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A different side to Melbourne

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It was probably not the best week to be travelling by plane. Not with the tragic news that was emerging, the discovery of the body of Emiliano Sala, the Argentinian footballer, whose plane disappeared from the screens of radar whilst flying to the UK.

I was thinking of the folly of flying just days later, as we were thrown about inside the plane like the contents of a cocktail shaker. Very shaken. Very stirred. The dips in altitude were so severe it took me right back to being a teenager, and daring to ride the Revolution at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Losing your stomach for those thrilling few seconds. However, this time, I was less thrilled. I know one or two people who wouldn’t have handled this situation with quite the same sense of decorum.

As we were flying budget, with JetStar (who I still confuse with EasyJet), I suppose that the fact we were now ‘wheels down’, and safely in Melbourne is all I could ask for. That we had to fly into, and out of different airports is another matter altogether. Fans of Ryanair in Europe will no doubt feel my pain.

Once in Melbourne, and until at least we had to fly back, the ambience, and comfort level were ratcheted up a couple of notches. Staying at the Pan Pacific, right on the Yarra River, by the Melbourne Conference Centre, ensured we would get a good nights sleep. And we did. With possibly the world’s best black out blinds. Bearing in mind that at home in Sydney, it is so bright in the mornings that I might as well have a torch trained on me, then anything that blocked out the morning sun was sure to be a winner. With complimentary access to the Pan Pacific Club Lounge, with complimentary hors d’ouerves and wine between 5pm and 7pm, I was in my element.

Melbourne skyline

However, I had to be restrained with the nibbles, as on Saturday night we had a dinner reservation at Donovans, right on the beach at St Kilda. A local institution, for over 22 years, Donovans lived up to, and probably exceeded my already high expectations. Friendly and attentive service, without being over bearing. In restaurants I sometimes get all cranky when I’m left feeling that advice on the wine list starts to feel a little patronising. Not here. If anything was to leave me feeling cranky it would be the fact that I could only choose one entree and one main course. The menu had an excellent selection, and I could happily have gone back the second night.

I landed on the goats cheese souffle with mushroom sauce, and for main, the outstanding seafood linguine, with Moreton Bay bug. In keeping with recent dining experiences, this was the first time I had eaten Moreton Bay bug. The name does nothing to increase my appetite. And they look even worse. But when I tell you this little beauty is like the best lobster tail, you may, like me, find yourself changing your mind. As Victoria was having a meat dish we chose to pair different wines to our dishes. Donovans accommodates this with a very good selection of half bottles, elegantly served in carafes. I went for the Pewsey Vale ‘Block 1961’ Riesling 2017, from Eden Valley, South Australia, whilst Victoria paired an excellent Wilson ‘Stone Craft’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 from Clare Valley, also in South Australia, with her Tasmanian grass fed T-bone.

Seafood linguine
Check out that Moreton Bay bug

Sunday dawned just a little bit dusty, nothing to do with those whisky nightcaps, and following breakfast in the hotel we had a walk across town to shake off the cobwebs. The Melbourne skyline seems to change every time I am here. The top of town gets more “Manhattan like” with needle style skyscrapers going up in a lot of places. I do worry that there will be a tipping point, beyond which Melbourne will start losing some of its character. It has built a tourist industry out of its lane ways, packing them with great bars and cafes, whilst using the walls as open air art. The more these older buildings are demolished to make way for modernity, the more I worry this great city will lose some of its charm, and character.

Jumping on a number 64 tram, we headed, at least we thought we were, towards Brighton, a suburb that we hadn’t previously visited. After a tram ride that took longer than we expected, probably due to the sheer number of people travelling to the St Kilda music festival, we disembarked at the last stop, only to find ourselves in East Brighton, and still a 45 minute walk away from the beach, through suburbia. Putting our best foot forward, we marched through a very salubrious set of neighbourhoods, before finally smelling the sea, and reaching the famous, and very colourful, bathing boxes of Brighton Beach. As with most “famous” things in this Instagram age, we were not the first there. The beach was packed with selfie stick toting tourists looking for the perfect shot. In amongst this, there were actual locals, owners of these bathing boxes, who were looking to have a quiet Sunday by the beach. Looking around me, I’m sure they haven’t had a quiet Sunday at the beach for quite some years.

