Australia
« Previous EntriesThe Pope pops in to Darling Harbour
By rocky | July 15, 2008
This week His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and thousands of visitors from all around the world have flocked to Sydney to be part of the World Youth Day celebrations and one of the major locations for the celebrations was Barangroo on the Northern edge of Darling Harbour, offering spectacular views of one of the world’s most scenic cites. Over the coming years Barangroo will be come an extension to the growing city and the Darling Harbour leisure precinct. Darling Harbour is a huge recreational precinct stretching nearly the whole length of the city. Packed with restaurants, shopping, hotels and apartments the area has many of Sydney’s premier attractions including the Star City Casino, The IMAX, Sydney Aquarium, National Maritime Museum and the magnificent Powerhouse Museum, plus many conference and convention centres like the Sydney Exhibition Centre, Convention Centre and Sydney Entertainment Centre. The Precinct is also the gateway to Sydney’s vibrant Chinatown, Australia’s largest. Darling Harbour is linked to the city with a monorail, a light rail system and plenty of watercraft which travel to all parts of Sydney’s magnificent harbour. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia, Festivals / Events, Museums | No Comments »
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman & a giant mango
By rocky | June 25, 2008
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You have probably noticed here at Tripandom love big things and on a recent road trip to central Queensland we have found another, this time a giant mango. The Big Mango is located at the Bowen Visitor’s Information Centre about 4 km south of Bowen. Built around 2002, the Big Mango celebrates Bowen as the home of – well what else the Bowen Mango. The upside down fiberglass fruit isn’t the only thing Bowen has to brag about, it is also the home of much of the filming of Baz Luhrmann’s $130 million dollar outback epic called Australia, which features Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. This 1940’s romantic period piece looks like becoming one of the biggest films ever to come out of Australia, if the hype and the big name stars are anything to gauge it by. It is expected the film will be released around November this year. We just wonder if Nicole and Hugh had their photo taken beside the Big Mango..our guess is they wouldn’t have been able to resist it. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia, Kitsch Stuff | No Comments »
Rockhampton - Australia’s beef capital
By rocky | June 24, 2008
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The surrounding area of Rockhampton on the central coast of Queensland, Australia is home to an estimated three million head of cattle making the city Australia’s beef capital. The city has a rich heritage of beef farming and as you will see from the dozen’s of cattle statues and monuments throughout the city beef is what makes this city tick. Their pubs not only serve ice cold beer but some of the best beef burgers, and steaks found anywhere in the world. One of the most famous of the Rockhampton pubs is the Great Western Hotel which is home to a 3000 seat undercover rodeo stadium where champion riders test their skills against fiery eyed cattle. Just out of town at Gracemere is one of Australia’s biggest livestock markets and home to huge cattle sales on Fridays. Here some of the country’s finest cattle is auctioned to become dinner all around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Animals, Australia | No Comments »
The Palais Theatre - St Kilda
By rocky | May 27, 2008
St Kilda is a seaside suburb of Melbourne Australia and is home to two of the city’s most iconic buildings Luna Park amusement park and the Palais Theatre. When built in 1927the theatre was one of the largest in the southern hemisphere and was used primarily for a picture theatre but today it is used for live performances hosting some of the world’s biggest names, they have included the likes of the Rolling Stones, Kiss, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and INXS who used the theatre in their Listen Like Thieves video clip. The building is one of Australia’s finest examples of Art Deco and has been placed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The building is planned to be restored to it’s former glory as part of a controversial redevelopment of the area surrounding the theatre. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia | 1 Comment »
Melbourne’s best toilet view
By rocky | May 15, 2008
The Sofitel Hotel in Melbourne offers one of the best views of the city while you are doing your business. Huge panoramic windows offer spectacular views of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and a magnificent view of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and sporting precinct from the 35th floor. The 5 star 363 room hotel makes up the upper floors of the Collins Place twin towers which design was inspired by the World Trade Centre in New York. The Towers are also home to major tenants ANZ Bank and has a host of theatres, boutiques, bars and cafes at the basement underneath a huge glass and steel canopy. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia, Hotels | No Comments »
Colonel Sander’s favorite Sydney fast food - a pie?
