December 2012 101

Issue 4 | December 2012

SYDNEYGreat sights. Great Food. Great Shops.

Western Australia’s Winter Getaways

Explore the Australian Outback

$7.99

HAS IT ALL

December 2012 7

Table of Contents December 2012

98INSIDER SYDNEY: THE ICONS AND BEYONDPlan the perfect Sydney vacation. See iconic sights such as the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, and Bondi Beach. Whether you’re going with your friends or with your family, Sydney has it all.

Cover Story

Features

Regulars

WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S WINTER GETAWAYS

Enjoy your winter holidays instead of being locked up in your home. Relax at a spa or go wine tasting at one of Western Australia’s renowned wineries.

GOING EXTINCT!ENDANGERED SPECIES

Australia is known for its very well known and somewhat strange wildlife. However, many of these species are at risk of becoming endangered. Find out which of these species are and why.

EXPLORE THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK

Rent a van and take a road trip through the Australian Outback. Learn tips on where to go, where to stop, and how to be safe on this unforgettable adventure.

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HOTEL GUIDE20 Ayers Rock Hotels

26 Adelaide Hotels

32 Perth Hotels RESTAURANTS40 Top Sydney Restaurants

PLAN YOUR TRIP54 Essentials for an

Australian Getaway

SIGHT SEEING66 Great Melbourne Sight

Seeing Tips

74 Ten Australian Must Sees

SHOPPING90 Dress Like an Australian

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THE ICONS & BEYONDSydney. It’s a city built from icons that make your jaw drop — the Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach — but there’s also plenty of substance behind the flash. Get the best of both worlds with these insider tips.

INSIDERSYDNEY

December 2012100

T he suburbs of Sydney are all

unique in their own way. There’s

Bondi (flashy, beachy, great cafes

if you know where to look),

Newtown (alternative chic),

Paddington (uptown chic and Australian

designer boutiques) and more. But if you’re

looking for a cosmopolitan kind of day, hang

out in Darlinghurst and Surry Hills and eat/

drink/shop til you drop. Gourmet grocers

and nichey boutiques like Wheels and Doll

Baby abound. The Book Kitchen is a great

spot for brunch and a browse of their

massive range of cookbooks. The Bourke

Street Bakery is a must stop.

GET YOUR ART FIXSet aside an entire day to get your art fix

— start off at 2 Danks Street, an incredible

warehouse complex of mini-galleries in

the back streets of Waterloo (you can get

amazing brunches from the award-winning

cafe there) then head over to the grand and

challenging Museum of Contemporary Art,

where the works are as inspiring as the

Circular Quay view.

Royal Botanic Gardens

EAT YOUR WAY ACROSS SYDNEY

When it comes to food, there’s a lot on offer in Sydney, especially if you’re a fan of

seafood, mod Oz and Thai. Here’s a little tasting plate.

• Crown Street in the suburb of Surry Hills is lined with eclectic eateries and famous

restaurants like Spice I Am, Billy Kwong (Kylie Kwong) and Bills Surry Hills (Bill

Granger). Zip around the corner to Le Monde or Fifi Foveaux for great egg breakfasts.

• For a quintessential Sydney dining experience (ie food, sea and swank), head to

Hugo’s in the beach suburb of Manly. All you need to do is hop off the ferry and

you’re there — try for a seaside seat.

• Newtown has a heap of cafes, quick cheap Thai restaurants and

killer coffee at Campos on Missenden Road.

• Kings Cross may have a dicey reputation but Macleay Street is

home to many a lovely restaurant and deli these days. Try Yellow

for great food and supplies.

• Cleveland Street (which crosses through Surry Hills) will find

you surrounded by affordable and super-tasty Middle Eastern

food — there are too many to recommend!

• For low-rent dining fun on the city fringe, get yourself some

fish fingers and mash (fairly certain it’s from a packet) at Betty’s

Soup Kitchen or chips and rissoles at the ancient, perplexing but

unforgettable Oceanic Cafe.