Bathing boxes in Brighton

Getting back to the city, from Brighton, proved to be even harder than getting there. We took the decision to have lunch in Brighton village, an amazing pizza at Allegro, then jump on a train back to the city. This would be much quicker than the rattling, labouring tram. Well, it would have been, had there been trains that day. Waiting on the platform, with many other unsuspecting travellers, it wasn’t until a few scheduled trains hadn’t arrived that we came to realise it was a day for “train replacement buses”. Oh my. We decided to call up a friendly Uber driver, got back to the city, and helped to shake off the stresses of the day with a couple of cold drinks by the river.

A couple of stress relieving drinks

Melbourne is a city we have visited a number of times before. We usually tie it in with a visit to the Australian Open. An event that gets better every single year. This trip was planned around things that we hadn’t previously done. Spending more time in St Kilda. Visiting a new restaurant in this beach side suburb. Making the short (it should have been) trip out to the beach at Brighton, and experiencing a different side to this great city.

Flying home, thankfully with less turbulence, I was again reminiscing on a fabulous weekend, in one of my favourite cities, and my thoughts switched to “when can I come back?”

Looking for the best high tea in Sydney?

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Sydney’s Best High Tea for: Quirkiness

The Tea Cosy – The Rocks

I have often heard it said, people should stick to their knitting. You can do both at the Tea Cosy. Practice your actual knitting, with bales of colourful wool, and knitting needles supplied to keep your hands busy. I preferred to keep my hands busy with the real reason I was there. What I would consider the “real knitting” of the Tea Cosy. The high tea. Would this prove to be the best high tea in Sydney?

The best high tea in Sydney moves to the tea cosy
Scones, and knitting?

Let me start by saying I may have just found the best scones in Sydney. Large. Served warm. A slight crunch when you take your first bite, but soft in the centre. It may be a little unfair comparing with more traditional high teas as today we only had the Grand Stand. Sandwiches, scones, tea, but no desserts. We had a big dinner in the evening to consider.

The best high tea in Sydney providing the best scones
oh my! Check these scones out!

The sandwiches were very good, and somewhat traditional. Small bites of curried egg, a tuna option, and a smoked salmon with cream cheese. Substantial enough to whet the appetite, but small enough to leave room the above mentioned, rather delicious, scones. Walking through the heritage listed building that houses the Tea Cosy, you pass a piano, lots of knitted tea cosies, and for some reason, a lot of Irish memorabilia. I never got to the bottom of that. Ordering at the counter you get a choice of 8 jams. We plumped for tradition. Selecting both a strawberry and a raspberry one. The raspberry was a stand out. There is an extensive range of teas, and the always available coffee. Creme brulee tea was one haven’t seen before. I plumped for the lemongrass and ginger tea.

Almost a full “high tea”

Back to those scones. If only so that I can close my eyes and remind myself how delightful they were. I must look odd, sat here in the library, typing whilst I lick my lips. Something I should probably stop unless I want to get thrown out. I have written before about clotted cream, and how I wish high teas in Australia provided it. That said, the cream served at the Tea Cosy was a step up from the whipped cream we usually get offered. Thick double cream, that created a great base layer before piling on lashings of that delectable jam.

Can you smell how good these are?

Whilst the Grand Stand at the Tea Cosy isn’t strictly a high tea, missing the desserts, I have to say that what we did have was right up there with the best Sydney has to offer. The best scones, hands down. I have had good scones in the past, memorably at Boronia House in Mosman, yet they have now been bettered. If the high tea experience is what you are looking for in Sydney, then make a point to head to the Tea Cosy in the Rocks.

p.s. the venue will be moving shortly, but only about 2 minutes away, still in the Rocks.

The Tea Cosy, shortly on the move

Sydney’s Best High Tea for: Setting and grandeur

Boronia House – Mosman

https://mosmancatering.com/high-tea-at-boronia-house/

If you are looking for the best high tea in Sydney, you have come to the right place.  Come for the grandeur of Boronia House, and stay for refreshments.  Built in 1885, Boronia House is one of the few remaining examples of this Victorian Filigree style of architecture.  Have a wander through the house, through the gardens, and think back to a simpler time as you sit down to your chosen high tea experience.