By rocky | May 3, 2008
Harry’s Cafe de Wheels in Woolloomooloo is a Sydney institution. Located on Cowper Wharf Road near Finger Wharf overlooking the Garden Island naval fleet this caravan has been serving Sydney’s best pies and in particular pie floaters since 1938. The cafe is so much a Sydney icon it is on the National Trust Register as a significant location. The caravan stated before the Second World War and over the years has had a host of big names eat there including Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Marlene Dietrich and the king of fast food Colonel Sanders him self- who legend tells liked the pies so much he ate three of them. There is a picture of the Colonel out the front hoing into a pie along with a host of other big names who have had their picture taken over the years. The caravan has quiet a variety of pies including a seafood pie and the famous Tiger pie which is packed with bacon and cheese but everyone’s favorite is the classic pie floater. Here a rich meat and gravy pie is topped with mashed potato, waxy mushy peas and topped with tasty brown gravy- they are absolutely delicious. Harry’s has become so popular in recent years a few more stores have popped up over Sydney including one in the city’s Haymarket one at Liverpool and another one up the coast at Newcastle. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia, Food | 1 Comment »
Melbourne’s W class trams
By wattsy | April 16, 2008
Melbourne’s W class trams are a well known icon of Melbourne that date back to the early 1920s. A main part of Melbourne’s transport system until the 1990s Today the trams are a tourist drawcard operating free on the city circle line as well as at night converted to restaurant trams. Interestingly Melbourne is not the only place in the world where you will see the iconic trams operating as a tourist trolly, a few of the 748 Melbourne built trams were exported to the US in the 70s and 80s and today can be seen operating in San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, New Orleans, Dallas and Portland. The youtube video above is of a Melbourne tram turning onto San Franscisco’s Embarcadero. There are also some W class trams operating in Auckland and Christchurch New Zealand. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia, Trains, Youtube of the week | No Comments »
The Melbourne Museum
By rocky | April 6, 2008
The Melbourne Museum is the one of the newest and largest museums in the Southern Hemisphere housing a permanent collection in eight galleries, including one just for children and areas for huge traveling exhibitions. The most love treasure of the museum is Pharlap which is renowned as Australia’s greatest racehorse, thousands visit the museum just to view this magnificent animal. The museum features an IMAX theatre and the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre which is one of Australia’s finest collection of Australian indigenous culture. The museum isn’t all glass cabinet displays it is a multi media learning centre for young and old and even features an amazing living rain forest complete with animals and plant life in it’s heart. Children love the dinosaur galleries with huge skeleton of a diprotodon, Tarbosaurus, Tsintaosaurus and other huge prehistoric beasts. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia | No Comments »
A view from the world’s highest residential tower
By rocky | March 10, 2008
The glitzy Surfers Paradise of Australia’s Gold Coast is home to the world’s tallest residental tower which is on of the tallest buildings in the world. Standing at a 322.5 metres above street level the Q1 is taller than both the Chrysler Building in New York and the Eiffel Tower in Paris and it is built less than 100 metres from the magnificent Surfers Paradise beach. Â The observation deck on the 77th and 78th floors offer specatcular views of the highrises of the Gold Coast and give views from Brisbane to Byron Bay and miles out to the Pacific Ocean. The tower also offers one of the world’s fastest elevators taking only 42.7 seconds to reach the top floors.
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Topics: Australia, Must see | No Comments »
Australia’s most easterly point
By rocky | March 9, 2008
Cape Byron is the most easterly point of Austalia’s mainland and is home to the Cape Byron Lighthouse which is the most powerful lighthouse in Australia. Built in 1901 the beacon has a range of over 50 kilometers. Byron was named by Captain James Cook as he sailed passed after the circumnavigator John Byron. Byron Bay. Today Byron Bay is one of Australia’s most popular holiday destinations with all year round good weather, great beaches and plenty of getaways. The town is very popular with the young and has many festivals including the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival and Splendor in the Grass to attract them along with some great surf beaches. The area is also a very popular eco holiday destination with beautiful sandy shores, and an abundance of wildlife including the humpback whales who frequent the bay on their migration. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia | No Comments »