Australia
Concluding Australia
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 | Family, Travel | 0 Comments
Related Australia Posts:
5 Days in Melbourne | Sydney and the Blue Mountains
First Day in Sydney | Planning an Australia Adventure
Sorry we were such unreliable updaters while we were gone. The truth of the matter is, internet ain’t free (anywhere really, but especially in Australia). Most of the places we stayed didn’t have wifi and many didn’t offer LAN connections in the room. We were lucky enough to pay almost $100 at one place for 3 days worth of internet access. That’s the last time we updated. I am sure you understand! ;)
We were lucky enough to make it to the Yarra Valley and taste some incredible wines. We returned with 9 bottles! It would’ve probably been ten, but we had to remove one due to weight restrictions when flying out of Tasmania. No big deal – it seemed to make the gate agent’s day a lot better to have a free bottle of wine. We did buy three bottles of one fun fizzy sweet wine to share with friends when people come over to be bored to tears by our photos. Wee! So yeah, the Yarra Valley was beautiful, fun, and tasty! It definitely seems like a cool place to spend the weekend as many of the wineries have weekend events and concerts. One winery we visited had a band shell that can accommodate 10,000 people. Whoa! The show that was supposed to happen the Friday before we arrived was canceled due to weather; it was John Cougar Mellencamp. Crazy!
After the Yarra Valley we drove down the Great Ocean Road. We’d planned to head out on the Great Ocean Road first, and the Yarra Valley the next day, but sadly, in the night a truck driver perished on the road outside of Geelong – his truck completely incinerated, flames scarring the hillside opposite where it caught fire. The Great Ocean Road was closed for the whole morning. That evening we drove through the accident site – everything was pitch black for 20 feet in all directions. The view from where the fellow died, well, it could’ve been a lot worse. The area around there was stunning. Actually, many spots on the road were panoramically perfect.
(That evening was saw a cute light house and beautiful coastline at sunset. We continued the drive to the area where the 12 Apostles rock formation was located, arriving sometime around 11 PM. We rolled down our seats (yeah, they were the crank kind – grr) and slept fitfully in the car, having to turn the engine on intermittently when the cold woke us up. I am pretty sure I was able to spot the Southern Cross – though in that middle-of-nowhere darkness, there was so many stars vying for attention it’s tough to be certain. We were out of the car by 6:30 AM and on our way to photograph the 12 Apostles at sunrise.
So. Beautiful. *sigh*
We drove back along the Great Ocean Road, stopping for breakfast at a cute place in Apollo Bay that occupied the second story of a builing along the main street. It afforded amazing views of the curving bay outside. In a parking lot across the street, a man practiced tricks on his bike for over an hour! He was quite good and I had a rather enjoyable time trying to capture his stunts in photos. They don’t do it justice though. You really need to see the motion for something like that – especially when it was choreographed like a beautiful dance. See, I can appreciate art in some forms! :)
We secured a room in Melbourne, quickly showered, and set out again for Phillip “penguin” Island. After hearing the different ‘penguin encounters’ you could have at the mega-commercial research and preservation facility, we opted for one of the more private and ‘authentic’ options. Instead of sitting in bleachers on a beach lit up by floodlights with hundreds of other people and lots of screaming kids, we opted to go with a ranger and 4 other people in wind and water proof suits (thankfully provided by the company as it did start raining) to the opposite site of the penninsula (the ranger pronounced it peninshoola) and sit on a dark beach with night vision goggles clutched to our faces and watch little penguins clamber to the dunes. We then followed some of these penguins along the road back to the facility; many of them have their homes in burrows there. They were cute, but the best part was how happy Justin was to see the penguins coming up the beach. He kept pointing them out to me. I really never see him that excited so it was well worth the drive, cold, and cash.