I have had both the Classic, and the Champagne high tea over the last few years that I have lived in the area.  Having visitors from overseas is always a great excuse to sample the excellent mini desserts created by pastry chef Remi Bataille.  And who can resist the smell of warm scones as they are brought out of the oven?

Boronia House scones
I can almost smell them

On a cool spring day, you can sit on the veranda.  And in summer, if the heat gets too much, take a table inside, and imagine you have been transported back to the late 19th century, as you enjoy a leisurely high tea experience.

  • Available: 11am to 3pm Monday to Friday, 10.30am to 3.30pm Saturday and Sunday
  • Options include Classic High Tea, Sparkling High Tea (with a glass of sparkling Australian white wine), Cocktail High Tea, Champagne High Tea (includes a glass of Moet & Chandon brut), Devonshire Tea (6 bites per person)

 

Sydney’s Best High Tea for:  Darling Harbour location

Hyatt Regency – Sydney CBD

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/australia/hyatt-regency-sydney/sydrs/dining

If you are on holiday, chances are you will spend some time in, and around Darling Harbour. Over the years the area has constantly reinvented itself, trying to keep up a world that is ever evolving.  One place you should be sure to visit is the Zephyr rooftop bar at the Hyatt Regency. Drinks with a sweeping view taking in Darling Harbour, and all the way around to King Street Wharf.

High tea at the Hyatt Regency Sydney

And having made it here, make sure you make it to the Sailmaker restaurant for a fabulous high tea experience.  All your high tea favourites are here, including the traditional, but done very well, egg sandwich (it is surprising how easy it is to get this wrong).  Smoked salmon makes an appearance, as does the ubiquitous cucumber, partnering up with chicken in this instance. Desserts include creme of passion fruit, strawberry tarts (of course), and the polarising coffee eclairs.  Personally, I am a fan, but non coffee lovers may struggle to enjoy as much.

Champagne at the Sailmaker
What is high tea without champagne?

The scones were excellent, and as they should be, they were served warm, with lashings of cream and jam.  The only question is, in what order? Are you Devon, or are you Cornwall?

  • Available: Thursday – Sunday: 1:30pm to 3:30pm
  • Classic Afternoon Tea – $46pp includes T2 Tea or Vittoria Coffee
  • Champagne Afternoon Tea – $59pp includes a glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, T2 Tea or Vittoria Coffee.

 

Sydney’s Best High Tea for: Relaxing away from the hustle of Sydney CBD

Intercontinental Hotel – Double Bay

https://www.icsydneydoublebay.com/dine-and-drink/high-tea

Stylish Double Bay is the venue for this high tea.  And the Intercontinental hotel would give the Peninsular in Hong Kong a run for its money.  The Intercontinental has a storied history, and fans of INXS will know it under its previous guise of the Ritz-Carlton, as the place that MIchael Hutchence spent his last evening.  Over the years the hotel has welcomed guests such as the late Princess Diana, Madonna, and the Clintons.

Unique to the hotel, they also offer a “High Martini”, which I would have called “High MarTEAni”, for $69, which as the names suggests comes with a martini.  Three in fact, drawing on the bar’s collection of over 100 rare and vintage gins.

Chocolate high tea at Double Bay Sydney
Max Brenner chocolate high tea

Have little ones?  Don’t fear. The Intercontinental has you covered with a “Children’s High Tea”.

I have been for high tea twice at the Intercontinental, both times for a slightly different take on the traditional high tea.  Both were chocolate focussed, featuring delicious delights from Max Brenner, and Haigh’s, respectively.

Chocolate scones at the Haigh’s high tea

A perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon is by sitting in the chairs overlooking the prestigious Double Bay village, with a glass of champagne in one hand, and chocolate scone in the other.

  • Available 12pm to 4pm daily.
  • $69 per person including a glass of champagne.
  • $59 per person standard high tea

 

Sydney’s Best High Tea for:  Novelty

Westin Hotel – Martin Place, Sydney CBD

http://www.westinsydney.com/afternoon-tea-sydney

A fan of Alice in Wonderland?  Ever wanted to have your very own Mad Hatter’s Tea Party? Look no further. Situated in the grand GPO, in central Sydney, you get to sit under glass, getting great views of the original clock tower.  Constructed in 1866, the GPO (General Post Office) underwent a large facelift following the privatisation of the building.  Amongst high-end office tenants such as Macquarie, and LinkedIN, the GPO also houses many restaurants and bars, and is worth a visit in its own right.  But today, we are here for the high tea, in the Westin Hotel.