PLONK YOURSELF ON A BEACHNeed to work on that tan? Sure, you have

to see Bondi but you could also throw your

towel down at nearby Bronte or Tamarama,

or on some of the less well-known city

beaches like Shelly Beach near Manly and

Camp Cove near Watson’s Bay.

Bondi Beach

TAKE A WALKStroll around the city’s Royal Botanic Gardens

(which just happen to afford a fantastic

view of the Opera House) or walk around

Cremorne Point and take in the beautiful

gardens and fantastic city views. It’s on the

other side of the harbour from the Opera

House, and you can ride a ferry each way.

One of Sydney’s best walks is along the

cliff tops from Bondi to Coogee. With sea

views all the way and cafes to break up the

journey (in Bronte), it’s as loved by locals

as it is by tourists. If you’re there around

October/November, you might be lucky

enough to see Sculpture by the Sea, a yearly

exhibition that installs itself on the beach

and gives it a magical feel.

One of Sydney’s best walks is along the

cliff tops from Bondi to Coogee. With sea

views all the way and cafes to break up

the journey, it’s as loved by locals as it

is by tourists.

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Collette Dinnigan and Akira Isogawa in

nearby Woollahra). In Glebe there’s the

much loved Gleebooks, and check out

Newtown’s Better Read Than Dead, Holy

Moley, Egg Records.

The flea-market set will fall in love with the

Surry Hills Market held the first Saturday of

every month (not to mention the Paddington,

Glebe, and Bondi weekend markets). The

markets are great for picking up a bargain

— think vintage home wares and handmade

clothes — and the people watching cannot be

beat (look for the stall holder selling pictures

of himself in wrestling gear). Afterwards,

enjoy the leafy vista from the upstairs

balcony of the Clock Hotel next door for a

breezy Sunday afternoon.

GETTING AROUND• If you’re travelling solo, save by catching the train from the airport to the city rather spending

big on a taxi. But if there are two or more of you it is worth taking a cab (they come with

baby seats if you request them).

• Don’t bother with the monorail. It’s pricey and doesn’t take you far. The CBD is easily walkable.

• Get a ferry anywhere. The views are awesome and there’s always something worth seeing

at the other end.

• Jump on the Neutral Bay ferry or Mosman ferry from Circular Quay about 30 minutes

before sunset and get a world class view of Sydney Harbour for under $10. Don’t bother

getting off, just stay on the ferry until it returns to Circular Quay. ●

Get a ferry anywhere. The views are

awesome and there’s always something

worth seeing at the other end.

STAY OUT ALL NIGHTCheck out Kings Cross, Sydney’s colourful

red-light district. It’s not for prudes but

plenty of budget travellers make it their

temporary home thanks to its cheap lodgings

and plentiful bars.

If you’re looking for a drink with a view,

head to Opera Bar at the Opera House —

sure it’s a bit cheesy, but it is also one of

life’s pleasures to watch the sun go down

on Sydney’s biggest icons with a cocktail

in hand. Or if you want something a little

more clandestine and wicked, delve into the

shadows of Surry Hills’ Absinthe Salon. The

wood–panelled Victoria Room in Darlinghurst

goes from day to night seamlessly; depending

on what time you go, you could be in for

High Tea, a cocktail or dinner.

SHOP YOUR SOCKS OFFYou might want to dive into the cut and

thrust of the CBD, or wander the warm,

old-fashioned delights of the multi-level

Queen Victoria Building, but sophisticated

shoppers head for the boutiques, cafes and

bookshops of Paddington (for original

Australian design like Dinosaur Designs,

Sydney is Australia’s largest and best known city, loaded with fun for families and

singles looking for action. Be aware that Sydney is a little on the pricey-side of travel life

as it has ranked as one of the top 30 most expensive cities in the world and is the most

expensive in Australia.

