What do you do when the New Zealand summer's coming to an end? If you're lucky enough to be me, you escape to a tropical paradise for a week's relaxation in Bali.

The island is just a hop, skip and jump away from NZ - we flew to Bali's main city of Denpasar via Brisbane, all the time enjoying the antics of the friendly Pacific Blue crew members. At only six hours, the flight passes pretty quickly - one minute we were laughing as one of the stewards strode up the aisle with a neck pillow on his head like a mohawk, the next we were listening to the landing announcement, which for some reason was done in a Jamaican accent (earning a round of applause from the passengers).

We walked out of the airport into the kind of humid heat that makes you gasp, even when you're expecting it. Luckily we were soon installed in an air-conditioned shuttle on our way to Club Med.

We drove through the crowded streets of Denpasar with scooters zipping everywhere around us - there were whole families on some, with each parent clutching a tiny child.

When the chaotic jumble of houses, shops, temples and election billboards gave way to manicured gardens, we knew we were at Nusa Dua, where resorts are clustered along the beachfront.

Our welcome to Club Med was rather dramatic: we stumbled out of the van to be greeted with garlands of orchids, then proceeded up a series of stone steps where some exotically made-up girls in Balinese costume stood, waiting to shower us with flower petals as if we were returning heroes back from the crusades.

We sat in a reception area, sipping iced tea and dabbing at ourselves with mint-scented towels, while staff checked us in, then were shown along covered walkways with giant ponds on either side to our rooms. Mine is basic but comfortable, with a striking red feature wall by the bed, which seems almost wider than it is long.

After settling in, we went out to explore some of the grounds. Club Med properties tend to be about two-and-a-half times bigger than other resorts, meaning that even when they're fully booked you never feel crowded. We circled the pool, with its stylish red loungers, and headed past the brand new bar complex (a giant open structure with a circular roof) out to the beach.

On our way back to the pool we stopped to watch a group trying out the trapeze. I can't wait to try it, whether I make a fool of myself or not. But for the time being we were hot and sticky after a whole day spent on planes and in airports, and the pool was beckoning.

The water was warm and relaxing... it was almost perfect, but something was still missing. Then a waitress came past - soon I was living the dream, chilling in the pool with a pina colada in my hand.

When I tired of attempting to float and balance a cocktail at the same time I relaxed on a sun lounger, sipping my drink and people-watching. The resort attracts people from all over the world and there were so many different languages being spoken. I amused myself trying to eavesdrop on a French group but gave up before I heard anything juicy.

As the sun started to go down we began to feel peckish, and made plans to meet up for dinner at Agung, the resort's main restaurant. To call it a buffet seems like a disservice - the place is massive and offers cuisine from around the world: I spotted French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Moroccan, Indian and Mexican specialties, but only a fraction of what was on offer made it onto my plate before I had to call it a day. You know, so I could go check out the desserts.

But if by some miracle I hadn't been full, I wouldn't have gone hungry. Agung is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner services, but in between the resort's other restaurant, Batur, offers 'snacking', just in case you miss a meal. I checked out the 'snacking' opportunities, expecting nibbles and perhaps some light meals. What was on offer was a full a la carte menu plus a salad bar, breads and cheeses, fruit and desserts.

Lucky my plans for the week ahead include trapeze lessons, snorkeling, windsurfing and a whole lot of exploring, or they'd be rolling me back to the airport.

Amy Williams travelled to Bali courtesy of Club Med and Pacific Blue.

Pacific Blue operates the following:

Auckland to Denpasar: Daily connecting services from AKL to DPS, and Tue/Wed/Thu/Sat DPS to AKL.
Christchurch to Denpasar: Connecting services every day with the exception of Thursday from CHC to DPS, and twice a week (Tue/Thu) DPS to CHC.

Lead in one-way fares are: AKL-DPS from NZ$499 or CHC-DPS from NZ$499.

Check out the pictures from my trip to Bali on Flickr or find out more about Bali.

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