Alice in Wonderland high tea at Westin in Sydney

And not just any high tea.  But the “Mad Hatter’s High Tea”, served with a glass of Ruinart champagne.  In my opinion, you would have to be as mad as a hatter to miss out on this fabulous experience.

Starting with the traditional high tea tower, the bottom rung included such delights as roast beef and asparagus roulade, a delightful mouthful of an Alaskan crab sandwich, and a very fresh little salad with bocconcini.  The dessert tier did not disappoint. With a chocolate mud cake in the shape of a top hat. A large, very tasty macaron doubling as a clock. And of course, the Queen of Hearts made an appearance.

A macaron that looks too good to eat
Yes, that is a mud cake

Knowing that the scones were coming last, so they stayed toasty warm, I had to make sure I saved some room.  And am I glad I did. Emanating heat, the scones were a delight. With plenty of clotted cream, and a choice of jams, this was a high tea to remember.

  • Available in the hotel’s The Bar, Lounge & Room from noon to 6:00pm
  • A Mad Tea Party $54.00 – A feast with friends including a cup of tea or coffee
  • Down The Rabbit Hole $64.00 – See how deep the rabbit hole really is with a ‘Drink Me!’ Cocktail
  • Ruinart’s Queen of Hearts $74.00 – Your Royal treat with a flute of Ruinart Champagne

 

Sydney’s Best Tea for:  Something totally different

Swissotel – Market Street, Sydney CBD

https://www.swissotel.com/hotels/sydney/dining/dining-offers/buffet-high-tea/

The buffet high tea is available year round, on Saturdays and Sundays, at the Crossroads Bar.  And by “buffet”, they really do mean buffet. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as never had I seen a high tea advertised as a buffet style before. But, having been, it is what it says. A total smorgasbord of goodness, and happiness. And as much as you can enjoy in the 1 and half hour time limit.  In my opinion, it does lose a little of the sophistication, and elegance, that I associate with a high tea experience.

Service was a little slow regarding the arrival drinks, which were a glass of bubbles.  And we waited what seemed a very long time for the tea and coffee. However, there was much to keep us occupied whilst we waited.

Yup, a bona fide buffet

If you have been to as many buffets as I have, you will know that you need to determine your strategy before heading up to the food.  Are you a “separate plates of food in a certain order” kind of person. Or a “find, and fill, the biggest plate you can, with everything” kind of person?  Fans of Alan Partridge will relate.

I am a bit of the former, and a lot of the latter.  I start with good intentions, thinking I will slowly make my way from savoury, to sweet.  But whilst there, filling my plate, something invariably catches my eye, and I end up with both sweet and savoury fighting for space on my plate.

At least you can get as many scones as you want

The high tea at the Swissotel did not disappoint.  All the old favourites are here. Egg sandwiches. Warm, soft scones.  And lots in between. If you want a less traditional high tea experience, the Swissotel is place for you.

Please note that the Swissotel has a “smart casual” dress code.

  • $69 per person which includes a glass of sparkling on arrival.
  • You can “trade up” to a glass of NV Laurent Perrier champagne for an additional $25.
  • Full range of T2 teas.  With coffee also available.

The “also rans” in the search for Sydney’s best high tea

Lobby Lounge – Shangri-La hotel

High tea at the Shangri-La

Taking advantage of the Queen’s birthday, and the subsequent long weekend in Sydney, I booked us into the high tea at the Shangri-La.  Would this be Sydney’s best high tea?  Scooping up a discount on GroupOn, the price for the sparkling high tea came in at $79 for two, a saving of $31.  This is the option we usually opt for, so it gives us a like for like comparison when recommending the best high tea in Sydney.  And who can go past a glass of sparkling wine?

