23 Tuesday Jul 2013
Since Mrs. Selfish and I were visiting Tasmania during Australia’s Winter, we decided to hit Tasmania’s East Coast. Not only is the weather rather temperate for winter (we only experienced temperatures reaching the mid-40’s), but the coast is full of many naturally gorgeous sights.
Like the Bay of Fires.
So beautiful.
22 Monday Jul 2013
Tags
Australia, Beauty Point, Launceston, Narawntapu National Park, Oceania, Platypus House, Rosevears, Seahorse World, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tasmania
Mr. Selfish and I spent a wonderful six nights in Tasmania, which is the little island off of the southern coast of Australia. We loved Tassie the most out of all the areas that we visited in Australia.
To get to Tassie, we took a short flight from Sydney to Hobart. We then rented a car since it’s difficult to get around otherwise. Here’s our six day itinerary, which was well-suited for the rainy winter weather we had at the time: Hobart to Launceston to St. Helens (near the Bay of Fires) to Swansea (near Wineglass Bay/Freycinet National Park) to Port Arthur to Hobart.
Next time, we’ll definitely hit up Cradle Mountain and some of the western portions of Tassie. And we’ll make sure that we go in the summer, instead of the dead of winter.
Upon our arrival in Tassie, we immediately drove to Rosevears, which is a little town outside of Launceston and about a 2.5 hour drive from Hobart. We spent two nights at a wonderful airbnb rental.
Our primary reason for staying in Rosevears was to visit Narawntapu National Park. The park is known as the “Serengeti of Tasmania” due to its abundant wildlife. I especially wanted to see wombats, which are stout little marsupials resembling teddy bears. I was not disappointed.
21 Sunday Jul 2013
Tags
Australia, Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Mossman Gorge, Oceania, Port Douglas, Queensland, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Wildlife Habitat
Mr. Selfish and I dove for two consecutive days at the Great Barrier Reef. We then had to spend another day in Port Douglas in order to decompress for at least 18 hours.
I had heard that Queensland was one of the few states in Australia that you could hold a koala, as opposed to just standing next to one. I learned that you could indeed cuddle with a koala at the Wildlife Habitat (Port Douglas Rd, Port Douglas QLD 4877, Australia), so I dragged Mr. Selfish there.
20 Saturday Jul 2013
Tags
Agincourt Reef, Australia, Cairns, Calypso, Great Barrier Reef, Oceania, Opal Reef, Poisedon, Port Douglas, Queensland, Selfish Years, The Selfish Years
Mr. Selfish and I became scuba certified in March 2012. One of the primary reasons for our certification was so that we could dive the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is practically every diver’s dream to dive at the GBR.
We took a short flight from Sydney to Cairns and then immediately rented a car to drive to Port Douglas, which was our home base for the three days we were in the area. The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas took about an hour and was lovely.
14 Sunday Jul 2013
Posted in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Sydney
Tags
Australia, Bankstown, Food & Drinks, Gelato, Malay, Mamak, Messina, Oceania, Pho, Pho An, Restauran An, Sydney
Looking back on our time in Sydney, I will remember all of the good food fondly. This post is dedicated to some of our more yummy bites in Sydney.
Mr. Selfish and I started queuing up for Mamak (15 Goulburn Street, Haymarke) around 4:55pm. The restaurant opens at 5pm, and the line was already around the block. It was worth the wait though because the food is authentic and delicious.
Mamak is known for its fresh roti and satay. We tried the plain roti canai ($5.50), the murtabak, which is roti filled with spicy chicken or lamb, cabbage, egg, and onions ($11.50), and the beef satay, which is served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce (1/2 dozen for $9.00). Everything was delicious but the standout dish was the plain roti canai. It was freshly made, crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.
13 Saturday Jul 2013
Tags
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of NSW, Australia, Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Oceania, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sydney
During our stay in Sydney, Mr. Selfish and I visited two museums – the Art Gallery of New South Wales (NSW) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. While we enjoyed ourselves at both museums, the reason for our enjoyment differed between the two museums.
The Art Gallery of NSW is located in Sydney’s central business district. The Art Gallery has four different levels with each level having a very eclectic collection. Mr. Selfish and I truly enjoyed viewing all of the different collections here.
10 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Sydney
Tags
4 Pines, Australia, Brew Pub, Food & Drinks, Four Pines, Lord Nelson, Manly, Oceania, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sydney, The Rocks
Mr. Selfish and I are so glad to once again be in a country with a brew pub culture. At first, we were a bit skeptical as to the microbreweries in Sydney but were quickly won over by two brew pubs – 4 Pines and the Lord Nelson Pub.
During our first nine days in Sydney, we stayed at my cousin’s apartment in Manly. In order to get to Manly from Sydney city center, you have to take the Manly ferry, which takes around 30 minutes and costs $5.80 per single trip. Although taking an hour trip and paying $11.60 to go to a brew pub seems a bit much, 4 Pines (29/43-45 E Esplanade, Manly) is worth the trip, especially on a day with a beautiful sunset.
