MANALI + TERRY | Newlyweds Backpack Round The World » Australia

M & T’s Top 11 of 2011 | Things To Do In Sydney

Manali — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:27:53 +0000

Sydney | Australia :: Things To Do In Sydney from Newlyweds Travel The World on Vimeo.

A walkable city with an extensive network of trains, subways and buses, the main attractions in Sydney can be seen in a mere few days. Australia’s oldest and biggest city (4.5 million people) offers sun, sand, surf, sailing and skyscrapers. Like many large cities, Sydney is extremely diverse and offers great food, art, nightlife, parks, beaches and any activity you crave, so you can easily spend weeks here. Some highlights from our trip include:

Darling Harbor / Circular Quay: Street performers occupy every corner of this touristy area, but most are professional and worth watching! You can also catch an IMAX flick here, snack on some fish and chips and just hang out and watch the sailboats flapping in the breeze.

Sydney Opera House: The iconic symbol of Sydney is worth seeing from the outside and even better if you can catch a performance there.

Royal Botanic Gardens / Macquaries Point: Picturesque view of the harbour bridge and opera house from this wonderful, lush park. Perfect for a picnic or stroll to feed the “wild” cockatoos!

Sydney Fish Market: Although not as large as the Tsujiki Market in Tokyo, this is the second largest fish market and auctions take place everyday at 5am. The freshly fished seafood (clams, lobster, shrimp, fish filets) are worth the long lines for a quick fresh lunch!

Taronga Zoo: Although we didn’t go to the zoo (we were waiting for the wildlife in Tasmania), we heard that the Taronga Zoo is amazing and worth visiting, especially if you have children and aren’t traveling to other parts of the country. Where else would you be able to see koalas, kangaroos, dingos and wombats all together?!

Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk: A spectacular walk with breathtaking cliff views of the eastern coast of Australia. Some parts are newly paved which makes the walk painless for all. You can also take a dip in the cool ocean or the plethora of public pools along the way! Bronte Beach was our favorite. For last minute getaways, check out golfing at Costa Del Sol!

Hyde Park: Similar to central park in New York, this park is well located and used by all to lounge in the sun, enjoy some lunch during their work break. Also, check out the impressive ANZAC war memorial and catch some of the free concerts during the summers.

Paddy’s Market: A great place to buy cheap souvenirs and fresh produce! It felt like we were back in the markets of Thailand with all the hustle and bustle!

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Sydney | Australia :: Wake Up! Sydney Hostel Review
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Sydney | Australia :: New Year’s Eve
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M & T’s Top 11 of 2011 | GBR Pro Dive Live Aboard

Manali — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:10:04 +0000

We have nothing but great things to say about Pro Dive in Cairns! The three day live-aboard was nothing short of professional, entertaining and enjoyable. Although a packed schedule, we never felt rushed and the crew definitely made it their mission to be attentive to all the divers and ensure the experience was ‘once in a lifetime’.

The meals were hearty and delicious, the afternoon cake was the best (I have a severe sweet tooth), dive briefings were thorough, and the facilities were great.

The first question that comes to mind on a live aboard is, “Where will I sleep?”. We were not disappointed, and after the first night, adjusting to the rolling of the sea, we were fitter than US Navy sailors.

We rarely went into our rooms unless we were changing into dry clothes or sleeping, and there was plenty of room to spread out and relax.

We met some great people from all over the world and even squeezed in some games of Pictionary and Spoons! We heard all about the cottages in Yorkshire, which we’ll have to check out next time!

How did we know we were going to dive that day? Sure, a schedule was posted, but we loved lulling about until one of the dive staff yelled out, “It’s dive time!”. My days afterward, just don’t feel as good, without that beckoning call. At the notice, we prepared for a briefing and then down the stairs to mount up with our gear.

The only regret about the whole experience is that it ended too soon! Thanks Pro Dive!

Details: $600 per person + $45 reef tax for 11 dives and 3 day / 2 night live-aboard
Address: 116 Spence St, Cairns, Queensland – www.prodive-cairns.com.au

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Best Dive Sites In The World
19 February 2010 1:34 AM | 22221 CommentBest+Dive+Sites+In+The+World2010-02-19+08%3A34%3A43Terry
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M & T’s Top 11 of 2011 | Routeburn Track
20 December 2011 1:01 PM | 3509No Comments2011-12-20+20%3A01%3A18Manali
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M & T’s Top 11 of 2011 | Things To Do In Melbourne

Manali — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:00:12 +0000

Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne (3.7 million people), is an extremely “liveable” city offering a plethora of activities, arts and a lively café culture. We experienced rain, extreme heat, humidity and cool breezes in a span of an hour – it is commonly said that if you don’t like the weather in Melbourne, just wait 5 minutes!

