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Australia

Networking with Other Bloggers at SMC Phoenix

Dec 11th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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Last night, I attended a Social Media Club Phoenix event. It as all about blogging and bloggers, with a panel of four bloggers of various stripes. Two were tech bloggers, one was a professional lifestyle blogger and the last was a guy who just posts his thoughts when they occur to him. The last guy, Matthew Petro, was the reason I attended. We have some common friends, and he seems like a mensch (to borrow some Yiddish).
The panel started off with a pretty obvious question, and one I’ve never addressed here: Why do you blog?
I never actually considered having a WordPress blog -or a blog other than my deeply buried Livejournal account- until a few years ago. I was interviewing a teenager for work. He’d visited Australia on a trip through a children’s charity that grants the wishes of kids with life-threatening medical conditions. This was shortly after I’d returned from Australia myself.
His trip was mostly in Sydney, and mine was a pretty far-flung event. So we swapped tales, and he suggested that I send him some photos.
That got me thinking – if one guy was interested in my trip to Australia, maybe a few other people would be. So I started the blog just to have a reminder of my trip. Then I kept coming up with topics that were travel and adventure-related. Now, you have before you this increasingly messy but interesting (I hope) bunch of content. I really need to take the CodeWhacker to some of the [...]

So You’re Going to Australia … 11 Handy Tips

Aug 24th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
3 comments

I know of more than a few wise people who are following my advice and heading really, really far south. Good on ya, as they’ll say in Australia. Rather than just hording my favorite tips for family and friends, I’ll share ‘em with all of you.
1. Airline tickets – Australia’s a bloody big country, and it’s also very empty in the center. If you want to visit a few cities (and you should), think about something like the Qantas Aussie AirPass. I couldn’t find anything similar from Air New Zealand or V Australia – that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist – call either airline and ask if they have something to compete with Qantas for multi-city visits.
2. Eating in the air – Don’t bring food. None of the Australia or New Zealand-based airlines will starve you. In fact, they’ll try to stuff you full of food, fresh fruit and free beer and wine. You’ll even get breakfast. Also, being a big island, Australia is determined to keep foreign stuff away. Even your snacks can pose a threat to the Australian ecosystem, apparently. So away put your trail mix – you will not be needing it.
3. Clean your outdoor gear – I showed up with dirt from my local trails on my hiking boots. This was met with extreme disapproval by the Ozzy customs agents. Again, it’s an ecosystem thing. So arrive with clean gear.
4. This isn’t the usual coffee – Australia has a pretty distinct coffee culture. Rarely will you [...]

Watch Wallabies and other Wildlife in Australia’s Top End

Jun 11th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
3 comments

Everyone has a reason for traveling – shopping, lying by the beach, sightseeing, sampling cuisine.
It seeing wildlife is the reason you book long-haul flights, put Australia high on your list. The entire continent is too much for most people to explore in a single trip – especially us Americans who struggle to get two weeks away from the cubicle. If you want to maximize the number of creatures you’ll see, there’s one place you need to visit: The Northern Territory, or Top End as it’s often known in Australia. It’s a real Australian travel experience you’ll always remember.
If you’ve seen Crocodile Dundee, you’ve caught a glimpse of the Northern Territory. It’s littered with towns bearing lyrical names like Humpty Doo and Jabiru, most derived from Aboriginal languages. Among its centerpieces is the Kakadu National Park,  measuring nearly 60 by 120
And each square mile of both the Top End and the Kakadu is overflowing with creatures of every size, shape and classification. The roads are rough. The distances are formidable. The routes are varying. And many of the creatures are fierece. That makes a guide a good idea. I highly recommend Wilderness Adventures.
During my time bouncing around the NT, here are some spots that yielded the best creature sightings (WARNING – mind your guides and everything they say about staying safe. Your life is on the line out there):

Corroboree Billabong

This place is absolutely crawling with crocs. You know you’re starting to get assimilated when you point one out to your travel buddies and [...]

Making Peace with Vegetarians – A Visit to Cape Trib’s Fruit Farm

May 13th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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The Cape Trib Exotic Fruit farm in Australia – it’s a Garden of Eatin’ where you can try all sorts of exotic fruits. And I’ll bet you haven’t even heard of most of them.

Can You Survive These 5 Foods?

May 7th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
1 comment

When I travel, I make it a point to find something weird to eat. I’d prefer it not be something I can get just anywhere – I scoured Web sites for a way to get a fresh black sapote fruit here in Arizona, but no dice: I had to chase that all the way to Cape Tribulation in Queensland, Australia.
But I encounter the weirdest purely by accident. Here are a few wild foods that can delight or disgust, depending on your palette.
Dangerous Delectables from Down Under
As you might guess, they’ll eat just about anything in New Zealand – especially it’s #1 pest,
the imported possum. While exploring the South Island of New Zealand, be sure to stop in Pukekura at the Sandfly Cafe. There, you can sample a personal-sized possum pie. Yeah, it’s a big ol’ ratlike marsupial. But, as Naked Bus driver Renee says, “It’s easy to eat!” It really doesn’t taste that different from beef. But you know it’s possum, and that makes it fun.
Australia gets two entries on my list of must-try whacky foods. If you’ve just arrived in Sydney, check out the Australian Heritage Hotel and its excellent restaurant. If you’re up for a liberal and exotic interpretation of a pizza, pick from emu, kangaroo or salt-water crocodile toppings. I chose the croc, and got a chicken-like texture with a briny hint of billabong. I hope your plans take you to Darwin in the Top End – it’s the starting point for awesome adventures into the Kakadu. It’s [...]