08 Monday Jul 2013
Posted in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Sydney
Tags
Australia, Bills, Breakfast, Cafe Sopra, Food & Drinks, Italian, Oceania, Pub, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Surry Hills, Sydney, The Carrington, Waterloo
Mr. Selfish and I suffered serious sticker shock upon our arrival in Sydney. We found the food prices to be quite high. I saw a plain glazed donut in the mall that cost $3. Yeah, one donut. On the bright side, the quality of the food is consistently better than average. Even when we ate at a random establishment (sans any research), we were typically content with the food quality.
Although we didn’t spend much time in the Surry Hills area, Mr. Selfish and I did manage to eat at some nice restaurants. First, we found the breakfast at Bills (359 Crown Street) to be rather tasty.
The highlight of the meal was the ricotta hotcakes that came with banana and honeycomb butter ($19.50). The hotcakes melt in your mouth and the honeycomb butter adds a delightful texture. We also enjoyed the scrambled organic eggs ($14.50), which were the creamiest scrambled eggs I’ve ever tasted.
07 Sunday Jul 2013
Posted in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Sydney
Tags
Afternoon Tea, Australia, Before Midnight, CBD, Central Business District, Oceania, Queen Victoria Building, QVB, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, St. Mary's Cathedral, State Theatre, Sydney, Tea Room
Mr. Selfish and I were delighted to return to an English speaking country, particularly a former British colony. We immediately decided that we would go for afternoon tea and reacquaint ourselves with scones and clotted cream. Based on our Aussie friend’s recommendation, we decided to try the Tea Room at the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) in Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD).
06 Saturday Jul 2013
Posted in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Searching for the Best . . ., Sydney
Tags
Australia, Burgerlicious, Grill'd, Hurricane Grill, Oceania, Searching for the Best Burger in Sydney, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sydney
As soon as Mrs. Selfish and I hit the ground in Australia, we immediately started a search for Australia’s unique cheap eats. Surprisingly, this turned out to be southeastern Asian food. Apparently, Australia doesn’t have much in the way of a native food culture, there were some exceptions, however – pies and burgers.
The real kicker, however, is that food in Sydney is expensive. $3 for a donut expensive, or $5 for a chicken sandwich from McDonald’s expensive, or $20 for a sandwich from your local hipster joint expensive. The plus side is that pretty much anywhere you eat in Sydney is good. I’m half convinced you could walk down the street blindfolded and find a good meal – just be prepared to bring a load of cash.
With that in mind, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to find some of Sydney’s best “cheap eats,” starting with burgers.
Our first stop on the burger tour was Burgerlicious, located near Sydney’s Chinatown. We were expecting a cute sit down place, but the vibe was definitely more of a late-night post-drinking fast food joint. We later found out it was a local chain.
We ordered the “Jalapeso” as a meal for $14.90, which was filled with grilled onions, bacon, lettuce, avocado, jalapeno relish, and salsa. Since it was a meal it also came with chips, and a beverage.
The flavor combination was interesting, but it was an otherwise standard burger. The bun was a little soggy, and the lettuce was slightly wilted. The fries were more “chip” style, which usually means they are bigger and blander than the french fry style of fry.
We also ordered the “Parezian,” for $10 which had onions, mushrooms, camembert cheese, mustard, salad mix, sour cream, and tomato relish.
Where the “Jalapeso” was different, the “Parezian” was just disappointing, and slightly dry.
VERDICT: While on the cheaper side of burgers in Sydney, Burgerlicious was definitely not worth the money. While some of the concepts were interesting, the execution was a little lackluster.
SCORE: 6.5
05 Friday Jul 2013
Tags
Australia, Beach Infrastructure, Bondi, Bondi Beach, Bronte, Bronte Beach, Oceania, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sydney
Mr. Selfish and I were particularly surprised at the serious amounts of beach infrastructure in Sydney. Not only is a sizeable chunk of the population into water sports, but Sydney has the infrastructure to support it. As far as I could tell, each beach has its own “Surf Life Saving Club,” a salt water pool, and tons of paved walkways for scenic beach strolls.
We enjoyed the walk from Bondi beach to Bronte beach. We took this stroll during our first day in Sydney. Although we were quite jetlagged, we couldn’t fail to appreciate how beautiful it was.
04 Thursday Jul 2013
Tags
Australia, Harbour Bridge, Lady Macquarie's Chair, Oceania, Opera House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sydney
During our first day in Sydney, Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed perfect weather and were delighted to see the infamous Opera House. I found the Opera House to be quite lovely and feel that the numerous photos and film footage I’ve seen of it did not it justice. It is something else to see it with your own eyes and experience how the light dances off of the “shells.”
The Selfish Years 