Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

1/21/25-2/4/25
My sister and I had an AMAZING first trip to Australia, even though we planned on relatively short (two months) notice, for peak season. In our initial conversation, Stuart and Jacki were so helpful in narrowing down where we should go at that time of year, and getting a sense of the things we liked—Stuart mentioned hotels with “a sense of place,” which really resonated with me. We also found the detailed lists of recommended restaurants for each location that they compiled to be very helpful in making our dining reservations. We visited Sydney, Byron Bay, the Barossa Valley, Kangaroo Island, and Melbourne.

We started in Sydney. It was lovely to meet Jacki at the airport on arrival, and the Park Hyatt was the perfect location—the view of the Opera House from our room was breathtaking, and it was very easy to walk or take trams/ferries anywhere we wanted to go. On our first day, we took it easy and enjoyed our WOW Moment, which was fantastic 90-minute massages at the hotel. We followed that up with a private harbour cruise the afternoon of arrival, which was a great, relaxed way to ease into our trip. We loved our full day tour of Sydney and the surrounding suburbs as well.

Byron Bay was not initially on our radar, suggested by Stuart and Jackie, and it was a great little relaxed beachy interlude. We really enjoyed our walk with an aboriginal guide and learning from her about the history of the area from her family’s perspective, as well as learning about the edible native plants and how they’re used. In the Barossa Valley, we really enjoyed having a full day wine tour and seeing our first kangaroos hopping among the vines!

Our next stop was Kangaroo Island—we absolutely loved Southern Ocean Lodge, and only wished we’d had a few more days to spend there! We enjoyed seeing and interacting with the kangaroos and koalas at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, as well as seeing them in the wild. Seeing how the island has come back from the devastating fires 5 years ago is incredible. SOL is so beautiful, the food was great, and there were several more activities/excursions that we would have loved to do if we’d had some more time.

Finally, we ended in Melbourne. We enjoyed our tours there as well, especially seeing the street art and visiting the Queen Victoria market. All in all, Australia exceeded any expectations we had and we cannot wait to go back. All of our guides were wonderful, and everyone we met was incredibly friendly and welcoming. Honestly, our only complaint about this trip is that we wished we’d been able to spend more time just about everywhere!

Kathye Faries meeting a koala at Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney, Australia.

Meeting koalas and kangaroos during a private tour of the Featherdale Wildlife Park.

Jackie planned a great trip for us in Sydney. Our time was limited (only three full days) and we gave her free reign to create a full itinerary for our time there. She recommended The Capella Sydney for our stay and we loved it—a great location, outstanding staff, wonderful food and great service. Jacki suggested a tour of the Sydney Harbor for the afternoon of our arrival on a small private boat and it was a perfect remedy for our jet lag.

Day 2 included a guided tour of Sydney that kicked off with a stop at the Sydney Fish Markets. We saw so many different kinds of fish that we’d never heard of before. During our tour of Sydney and its suburbs, we got a great feel for the history of the city, the neighborhoods, the beauty of the architecture, the Botanical Gardens and of course the beaches. Our guide suggested some retail stops along the way and I now have some wonderful purchases that will remind me of our time there. Our tour included a lovely lunch at a private home; kangaroo meatballs, lamb and fish on the barbie and fresh vegetables were on the menu.

Day 3 started with a private tour of the Featherdale Wildlife Park where we were able to visit with a koala. Yes, they are as soft as they look! We also got to hand feed a kangaroo and see scores of native wildlife. On the way back to our hotel, our guide showed us a beautiful, small neighborhood beach where he spends his free time. We then headed to the Sydney Opera House for a private tour. The iconic building is amazing—there are actually multiple performance venues inside the Opera House. We learned about the architect, and the lengthy building process of the house. Our guide slipped us quietly into a theater where a rehearsal was taking place so that was an added treat. We loved the energy of the city, the great restaurants and the friendly people.

Jacki did a wonderful job of making sure we saw the very heart of the city and the surrounding areas. Every guide and every transfer she arranged showed up on time and made sure we had a memorable experience.

Lynne Harrison and Maureen Haggarty having a picnic on the beach at Whalers Bay, Port Lincoln, Australia.

Traveling sisters Lynne and Maureen enjoy a white tablecloth lunch at Whalers Bay in South Australia.

My sister and I planned a 7-week trip to Australia focused on driving the southern coast from Perth to Sydney. Traveling lightly, we each planned to travel with one carry-on and a small backpack. We hoped to get to Uluru and Tasmania as well.

