Australia
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- Moni & Alex
And here again some travel advice and recommendations for beautiful Down Under... -
- Moni & Alex
Wikicamps
If you go camping in Australia (and you should), this is app comes very handy. It costs you roughly 5 AUD and you can download the different regions and access them offline. The map shows you all the campgrounds including pictures, a rating and reviews by the users - a bit like Tripadvisor for campgrounds. You find paying and free campgrounds and can easily filter for anything (facilities, price ranges, tent-friendly, etc). We used it a lot and it often lead us to the most incredible places to pitch our tent for free! Highly recommended and exists as well for New Zealand. -
- Moni & Alex
National Park Passes
If you stay in Australia for longer and travel around independently, it often pays off to buy a National Park Pass which is valid for one month. If do not want to buy the pass, you would have to buy a single entrance per person or vehicle each time you enter a National Park. You can buy the Park Pass online or with any Parks & Wildlife Office and best is to buy it for the vehicle (you need to give the registration number and display it behind the windscreen) so it is valid for up to 5 passengers in the car. Each state in Australia offers its own National Park Pass, so make sure you buy a separate one if you cross from one state into another. -
- Moni & Alex
Abbotsford Convent Melbourne
A bit outside the center, but easily reachable by foot or bus from the neighborhood and tram-line Collingwood, this old convent is nowadays an art, educational and historic center. It is a beautiful building in a beautiful garden and you have some nice and chilled restaurants and bars for a relaxed afternoon. Try the Lentil Restaurant where you pay what the meal is worth for you, it looked and smelled amazing. For kids there is a small farmland with animals around and on weekends there are some markets with local products. Beautiful and relaxed spot. -
- Moni & Alex
Clare Valley Wine Tasting
If you think of Australian wine, people will most likely think of Barossa Valley, but there are plenty more small wine regions. One of them is Clare Valley, a slightly elevated wine region about 1-2 hours north of Barossa Valley, which produces excellent white wine. Who would have thought of a Riesling when thinking of Australian wine. Drive through, there are plenty of nice little wineries around that offer tastings. One of the bigger ones is Jim Barry with a very nice and professional tasting room and a big range of red and white wine, but our favourite was Kirihill with amazing red wines and such a lovely old lady doing the tastings. You won't leave without buying at least one bottle. -
- Moni & Alex
Coober Pedy Old Timers Mine
Coober Pedy is a unique place on the to/from the Red Center. It is famous for its opal mining which is still performed today. So if you want to buy opals in the most amazing colours, this is the place to go. As Coober Pedy is located in the desert, summer days can get extremely hot (around 50 degrees) and winter nights can get freezing cold. To support these extreme weather conditions, the inhabitants of Coober Pedy are living like hobbits underground. There they have constant 24 degrees year-round. The very informative and self-guided Old Timers Mine combines a museum about the opal mining industry and illustrating some under-ground homes that really used to be inhabited. Very interesting and super crazy :). -
- Moni & Alex
Stefano's Café Mildura
Another little and not very well-known wine region in a beautiful setting at the big Murray River is Mildura. While we were just passing through we got a recommendation to go to Stefano's for lunch. We did and we were not disappointed. A rather small menu, but everything freshly prepared with local ingredients and it tasted sooooo yummy. On top you can taste the locally brewed beer from Stefano's brewery ;). Definitely worth a stop. -
- Moni & Alex
MONA Hobart
It is almost impossible to visit Hobart (Tasmania) without hearing about MONA. The probably most controversial museum in Tassie is mainly focused on the topics sex and death. There are quite some bizarre pieces of art, some plainly disgusting ones, but they also have some very interesting expositions. It is all underground and you get an iPhone with GPS that recognizes the art pieces around and displays you additional information. It is located a bit outside the center surrounded by vineyards and can equally be reached by car or ferry from Hobart city center. Opinions vary greatly, so go and see for yourself whether you like it, hate it or classify it as "an interesting experience". -
- Moni & Alex
Bruny Island Cheese Factory
All of Bruny Island offers outstanding local and fresh products, but the cheese factory (there is only one) was amazing. You can try some locally produced cheeses or some cheese platters with wood-fired bread or cheese wrapped in prosciutto and baked in the oven or or or. Just looking at the menu will water your mouth. And attached (very practical) is a small brewery where you can try local beer. Perfect, no? -
- Moni & Alex
Maria Island
Oh beautiful Maria Island. About 45min by ferry from Triabunna on the east coast of Tasmania, this is a small car-free island and paradise for nature and animal lovers. Make sure you spend at least one night on the island as all the animals come out at sunset. There are a couple of campgrounds and also one basic accommodation in the old penitentiary with dormitories (book ahead). There are lots of different walking and hiking trails to see the amazing scenery around the island and you can also rent a bike with the rangers. We have never seen so many kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and even some Tasmanian devils in the wild. Don't dare to leave Tasmania without visiting Maria Island!! -
- Moni & Alex
Jansz Winery
Located in the Tamar Valley in northern Tasmania, this little winery produces only sparkling wines. Out of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes they produce "à la méthode tasmanoise" and the result are some amazing champagne-style white or rosé sparklings. An elegant tasting room and a very nice and knowledgeable sales manager complete the professional appearance of Jansz. -
- Moni & Alex
Le Vietnam Perth
If you love Vietnamese Banh Mi (Vietnamese-style sandwiches), you need to go to Le Vietnam in Perth. Mind that if you go there for lunch the queue might be long as it is so popular. They have about 10-15 different variations of Banh Mi and the owner is a very nice Vietnamese guy who told us that he went to France to perfection the paté for hisBanh Mis and that he used to be a DJ before. Cool shop, great staff, excellent food! -
- Moni & Alex
Brown Hill Estate Margaret River
A not so famous winery in Margaret River (Western Australia) that offers a wide and excellent range of wines to try. Don't be put off by the seemingly grumpy old grandpa, he got a lot more sociable once we were tasting and chatting with him. Though at the beginning he also seemed quite arrogant ("My wine is the best. Nobody in the area makes better wine. And French wine is also crap.") he at the end gave us some good tips which other wineries to visit for good wine. And back to his own selection: the white wine was good, but it was the red wine that we preferred. For each grape Brown Hill produced a cheaper entry level wine, another mid-range more elegant wine and a high-end wine. And honestly speaking, already the entry level wines tasted really good!
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