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 »
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 himself- 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 »
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 »
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 »
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. 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.
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 »
During the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Fatso the Fat Arsed Wombat became the unofficial Olympic mascot and was caused quiet a stir doing it. The official mascots were Syd, Ollie and Mille they were a Platypus, an echidna and Kookaburra but they got overshadowed by Fatso. Fatso was the creation of a Sydney cartoonist and featured on Sport’s comedians Roy & HG’s nightly show The Dream he overshadowed the real mascots to the point the Australian Olympic Committee tried to ban him or stop their athletes getting seen with him. Fatso survived and won the day he even ended up standing on the podium during a medal presentation. Fatso eventually got auctioned for charity reaching over $80,000, now living in a glass box in a TV executives office. But Fatso lives on and has been immortalized right outside the Sydney Olympic Stadium where a life size model of the fat arsed wombat appears on a pole showing all his glory. A must for anyone visiting the home of the best Olympics Games ever.
There is probably not a more recognisable image of Australia than the magnificent sails of the Sydney Opera House, one of the world’s most beautiful and creative buildings. Sitting on the banks of Sydney’s beautiful harbor the Opera House Sydney Opera House recently received World Heritage recognition. It is one of the architectural wonders of the world, designed by Jorn Utzon, the building is truly amazing. The building is going under some extensive redesign with the help of Mr Utzon who after much controversy never had the chance to see the finished building. The building will receive some modernization inside which will also include some original design features which were never built into the building after cost over runs and political involvement. There are always different performances running from opera, jazz, rock, or comedy, ballet or theatre, the theatres are so versatile. But to see the real Opera House a tour is the best idea. Here you can learn about the interesting history of the building and see many of the behinds the scenes things you would never see sitting in the beautiful theatres.
As today is Australia Day we thought we would feature a couple of Australian Icons over the next few days. Today’s story is the National Motor Racing Museum at Bathurst. Bathurst is the premier car racing event on the Australian calendar and it is where legends of the track are made. None other than the Peter Brock who’s car is featured on today’s photograph. The vehicle exhibits change regularly and is located next to the mountain’s circuit which is a public road on non race days. The ever changing display at the National Motor Racing Museum showcases an array of motorcycle and vehicles and car racing memorabilia from all over the country, especially featuring the ‘kings of the mountain’ Every October tens of thousands flock to the mountain to cheer on either Ford or Holden in the battle for the best V8 super car.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s a popular men’s magazine called Australasian Post featured regular catoons by artist Ken Maynard, they were all based around a few Aussie friends and the happenings at the Ettamongah Pub. Some bright spark in the 1980’s decided to build a Ettamongah Pub and with great detail, right down to the busted up truck on the roof. Today the Ettamongah Pub about 10 minutes drive from the Victorian- New South Wales border town of Albury in Australia is home to the amazing pub. It has been so successful with bus loads of tourists and families other Ettamongah Pubs have sprouted up throughout Australia, with Western Australia and Queensland a few of the states which have now got their own Ettamongah Pub. The pub is more than a pub, it has a great restaurant, souvenir shop and even a lolly shop for the young folk. So if you are near Albury call in for an ice cold beer and say G’day to the locals.