Wendy Perrin connected us to Stuart Rigg’s team, and Jacki Lang (who became our primary contact). While my sister and I had roughed out an itinerary on our own, we knew we needed on-the-ground help to manage driving from Perth to Sydney and getting to Tasmania and Uluru. Jacki really heard us: we were independent travelers, more focused on country than city, preferred self-catering where possible, liked good food and wine, wanted informed and adventurous experiences, and needed to be able to do laundry regularly over the 7 weeks.

My sister and I have not yet “earned” a WOW Moment. However, the team gave us so many wow moments during our time in Australia, we feel like experienced Wendy Perrin users.

Stuart’s team​​ booked us into 20 different places (not including 2 roadhouses on the Eyre Highway we booked ourselves), starting and ending in Sydney. The accommodations ranged from luxury glamping and resorts, to apartment hotels and B & Bs, to regular hotels. The roadhouses were in a category of their own: functional and clean, but not much else. However, there were some truly astounding places: Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, and Longitude 131 at Uluru. Though we also loved Merlot in Penola, and Chocolate Gannets in Apollo Bay.

They also arranged 14 tours in the major cities and in more remote locations. All were good, and a few were extraordinary (calling out David “Lunch” Doudle with Australian Coastal Safaris in Port Lincoln). Plus, Jacki arranged for us to do a backstage tour of the Opera House followed by dinner at the famed Bennelong Restaurant IN the Opera House and then followed by attending an opera, Cendrillon, in the Opera House!

We started with the famous Indian-Pacific train to cross from Sydney to Perth before setting out on the drive back. We mastered driving on the left side of the road and were amused by the road signs saying “Drive Left in Australia.” We had no car or rental problems though we did buy nearly all of the possible insurances (not the unsurfaced road insurance—though we did have a few unanticipated unsurfaced road moments). We may not have had car problems but Jacki did a major save when one of us left a passport, iPad, and cash in the safe at our accommodation in Apollo Bay. Jacki worked with the owner of the property to have one of her staff deliver everything the next day to our next hotel in Melbourne. What a relief to have such help!

Given the complexity of our trip, there were a few snafus which Jacki quickly responded to and resolved. We so appreciated her immediate follow-up and quick resolutions.

We did our drive safely and it was not nearly as boring as everyone told us it might be (and Australia has very straight roads). We did get to Uluru and Tasmania, as well as bucket list items like the Sydney Bridge Walk, and an opera at the Sydney Opera House.

Esperance beaches were the best, especially Lucky Bay at Cape Le Grand National Park. So many memories! Would we go back? You bet? Would we use Stuart’s team? Of course!

Thank you, Jacki!

On December 26 2024 we arrived in Sydney for a 3 1/2 week tour of Australia. The itinerary was developed by us with our travel planner Jacki. We landed after a very long trip from Upstate NY and checked in at The Capella Hotel. The suite, breakfast, location and staff were fantastic.

From there we went by air and spent 8 days in Tasmania. We started at Cradle Mountain, which is very beautiful but it rained and was pretty chilly. The locals said this was normal. From there we went to Freycinet National Park and stayed at The Saffire Hotel. It was an incredibly scenic location and the hotel is gorgeous. It is a member of The Baillie Lodge group. We waded out to eat the freshest oysters, took a scenic boat ride, saw the elusive Tasmanian Devil and did some glorious hiking. We continued into the city of Hobart and a walk through the other worldly Museum of Old and New.

We then flew to Adelaide and onto The Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale to taste wine. We stayed at the beautiful Louise Hotel, another Baillie group spot. We were very impressed with the Syrahs, Cabernets and Chardonnays. On to Kangaroo Island where you will experience many kangaroos, koalas, seals and gorgeous seascapes. We then went north to Cairns and stayed in The Daintree Rainforest. Silky Oaks Lodge was breathtaking. We swam in a billabong, hiked in the park, took a helicopter ride over the barrier reef and breathed in the warm jungle air. The beauty and vastness of this area is completely captivating.

Lastly, we ended with 3 nights back at The Capella in Sydney. We took in dinner and an opera, shopped, hired a yacht and cruised the scenic Sydney shoreline, and really enjoyed the beautiful friendly city. Stuart and Jacki planned a wonderful trip for us. Every guide, tour and driver was punctual, conversive and informative. Our itinerary was put online for us so it was so easy to know the what, where, and when of each day. I would highly recommend them.

The WOW List: Best Local Travel Fixers Worldwide

by Wendy Perrin | May 7, 2025

How to Get an Extraordinary Trip: Wendy’s WOW Way

by Wendy Perrin | January 1, 2023

Wendy Wants To Amp Up Your Trip!

by WendyPerrin.com | January 1, 2023

Our Latest Newsletters