A Hostel bursting with Seamen

One of the things we love at Planet Inn Backpackers is to help our guests feel like it is their ‘home away from home’.

This was certainly the case for Fiona O’Sullivan from Kenmare in Ireland, who thought that she would be spending her 21st birthday quietly with just her boyfriend, Ger, and possibly regretting being in Australia away from her friends and family.

Thanks to the determined efforts of our other Irish lasses, Dee, Aiofe and Ciara, we resolved to dedicate our party night to helping Fiona to celebrate her birthday in style with many of her backpacking friends, who have effectively become her surrogate family.

Fiona was kept in the dark about the surprise party and her movements were carefully engineered so as to ensure maximum impact!

While Fiona was out, a whole team of helpers put in their efforts to decorate the bar lounge with balloons, streamers and disco fever accessories. Every member of staff was involved in some way and Tony invited other friends along to swell the party revellers.

Fiona returned home to find it looking completely different and to be greeted with a large crowd, shouting “Surprise!”

Sam did a great job as DJ and Wayne found a new role as a ‘chocolate crackle maker’.

The craic was mighty, as the Irish like to say, and the karaoke certainly provided some extremes in entertainment standards!

Fiona also enjoyed the traditional 21 kiss salute from all the boys!

One of Tony’s dive buddies, Britney, dropped in with some friends and brought in some of the American sailors from their visiting ship – the USS George Washington, making Fiona’s 21st birthday a truly international event, which we hope she will remember fondly for many years to come.

The full image gallery for the evening appears on this Planet Inn website on the Photos 2009 page.

A Star is Born…

This last week at Planet Inn Backpackers, we organised a Quiz Night in our bar lounge for current and former guests and friends.

Although we had a slightly delayed start to the quiz, the multi-cultural teams got into the spirit of things and it was very keenly contested!

Well that is, until Maddy came home from work…

After a spell of intense brain straining, the teams dispersed for a ‘half-time’ break, while Tony set up the guitar and PA system ready for a post quiz music session.

That was all it took…

The Generation Y (short concentration span) people quickly lost interest in the quiz and wanted to grab the microphone.

Before we knew it, the Kiwi boys started doing the ‘Haka’, which is a dance routine performed by New Zealanders prior to rugby matches (Ok, before they hunt me down – it’s actually a Maori War Dance designed to intimidate opposing warriors, but it’s obviously nowhere near as stirring as ‘Waltzing Matilda’).

Tony played a few songs on the guitar, then welcomed Maddy Ralls onto the stage.

What followed could be described as a defining moment in Planet Inn’s history – a star was born!

Maddy delighted the crowd with renditions of songs by artists such as Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette, along with some amazing originals with captivating lyrics.

A few other guitarists made very enjoyable contributions, such as Tony, Jamie and Martin, but Maddy enthralled the audience with a blues voice that gave you goosebumps.

The quiz was quickly forgotten (postponed), the drinking began in earnest and the singing continued through the night.

We are confident that we will be hearing some more about this young star from Bristol!

Check out the full photo gallery on the Planet Inn Photos 2009 gallery on this website.

The Avon Descent – White Water Rafting

Saturday, 1 August 2009 to Sunday, 2 August 2009 Confirmed Event

The Avon Descent presents a serious challenge and is a prized trophy to those who have been victorious.

Participants challenge the Avon and Swan Rivers in a variety of paddle and power craft in an exciting two-day time trial over 133 gruelling kilometres.

The Avon Descent offers competitors conditions ranging from long stretches of flat water that can test the endurance of the fittest athlete through to rapids, sure to test the skills of all who attempt to navigate their unknown contours.

The Avon Descent passes through some of Western Australia’s most picturesque country, including the farming regions of historic Northam and Toodyay, forested national parks, steep gorges, the Swan Valley vineyard region and eventually the tidal waters of the upper Swan River.

If you are looking for somewhere to stay and want to follow this event, then why not visit us at Planet Inn Backpackers?

If you want to try your hand at this exciting sport, we can arrange it for you with our friends at River Gods, who teach people how to do it safely.

Contact us now via the enquiry form on this website.

Information and picture courtesy of www.westernaustralia.com

Details from : http://www.avondescent.com.au

Whalesharks at Ningaloo Reef

Whaleshark Season in Western Australia runs from late March until usually the end of June.
If you have the opportunity to snorkel alongside one of these gentle giants of the sea, believe me it is an experience you will remember for the rest of your life.
If you haven’t snorkeled before, don’t worry – as long as you can swim competently, the Instructors at the various Whaleshark Tour Operators in Coral Bay and Exmouth will look after you.
At the same time every year, these beautiful creatures visit the North-West Cape and feast upon the myriad plankton and krill that fill the waters of the Ningaloo Reef when the coral is spawning.
They are actually the largest of the shark family, but unlike the man-eating legends of Hollywood’s spin, these graceful fish are gentle and harmless to mankind. If only the converse was true as well. Certain countries are still known to commit barbaric acts towards them.
They can grow up to 18 metres (about 60’) in length, though the ones who visit Ningaloo each year are typically between four to twelve metres, and weigh up to 15 tonnes with a mouth that can be over a metre wide. If frightened they will usually dive and have been known elsewhere to achieve depths of 700 metres!
The various tour operators take you to the outside of the reef, and after testing your skills with a practice swim and snorkel, they give you a great lunch on board. Then they have spotter planes in the air, looking for whalesharks. When they find one, they radio the co-ordinates to the boats.
The skipper will position the boat so that the snorkeling group can enter the ocean directly in the path of the whaleshark. Imagine your excitement as a living creature the size of a small boat comes into your line of sight surrounded by a host of other smaller fish.
I had the joy of swimming alongside a whaleshark that measured around 8½ metres and looking it in the eye. The sense of tranquility is truly amazing.
Of course you will also see plenty of other wonderful creatures during the day in this very special marine park.
Don’t miss this spectacle. It’s not cheap but you won’t regret it. Contact our booking team at Club Red and we can book ahead so you don’t miss out.
Tonaldo the “Inn Man”
22nd March, 2009