New Teambuilding Activity – Chocoholic’s Challenge

The chocoholic’s challenge is a fun and exciting way for delegates to interact together while enjoying the art of creating their masterpieces from one of our favourite foods – chocolate. The facilitator (MC) will first give a creative address on the origins of chocolate and how it fits into our everyday lives.

The participants will be divided into teams where they will undertake various challenges to finish up with their very own box of chocolates. During this process the MC will conduct on the spot interviews that will be displayed live on the big screen to fuel the competiveness throughout the activity. As a group they will agree on their concept and then put the motions in place. The chefs will have the job of creating the chocolate to work with from raw ingredients and then comes the concept, design and logo for their chocolates before decorating their boxes in their own unique fashion.

This challenge will have everyone’s creative abilities on red alert and the results will amaze you. The finished products are accessed by the facilitator (MC) for quality, originality with prizes awarded to the winning team. Chocoholics prepare for battle!

Port Douglas Event Management – FAMIL

Our second famil we hosted in Port Douglas went ahead last week! We welcomed all five VIPS’s to Far North Queensland on Thursday afternoon. The guests stayed at Thala Beach Lodge for the first night and Sheraton Mirage for the second and third nights. On the first night, our famil guests were treated to pre dinner drinks and canapés at Hartleys Crocodile Adventures before having dinner at the restaurant at Thala Beach Lodge.

The next morning, guests were up bright and early to have breakfast in the hotel before being transferred to Botanical Ark for morning tea and a tour of the gardens. Then they were off to watch the lunch time show at the Australian Muster Experience. From there, the VIP’s experienced a scenic helicopter ride back to Port Douglas, landing at the Sea Temple Golf Club. After a tour around this club and a drink on arrival they were then transferred to the Sheraton Mirage for a site inspection with the General Manager. Pre dinner drinks and canapés out at a secret location were enjoyed before dinner and a site inspection and the Sea Temple Port Douglas. Saturday was a full day on the reef on Quicksilver. Guests got to experience another helicopter ride over the Great Barrier Reef that afternoon before being transferred back to the Marina Mirage. Dinner that evening was held at the Sheraton Mirage resort. The next day the guests all departed at different times. Overall our famil was very successful and all VIP’s had a wonderful time!

New Teambuilding Activity – Carbon Offsite Challenge!

We have a new teambuilding activity:

Carbon Offsite Challenge!

The increase in greenhouse gases to the atmosphere has been described as “the greatest social, economic and environmental threat of this century”.  With this carbon positive challenge your team can reduce corporate carbon footprint levels in a single day, out in the fresh air. It has been calculated that it takes seven trees 100 years to offset 1.4 tonnes of carbon.

This challenge encourages delegates to measure the amount of air travel, heat, light and power the team’s activities consume within a year. This can be calculated into the quantity of trees that should be planted to offset the carbon deposited into the atmosphere.  The team is taken to a site where they will be provided with the tools and information they need to get planting. The facilitator ensures that energy levels remain high and team members are allocated new tasks throughout the day. This carbon footprint activity is both educational and hugely rewarding with the focus on getting back to nature and understanding the importance of our environment.

Gilly Charter

“Jess and I work in event management and look after special events, team building and projects for Managing Australian Destination (MAD). M.A.D is a Destination Management Company (DMC). We specialise in incentive groups, and special interest travel groups. We also do ground support and conference management, special events, team building and very high end, unique adventure tours and travel Australia wide.”

We are just a few days away from a large event happening in Canberra that we are managing. Byron, Jess and Jacqui will be going down on Friday and returning the following Wednesday while Kelly will be coming up to our North Queensland office to help out with a few site inspections and famils we have coming up.

Thanks to Susan Baker in New Zealand we have had the pleasure for a visit from Gilly Charter who shared some fabulous insights into what she presents as a speaker to conference groups. For more than 20 years, Gilly Chater has inspired managers and their teams to make massive changes through tapping into their innate wisdom. Finding the button to ignite the pilot flame is the key to optimizing performance. Gilly has weathered many storms throughout her life and her inspirational presentations show people how they too can be brilliant and bounce back from the most difficult situations. She uses the analogy of Bamboo which is renowned for its ability to bounce back from a storm and Gilly has learned from her own experiences that being like Bamboo is essential for wellbeing, productivity, performance and a happier life. “When we discover what lies within us we become stronger, flexible and resilient like Bamboo”

Keep visiting our blog to find out how our event in Canberra and our site inspections went!

Incentive Groups

Jess and I work in event management and look after special events, team building and projects for Managing Australian Destinations, who is a Destination Management Company (DMC). We specialise in incentive management and ground support and conference management, special events and high-end unique adventures and tours Australia wide.

