Petra X > Status Update

We had a great time in Melbourne and Sydney and a nice tour of the Ocean Highway. Enjoy!

Thanks Fred, I'll look up the Ocean Highway.

Melburnian here, for Melbourne I suggest the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and/or the Ian Potter Centre in Fed Square. Entry to the NGV is free (there is art you can look at without having pay to see an exhibition), the specific exhibitions are around $40AUS. If you have any interest in sport I recommend you try to get a ticket to see an AFL (Australian Football League) match at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), even for a local it's quite a sight to see the ground full of supporters screaming for their team. Check Phillip Island Tours to see if they have space available for the penguin parade. Even the most nature-dismissing person can't fail to be charmed by the little penguins waddling up the beach. Tickets are about $35AUS. The highway that Fred mentioned is actually called the Great Ocean Road, it's a very picturesque drive along the winding coast of Victoria, but it can also be very busy with tourists. If you hire your own car it's free to drive, but you can also book a tour that makes it a whole day out with stops to view specific scenery like the Twelve Apostles (what used to be twelve tall obelisks in the ocean off the coast, some of them have collapsed due to water erosion). The tours cost around $150AUS and mostly take eight hours/a whole day. In Sydney I can recommend driving up to the Blue Mountains and visiting the little country towns, like Katoomba which has an amazing gondola over a huge gorge, Lithgow where you can see glow worms, and Oberon where you can go caving in the Jenolan caves and then stay the night in the local guest house (which is purportedly haunted). I haven't been, but Taronga Zoo, in Sydney is also very popular. If you want to see wild animals in Victoria, I recommend Werribee Open Range Zoo where the animals are pretty much free running, like in a safari park and you get driven among them in a bus. In New Zealand I can recommend Queenstown where you can book a cruise on Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound (both are spectacular), ride a jetboat on the Shotover River (very exciting). You can also do a helicopter flight up onto a glacier (that was really amazing for my friend as she'd never seen snow before that and for both of us as we'd never been in a helicopter). Things I didn't do that you might like include ziplining, a gourmet bbq cruise, and quad biking through the countryside. In Wellington you should visit Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand ($35NZ entry for foreign visitors), there are guided tours of the city by all different modes of transport, foodie and winery tours, and of course Lord of the Rings related stuff all over New Zealand.

Sarah (is clearing her shelves) wrote: "Melburnian here, for Melbourne I suggest the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and/or the Ian Potter Centre in Fed Square. Entry to the NGV is free (there is art you can look at without having pay..."

Thank you so much. There is so much to look up here, it all sounds very interesting. We're not into sports or anything like that though as my bf has MS and has some mobility issues.

I’m Alan’s friend…and from Sydney so…if just Sydney, the harbour (opera house, bridge), catch ferry to either Manly or Watsons Bay as headlands are spec + big waves. Train then bus to Bondi Beach then walk to Bronte Beach (cliff top walk). Whale tours. Day trip to the Blue Mountains by train, there is a scary train ride (as in it’s steep and slams on the brakes) and a cable car. Don’t bother exploring western suburbs unless you want to get mugged. If out of Sydney, drive up coast to Gold Coast or Fraser Island then fly back. Great Barrier Reef is time allows. If south, fly to Melbourne (cultural capital) and drive along Great Ocean Road to see spec coastline. No temples. Oldest parts are at the harbour of Sydney.

I’ve been to NZ almost 10 years ago. To this day I cry when I think about it. Most beautiful place on earth, especially the southern island. People are amazing too. Please go!!! You’re so close!!!! You won’t regret it

Also, the museums around NZ are fantastic, you’ll learn so many things, you can go to Hobbiton and if you like culture there’s plenty of places to go to learn about the Māori culture. I went to amazing learning shows

For me the Queensland Coast and Brisbane was the most enjoyable. Perth was nice but Darwin a bust. Ayers Rock was grand, but that was back when allowed to climb it.

New Zealand was terrific but that was mostly due to the diversity of land features. I had a month in NZ and two months in Australia and wished it was the other way around. Auckland had a wonderful aquarium and the Maori villages were well presented.

There's a lovely little bookshop called The Paperback in Melbourne's CBD. I'd go there. It's tiny, but packed with great works. Across the laneway there is Pellegrini's cafe, one of the first Italian espresso bars in Melbourne, thanks to immigrants. That would intimately acquaint you with the city's history.

Sportyrod wrote: "I’m Alan’s friend…and from Sydney so…if just Sydney, the harbour (opera house, bridge), catch ferry to either Manly or Watsons Bay as headlands are spec + big waves. Train then bus to Bondi Beach t..."

