Chifley Plaza, Townsville, Qld

The Chifley Plaza Hotel is affordable, comfortable, and is in a prime location.  The staff, were extremely helpful and friendly. The room itself was clean, but was showing a few signs of wear on some doors, which had only been painted over.

The newly renovated living area was spacious, and furnished with comfortable chairs, and beds. The toilet and bathroom were also newly renovated and resembled that of a modern, premium hotel. All areas were clean and tidy.

Overall it was comfortable and an enjoyable experience,  the continental buffet breakfast had a very nice spread, with delightful fruits, which made the stay all the more pleasant.

Being in Townsville's CBD shops and services are only a sort walk away, and combined with the cheap price, it is well worth looking into placing a booking at the Chifley plaza, if your planning to pass through Townsville.

Link to their site: http://www.theplazahotel.com.au

Bobs stay rating 8/10

KoHuna Sands Resort, Mackey, Qld

KoHuna Sands Resort, a quaint little resort north of Mackey, once a bustling tourist hot spot, now a handy man's delight.

The Resort is beautifully positioned, on a magnificent beach front, and has sea side bungalows which have potential, all they need is an inch of paint, and a lot of love. It was obvious KoHunah's cleaning staff were on holiday like ourselves. The kitchen was overdue for a good scrub, and the bathroom was filthy, however, we did get a complementary cigarette butt in the bathroom sink.

Could not believe it, but it was there waiting for us

The beach is the highlight of this resort, and if the cleanliness picked up your stay may be passable (just)  at a budget price.

Bob's stay rating: 3/10

Mooloolaba Bowls Club, Maroochydore, QLD

Outdoor, covered bowling greens

The Mooloolaba bowls club not only delivers excellent food, arriving after a short, 8 minute wait, but also features amazing, newly extended and renovated facilities, as well exceptionally kind, and helpful staff. Visiting for dinner was a true delight for my taste buds and, my social personality. I would highly recommend the bowls club for dinner, and lawn bowls.

Bobs stay rating: 9/10

Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, NSW

The Taronga Zoo is up with the best, as zoos go in Australia. You can drive, ride or walk around the 52 acres on a well designed path that covers allot of the main attractions, and also leads onto lovely sidetracks with incredible creatures. It features a wide variety of fascinating animals, delightful picnic areas and is perfect for a family outing. My Family and I rode around and it was an experience of a life time, we sat and ate lunch watching some very funny monkeys as they also were fed lunch. This zoo is the perfect destination for anyone seeking an adventure of a lifetime.

Bobs stay rating: 9.5/10

Snug Beach Caravan Park, Snug, TAS

Snug Beach Caravan Park, in the township of Snug, overlooking the North West bay, is one of many beautiful caravan parks in Australia.It features, delightful camping areas, one of the best enclosed camp kitchens as well as delightful scenery and wonderful staff members who were extremely helpful. It has excellent rates and well kept, and delightful, modern cabins. Would highly recommend this park.

Bob's stay rating: 8/10

Darling Downs Zoo, Toowoomba, QLD

If you are expecting a metropolitan, almost botanical gardens like zoo you will be disappointed, because the darling downs zoo is in its infancy, and closer resembles the African Savannah.

The state of some of the animal CAGES were disgraceful, a herd of ducks and three turtles were expected to share a puddle of water that had obviously been there for quite some time, two Egyptian geese had to share a tiny and yet again, FILTHY pond (all water sources were stagnant and truly revolting) and a flock of lions were in an overgrown mess of an enclosure. The zoo must unfortunately be understaffed and suffer economic problems because it is poorly maintained and, a letdown. My grand parents came with us today expecting a beautiful day out (sucked in by the adds, that sold a dream), all they got was a sunburnt face and an empty wallet.

The entry fee is comparable with bigger metropolitan zoos like the Australian and Taronga, but the comparison ends there. One hour was plenty of time to walk around examining EVERY animal, nook, and cranny. We arrived at 9 am and were finished by half past so, because we had brought lunch, we attempted to stretch our visit to morning tea, but that was impossible because like the sun-burnt animals, we had trouble finding any shade. I certainly would not recommend this zoo to anybody, or animal.

Bobs stay rating: 1/10