FAMILY VACATIONSydney is family-friendly. Hop on a

ferry and taking a beautiful, serene ride

through Sydney Harbour. The Taraonga

Zoo is one place to visit that’s just a ferry

ride away to one of the world’s best zoos.

The zoo offers one of the best views of

the Harbour. A well known happening at

this zoo is their Roar ‘n’ Snore overnight

adventure, where your family is awakened

by roaring lions!

For a cheap day trip check out the two

way boat on the Harbour with a fun

destination stop in between that will be a

nice surprise! You’ll encounter all kinds of

watercrafts and don’t forget to bring your

camera for some of the most awesome

scenery in the world.

ROMANTIC GETAWAYBut if you’re not tied down with

youngsters yet, Sydney welcomes you

too! It is an absolute must for singles and

young married travelers looking for the

getaway of your life. With four district

areas to choose from there is bound to

be something happening in the areas of

your choosing that you will like. Northern

Sydney is where you will find breath-taking

beaches like Palm Beach and Manly.

There are also lots of cafes to satisfy

every hunger you can imagine. Take note

however that some of the restaurants are

plush and on the costly side, so come

prepared to enjoy your selves financially.

Taraonga Zoo

Harbour Ferries

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GOING EXTINCT!Australia’s Endangered Species

CENTRALROCK RAT

BANDED HAREWALLABY

SHORT NECKEDTURTLE

TASMANIANTIGER

Found in the southern portion of Northern Australia,

the Central Rock Rat was believed to be extinct until

it was rediscovered in 1996. It is believed its main

threats are loss of habitat due to forest fires and being

preyed upon by Dingoes.

The banded hare wallaby is found on

Bernier and Dorre Islands in Shark

Bay, Western Australia. The banded

hare wallaby has disappeared from

most of its range because of the

clearing of vegetation for agriculture,

competition for food with nonnative

mammals and predation by nonnative

animals like cats and foxes. It is now

protected by law in Western Australia.

The short-necked turtle is a small freshwater turtle

and Australia’s most critically endangered reptile.

This species has a restricted distribution and depends

on its swamp habitat which has been greatly reduced

and disturbed by draining and filling for agricultural

purposes. The species also suffers predation by the

introduced red fox.

Also known as the Tasmanian wolf, the Tasmanian

tiger is a large marsupial native to Tasmania in

Australia that closely resembles a striped coyote. Most

scientists believe that this creature is extinct, but dozens

of unconfirmed sightings and even tiger tracks are

reported each year in remote areas of the state.

1843

1805

1935

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Dozens of Australia’s animals are currently on the endangered species list. The reasons for the depopulation of these animals ranges from the clearing of vegetation for agriculture to competition for food with nonnative mammals to predation by nonnative animals. Preservation efforts around the continent are being enacted to prevent any more of these animals going extinct. Many of the aniamls are being bred in captivity to ensure that the population lives on.

GONE!1800

TURQUOISEPARAKEET

BRINDLED NAIL-TAILED WALLABY

2013

DWARF EMU(1822)

KANGAROOISLAND EMU(1805)

BIG-EAREDHOPPING MOUSE(1843)

EASTERNHARE-WALLABY(1890)

ROBUSTWHITE EYE(1920)

PIG FOOTEDBANDICOOT(1950)

NORFOLK ISLANDBOOBOOK(1996)

TASMANIAN EMU(1850)

MACLEAR RAT(1908)

CENTRAL HAREWALLABY

(1935)

SOUTHERNDAY FROG

(1979)

The turquoise parakeet is endemic to eastern

Australia, and its range extends from northeastern

Victoria, through NSW to the granite belt of

southeast Queensland. Threats to the species

include loss of habitat due to clearing of forest

for logging, wild fires, and grazing.

The brindled nail-tailed wallaby was once thought to

be extinct until rediscovered in 1973 in an area near

Queensland. The population of the bridled nail-

tailed wallaby has declined due to competition with

domestic animals, loss of habitat, and predation by

introduced animals such as foxes and dingoes.

1979