We could immediately see the diversity of the city streets lined with Greek, Indian, Thai, Lebanese, African, Italian, Chinese eateries and many more. Sports are highly prevalent in the city with many high profile teams and sportsmen competing in the Australian Open Tennis, Aussie Rules Football, MCG Cricket Arena and Grand Prix.

The free tourist trams and shuttle buses also made it a wonderful way to explore the city without breaking a sweat! Highlights from our visit include the following:

Federation Square: Be sure to check out the free activities offered each summer day (including juggling lessons, drum lessons and pilates) and take advantage of the free wireless hotspot!

Swanston Street / Collins Street / Chapel Street / Bourke Street / Spencer Street: Tons of shopping to be done in Melbourne – from Prada to Target, you will find all sorts of knick knacks, boutique clothing and designer duds on these streets, located in the CBD (Central Business District).

Queen Victoria Market: A foodie dream! Local, organic, fresh produce at low prices – never buy your veggies at the supermarket when you are in Melbourne! Also, definitely visit the night market on Wednesdays where you can witness the diversity of Melbourne first hand with the variety of food stalls – African, Jamaican, Indian, Lebanese, Chinese, Malay, Outback (we ate kangaroo burgers, they tasted like venison!) and Vietnamese all within the 25 meter space!

Australian Centre for the Moving Image: Located in Federation Square, this free museum is worth visiting and has some interesting artifacts. I couldn’t pry Terry away from the classic Commodore 64!

Royal Botanic Gardens: This vast park has it all – fountains, lakes full of black swans, unique flowers, distinctive plants and excellent picnic spots. You could easily spend a whole day here – and the best part about it is that it’s free to enter and the tram stops right outside the Shrine of Remembrance.

St Kilda Beach: An eclectic mix of yuppies and hippies can be found hanging out here, with the streets lined with café culture, record shops and beach bargains, similar to the beach holidays in Cumbria. The beach is not the best but doesn’t fail to be packed every weekend!

Carlton: Here you will find “Little Italy” full of authentic ‘Italian Stallions’, the best pizza and gelato in the city!

Melbourne Cricket Grounds: One of the most famous cricket venues in the world, MCG is also the largest stadium in Australia, and the eighth largest in the world, with a current capacity of just over 100,000. The tour takes you onto the field, as well as into the locker rooms.

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Melbourne | Australia :: Melbourne Central YHA Review
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Melbourne | Australia :: The Great Ocean Road
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Halls Gap | Australia :: The Grampians National Park

Manali — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:10:56 +0000

On our way back to Melbourne, we stopped a night at the Grampians National Park, a huge forest of gum trees with abundant wildlife and years of aboriginal history.

Apparently, hundreds of koalas make their home in this forest, but we were yet to see any of them, they were really difficult to find!

The aboriginal culture centre was especially informative and you could sign up for boomerang classes or traditional aboriginal painting and learn about the native history. The town of Halls Gap itself is a gap in the forest, covered with vegetation and slightly damp most of the year, but a great place to start any of the treks through the vast park. The various lookouts strewn through the park were steep and dramatic – you can see trees for miles and miles!

A great park to relax and become one with the rich nature that envelops you and makes you forget that you are only 90 minutes from the big city!

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Abel Tasman National Park | New Zealand :: Kayaking with Seals
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Chiang Mai | Thailand :: Baan Chang Elephant Park
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Melbourne | Australia :: Jucy Campervan Review

Terry — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:23:31 +0000

We were totally spoiled with the Toyota Hi Top Hiace in Tasmania and grimaced when we saw the limited space in the Jucy Toyoto Previa Campervan. Terry couldn’t even sit up in the back without poking his head out of the sun roof and his feet were dangling off the bed for the entire week. Not recommend for anyone over 5 ft 9 inches!

It came with the standard linen, basic cutlery (no cheese grater this time!) and a single small pot and two small gas canisters. When we asked the agent how long the gas canisters last, he replied “Not sure, every time I asked a renter upon return, they said they ate out the whole time!” Not surprising to say the least, after it took us an entire hour to boil a pot of water with the wind and lack of cover out the back!