The next morning, we flew to Tasmania! The flight in alone was breathtaking. The water was so clear you could see straight through it down to the rocks below from 1,000+ feet in the air. The ocean presented myriad shades of blue from the palest sandiest blue to deep sapphire. The island itself had a mountaineous green landscape remniscient of the Carribbean. The small towns we glimpsed while flying in were subtley colorful and absolutely adorable. We both liked Tasmania immediately. It didn’t hurt that we lucked out and stayed at a really nice, comfortable hotel right across from a lovely little harbor. The day we arrived we were pretty beat from all our going so we just took it easy. I got my haircut, Justin got a massage, and we both napped before getting ready for a night on the town. Justin surprised me by ordering a “Taste of Tasmania” from room service which included a selection of Tasmanian cheese and a bottle of wine. After this, we had a good dinner at an Indian restaurant in an area of town known as Salamanca. Search for a dance spot mentioned in the Fodor’s guide led us to a pub where music by the Smiths flowed softly out. We ducked inside. It turned out to be a cozy joint with a roaring fire. The bar tender, a really pretty gal with freckles, informed me that the club (upstairs) was no longer opened on Wednesday nights. Oh well. We got into a conversation about travel in which she told me she’d just returned from a year in Central America. She flew in to Costa Rica and traveled around – starting out by herself and making some friends along the way. Her boyfriend came and spent the last four months with her. She quite enjoyed her time there and even went to Nicaragua. And no, she doesn’t speak any Spanish whatsoever. I was a bit envious of her guts and lengthy journey. She seemed like a cool chick. Upon leaving this pub, we found a bar serving mixed drinks that had a DJ, but also no dancing. We weren’t here for too long before calling it a night.
The following day, Justin and I were bound for Port Arthur, a penal settlement from the 1800s. Along the way, we stopped to take some photos and then at a Tasmanian Devil (and other wildlife) park. Wee!!! We saw several adorable devils walking around in their enclosures, foraging for food, taking a dip in the water, and basking in the sunlight. They’re SO adorable. We also fed more kangaroos. These were also lazy and lethargic, but not as bad as the others. It was a much more enjoyable experience. We ended up being there for quite a while, so our visit to Port Arthur literally consisted of glimpsing it and leaving with out paying the $20/pp entry fee. You see, we had to make it to Kettering in time to catch the 6:30 ferry to Bruny Island. We stopped to photograph more cool Ocean rock formations on the way back home – the neatest of which was the tessellated pavement. Weird stuff!
We arrived at the ferry landing at 6:15 – phew! – crossed to Bruny Island, seeking out food, and then proceeding to the main attraction. Why did we go to this incredibly remote island off the already somewhat remote island of Tasmania (I mean, come on, only 500,000 people live on the entire island of Tasmania!)? To see penguins in the wild!!! Well, they were sort of in the wild, if you consider a boardwalk through their burrows “the wild.” It was ultra cool and we were able to take photos because no one was there to tell us not to (yes, I realize I sound like a bratty little kid by saying that). Oddly enough, there were also 6 other people viewing the penguins with us this time, but I felt like we were all much more intrepid than the viewers at the last penguin outing. On the way to our lodging that night (we were stuck on Bruny Island due to the fact that the last ferry leaves at 7PM), we saw lots of penguins and marsupials including kangaroos/wallabies and two brushtail possums! Man, it seems like all those weird Australian critters ar marsupials. In our room, there was a small fireplace that we got going and sat around talking about the day and trying to stay warm before turning in for the night under electric blankets. This trip was much chillier than we had anticipated!
The next day it was rainy on Bruny Island, which dashed our hiking plans, so we head out first thing back to the main land, visiting Australia’s Antarctic Headquarters, the Cadbury factory, and a winery before returning to the airport for our flight out. That night we arrived out our hotel in Sydney at midnight – argh! We’d been hoping to fit in one more night out, but it was not to be. A line of Japanese people with some Caucasians mixed in snaked out the door of the hotel when we arrived. Apparently a Qantas flight to Narita had been canceled and many of the passengers had been put up at our hotel. As a result, our room had been upgraded to a gigantic executive suite. After checking in, Justin and I tried to order room service but were told it would be over an hour before food would arrive. We gave up and walked to a nearby 7-11, grabbing soup, a slushy, a meatpie (I think is what Justin got) and chips before heading back to the hotel and watching their incredibly informative news program. We passed out shortly thereafter.