Sparkling addition to the high tea

What was pleasing here was that tradition was the order of the day.  Several times lately, the high teas we have had have been offered as a buffet style.  Whilst good for choice, it is not good for the waistline, as with any good buffet (weddings, visits to Las Vegas!), you always over indulge.  Or is that just me?  OK, moving along.  I do prefer high tea to be a high tea, and come on the fancy looking tower.  I am sure there is a name for these things, so if you know it, let me know in the comments.

Traditional high tea
I love a bit of tradition

Whilst the scones here were delicious, a mix of plain, and raisin, and the cream was some of the best I have had in Sydney (how hard is clotted cream to get over here?), it was the middle layer that left me feeling disappointed.  A cheese toastie.  Did I mention I like tradition?  And the toastie was cold, which kinda felt, and tasted odd.  We also got a mini beef pie, with ketchup. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do love a good meat pie.  But served as part of a high tea?  Traditional?  And it was lukewarm, which further dampened my spirits.

Scones and real cream, the essence of high tea

With a high tea, I am usually so excited when it arrives, that I am out of the blocks like a greyhound, racing to finish everything in front of me.  By the time I get to the top layer, the sweet stuff, I am struggling.  And so this proved to be the case today.  I could have happily called “elegant sufficiency”, and walked away, but in the name of research, I pushed on.  Whilst desserts are not my forte, today’s selection was quite divine.  Even if I did have to be rolled out of the lobby of the Shangri-La.

As you would expect, there is a vast range of teas available. For the coffee drinkers amongst us, you can also complement your high tea, with a coffee.  Does that make it a high coffee?  Who knows.

Sweet treats to finish the high tea

Whilst a pleasant afternoon, and being so full I could burst, the Shangri-La fails to make it into my top 5 high teas in Sydney.  There were just a few things that could do with improvement, and the competition is very tough, as you can read below.  The search will continue in a few weeks when I will be trying out the high tea at Cicchetti Wine bar in the Queen Victoria Building.  Keep your eyes peeled for my review.

Byron Bay

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It is no secret that I like to step off the hamster wheel of city life now and again, even if only just a few days.  My trips to Mudgee will attest to this.  The 3 and half hour drive leaves enough distance between me, and the madness that is the Sydney CBD.  As we come up through the mountains, pausing in Bilpin for a slice of home made apple pie, then drop down into Lithgow, and onto the final stretch into central New South Wales, I feel an immediate sense of zen.  Something not even daily sessions of meditation with “Calm” can replicate.

Byron in all her glory

The latest decompression trip was a return to beautiful Byron Bay, last visited in 2015 at the back end of our East Coast road trip.  Memories of that last visit, those that I still have – post the marathon Sunday session we had, remain stuck in the mind as “that time in Byron we woke up amongst the detritus of the previous night’s kebab takeaway.”

This trip was to be much more civilised.  I had promised myself.  In January 2015 we had just finished a long road trip, with long stretches of driving each day.  We couldn’t allow ourselves to over indulge on the evenings before.  For what I would hope are obvious reasons, we moderated our alcohol intake.  This was, until we dropped off the campervan on the outskirts of Brisbane, on New Years Eve, and proceeded to spend the next couple of weeks rampaging through Brisbane, Surfers Paradise, and then Byron Bay, like teenagers on spring break.

To reinforce the fact that this trip was to be more sedate, we booked Airbnb accommodation in the village of Suffolk Park, some 6kms south of central Byron, and a short 25 minute mini bus transit from Ballina airport with Easy Bus Byron.  The selling points were the proximity to a wide stretch of beach, Tallows, the fact the village had a pub, a cafe with great coffee, and a couple of push bikes giving us easy access into Byron.

Quambi – The beach house

We were dropped off along Broken Head Road, and being a little early to check in, we crossed the road with our hand luggage, to the pub, the Park Hotel. Being in this part of the world, a lot of the pubs are similar, in that they are mainly outdoors.  Fully covered, as it does rain a lot, not just here, but in the whole of Australia, but the rest of the pub is open.  Byron Bay is only about 70 kilometres from Queensland, and this tells in the humidity.  Byron feels tropical.  The day we arrived felt particularly humid, and the best solution for this is always an ice cold Stone & Wood Pacific Ale.  I was now definitely on “Byron time”, and ready to kick back.

