January 2012
My friend Michelle and I spent an amazing and active two weeks in Australia, visiting Melbourne, Cairns and Port Douglas, and Sydney in their mid summertime.
Here are the highlights
- Australian Open!
- Everything we ate in Melbourne
- White water rafting on the Tully River
- Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef!!
- Driving thru Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation
- Sunning (when it was out) on Sydney's beautiful beaches
- Seeing Aussie wildlife at the Taronga Zoo
- Hanging out with great friends in Sydney!!
Some things to know before going to Australia
- Visa - who knew you need a visa.. I didn't the first time I went to Sydney, and was rightfully scolded at the airport. Simple online process and $20 will get you a reference number that the airlines will cross check with your passport number.
- Funny electrical plugs - Aussies have weird plugs, bring an adapter for charging anything (looks like / \ in the wall)
- Flights - direct from SFO and LAX to Sydney in about 14
hours, and on to Melbourne in another 90 min. Internal flights are easy to get on Virgin Australia, Jetstar and few other local low cost airlines via Kayak, Webjet, etc
- Don't bring any food - Because Australia is an island (the world's biggest) with a very unique ecology, they are very particular about bringing any food or plants into their borders. Even Snickers bars. We got to observe a crazy customs beagle, with a handler with even crazier rainbow hair, sniff out a rice ball and Michelle's apple.
- AU$ ≈ US$ - in January 2012, the Aussie dollar was slightly stronger than the US, which makes the conversion easy. Through the Global ATM Alliance, BofA customers pay no fees at Westpac ATMs.
MELBOURNE
I think I described Sydney once as San Francisco with nice beaches, but the resemblance to SF is closer with Melbourne. Beautiful and clean medium size city with trams, parks, and amazing food at every turn. And windy beaches a bit too cold to swim in even in summer.
Melbourne (MEL) is an easy airport to fly into. We stayed in the city centre, which I highly recommend for the convenience and central location to transport and activities. There're a number of airport shuttles that you can book at arrivals into the city for about $20 each way.
Causeway 353 was a decent hotel centrally located between Collins and Little Collins Street on Elizabeth, reasonably priced for the hotels in the area at $244 per night, and where it happens my dear Sydney-based friend Louise was also staying for the week.
Our last night, we splurged with some Starwood points to stay at the
Westin, just up Collins Street, but a world of difference. As with most Westins, great service, high end amenities, and of course heavenly beds. I wouldn't "pay" for it but it was a nice treat for a night.
The city centre is where everyone works but doesn't live, unless you're at a hotel. But we found it a central location to see everything we wanted, and make a stop at the office. Cisco is at 101 Collins St, a beautiful building. The neighborhood has loads of coffee houses, restaurants and shops. There were quite a few in the alley by Causeway 353, where we had some nice brekky ("breakfast" in Aussie) and free wifi.
Flinders Lane is also a fantastic little street with coffee houses, restaurants and bars. We were recommended
Chin Chin, a new Thai restaurant, that by all accounts requires putting your name in for a two hour wait. Unless you have an early dinner at 3:30 PM or late breakfast at 11 AM, in which case you can be seated immediately for your incredible meal. Yes, we loved it so much we went back two days in a row.
Federation Square is on the river's edge, an open space with shops and public events. There was live music one night, and it's also where Aussies come out to watch the big Australian Open matches on the big outdoor screen. Just over river are the botanical gardens and some park spaces where you can relax and picnic. On both sides are great bars. We had a few beers at Riverland, right at the base of the bridge, packed with happy hour revelers on a Friday evening.
January 26th is Australia Day, commemorating when Captain Cook first arrived in Sydney Harbor. Since Oz Day is a national holiday, the eve is a fun night out, and our Aussie friends made sure we enjoyed it!
We had pre-purchased day session tickets for the
Australian Open on
Australia Day. The Open is a short
free tram ride from Flinders Street in the city. Like the US Open, the grounds have sponsor booths, food and bev, and shops. Rod Laver Arena really doesn't have a bad seat in the house -- we were probably ten rows from the top and had fine views. I love sunning, but I highly recommend the shaded seats, as the sun can get pretty fierce.