Our flight back to the US the next day was at noon. It was pretty full so we weren’t sure we would make it on. We did but our seats were on opposite sides of the aircraft. Thanks to tons of luck, some passengers were not feeling too well and deplaned, so the flight attendants were able to put Justin and I together – in two middle seats in the middle of the plane. It was worth it.
We opted out of the second leg on our Qantas flight from LAX to JFK and took a shuttle over to Long Beach to fly to Austin. Mom and Dad picked us up – the puppies were with them. It was a really nice reunion and we got bubble tea from a delicious place in Austin before heading back the Mom & Dad’s house and forcing them to sit through photos. Luckily, Sheila and Sharlin had been visiting Nanny and all three came down for a little while. We watched a video of Brennan, Sheila’s baby -er- fetus (no longer dubbed Peanut). It looked like a freaky skeleton baby with a beating heart. Yikes! Good to hear the development is going well, though. Mom, Dad, Justin and I continued to my favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner that night (Tomatillos) where I had one too many margartias (2) and that was that. The next day we flew back home to a COLD NYC night.
5 Days in Melbourne
Monday, December 1st, 2008 | Adventure, Travel | 0 Comments
Today, Justin and I are concluding our 5 day stretch in Melbourne. We wandered around a lot just browsing shops and looking at different areas, went to museums, ate a variety of foods – from pancakes to “Australian food,” visited an old jail and watched two performances. At the jail, we caught a dramatized story-telling of the life of Australia’s notorious ‘wild west’ bushranger, Ned Kelly. At the theatre, we saw Moliere’s The Hypocrite.
-
- Justin and I having breakfast at a pancake restaurant. Yummy!
-
- Justin visiting with penguins in Melbourne’s aquarium
-
- Vanessa looking out over Melbourne from the Eureka Skydeck
-
- Above Melbourne
-
- Vanessa in front of the West Gate Bridge(?)
-
- Gondola on the Yarra River
-
- Ready for the play!
-
- Justin as Ned Kelly with the actors
-
- Vanessa with the actors at the Melbourne gaol
What is blatantly and oddly obvious is the lack of integration of blacks in the society. I saw only one black business person since we’ve been here. We saw some aboriginal children in Sydney that had a white teacher and were doing a tour of the Harbor bridge, but we just haven’t seen any interracial couples or many black people at all. Aside from one aboriginal man selling his artwork on the street, the only black people we’ve seen have been tourists from Africa dressed in traditional garb and speaking in a tribal language. From that standpoint, it’s incredibly different from the states. Perhaps this is because the history of the murder and attempted assimilation of Aborigines in Australia is gruesome and evil. Also, there aren’t very high numbers of aboriginal people in Australia compared to the rest of the population. Anyway, it still seems very odd to me. The only groups that seem to be fairly integrated here are Europeans and Asians. We’ve seen plenty of Asian-Caucasian couples.
On a less shallow note, most people that have been to America really like it. The attitudes of those that haven’t visited America are about 50/50 like and dislike. Those that have been to America’s southern states really like it and commented on the southern hospitality. Those that haven’t been don’t think they’d like it and don’t want to go. Most Australians we’ve talked to really want to see NYC. Most that have been there really like NYC. I met one girl who worked at the Aquarium that said she liked New York but also visited Chicago and absolutely loved it. We shared a few moments gushing about how awesome Chicago is. In general, the people here REALLY want you to like Melbourne. One fellow at a cafe where we stopped for lunch pummeled us with questions about the US, our lives, and what we thought of Melbourne. He also asked us of we thought it was strange. He also wants to move to the USA.
I also got told I had a “cool American accent” by a guy that works in an Australian restaurant here. I told him that was the first time I’d ever been told that and had actually heard American accents were awful. His response was that “those people are just idiots.” haha That works for me, especially since the guy gave me a free espresso and a cookie. He really wants to move to New York. It seems like the “American dream” is alive and well for a lot of people here in Australia.