A Warning on the Latest Qantas “Deal”

Apr 14th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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The Qantas Red e-Mail just arrived in my box this morning, touting another 2-for-1 special from U.S. airports to Australian airports (no mention of New Zealand).
I have to say, this is possibly the worst deal I’ve seen from Qantas in a long time – check it:
For one week only! Book these amazing deals for 2 on selected Qantas International airfares. Deals are available in Premium Economy to Sydney & Melbourne (where service is available) and International Business to Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane**.
This great 2-for-1 offer applies to selected International airfares for departures in International Business between 19 April and 31 August 2009 and in Premium Economy between 1 May and 8 June 2009 or between 24 July and 31 August 2009. Each passenger must pay applicable taxes and fees and tickets must be purchased at least 72 hours prior to departure. Child discounts apply to this offer. More Australian destinations available at additional cost.
Here’s what Qantas isn’t saying: If you plunk down for one of these “Specials,” there’s a sneaky surprise waiting for you. You’ll only get 50 percent of your mileage from American Airlines – but from the formerly wonderful folks at Continental Airlines -which boldy lists Qantas as an airline partner, you’ll get zip. Zilch. Nada. Not a single, solitary air mile.
If you look around the Qantas site enough, you can get a decent deal without coughing up your valuable air miles. Don’t fall for this deal. If the airmiles aren’t that big a deal, at least put [...]

My Top 5 Flights – Plus, a Site for Flight Geeks

Apr 4th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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The rise of Facebook as a great time-waster is pretty well-documented, and now aviation geeks have their own way to flush hours down the lavatory: Let me introduce FlightMemory.com, a Web site that lets you input all your commercial flights. It then tracks your time and mileage and plots it on a map. You can even order a poster based on your flight paths. (Thanks to Things in the Sky for the discovery.)
What’s kind of useful is that you can choose to enter the bare-minimum of details, or delve into
excruciating detail about every single thing the airline, TSA and airport employees did wrong – or you can praise them for those times when “customer service” isn’t a punchline.
I’m still working on getting my flights in, but I’ve made some headway. It’s quite a lot of fun, especially since it appears to be of German origin and translated by members of The Scorpions while they were on tour with Van Halen circa 1985 (“We can now offer you some new thingies for your pleasure – introducing the FlightMemory shop!” … tell me you couldn’t hear Klaus Meine saying that!).

Competition Heats up with V Australia’s Debut

Mar 26th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
3 comments

Right about now, Qantas should really be thinking about what it can do better.
The launch of V Australia should really change the game for getting to Australasia from the United States. Before now, if you wanted to go to Australia or New Zealand from North America, you were flying either Qantas or Air New Zealand.
Fortunately for travelers, both have been pretty good options. And when I say “pretty good,” I mean pretty good once you’re aloft. The cabin crews are great. At the gate and on the phone, though, the best I can say is that the staff is icily polite but intractable.
Qantas has slipped in my esteem after the recent return from Auckland to Los Angeles. A flight that’s nearly three hours late taking off doesn’t amuse me, especially when the culprit was a door seal that should’ve been caught during a maintenance check. It gets even worse when this delay caused me to miss a connecting flight, and Qantas hung me out to dry (Qantas tried to tell me that, since I didn’t book the connection through them, that I was on my own. I pointed out that I tried to, and they refused.).
Still, the snarls you might hear about Qantas’ shenanigans have some basis in fact. And they open the door to V Australia to cut significantly into its business. As you might guess, V Australia is affiliated with the Virgin brand, which is really getting a lot of applause. It might come down to airline [...]

Land of the Aussies Versus Home of the Kiwis

Mar 19th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
6 comments

The crater of Mount Ngauruhoe

Since I’ve been to both Australia and New Zealand, I’ve had a lot of people asking me which one I like better. You can read my answer at the end, but now it’s time to figure out which one you should visit first. Here’s my take on some head-to-head comparisons:
Food – This is pretty much a draw. Both are relatively close to Africa and Asia, in addition to having a lot of European influences. If you can’t find good food in Australia and/or New Zealand, you’re just too picky and set in your ways. Because I ate camel, crocodile and emu on its shores, this round goes to AUSTRALIA!

From Australia

People – Australians are gregarious and have a natural exuberance. All you need to do to break the ice with an Australian is ask them about footy (Australian rules football), rugby or cricket. Boom, you’re in! With a Kiwi, there will be no need to break the ice. They are born talkers. They have a slightly more proper English vibe to them, though. You’ll find people in both countries pleasant and laid-back, for sure. But being a bit more loud and exuberant myself, I say advantage AUSTRALIA!
Scenery – The entire middle of Australia is desert. The coasts vary a bit. You’ll have rain forests, and even snowier patches! A lot of the continent is remote and unspoiled. It’s darn pretty. But holy cow, New Zealand will boggle your mind. There’s a reason epic movies and adventure-themed TV [...]

Coffee Culture Showdown – Comparing Caffeine

Mar 17th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
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Coffee is a shape-shifting drink. No matter what country you’re in, that country has added something distinct to the coffee bean and the way people drink it. Each time I travel out of North America, I find a little learning curve waiting for me.
Imagine an Australian visiting a cafe in California and asking for a flat white. You can count on that traveler getting a blank stare from the barista. Same for an American visiting a non-Starbucks coffeehouse in Costa Rica asking for a Frappuccino, and so on.

My first experience abroad as a coffee drinker was in Costa Rica. I was expected some awesome coffee since Costa Rica is famous for exporting quality beans. I couldn’t wait to drink some coffee – even after checking into our hotel at about 9 p.m., I found a pot brewing in the lobby. I scoured the area looking for cream, only to find out Costa Ricans don’t take cream in their coffee. Better yet, I learned it doesn’t really need it. I also found that just about any place that serves coffee serves it well, from a roadside soda to a full-service coffee pillar like Cafe Milagro. Most of it is brewed rather than served espresso style.

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