25 Thursday Jul 2013
While we still had the car, Mr. Selfish and I visited Port Arthur, which is the former convict settlement on Tasmania. From 1833 until 1853, Port Arthur was a penal colony for the hardest of British criminals. In fact, in order to get into Port Arthur, you had to be a secondary offender that reoffended after coming to Australia.
Even though it was a penal colony, Port Arthur has a beautiful setting. It is set on a verdant peninsula, which is probably more cruel than anything.
24 Wednesday Jul 2013
Posted in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Tasmania
Tags
Australia, Barilla Bar, Barilla Oysters, Food & Drinks, Holy Cow Cafe, Josef Chromy, Kate's Berry Farm, Oceania, Pyengana, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Tasmania, Velo
Mr. Selfish and I were surprised at the quality of food in Tasmania. Everything that we ate was simply delicious. Since Tassie is an island, the vast majority of the food is local, which means that everything that you eat is fresh and in season.
The first stops we made were at two wineries in Tamar Valley. On our way from Hobart to Rosevears, we stopped at the Josef Chromy winery (370 Relbia Road, Relbia 7258) for lunch and a wine tasting.
We enjoyed a yummy saffron soup, greens, and a salmon and fenugreek risotto. We also had a wine tasting. Tamar Valley is known for its white wines, which me and Mr. Selfish adore. We restrained ourselves and only purchased one bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc.
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.
15 Monday Jul 2013
Posted in Accommodations, Australia, Hyatt, Oceania, Sydney, Travel Hacking
Mrs. Selfish and I visited Sydney a total of three times during our Selfish Year of travels, since Sydney is the major airport in the Oceania region. During our first stay, we stayed with family in the Manly area. For our second stay, we rented a flat downtown – in the seedy red light district.
Our third and final stay was different, however. Having booked us flights to Cairns to dive the Great Barrier Reef I was having a heck of a time finding a flight that would connect us through Sydney in time to catch our flight to Tasmania.
Finally giving up, I decided we’d have to spend one more night in Sydney. And we’d have to do it in style.
At the Park Hyatt Sydney.
Aw yeah.
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.
12 Friday Jul 2013
Posted in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Searching for the Best . . ., Sydney
Tags
Aussie Pies, Bourke Street Bakery, Harry's Cafe on Wheels, Oceania, Pie Face, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sydney
One of the true Aussie specialty foods, Aussie Pies are like miniature chicken pot pies – a little bit of joy that fits in the palm of your hand. Aussie Pies come in a ton of varieties, though the most common types we encountered were Steak & Pepper, Chicken & Leeks, and Steak & Kidneys. You can find them at pretty much any bakery, pub, or grocery store. So good.
After our first encounter with an Aussie Pie Mrs. Selfish and I were hooked, so we set out to find the Best Aussie Pie in Sydney.
Our first introduction to Aussie Pies, Harry’s Café on Wheels is a mainstay in Sydney, having been in the city since 1945. Mrs. Selfish and I decided to try the Tiger, which is beef pie with mash & mushy peas.
The Tiger had excellent flavor, with the beef flavor blending sublimely with the gravy, mash and mushy peas. More mountain of food then hand-sized pie, I was surprised at how well the pie’s crust stood up to the gravy and peas – maintaining its crunch through the course of the (albeit short) meal.
VERDICT: Decadent & delicious, the Tiger was loaded with flavor – and mash & peas. We later tried the curry variation, which was excellent as well, but for a starter pie I would try their classic Tiger.
SCORE: 9.5
11 Thursday Jul 2013
Tags
Blue Mountains, Katoomba, Oceania, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Sydney, Three Sisters, Wentworth Falls
After spending two weeks in Sydney, we were slowly but surely running out of city activities. With that in mind, Mrs. Selfish and I started researching quick day trips – something that would take less than 2 hours to drive to, given the limited sunlight during Australia’s winter season.
The Blue Mountains quickly rose to the top of the list. Only a 1.5 hour drive from the center of the city, the blue mountains are quite literally blue from a distance thanks to some freaky optical illusion.
We did a quick search for rentals, and managed to snag a medium-sized car from Budget for ~$35 a day. We left at 9am, and around 10 we hit the information center, where we grabbed a map.
The biggest local attraction is the Three Sisters, a geographic formation that local legends claim is three sisters turned into stone by their overprotective father. Unfortunately he died before we could turn them back.
Fortunately for the local tourism business in Katoomba, the three sisters is a crowd pleaser. The information center repeatedly tried to sell us on Scenic World, a tourist trap that boasts “free parking” and a $35 ride to and from the plateau to the valley via a glass-bottom gondola.
The Three Sisters are pretty, but be prepared for crowds!
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.
09 Tuesday Jul 2013
Tags
Manly is a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Sydney, ideal for surfing, swimming, and long walks on the beach. Since Mrs. Selfish and I don’t really do any of those things, we decided to make the most of Manly and try the famed Manly Walk.
The walk is roughly 11 kilometers in length if you go to Shelly Beach then Spit Bridge, and can easily take the better part of a day. It’s also home to some of the more beautiful sights in Manly.
The manly walk starts from where you pick up the ferry and heads through Shelly Beach before looping back.
The cliffs past Shelly Beach were quite epic. Shortly after the path hit the ruins of an old fort.
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).
The Selfish Years 