Just watching the news here, America is mentioned a lot, especially with the global recession that began in America. Here (as in many places, I suppose), America is truly viewed as the most important, powerful country in the world and Americans make headlines in the newspapers as well as on TV. However, the papers here tend to have a global focus anyway, which I quite enjoy. It’s nice to know what’s happening around the world and not only what pertains to America. There is news in the papers of so many different countries and random happenings—both good and bad.
People from Melbourne are very proud of their “cafe culture.” There are little coffee shops with prepared food pretty much everywhere. Almost every single one of them also serves wine, and most serve mixed drinks as well. Coffee and wine is served throughout the day and people seem to partake whenever the mood strikes them. Tons wines from all over Australia are on all the menus… I read, before coming here, that you’d be hard pressed to find wines from outside of Australia for purchase at restaurants. That’s not far from the truth. I keep getting confused when I see a wine from “SA” on the menu, then remind myself it stands for South Australia, not South Africa.
Aside from some of the differences here, Australia really feels a lot like the US. Not much like New York, per se, but a lot like the US in terms of the people, the dining and entertainment options, the cities, the history (or lack thereof), the way it was settled, etc.
As I mentioned, today is the end of our lengthy stint in Melbourne. Justin and I are taking to the open (Great Ocean) road to see the 12 Apostles – cool rock formations off the coast. Do a web search! We’re also heading to the Yarra Valley which contains over 70 wineries and to Phillip Island to see penguins. We have 2 days to cover lots of distance and site see before we fly off to Tasmania. Wish us luck. The three major points we want to hit are plotted on a map here.
Days 2 & 3 – Sydney and the Blue Mountains
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 | Adventure | 0 Comments
My apologies for the delayed update! I was wrong about the zoo. Justin decided on a different animal experience, which I’ll relate as part of day 3.
Day 2: Justin and I headed to Bondi Beach (Bon-dye) – probably Australia’s most popular beach. We did a cliff walk from Bondi beach to Coogee beach which was really pretty but hard!!! It took a few hours and there were definitely some strenuous parts. Along the way we noticed a settlement of what appeared to be two different make-shift homes on the cliffs where “homeless” (I guess they’re not technically homeless since they have these shacks) people live. I was really mesmerized by this and took a couple of photos. On one hand, I am repulsed that people would set up ramshackle dwellings on a public cliff . On the other hand, I think it is an awesome way to live and a really beautiful location (better than those million dollar homes across the main street way behind them)! We also gawked at several topless chicks. Apparently topless bathing is ok here. Some fat white dude was standing near a set of gals taking photos, which was creepy. I made fun of him… so nice. :)
Unfortunately I’ve been a little moody due to ‘female issues’. I put the kibosh on something Justin wanted to do on night two – a dinner cruise around the harbor. Somehow, 3.5 hours “stuck” on a boat being force-fed food that didn’t even intrigue me wasn’t appealing. I should’ve gone along with it, though, as I know Justin wanted to do it. My babyishness got the best of me. He took me to a bar called -5 C which I’d eyeballed on day 1. Everything inside is made out of ICE!!! They give you coats and boots to wear inside. Unfortunately your not allowed to take your own photos as they have a photographer that comes in and takes them for you. We were total tourists and bought both photos. The bar was actually -9.5 C inside and my hands started hurting really bad. We were only inside for 25 minutes (they actually have a maximum time limit of 30 minutes). I was really comfy and warm despite my hands. It was really a neat place (so pretty!) and a rad experience.
After the ice bar, we wandered around and took some photos of the opera house and downtown Sydney before heading toward a wine bar we’d seen the previous day. Once we got there, we learned 2 things. The first was disappointing. Apparently American accents suck. One guy that worked there wouldn’t go into detail, but he told me he guessed I’d never been there before because he heard an American accent. At that point I got excited and asked him what an American accent sounded like; he said he wasn’t going to tell me because he’d already “offended too many people today.” Add one to that count. The 2nd thing we learned was awesome which was how the wine tastings worked! It was a do-it-yourselfer, which I’d never experienced.