Are there any particularly fantastic museums or art galleries that feature aboriginal art? My bf is much more a city person and as he has MS walks very slowly and steps etc are an issue (endurance isn't though).

In Melbourne you will find extensive aboriginal art at both the national gallery and the Ian Potter Gallery both close for an endurance walk.

I wouldn’t know. Not into art myself. The Art Gallery of NSW may have art that people consider good. Australian Museum for standard museum stuff. Australian Maritime Museum for ships. Both in the city. Most stuff will be in the city.

Sportyrod wrote: "I’m Alan’s friend…and from Sydney so…if just Sydney, the harbour (opera house, bridge), catch ferry to either Manly or Watsons Bay as headlands are spec + big waves. Train then bus to Bondi Beach t..."

I think we are only going to be in Sydney for four days then four in Melbourne, so probably will stay in Sydney itself. Thanks for the suggestions.

A bit off topic and maybe dated, but my friend Mel Huang is a world traveller who reviews restaurants for his blog and passed through Sydney in 2015. I see Zilver (for Cantonese) and Quay (pricey, but you pay for the view) are still in business which is saying something in a post-COVID world, You can find reviews and photos at [drop the spaces] melhuang1972. wordpress . com/tag/sydney/

I have friends who live there who say it's some of the most beautiful lands they have ever seen. Breathtaking in fact. Have fun!

Haha, we are on to a trip to Ōsaka and Kyōto with friends, so I feel like asking you the same question regarding this region ;)

Have a marvelous trip, by the way ;)

P.E. wrote: "Haha, we are on to a trip to Ōsaka and Kyōto with friends, so I feel like asking you the same question regarding this region ;)"

Didn't hang around Osaka but got the Hello Kitty Express to Kyoto. Stayed in the Kyoto Century Hotel which is just outside the station. It is worth going to the roof of the train station, really nice sculptures and art. We were there for the peak of the cherry blossoms but I believe there are always some trees flowering at this time of year.

Everyone goes to the Kiyomizu-dera temple, but it is worth it. Gion sadly isn't. Just a pedestrianised rebuilt tourist trap. We didn't see any geishas, but plenty of young women hire kimonos and pose in front of anything for their instas. Kodai-ji temple, a zen temple, is also worth it, very different from Kizomizu-dera.

Taxis are cheap and mostly honest. We only met one dishonest one. Got a taxi from the station to the hotel ande he looked at maps, pretended to get lost, drove us all over the place but when we got to the hotel, the bell girl got him to reduce the fare to the minimum as the taxi stand is 25 metres from the hotel!

Enjoy yourselves. Have a good time.

Oh! The fabled Hello Kitty Express! Well done :D How was it??

Ah! but isn't Gion severely restricted of late, because of some foreign tourists doing pull-ups on Torii or bothering maikos in the streets?

Ah, that's worth knowing about the roof of the Kyoto train station, Kōdai-ji and Kiyomizu-dera, all of these are places we intend to visit during our trip! What was the most striking or memorable part of these visits. We also contemplate visiting the Ginkaku-Ji, the Byōdo-In, Heian-jingū, Okazaki jinja (dedicated to rabbits), Tōfuku-ji and Daikaku-ji :)

Have you tried to get a peek at the Fushimi Inari-taisha? It looks decidedly otherworldly and liminal, one of the places I find the most fascinating! And how were the cherry blossoms? Unsurprisingly, you seem to have met very helpful and conscientious people during your trip!

Have a pleasant follow-up to this part of your trip :)

NZ stunning

Jennifer wrote: "NZ stunning"

Absolutely. One of the most beautiful places on earth.

Hi, long time no contact! Enjoy! I was in NZ last year, mostly on soputh isalnd, but we love the outdoors on the whole more than museums/galleries/cities, as we live in Chicago and do a lot of hiking.

Dave wrote: "Hi, long time no contact! Enjoy! I was in NZ last year, mostly on soputh isalnd, but we love the outdoors on the whole more than museums/galleries/cities, as we live in Chicago and do a lot of hiking."

We went for a hike today around the waterfall and rapids of Huka Falls. My bf is from Chicago originally and is more a museum guy. Me, I'm still a sailor at heart.

If you cn get to the south, Ms. Sailor-at-heart, visit the Bookstore at End of the World, and meet the woman who wrote a book by that She and her husband were boith sailors who run two tiny bookshops in the remote village of Manapouri in Fiordland. I talked to him there. That book is her memoir. Get it!