The first match of the day was men's doubles semi, with the Bryan twins coming out on top. The women's singles semis followed. Kim Clijsters played an amazing match against Victoria Azarenko, but fell in three sets. It was cool to see the Aussies root for her as one of their own (she was married to Aussie tennis star Leyton Hewitt for a while). Maria Sharapova took out Kvitova, in a less interesting match. Later in the tournament there are less matches on the side courts, mainly juniors and mixed doubles in our session, but also many wheelchair tennis matches which was a first for me. The side court highlight though was the Legends match up between Goren Ivanisevic/Pat Cash and Haarhuis/Etsingh in one of the most hilarious and entertaining shows of tennis I've seen in years, probably since the Jensen brothers.
In
St. Kilda to the south east of the city are beaches and some fun bar strips . The #112 tram takes you straight there in about 20 minutes from the center, and the beach is blocks from the end of the line. Along those blocks are dozens of open air bars and restaurants. We stopped at Elbow Room and jug of Pimms for a late lunch on the sunny sidewalk, before heading to the water. We walked down to the pier to watch some amazi
ng kitesurfing. The dozens of colored sails in the sky were quite pretty with the city skyline in the backdrop. Good kitesurfing also meant it was incredibly windy and a tad chilly. We braved the gusts to the end of the pier and were rewarded with the
St. Kilda Breakwater Wildlife Area and a little penguin sighting (in size but also species name).
Back on the beach, we made our way to the Stokehouse, a waterfront restaurant with a fine dining room upstairs and a more casual space downstairs. We had maybe a 45 min wait to finish a few beers, before being seated at one of the ocean view tables just in time for the sunset. With any less wind, I would recommend a seat on their patio, but alas we wimped out and I just ran out for a few shots before finishing the amazing grilled calamari, lamb piadini (folded pizza), and asparagus.
The
Crown Casino is an easy walk across the foot bridges, and Melbourne's equivalent to our mega casinos with gambling, entertainment, shops, restaurants and bars. Worth a gander if you have an evening to spare.
Other recommendations that we didn't make it to were the theater and musicals, the
Chocoholics Tour, and
Phillip Island to see the Little Penguins at sunset. Melbourne's a huge sports town and in season, the Aussie Rules football at
Etihad Stadium and the
Melbourne Cricket Grounds are also supposed to be great.
CAIRNS & PORT DOUGLAS
Cairns (CNS) is a three-ish hour flight from Melbourne and from Sydney, with one hour time zone change. The plan was to stay in Cairns for three nights and the resort area Port Douglas for two, with a jampacked schedule of outdoor activities.
Cairns (generally pronounced "cans", like give me two cans of beer) is a backpacker town with dozens of hostels and shops and bars that cater to them. If you're looking for a "nice" holiday spot, you're better off going straight to Port Douglas, though I have to admit we thoroughly enjoyed the casual environment and fun-loving travelers in Cairns.
We stayed at
Tropic Days, a cute and friendly hostel off of the main strip. The staff are amazing and super helpful, from airport pick up and shuttles into town to great advice and help booking all of our tours. We stayed in a double (which means a room with one double bed) rather than the dorms. They have free wifi, shared kitchen, and a pool, and a popular Aussie BBQ every Monday night with kangaroo, emu and crocodile.
In town, there are shopping centers for your every need, and then tourist shops for things you don't. Salt Bar on the marina seems to be the one "nice" bar in town, with Woolshed, Gilligans, and xxx picking up the bulk of partygoers with cheap beer, shots, and bar games.
We were picked up early the first morning to head to the
Tully River for
Xtreme white water rafting. The Tully has class four rapids, which is the highest in Oz and pretty good on a scale where six is Niagara Falls. There is a not-Xtreme option to go the same river in a more controlled fashion. There were 17 of us in three Xtreme boats, which meant we were quicker down the river, got dumped out more often, and got to stop for activities like swimming, cliff jumping, and body surfing. We had an amazing Kiwi guide who directed and coached us down the river, and two Welshies and two Danes for boat mates who were up for everything and fun to spend a sunny day on the river with!
On day two in Cairns, we went on our first of two snorkel trip to the
Great Barrier Reef.
Passions of Paradise was recommended as a lower cost, super fun option, with good access to the reef, and it definitely lived up to the expectations. There were about sixty divers, snorkelers and crew on board, all mingling inside and outside the open air cabin and on the catamaran nets up front as the boat bounced first to Michaelmas Cay, then Paradise Reef. We made friends with a lovely grandmother from South Dakota on a month-long trip and equally lovely Norwegian hair dresser who we had met the day before white water rafting. The crew was friendly and engaging, and with dance music pumping it was a party, even continuing back on land. Michaelmas Cay had a small beach, at this time of year inhabited by thousands of sea faring birds, and the shallow reefs were easy to navigate. After a buffet lunch, we were off to Paradise Reef which had some deeper waters.