There were two bars setup and one rounded table with wine bottles attached to nozzles. Above each section there were buttons that you pressed to select whether you wanted a sample, half or full glass of the wine below. They gave us a plastic card (envision a credit card) that we could insert to the area above the bottles that racked up how much we were spending on tastings. You could really run amuck here and sample WAY too many expensive wines. It was fun but we only tried four. We hadn’t eaten dinner yet and that was our true mission.
We ended up heading to the Shangri-La Hotel to eat at Altitude which has a restaurant that is set on a high story with panoramic city views. We had to wait for a table, though, and killed time at the bar. I had my first martini ever that was made with basil which I really enjoyed – both the smell and the flavor were awesome! The food, well the sword fish, was really disappointing. Justin got steak which was pretty good. In short, it was a decent experience, but we’d go somewhere else given the opportunity to do it over. We head back to the hotel that night and quickly crashed. Addendum: Justin and I became tourist lobsters (sunburned).
Day 3: Today we got up, had breakfast, and hailed a cab for the Domestic Airport. The cab driver was awesome! He told us all about the Blue Mountains and the “Three Sisters” – a rock formation of three pillars which supposedly were three sisters coveted by aboriginal tribes. One tribe turned the sisters to stone. Well, that’s a really short version of the story but you get the drift. On the way to the airport I spotted a dude walking around with an old-fashioned wig on (think British parliament) and the cab driver told me he was a lawyer and that all lawyers wear wigs like that. WTF! So, I took some snapshots of the guy. Thank goodness for informative taxi drivers. I have noticed that people here are WAY friendly and outgoing. It’s pretty cool.
At the airport we picked up a rental car and drove to Featherdale Wildlife Park. This was the high-point of the day for Justin. They had kangaroos out in the open that you could pet and feed. They also had koalas nestled in trees that you could pet as well as all other sorts of Australian wildlife including dingoes and Tasmanian devils. To me, it was just like a zoo/petting zoo, so I wasn’t all that psyched, but I am glad Justin liked it. We saw lots of gorgeous birds, one crocodile, and some freaky snakes. We also took *way* too many photos.
After Featherdale, we continued on to our hotel in the Blue Mountains. We’re staying at The Carrington, a Victorian era hotel. We were able to stay in this beautiful building for only AUD $10 more than getting a private room at the youth hostel in town, so it’s an excellent deal. We do have to share a bathroom, but everything is provided. This wing of the hotel is preserved as it was back in the day, bathrooms and all. It’s a really neat experience.
We hiked our asses off in the Blue Mountains this afternoon. A hotel employee recommended the route which took us along cliffs, beside the 3 Sisters, down King George’s steps into the valley, and around to another set of Steps (Ferber’s steps?) back up to the top of the cliffs. Phew! It reminded me a lot of a rainforest – like El Yunque and Kaaterskill Falls. Our walk took several hours but it was GORGEOUS and smelled fresh and sweet. I am guessing that’s due to the Eucalyptus but I am not sure. Apparently the Blue Mountains are so named because of the evaporation of oil on the eucalyptus trees. We saw lots of pretty birds, too.
For supper tonight we went to a restaurant in Katoomba (the town we’re staying in) called Bacchus. It’s a tapas bar that also serves pizza. We filled our empty bellies on their grub which included garlic mushrooms, Moroccan meatballs, potatas bravas and the ‘gargantua’ pizza (lots of meat) before coming back to the hotel and showering in our out-of-room showers. Now we’re exhausted and ready for sleep! Glad to keep you all updated. Tomorrow we head to the Melbourne area for a week. :)
First Day in Sydney
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 | Travel | 0 Comments
Justin and I were good little troopers our first day in Sydney. Despite sleeping in somewhat uncomfortable coach seats while practically sitting up on a 14 and a half hour flight, we made it all day without a nap and saw some incredible sites! Justin and I were unlucky in a way because we were not seated together. The up side was the he was only one row in front of me, so I was able to interact with him a little bit. Upon our descent into Sydney, an Australian fellow seated on my right pointed out the window and informed me that we were flying in over Bondi which happens to be near where the first colony was in Sydney.
