Australia - Yeeeah

Bottle tree bush, Yarralumla, ACT

oversized rabbits

For a long while, I've laid off visiting Australia because of one simple reason: arachnophobia. And if you think it is safe to get into the waters, you'll have to share it with Great White Sharks and Salt water crocodiles. For an avid Scuba diver like me, it is a tough call as I would think 100x before i'll suit up for the Great Barrier Reef.

Nevertheless, Australia beckons and it was time to heed the call. This time it was work. My husband's work, to be accurate...




I flew Singapore Airlines from Zurich to Sydney, meeting my husband at 0600am at Sydney International airport as he flew Thai Airways. My tickets were round trip on Premium Economy while he was in Business Class. The difference in flight class was huge and since I had to foot the bill, I decided less is better.

Parliament House... harmless creature

Jerrabomberra & National Rose Gardens

Clearing immigration was swift with my AUS$20 tourist visa purchased online. I cleared Customs in a blink, as I had nothing to declare. And I am sure that every savvy traveller already knows about Australia's strict policies on bringing in foodstuff, whether dead or alive.

We took the Murray Express service coach from Sydney to Canberra.. There wasn't very much to see, only stretches of highway and sporadic settlements, enough to lull most of the passengers to sleep.


After the 3 hour road trip, we disembarked at The Jolimont Centre, where the coach terminus is located. We boarded a taxi-van to The Burbury Hotel Canberra, which was on the other side of town.

This chic business hotel is part of the Doma Hotels which also include three other hotels & apartments, and several restaurants offering Chinese, Japanese, Grill and Fusion cuisines. All these  restaurants looked polished and posh, but I wasn't so sure if the nosh justifies the cost, as the restaurants were empty most of the time. One thing that was free, was the use of the lap pool and the health club.

Stepping into the bright, but nippy, Canberra morning, I was surprised by the screeching and strange bird calls that echoed throughout the skies. I realised quickly that wild cockatoos and parrots are as common as house sparrows and mynahs in Singapore. One Sulphur-crested Cockatoo would fetch a handsome price in a pet shop! Not to mention the pretty Rainbow Lorikeet ! See Link

Expansive parks with lots of towering gum trees mark the Canberra landscape: there are over 400 species of eucalypts in Australia. This is really picnic city, and it is also a cyclist paradise with designated cycle paths and pretty lakeside views.

read and learn something here

survival tips even Bear Grylls would love to know

I decided to visit the Australian Botanic Gardens as I became intrigued with its flora and fauna. It is different from any other country that I have visited so far.  Only South Africa would have more or less the same kind of vegetation and landscape. I marvelled at the Aboriginals' knowledge in harnessing nature and plants for survival in such an unforgiving terrain.

Aboriginal craft

For solo travellers,  it is handy to know that the ACT transport office  is located at the bus terminal in the city centre. Here you can pick up bus schedules and route maps. There is also a free Culture Loop Bus that stops at 8 different sights, taking you to the city centre proper,  National Museum of Australia , National Gallery of Australia, Parliament House, Old Parliament House and a few more stops. Taxis are plenty too, and for the app users, there is Uber, Ola and Taxify.  Most places of interest, like museums, have free wifi, so that is super useful too. Otherwise, you can buy local SIM cards at the airport. 

Aboriginal art

In my opinion, eating out in Canberra is expensive. Restaurants charge pretty high prices for food like pizzas and salads. Even nondescript cafes within the museums charge a lot for just a slice of cake and tea. I queried a well educated Aussie who happened to sit next to me at a dinner. His answer was multi-factorial: harsh climate, stringent rules and regulations, expensive labour, limited supplies, and logistics all lead to Australia being one of the most costly countries in the world.  Hence I am amazed that immigrants still continue to call Australia home. Am I missing something here?

Manly beach

After 5 days in Canberra, we headed to Sydney by train. It takes about 4 hours, but for travellers, it was fun gazing at the open bushland and spying kangaroos and wallaby along the way.

We arrived at Sydney Central Station and changed to another train to Rydges Sydney Airport hotel@Sydney International Airport.  As we had only slightly under 36 hours to catch our flights back to Brussels, it made sense to park ourselves at the airport hotel. Little did we know that it would be a costly affair, as all trains to and from Sydney International Airport, carry an additional airport surcharge which is 4x the actual train ticket price. Hence a single trip originating from the airport into Sydney downtown costs AUS$18.70. ( the train ticket cost AUS$4.30 ) Crikey!

ship ahoy to Manly Beach

sunset over sydney harbour

Nonetheless, we bit the bullet and took the train from the airport to City Circular Quay. From there it was just a minute walk to the Sydney Opera house. We caught the regular harbour ferry to Manly Beach and spent some time on this famous strip. At sunset, we headed back to Circular Quay where we ended up at Jimmy's Recipe at Gateway Circular Quay,  a Malaysian diner,  for some prawn noodle soup and nasi lemak. It wasn't cheap but then again, this is Sydney.

The best thing we did was to invest in the AUS$35 OPAL travel card. It saves a bit on the public transport in Sydney including harbour ferries and there is a maximum daily ceiling of spending of no more than AUS$15.80. And you get to keep the card as a souvenir.

obligatory we-fi