We are a few days away from an incentive group of 26 coming in to Port Douglas for 3 nights and 4 days. They will be staying at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas and participating in a range of activities and tours that reflect this area perfectly. One of the unique tours they will be going on is a reef and rainforest day where they have half a day or snorkelling, relaxing or swimming on the Great Barrier Reef before being transferred to Cape Tribulation where they will have lunch in a rainforest restaurant. After lunch guests will go jungle surfing through the rainforest. To keep in with the rainforest theme, there will also be a rainforest rhapsody dinner on their final night as a farewell dinner.

We also have a teambuilding activity down the beach on Saturday morning with 100 people. In a few weeks, Jacqui, Byron and Jess will be going to Canberra for the Terry White group of 350 people.

Our luxury collection itineraries are completed and on our web site. To see these please visit our website at http://www.m-a-d.com.au. Our twitter accounts are becoming more and more popular with nearly 1000 fans to each account! To have a look at these please visit http://www.twitter.com/adventure_chix, http://www.twitter.com/austeambuilding, & http://www.twitter.com/business_events

We specialise in incentive management and ground support and conference management, special events and high-end unique adventures and tours Australia wide.

This week has been a very busy week with a group of 400 people in Cairns for the MLC conference. On Monday night they were treated to a welcome dinner on the esplanade. The theme for this gala dinner was a Calypso Carnivale event with tables colorfully dressed to create a tropical feel. The second dinner was their farewell dinner on Thursday night. This one was a black and white rainforest fantasy themed dinner that took place on a stunning privately owned property in Yorkeys Knob. Both evenings were very successful events!

Our new Australian Holidays luxury collection is now up on our website for you to take a look at. Some were specifically designed for the Indian market and some were designed for the USA/European market, however they can be replicated or changed in any way to suit your group’s needs!

Also, our twitter and facebook accounts are becoming very popular with some of our sites receiving more than 500 fans already!! To take a look at these go to www.twitter.com/austeambuilding or www.twitter.com/business_events or www.twitter.com/adventure_chix

Luxury Collection

This week was once again mainly focused on the itineraries we have been creating for our new ‘luxury collection.’ Take a look at our website to see them!! Kelly and Byron are off next week to PAICE in New Zealand while Vicki is off to Sydney for the Fine Food Fair!

Take a look at what the adventure chix were up to yesterday:

“Jess and I work in event management and look after special events, team building  and projects for Managing Australian Destinations, who is a Destination Management Company (DMC). We specialise in incentive management and ground support and conference management, special events and high end unique adventures and tours Australia wide.

It is morning and we are eating a beautiful tropical breakfast on the balcony of this most gorgeous luxury home.  We have done a work out with our live in personal trainer.  The 180 degree views of the azure seas of the coral sea are inviting us to run to the beach, throw off our cloths and dive headfirst into the warm tropical water.

There is a something driving along the beach come to us from a distance.  We cannot make out what it is initially and then as it gets closer we can see it is an original reconfigured hummer. This the great Barrier Reef.

Duncan, a real Steve Irwin look alike invites us to journey with him deep into the Daintree and do some barramundi fishing.  Me fish, you have got to be joking.  Unless it comes with a hairdresser and personal manicurist, fishing is definitely not on my wish list.

There is no time for anything both Sam and I are swept along with the excitement.  Duncan talks endlessly and tells us of some of his adventures with some of the worlds most dangerous animals.  Of course we are now bang in the middle of the home of the salt water crocodile.  We are boarding a “tinnie.” God I am not happy about this, but Duncan appears to be completely under control and oozes with confidence.  He actually refers to those huge monsters as mates!  What can I say.”

To read more incredible journeys the adventure chix have been on, visit their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Port-Douglas/Adventure-Chix/138998821277?ref=ts or visit their twitter page: www.twitter.com/adventure_chix.

Team building, Special Events, Accommodation & Weddings!

We’ve spent yet another week developing and fine tuning a range of unique high end travel itineraries. As we have mentioned before Michael Kaspovicz has joined forces with us to make several programs that are truly unique and different.

They will be uploaded onto our website next week! Just a reminder of what we specialise in:

Team building

Team Building activities and team activities, like people comes in all shapes and sizes. From just having some fun and getting better acquainted to both mental and physical challenges that push individual boundaries. Corporate team building activities and corporate challenges in Australia are our specialty!!

Special Events

For over 18 years, Event Management has been our specialty. Event planning became a most pivotal role with our clients wanting Corporate Events all over Australia. Our Special Events Team have produced some of the most challenging and creative events in Australia.