Note: especially in their summer, I'd highly recommend taking them up on the Lycra suit for $7as insurance against the jellyfish, including infamous box jellyfish, and ozone burn. You'll get more than enough sun on the boat. And you kind of feel like a super hero in costume.
Our second snorkel trip was with Silver Sonic, "the best" reef company with the fastest boats and exclusive access to Agincourt reefs in the outer reefs north of Port Douglas. While pricier, the Silver Sonic was a fabulous experience -- nice air conditioned cabins, dive briefs for every site, a marine biologist talk, and amazing dive sites. The crews were professional, competent, and more appropriate for the more "mature" clientele compared to the Passions boat. But this trip is worth every Aussie cent. The Agincourt Reefs were just so incredible in the richness of coral and fish we saw, including yes a reef shark and ray, it was otherworldly. We made three stops at xxx, Pavoxx, and xx - they change locations depending on conditions - each with unique topography and reef life. There's nothing more breathtaking than looking over the edge of a reef shelf into the abyss, with schools of thousands of fish weaving along the cliffs and little tropical fish swimming in and out of their coral homes.
We hired a little Ford Focus for the Port Douglas leg of the trip, starting with a ride into
Daintree National Park,
Mossman Gorge, and
Cape Tribulation. Tropic Days kindly sketched out the day trip for us in minute detail, so we managed well even with a new left-handed driver and geographically challenged navigator. Fortunately it's really just a strait shot north up route, and you just need to watch for the turn offs. Bring your own music - there's slim pickings on radio (or none). And also watch for the speed humps with boulders embedded in them - they are serious about slowing down in areas inhabited by the endangered cassowaries.
We had two lookout points between Cairns and Mossman. First stop about half hour north of Cairns is Xx beach. A few km north is Rex Lookout where... Mossman Gorge has beautiful look out points into the rain forest, a few km hiking trail, and the Daintree River for swimming (which may or may not have crocodiles). It was a muggy and hot day, the mozzies were out (Aussie for "mosquito") and the river was wonderfully refreshing after a long hike. We might not have known about the crocs but we would have been faster than the dozen others splashing around. I think...
After some steak and chicken sandwiches roadside in Mossman, we were on our way to Daintree. All vehicles cross via ferry - really a big raft on a tow rope that can hold maybe three rows of 5 cars (AU$22 round trip).
Alexandra Lookout was out first stop in Daintree National Park. From the little turnoff, you can see way out to the ocean where the Daintree River and rainforest meet the ocean and reef.
The next stop is a foodie heaven, the
Daintree Ice Cream Company. The long driveway is lined with various fruit trees, labelled with small plaques. Guava, mango, jack fruit, bread fruit... And for AU$6 you get four scoops of the day's specials, made fresh from the fruit grown on the plantation. Ours were coconut, passion fruit, black sapotes (which taste like chocolate), and waxxxx (kind of cappuccino-like). We also had mango juice and frozen mango cup, amazing!
Because of the drizzle and impending sunset, we skipped on the xxxxx and head to the northern most
Cape Tribulation next, and we're rewarded with an empty 4km white sane beach bordered by the mangroves from the rain forest and clear ocean waters. Kayakers appeared at one point (incredible since we are sure this area is croc-infested), but otherwise we were undisturbed for an hour, except for the disturbing we did of the ridiculously fast scuttling crabs on the beach. Mozzies attacked us all the way to the 600m lookout point, then we made a short stop at Mydxxx before heading to Port Douglas for the evening.
Port Douglas is a water front resort town with quaint apartments and luxury hotels. The main Macrossan Street has fantastic restaurants and nice lounges, as well as boutiques for vacationing young couples, families and pensioners. Very different than Cairns and would recommend doing in the same order if going to both.
We stayed at
Martinique, which has lovely apartments with kitchenettes on the east end of Macrossan, just blocks from Four Mile Beach. "Downtown" Port Douglas walk able from end to end and to the wharf where the reef tours leave from. The big resorts, including the cornerstone Sheraton, shuttle in their guests for dinner and drinks and beach.
