23 Things I Want to Do, See, or Eat On My Vacation in Australia
Apr 3rd, 2007 by Nick
23 things that came to my mind yesterday and this morning:
- Meet my extended family (father’s first cousins) in Melbourne
- Walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge
- Taronga Zoo
- Walk 300,000 steps over 20 days
- Find a better Aussie beer than Foster’s
- Tour a vineyard and find a great Shiraz I cannot find in America
- Not gain more than six pounds
- Tour the Sydney Opera House
- See penguins. Find out if they are as cute as Tony Kornheiser says they are.
- Take enough great photos to be able to package them into a screen-saver program
- Learn more about aboriginal culture
- Immerse myself in the Greek neighborhoods of Melbourne
- Take as many guided walking tours as possible
- Visit an Australian casino
- Spend at least a day on the Great Ocean Road
- Become accustomed to driving on the left (I have never driven outside the US/Canada before)
- See Uluru at sunrise
- See Wineglass Bay
- Watch at least one sporting event in person
- Become better at striking up conversations with strangers when I am alone
- Find out if the Blue Mountains are really blue, and do some light hiking
- Stay in touch with family and friends through this blog
- Be excited about going back to Australia as soon as I can afford to do so!
Re #5: Just about any Aussie Beer is better than Foster’s! My personal faves are Tassie beers Boag’s and Cascade. Carlton Draught is the best cheap on-tap beer
It’s a shame that only that swill Foster’s seems to be exported. I am not a huge beer drinker (I prefer Crown Royal and 7-Up) but it just seems wrong to not drink beer in Australia!
There are some great Aussie beers mate! Try Coopers Pale Ale and some James Squire if you like the amber type beers. The Tassie beers are nice too. And if you get a chance check out the Redback Brewery while in Melbourne.
Nice blog you have here.
A few hopefully helpful tips:
9. Penguins. If this refers to the Phillip Island penguin parade, remember to wait until the penguins get close. When I went (admittedly 10+ years ago) many of the tourists got frustrated and left before it became interesting - and it did become interesting when the penguins finally got to the shore.
15. GOR is very good. So much scenery, you’ll become sick of it. Avoid peak periods - the road carries too much traffic for its own good.
16. Warn me when you are doing this, so I can stay off the roads!
Also if you want to sample the Melbourne coffee scene my blog at http://myopinionsareimportant.wordpress.com has some coffee shop reviews.
Good luck!