Needless to say, we ended up staying at Holiday Parks ($25 to $30 for powered sites) every few days to cook en masse to last us until the next time we spied a camp kitchen! We stocked up on cereal, PB&J, salad, granola bars, chocolate and made spaghetti, taco/burrito fillings and beans in large quantities so we could merely re-heat with the supplied gas stove.

However, the car itself was slightly cheaper per day, had better gas mileage and was easier to drive (automatic transmission) and park in inconspicuous places (albeit the bright green exterior). If you are road-tripping for a short period of time, the smaller minivan will suffice, but for extended periods and for taller people, be prepared to be slightly cramped.

Website: www.jucy.com.au

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Tasmania | Australia :: Britz Campervan Tour & Review
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Melbourne | Australia :: The Great Ocean Road

Terry — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:30:52 +0000

If you have some extra time while visiting Melbourne, definitely take a road trip on the Great Ocean Road. You can either rent your own vehicle or campervan or take a one day guided tour from Melbourne.

Spectacular scenery and cute little coastal towns are scattered along the road as well as some of the best surfing beaches in the world.

We visited Torquay (Bells Beach – home of many worldwide surfing competitions), Anglesea, Otway National Park, Port Campbell, Warnnambool and the actual cliff grazing road itself was amazing.

The highlight of the trip was seeing the Twelve Apostles, immense rock structures that are carved with the wind and waves (only 9 are currently remaining) dotted along the coastline. A “must see” when you are in the area!

And if you have the time, try and see it during the day, as well as sunset. Although the sunset we experienced was breathtaking, the early day light reveals the natural beauty of the apostles as well.

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Raglan | New Zealand :: Kiwi Surfer Haven
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Tasmania | Australia :: Britz Campervan Tour & Review

Manali — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:26:31 +0000

We had no idea what to book for campervans, had no suggestions from others and since it was the busy season and relatively urgent, we pretty much blindly booked a vehicle a few months before our arrival with Britz. The administration and paperwork at the office was a nightmare at 8am and the company insisted that until you return your vehicle, they would charge a ridiculous $7500 on your credit card for excess liability. No where on the website or confirmation print out does it mention that little important fact, so beware of the large charge; unless you want to instead pay $40 /day additional insurance cost. A little shady on the Britz front since none the dozens of other people in the office that day picking up their cars had that much available credit and were coerced into that extra expense.

The van (Toyota Hiace with a Hi Top) itself was immaculate, well equipped (we even had a cheese grater), and laid out perfectly. We had a microwave, mini fridge, two gas burners, a medium sized sink with running water and ample storage space. I think it may have been bigger than many studio apartments in New York and Scottish cottages!

Overall, it was roomy for two people, we could both stand up inside and although slower than a typical car and with a full tank costing $70, it still definitely saved us some bucks rather than paying for two people in backpacker dorms as well as a car rental. Also, having the kitchen facilities inside the car (unlike the smaller campers with the gas cooker out the back – terrible in windy situations by the beach), it made it easy to make simple home-cooked healthy meals any time of the day. Apart from the administration nightmare, Britz is the way to go for a luxurious campervan experience!

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Tasmania | Australia :: Campervaning 8 Days In Tasmania
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Tasmania | Australia :: Campervan Views

Manali — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:14:08 +0000

Here are some of the views we enjoyed from the back of our van!

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Tasmania | Australia :: Campervaning 8 Days In Tasmania
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Tasmania | Australia :: Campervaning 8 Days In Tasmania

Manali — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:25:35 +0000

We had heard that Tasmania was a place not to miss when you are down under, so we spent a week on the island driving around in a hi-top campervan, the spacious Toyota HiAce.

We figured it would be the best way to see the island, but totally overlooked that not only did Terry have to drive on the left (the wrong side of the road), but he also had to maneuver a huge vehicle with manual transmission. Let’s just say that it took us a good 30 minutes to practice in the parking lot before we were on our way! Things after that were effortless and I must say, that he did an exceptional job avoiding wild animals, driving the windy paths up mountains and hanging over cliffs to get some excellent photos.

Wow – Tasmania was wonderful! With more animals than people, we thoroughly enjoyed our week exploring the wilderness, the wine regions and the views.

We started our week in Hobart, the largest city in Tasmania, used mainly as a port. Since the total population on the entire island doesn’t hit ½ million, you can imagine that this “city” wasn’t comparable to even most small towns in the US. However, it was a charming place and we ate the freshest fish and chips yet from a restaurant that was located on stilts in marina bay and took in fish hauls from local boats daily! We even had time to watch some tennis at the local casino and explore the local library for some internet time.

