Friday, June 06, 2008
Visiting Australia? My top 15
Today a colleague asked me what he should do in Australia. Trish and I lived there over 2001 and 2002. We had a lot of people visiting and we made sure we gave them the "Down Under Experience"
1. Cairns/Port Douglas: Spend 2-3 days diving in the outer barrier reef. Get PADI certified.
2. Cairns: Head over to the Cairns Tropical Zoo if you must cuddle with Koala
3. Sydney: Go to Bondi Beach to see one of the most popular beaches in the world.
4. Sydney: Head over to Oporto Restaurant and have a Bondi Burger. Get extra sauce
5. Sydney: Take a ferry from Circular Quay to Manly beach. This is a great route to take and most expensive harbor cruises do the same thing. Much much cheaper.
6. Sydney: If you head to Manly around lunch time, go to any one of the restaurants there. Do the Manly to Spit walk, go to Shelly beach, which is opposite the main beach on Manly and go to the Steyne Hotel and have an Aussie pint and do some people and ocean watching
7. Sydney: Head back lateish in the evening to take pictures of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
8. Sydney: Watch a concert/show at the Opera House to see the main concert hall and the back stage. It's quite impressive. Catch a show if you can.
9. Sydney: If you did catch a show at the Opera House, walk over to the Rocks and head to Australian Hotel if you want to eat Kangaroo, Crocodile, Emu etc.
10. Sydney: Then walk out of the hotel, turn right and head to the next pub over. Glenmore Hotel. Don't eat there, just buy a couple of beers and head to the roof. One of the best views in the city.
11. Sydney: After a couple of drinks at the Glenmore, head over to the Summit Restaurant, which is about 15 minutes or so away. The picture below is the view from the restaurant.
12. Melbourne/Sydney: Do a wine tour. Try the Sparkling Shiraz. Both Hunter Valley and Yarra/Geelong are good.
13. Melbourne: Fly in to Melbourne, rent a car and drive to Coober Pedy, and check out the underground town, spend the night in one of the underground hostels. Then head north to Uluru Kata Tjuta. Stop at Kings Canyon and Devil's Marbles. Take your hiking boots with you. Don't bother with Alice Springs
14. Melbourne: Do Great Ocean Road drive
15. Brisbane: Take a surfing class. Too obvious huh?
1. Cairns/Port Douglas: Spend 2-3 days diving in the outer barrier reef. Get PADI certified.
2. Cairns: Head over to the Cairns Tropical Zoo if you must cuddle with Koala
3. Sydney: Go to Bondi Beach to see one of the most popular beaches in the world.
4. Sydney: Head over to Oporto Restaurant and have a Bondi Burger. Get extra sauce
5. Sydney: Take a ferry from Circular Quay to Manly beach. This is a great route to take and most expensive harbor cruises do the same thing. Much much cheaper.
6. Sydney: If you head to Manly around lunch time, go to any one of the restaurants there. Do the Manly to Spit walk, go to Shelly beach, which is opposite the main beach on Manly and go to the Steyne Hotel and have an Aussie pint and do some people and ocean watching
7. Sydney: Head back lateish in the evening to take pictures of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
8. Sydney: Watch a concert/show at the Opera House to see the main concert hall and the back stage. It's quite impressive. Catch a show if you can.
9. Sydney: If you did catch a show at the Opera House, walk over to the Rocks and head to Australian Hotel if you want to eat Kangaroo, Crocodile, Emu etc.
10. Sydney: Then walk out of the hotel, turn right and head to the next pub over. Glenmore Hotel. Don't eat there, just buy a couple of beers and head to the roof. One of the best views in the city.
11. Sydney: After a couple of drinks at the Glenmore, head over to the Summit Restaurant, which is about 15 minutes or so away. The picture below is the view from the restaurant.
12. Melbourne/Sydney: Do a wine tour. Try the Sparkling Shiraz. Both Hunter Valley and Yarra/Geelong are good.
13. Melbourne: Fly in to Melbourne, rent a car and drive to Coober Pedy, and check out the underground town, spend the night in one of the underground hostels. Then head north to Uluru Kata Tjuta. Stop at Kings Canyon and Devil's Marbles. Take your hiking boots with you. Don't bother with Alice Springs
14. Melbourne: Do Great Ocean Road drive
15. Brisbane: Take a surfing class. Too obvious huh?