After landing, we took a train from the airport into the main hotel and attraction area and, using our trusty Fodor’s guidebook, were able to secure accommodations at a reasonably priced hotel with spacious rooms. We showered, changed, and head out immediately. We spotted the Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge and got some amazing photographs. It rained off and on throughout the day, but we lucked out, because for the most part the sun shone through the clouds. We climed a pylon and saw all around Sydney from the same height as the top of the bridge. There is also a bridge climb you can do, but it is over $100 USD per person so we won’t be doing that. :) We ate lunch at a delightful cafe with a beautiful outdoor patio that seemed like it could’ve been plucked straight out of Austin, TX. Justin and I were intrepid explorers indeed and walked through the contemporary art museum. Hmmm… modern art.
Our evening concluded with a stroll around the Opera House and wandering some lovely little alley ways. There was an awesome art installation in one alley that was comprised of lit-up Tetris pieces. More photos to follow! Today we’re off to the Taronga Zoo and maybe to some beaches, though it’s way too cold (in my opinion) to swim. :D
Planning an Australia Adventure
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 | Travel | 0 Comments
Great whites, aloof surfers, phenomenal seafood, cheap lobster tail, world class wines, cosmopolitan cities, a true cafe culture, and (to Justin’s delight) little penguins!
Sydney by Michael McDonough
We’re leaving for Sydney, Australia on Friday or Saturday night which probably has us landing on Monday the 24th and returning on Saturday the 6th, though, I am hoping to shift our schedule so we get an extra day or two. Jet lag, I imagine, will be a bitch.
Thanks to helpful people on Yelp!, I got a big head start planning things to do/places to see/foods to try! If I had a car reserved, domestic tickets purchased, and places to stay, we’d be all set. At any rate, I’ve concocted the list below as a result of the lovely suggestions Yelpers have given me. Justin and I also acquired a Fodor’s Australia guidebook today, so things may be added, if at all possible. :)
My rough trip outline, working with the number of days I have, is below:
- 2 days in Sydney
Beaches: Bondi (most famous), Coogee and Manly (start at Coogee then take the trail to Bondi, about 3.5 miles. Enjoy the walk and stop for food & drinks along the way. Get a drink at Icebergs, a surf & lifesaving clubhouse near Bondi.)
Breakfast at the Intercontinental Hotel
Harbor tour: lunch at Doyle’s at Watsons Bay/Taronga Zoo/Aquarium/drink at the Opera
Surry Hills (up and coming foody neighborhood to check out – maybe stay in this area) - 1 day hiking + climbing in the Blue Mountains (climbing if I can find a guide) – overnight at B&B or camp
- 1 day driving/sightseeing southward – overnight camping or in car
- 1 day @ Phillip’s Island – overnight Melbourne
- 2 days in Melbourne
Great Ocean Road
great cafes with Italian coffee - 1 or 2 days Yarra Valley wine tour – overnight in Yarra Valley?
- 2 days Alice Springs – an Oasis in the Outback (flight required)
- 1 day back to Sydney???
(Paddington outdoor market if here on a Saturday) - Depart for home
Melbourne by Andrew Hux
On the way from Sydney to Melbourbe, I’d like to possibly take the Snowy Mountain highway :) …unless it adds a ridiculous amount of time to the trip, and visit Canberra (the capital) if at all possible.
Also, I’d like to visit the Barossa Valley (if any way at all). So yeah, not too much to ask for 2 weeks. haha
Foods to try in Australia (aside from the seafood and Asian food which I hear is great):
Pides – turkish pizzas – try one at the nearest kebab place
Laksa – thai coconut noodle soup
Aussie hamburger – same has here but we like ours with beetroot
Meat pies – savory pies
Archives
Friends
Search
Categories
