Been in Australia for several days. In Melbourne now. Going out for the day to see the sights shortly.
Hah! I'm going to Melbourne for the first week of October! Oh wait... I'm going to Melbourne Florida...
Went to Phillip Island yesterday to watch the Penguins pop out of the ocean. Saw some point breaks that we’re going off; unfortunately no time to surf. Checking out wineries in the Yarra valley today.
Sydney. Big city, horrendous traffic, booming economy, huge housing shortage and real estate bubble. Good international food. Interesting old pubs, and the best thing I found was Sydney Harbor.
Outback. Ayers Rock. Interesting environment, plant life, geology, Aboriginal culture. Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Most Aussies have never been to see it. See it once, it's enough. Southern sky at night is awesome and the sound of silence was very pleasant.
Cairns. Tropical NE. My favorite place. Rain forest and Great Barrier Reef. Like to go back and spend a lot more time exploring. Favorite meal down under, grilled Red Emperor. Other than that, Australian food is forgettable. Kangaroo is chewy unless it is really rare, emu... eh, crocodile... blah. Meat and lamb is better over here IMO. Barramundi is the Aussie version of Tilapia. Farm it in in a cesspool and it will grow.
Melbourne. Another big city. More RE bubble, no such thing as affordable housing near or in the city.Teeming population, vibrant night life, can experience all 4 seasons in a day. Wine... whites are OK, Pinot OK if you are into that, reds are weak... mostly Aussie wine is just so-so although we did have a couple of decent glasses of wine from the Barossa Valley in So. Australia. Never saw a Fosters, had a couple of local beers that were OK, some that tasted like Canadian... Molson's or some such not that great. Tourism is a big industry all over, so the must see things are pretty over blown and forgettable, see it once to say you did. Rather not go as a tourist. Locals are friendly and fun to engage with. Inland cattle and sheep stations, vineyards are very beautiful in Victoria. Sports crazy place.
All in all, worth a look, of course it is a huge country so you only get a slice in a couple of weeks. Tried to sample a variety. Here's a few shots from down under:
I watched the AFL Premiership semis at a pub with a hundred psycho Magpie and Tiger fans. It was an all Melbourne game. The Pies pulled off a blowout upset. I preferred the NRL playoff game (the same night in a stadium next door). Only 30,000 at the rugby game vs. 100,000 at the MGD stadium. Melbournites love their Aussie rules football.