We had a delicious and pricey dinner at Zinc our first evening, a great seafood pasta and barrundi yellow curry. The Thai dinner at xxx was spectacular - a whole fish and a spicy and refreshing seafood salad, with BYO New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the pub across the street.
SYDNEY
Sydney has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world with miles of picturesque beaches, waterfront views, and incredible an harbor flanked by the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge.
Our Sydney leg started with some weather shock going from steamy, sunny Cairns to an unusually chilly and wet Sydney summer, but also a lovely mango martini at
Lil Darlin as we waited for dear Louise to come home. We were blessed to have wonderful accommodations at her newly purchased flat in hip Darlinghurst within blocks of the best bars and restaurants in the city, and central to everything we wanted to do. We both had some fantastic friends in Sydney, so while we saw some of the sites, we really got to experience Sydney as the locals do, out on the town and beaches.
Note: more touristy details are in the post from
Sydney 2008 visit.
Darlinghurst and Oxford Street were the bars and restaurants we experienced most. We were regulars at
Bar Coluzzi, eating open grills with avo, egg, ham, and cheese on Turkish bread every other day. Also in Darlinghurst is the
Victoria Room, a classy lounge in a regal setting with fabulous mixology, some of the best cocktails I've tasted and a knowledgeable bartender. Drinks run about AU$20, a bit of sticker shock for us Americans, but not entirely uncommon.
Our favorite place to end a pre-11pm night is
Messina, with a wide selection of sweet and savory gelatos including signature salted caramel with white chocolate chips. Our post-11pm end of night might have been the meat pie chain establishment, Pie Face.
My favorite Sydney restaurant is
Long grain in Surrey Hill. It's been around for years, but still a goodie, with an expanded cocktail bar downstairs now. I'm a fan of their spicy Thai bloody, what a kick! We started dinner with the betel nut leaf wraps, followed by the egg net, chicken curry, and silken tofu.
The
Taronga Zoo is a must see for animals from Australia and the world. The rainy weather meant the animals were active. We saw kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, emu, Komodo dragons, fierce snake, taipan, long neck turtle, giraffe, echidna, cassowary, quokka, turkeys, peacocks, Tasmanian devil joey, star tortoise, wombat, Malayan tapir, pygmy hippopotamus, lion, Sumatran tiger, snow leopard, gibbon baby, Asian elephants, Casey the leopard seal, baby little penguin, and Fennec foxes.
The beaches of Sydney are beautiful and numerous.
Manly Beach is a ferry ride from Circular Quay with a long boardwalk and beach volleyball. We couldn’t find enough competition for Michelle, but had some fun in the sun.
Bondi Beach is a wide beautiful beach, a not so easy bus ride from Oxford Street. The famous
Icebergs Swim Club has my favorite pool that overlooks Bondi with ocean waves that splash. If you are up for a work out, you can also pay AU$5.50 for a temporary guest pass for their 50 meter lap pool, which is beautiful. On the day that we went, the waves were doing a bit more than splashing, but more crashing. The “strong currents” sign is no joke. After a lovely
Icebergs lunch at the bistro with Libby, we walked the coastline path down to Bronte Beach and Coogee, a 4 km
coastal walk
The
Sydney Opera House tour is nice, but it's really a treat to see a show in any of their theaters. Louise and I had a lovely drink at the Opera Bar, then laughed so hard we cried watching the Cirque-meets-burlesque
La Soiree. Also close by in Circular Quay is
Cafe Sydney for dinner, with amazing views of the harbor - book ahead and ask for an outside table.
Our last meals in Sydney were wondrous. Louise joined us for celebrity chef Bill Granger’s restaurant known for their all day breakfast with delicious creamy eggs, sweet corn fritters, and soft boiled egg and toast. We meandered through Woolloomooloo to the Rocks and the
Australian Heritage Hotel. The "Aussie Hotel" is known for their kangaroo and crocodile pizzas, as well as every Australian beer you can imagine. The beer tasting plank for AU$15 came with five different beers - their beer-of-the-month Jinga ginger beer (ciders are quite popular in Oz right now), Scharer's lager only available here, Redback wheat beer, Vail pale ale, and Little Creatures pale ale (my Aussie favorite). The pepper kangaroo pizza was fantastic, but so was their pumpkin and feta pizza.
