Some Culture in Sydney

by Erik Olsen on
Sydney, Australia is probably best known for its lovely beaches, hilly parks and, the glittering harbor. But the fact is, Sydney is a city rich in culture and history. Everyone is familiar, of course, with the shell-shaped Opera House. It serves as both a beacon to shutterbug tourists, but also serves as a locus of high-brow music and events. But more than that, for the visitor who just wants to wander all over, there are museums galore in Sydney, where you can experience a thriving art scene, and take in some science and history while there. A good place to start is the lovely Art Gallery of NSW, probably the best-known museum in Sydney. They are currently featuring an exhibit called Goddess: Divine Energy that takes a look at female expressions of divine female power (Barbra Streisand?). And there is also the Museum of Contemporary Art that is worth checking out. The Australian Centre for Photography is also a good place to check on after you’ve wasted giga-pixels on the Opera House. And for natural history buffs, don’t miss the Australian Museum and the Historic Houses Trust of NSW.

Of course, you can also just sit on the beach and read a good book with a Fosters in your hand. Not a bad alternative either.

The Low Down on Tasmania

by Neil Woodburn on

Tasmania holds a special place in the heart of anyone who has ever watched a Warner Bros. cartoon. Simply mentioning the word “Tasmania” immediately, at least for me, evokes the image of a ravenous beast consuming everything in its path.

Such a thing as the Tasmania Devil actually does exist, as does Tasmania itself, but the reality is slightly different than what is portrayed in cartoons.

I didn’t realize just how little I knew about Tasmania until I came across a wonderful article about the place in yesterday’s New York Times.

All I knew before reading the article was that Tasmania was off the coast of Australia. I therefore assumed that it has similar topography and climate. The article’s first paragraph, however, was an eye-opener. I’ll pluck just a few words out of it for you to mull over: mountainous, rainiest, wind-lashed, dolerite cliffs, rain forest, glacial valleys, boulder-strewn.

Intrigued?

So was I.

The article, written by Darcy Frey, paints Tasmania as “one of the world’s last wild places.” The entire country, she tells us, is about the size of Ireland, yet has 19 national parks. In addition, the Tasmania Wilderness has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Area. It is also blessed with alluring names like the Labyrinth, Styx River and Valley of the Giants. And, of course, there are wallabies and wombats if you’re into that sort of thing.

If you’re not a fan of the great outdoors, Frey assures us that the capital of Hobart is up-and-coming and even slightly hip. Oh, and, the people are wonderful.

Looks like I have yet another destination to add to my list!

Gonewalkabout Blog

by Adrienne Wilson on

Like most travel blogs created to update family while trekking in far away countries this Gonewalkabout site started much the same. In Owen’s case he started off posting photos, but little captions or descriptions to help others (not to mention himself) pinpoint where he was exactly. That was the past though and as Owen sets out on a new two-year journey through Australia, New Zealand and hopefully a stop in Fiji he promises to do a much better job not just capturing pictures of these places, but providing some detail. In any case if you’re curious about Australia and New Zealand or even Portugal which is also featured in the photo gallery, head over to this site. He’s certainly got enough photos up to keep one busy until the blogging fully kicks in though there are a few recent entries.

Word for the Travel Wise (11/15/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Australia may be considered a land ‘down under’ and far out from most, but that doesn’t mean it is keeping people from spending their savings to travel that way. Should you arrive in Sydney or Melbourne and find it way too touristy for your liking ask around to find a more remote area also known as the word found below.

Today’s word is a Bush word used in Australia:

backblocks – a remote area

Hiroyuki Yokose does a great job outlining Aboriginal words used in Australian English like our vocab words from the past. For additional words you may wish to check out his findings. The Bangerang Cultural Centre is one of the first Aboriginal museums in the country and has a list of words online from this particular tribe. Wiki lists a large number of tribes and languages found in Australia which if you already haven’t set your mind on one in particular you can try picking one off their list. Try Lonely Planet’s Outback Australia guide for additional offline reading and trip planning.

Past Aboriginal/Australian words: cooee, yabber, bush telly, duffing

Like Father, Like Daughter

by Erik Olsen on

No, this is not, to my knowledge, the child of Steve Irwin that he, the Croc hunter, dangled over the gaping, toothed, gnashing maw of a live crocodile. This is the one he fed to the sharks. Just kidding. That’s irreverent. Even if he was a bit kooky and put himself in danger with perhaps predictable results, we loved Steve Irwin. The Aussies sure have a way of exporting interesting characters, even if their stars fade quickly. Or they die. And it looks like we may have another Aussie star on our hands, and this one from the loins of the croc man himself.

Yes, Bindi Irwin, the eight-year-old daughter of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, is set to star in her own series on the Discovery Kids Network, beginning early next year. You read that correctly. Eight years old. The new show is to be called “Bindi, The Jungle Girl”, and was originally supposed to star both father and daughter. In fact, the Discovery Kids Network had begun filming episodes before Irwin’s September 4 death by stingray stab. In a creepy turn of events that I am not sure the producers have really considered how creepy this is, and which if I were she would cause me all sorts of awful emotional problems, Irwin will continue to play a role in the series posthumously, appearing in scenes filmed together with his daughter before his death.