Mount Wellington was a steep but picturesque climb up to the summit where you can enjoy views of Hobart and some neighboring towns and ocean as far as your eyes can see, and you’ll never feel lonely as you are high enough to be accompanied by sweeping clouds.

From Hobart, we headed north up the east coast to set eyes on some of the more remote and beautiful beaches in Australia yet. Crystal blue waters beyond jagged cliffs on our right and cows, kangaroos, sheep on our left completed our view for the 3 hour drive up to Bicheno, an endearing little beach resort town with many activities.

Never had we seen so much exotic road kill! Ever few kilometers, there was a dead wombat, kangaroo, crow or some unidentified creature. We thankfully avoided any mishaps and saw the living forms of all these animals as well. Apparently, every night, Tasmania’s “clean up crew” hits the roads to devour the carcasses – the infamous Tasmanian Devils! We visited East Coast Nature World near Bicheno and saw all the recognized and famed Australian wildlife including koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, emus, ostriches, kookaburras and many more! We even petted the little Devils and they were adorable. Our favorite was feeding the kangaroos that just hopped about the huge park freely and loved to follow us around. Apparently, kangaroos here are as frequently seen as deer back in the States (and they even taste similar – more on that later!).

That evening, we signed up to see the fairy penguins coming back ashore. The penguin tour in Bicheno is more personal than the one at Phillip Island (near Melbourne) and there were no ropes or barriers between us and the little guys, so we had been saving this moment until we arrived in Tasmania. Oh my goodness – they were even cuter than the kangaroos! I just wanted to pick one up and put it in my pocket. A full grown fairy penguin only gets to about 12 to 16 inches tall and we were lucky enough to see about 50 of them coming back to their boroughs right along the path we were walking and right between our feet at many points. We even saw newly born chicks, mothers feeding the chicks through regurgitation and a sad little chick whose parents never came home to feed him – it was heartbreaking – Terry and I wanted to slip him some Oreos – poor little dude. The funniest part was watching them swim up to the shore and then wait in a huddle and argue about who was going to cross the beach to the grassy areas first. Evidently, predators lurk and wait for the fairies to cross, so they send one penguin out to check out the scene while the others wait, then when the coast is clear, the huddle of ten shuffle across the sand. We can just imagine the conversations “Go on Johnny, it’s your turn!”, “No, Mildred, I went first last week – send Tommy over there!”, hilarious.

After all the cuteness, we continued up the coast to St. Mary’s and then over to Launceston and Tamar Valley. We enjoyed some fantastic award winning wines and conversations in Tamar Valley and stopped at a cheese factory to complement our palates. We decided to forgo the hours of driving over to the west coast and instead took some more leisurely routes and actually enjoyed the camping aspect of the campervan.

While Campervaning includes being out in remote areas, enjoying your meals with some spectacular views, there are some hidden adventures that also come your way.

One night, while stationed in a national park, Manali’s bladder got the best of her and she needed to sneak out into the bushes (the bathrooms were far, ok?!). She quickly realized that a pair of beady eyes were staring at her through the thicket. She screamed and yelled for Terry who dashed to her rescue and shooed away what we believed was a Pademelon (Aussie raccoon like creature). At least Manali marked her territory and it wasn’t to be seen again!

The entire week in Tasmania, we stayed in numerous National Parks (the majority of the island is covered in parks) walked some short treks and enjoyed many of the look out points. Camper-vaning was definitely the right way to go! With the lack of options for accommodations and high prices during the busy seasons, being in the van was easy, secure and so much fun! If you have the time, a week to ten days in Tasmania will add to a lifetime of memories!

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Tasmania | Australia :: Campervan Views
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Tasmania | Australia :: Britz Campervan Tour & Review
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Melbourne | Australia :: Melbourne Central YHA Review

Manali — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:21:22 +0000

This award winning hostel was one of our favorites. The common rooms, kitchens (a little small, but one on each floor) and bathrooms were spotless and recently renovated, the beds were comfortable and long (enough for Terry’s long legs not to stick out from the covers!), awesome rooftop views equipped with BBQs, and a helpful staff at the 24 hour reception. Located right in the middle of the CBD on Flinders and Spencer, the tram stop is right outside the hostel and grocery store was a short walk away. The hostel also had numerous activities throughout the week and offered cheap beer and eats in the basement restaurant. Overall, highly recommended for anyone visiting Melbourne!

Cost: $35 for a 4 share dorm bed per person, $90 for a double room (high season prices)
Internet: $4 / hour
Cleanliness: A
Location: A
Website: http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?hostelid=253

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