Accommodation

Luxury Hotels, Luxury Accommodation, Luxury Holidays and fully escorted tours are another of our specialities. Unique luxury boutique hotels in Australia have become one of our companies most sought after products. If you can imagine yourself in luxury, camping under the stars, or indulging in the decadence of a 6 star eco resort and spa, or cruising the azure seas in a stunning luxury yacht with your own staff to take care of every single whim, then we can help you. If you can imagine “Luxury Australia” then contact us.

Weddings

Wedding venues are our specialty. Unique weddings, beach weddings and arranging a stunning wedding reception for the rich and famous are just an every day event for our experienced team of event managers and wedding planners. Your wedding is the beginning of the start to the rest of your life and we want to give you the most spectacular and memorable wedding. The best possible start to a happy and successful marriage!.

Luxury Collection!

Tours, Corporate Events, Event Planning as well as Team Building are all part of what we do, however, this week we have been creating some very unique and amazing adventure itineraries for the inbound USA and Indian markets. We are very excited about these as we have ex Australian Test cricketer, Michael Kasprowicz as our VIP guide for this “luxury collection”! These itineraries will be on our website shortly so keep watching this space!

The adventure chix also had a very exciting week. Check out what they were up to on Friday:

“Clean fresh and ready to go.  After breakfast we are met and transferred to the airport.  Waiting is a twin engine Cherokee aircraft all fuelled up and ready to take us on the next leg.  Our luggage is taken separately and OMG what, what about my makeup and nail polish.  If that is lost both Sam and I will be shattered.

We arrive on a dirt airstrip in the middle of the jungle. We disembark, but no one is there??  Our plane takes off and Sam and I look at one another wondering what next.  Flapping in the wind and tied to the “wind sock”  is a bright yellow silk scarf. Hand painted is a map and compass and a note that say walk north along the jungle path that is at the end of the strip.

Signs along the way saying beware of crocodile are just some of the concerns we encounter along the way.  We come across a picnic basket filled with gourmet sandwiches; wow someone is really looking after us. This is the way to do a mystery tour.

At last our guide shows up and we follow him through dense jungle.  OMG where are we going.  After an hour of  trekking we come to what looks like an oasis a magnificent private home perched on top of a cliff with stunning views over the Great Barrier Reef.

Waiting for us are Don and Kim our fabulous culinary duo who we have met before.  They are here in this stunning home to ensure that we are suitably looked after .  Nothing is left to chance here.   And we even have gorgeous Brad waiting to help us with all the little niceties that we are almost getting used to.  Sam, of course will need to be restrained.

A brilliant meal was served.  The very best wines that Australia have to offer and service that would impress the most important diplomat.  What can we say.  We adjourn to the balcony, with views over the Coral Sea and who should walk in to our lives is Teddy Geiger.  Guitar slang over his shoulder and I nearly faint from surprise.

I pinch myself to see if this is real, and of course this is my complete imagination, so of course everything is real!!!”

Adventure Chix day in Cairns!

For those of you who have been following the adventure chix, check out what they were up to today:

There is a Big Black hummer waiting for us.   Incredibly out of place this is in the Aussie outback.  We say our good byes to everyone, Don, Brad, Gordon the land owner and the 2 mustering pilots. We are convinced that northing could ever compare to this experience.  It has been unbelievable.  I want a shower. Team Building – who cares! Conference Organiser – not today!

Bouncing along the dirt roads we head to the airstrip where a twin engine Cessna is waiting to take us to our next stop.

Well talk about from the sublime to the ridiculous – we land at Cairns Airport and are met by a uniformed limo driver who is waiting to take us to our accommodation.  We do not know where we are staying, we are in the hands of the trusty Managing Australian Destinations Ultimate Adventure Team and travel from one place to the other with no clue as to where we will finish up next. Tour company – Not today either.
We are greeted at the hotel entrance.  We have already been pre checked in and we are guided to our adjoining suites.  We are both gob smacked by the suites we have been given over looking the Coral Sea and with the marina in the forefront.  This is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.  A shower is all I want.  Can you imagine if I was out in the bush for more than a couple of days?  My nails would be ruined! Once again Conference organising is taking a back step.

The room phone rings and the person on the other end tells me that are full spa treatment has been arranged for the both of us.  Heaven!

4 hours later Sam and I emerge from the spa relaxed, hair and make up done and ready to conquer the night time scene.  But before we do that we have just 1 1/2 hours to go to our favourite DFO stores to buy a couple of new outfits.  You just never know when you may need something that is both tropical and practical and most importantly sexy and stylish.