour as you did. I'll have to stay there next time I'm in Mackay.

Absolutely the best place/area to stay in Mackay and only 10 minutes from CBD

 

[craven morehead]

Mrs CM dropped me off at MYK Airport around 10.30am for my 12.00pm flight to BNE. The plan from there was to then return from BNE to EMD where my work car was parked. Applied for 5400 point upgrade to J a few days before and received instantly. Only thing is they didn't take the points from my account this has happened a few times lately ..... go figure So now some photos of the modest but reasonable MKY QP. The lounge certainly wasn't busy at midday on a Saturday.

Looking out to the South.



Looking towards North.





I managed 45 minutes of work.



Unfortunately I was a little early for the bar to be open ..... bugger!



Pre-wrapped snacks.



Basic beverages.



Time to board. I basically wandered out last.



Todays 738

 

[Nukie]

Very enjoyable TR, great photos and the food looks amazing.

 

[craven morehead]

Very enjoyable TR, great photos and the food looks amazing.

I definitley enjoyed some great food

 

[craven morehead]

I had selected 3F as it was showing 3D as a vacant seat. Wasn't to be. The J cabin was full





Looking back down on the MKY terminal







Had one of the best meals ever on this flight. An excellent lamb shank washed down with the usual



Arrived in BNE and had a call from work asking me to stay in town instead of heading back to EMD. The weather was pretty average.



Booked a room at The Pullman at BNE Airport.

 

[craven morehead]

Walked the 10 minutes across from the terminal to The Pullman.

 

[Daver6]

Walked the 10 minutes across from the terminal to The Pullman.





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View attachment 280856

Could they have found a smaller desk for the room if they had tried?

 

[craven morehead]

They went all out with the welcome gift. Accor are so inconsistent across the group.



The Executive Club is still not open and they are blaming lack of staff.



Everything was available except coughtails.







They bought out this array of goodies for me.



Later in the evening I just ordered room service and chilled and watched tv.






Next up was a meeting in the afternoon over at South Bank with one of the mining houses. Called my regular driver and had him collect a work colleague and then we headed over for our meeting. Had the driver drop our luggage at Sofitel Brisbane Central so we didn't have to cart it around.

 

[craven morehead]

Could they have found a smaller desk for the room if they had tried?

Sometimes you just shake your head mate

 

[craven morehead]

Sofitel Brisbane Central.

An improvement on the last place



In my haste to get up to the Club on the 30th floor I forgot to take photos of the room at least the Club is open again.
We got up there half an hour before the freebie frenzy started and there was only 2 other people in the lounge. By 5.30 when it officially starts it was 50% full right on start time for the 2 hour grace period which turns into 3 hours done properly



















So after the gorge & guzzle there was zero requirment for dinner. Must have saved my company a fortune

 

[Matt_01]

So after the gorge & guzzle there was zero requirment for dinner. Must have saved my company a fortune

When was I running my own show I had semi flexible hotel/ flight booking policy for all staff and contractors. It is a balance between what the owners are willing to balance between cost and duty of care.

 

[craven morehead]

My instructions from work for the next day were to head to the Gold Coast to attend a corporate function at CBUS Stadium. Gold Coast Titans were playing the North Qld Cowboys in the NRL. Booked driver and hotel. Packed bag and got moving. I booked a 3BR apartment for myself and 2 work colleagues at Mantra Sierra Grand Broadbeach.







Welcome gift. What is it with Perrier ? There was a scented candle in the white box and assorted snacks in the cardboard box.



It was a beautiful Winters day.





Forgot to take photos of apartment ...again!



Unpacked and headed out for a quick bite at Fat Freddy's whch was just a short walk up the road. Some Yankee hotdog with the lot washed down with a Blue Moon Belgian White wheat beer which they serve with a slice of orange in tossed my orange away. Also shared some oysters with the lads.



Beer sans Orange! Fat Freddy's – Beach Bar & Diner





There was an indoor pool, sauna and steam room which I took advantage of prior to heading out early evening to meet colleagues & clients at The Star Casino. We would leave from there for the Football Stadium.

 

[craven morehead]

Taxi to CBUS Stadium and then up to the Palladium Club.



Entree - Buffalo Mozzarella



Mains - A nice steak with mash, roast onion and cherry tomotoes and garnish. Quite a reasonable feed for a large corporate event.



We had outdoor seats on the halfway line or you could stay in the function lounge and watch from behine floor to ceiling glass.

Cowboys warming up.



Gold Coast warming up. It was a cold night by GC standards I would have thought and the crowd wasn't huge.



Couple of shots of the match. Gold Coast started well but faded and ended up getting trounced.





Caught an Uber back to the Casino for more networking



Breakfast the next morning at No Name Lane (Broadbeach) which was recommended by the staff at the Mantra was excellent and only a 10 minute walk.

Poached eggs with Smoked Salmon and relish .... Yum



Then it was time to head back to Brisbane.

 

[craven morehead]

Then it was time to head back to EMD. Just a few days later than I had originally planned.

There's always a reality check heading home whether it be from overseas or back from a nice domestic J junket around the traps.

The dirty old Dash8 back in EMD



Not quite the standard of food I had gotten used over the last week I certainly racked up some Accor points on this trip.



The original thread title certainly blew out a bit but hey, that's how we roll

Thanks for reading

 

[VPS]

Thanks for writing - very enjoyable

 

[RB]

Thanks for the report. We drove from Townsville to Airlie Beach on Sunday- You were certainly right about the amount of roadwork & the delays. Will have a look around Mackay in a couple of days time

 

[craven morehead]

Thanks for writing - very enjoyable

Little bit of effort required but always a pleasure. I know I thoroughly enjoy reading and learning from other AFFers TR's.