Tallows beach

Our accommodation was just what I had pictured, a small, self contained cabin, up a short drive way off the main road.  The only clue we were in the right place was the number 244, stencilled into the white, metal post box by the side of the road.  Up a steep incline, seemingly into the wilderness, we came across Quambi, our home for the next 2 nights.  We were met by Subi, a very friendly Staffordshire Bull Terrier, who often popped in to see us through our stay.

Byron is almost at the most northern part of New South Wales, and Cape Byron, hosting a wonderful lighthouse, is the most easterly point of Australia. And over the years it has become a haven for visitors.  It started off as a place the attracted those seeking an “alternative” lifestyle.  What you might call hippies.  People who chose to drop out of conventional life and live differently. Nearby Nimbin has been described as lots of things, including “an escapist sub culture”, and has always been closely associated with cannabis, which is openly traded, despite being illegal.  If Nimbim is the young upstart, Byron is the big sister.  Slightly more grown up, but still rebellious.

My impressions are that, reassuringly, not too much has changed on the surface of Byron since my first ever visit in 1994.  Cheeky Monkeys still regularly entertains drunken backpackers late into the evening.  The Beach Hotel still holds its piece of prime real estate, over looking, yes, you guessed it, the beach.  And walking down Johnson Street, you can still get your cold beers from the Northern, and the Friendly Railway Hotel, pubs which don’t seem to have changed with the years.  Byron still feels like Byron.  People care about each other.  Hitchhiking is still a thing.  I saw a few by the side of the road, thumb stuck out, successfully getting rides.  And I was given a guilt trip in the pub when I had the temerity to ask for a plastic bottle of water.  Byron has been waging a war on plastic well before the current global push to minimise our use of it.  And rightfully so.

But what is obvious, is that there is now a lot more money in Byron.  It no longer caters just to hippies.  With local residents such as the actor Chris Hemsworth, his reported new neighbour Matt Damon, and Aussie singer Natalie Imbruglia, all calling Byron home, the bars and restaurants have had to up their game.  Porsches and Audis share the streets with decades old campervans.  Boutique hotels rub shoulders with the many backpacker hostels.  And the Balcony Bar does a “Bottomless Bellini Breakfast”.  A far cry from the vegemite on toast of my backpacking days.

Drinks in the Balcony bar

It is 5 o’clock somewhere

Beautiful Byron is a place where you can’t fail to immediately relax.  You sense the slower pace of life as soon as you disembark the plane.  The three days we had there felt like much longer.  We packed our days with long bikes rides, along the many, flat, bike lanes in and around Byron.  We had some great food out at The Three Blue Ducks, on The Farm.  Cycling the 13kms back we called into the excellent Stone & Wood brewery, sharing a paddle of their finest beers.  To walk off the excellent lunch we had at Mez Club, the margaritas, mai tais, and mango pina coladas, we took longs walks on the amazing, wide expanses of beaches that line the northern, and eastern coast of the town.

Waking on the third day, to the sound of tropical rain pattering on the roof of cabin, we looked at each other and said, “shall we just stay”.

My travel DNA

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As I plan to embark on perhaps one of my biggest adventures, my thoughts turn to how I actually got here. I’m not sure when it happened. Or whether it was something that occurred suddenly. But, I definitely have a gene in me that is wired for travel. You could say that it is in my DNA. And has been for a very long time. Am I a “traveller” by definition? Is there even such a thing?

It wasn’t always like this. Up to the age of 23, I had only ever left the country twice on overseas holidays. And both for scarcely homesick inducing periods of 1 week each. Holidaying at Butlins through my childhood, I first ventured on a plane at 17 years of age for a week in Tunisia, followed by a week in Ibiza the year after.

So what happened to me? How did I develop into this itinerant nomad? Where did my peripatetic lifestyle come from? It could probably be traced back to a chance conversation in 1993 with my old mucker, Steve. “Fancy doing a bit of travelling?”, I asked. “Where to?” was Steve’s first response” After ruling out Europe, too close, we decided on Australia, on the basis that we had heard it was “warm there isn’t it?”.

And there we were, in the departure lounge of Manchester airport, Steve’s dad carrying his rucksack, and my mum worryingly checking out my fellow passengers. Astutely noticing that many of them were of a foreign appearance, I had to remind her that was because I was flying to Bangkok, the first step on a 12 month working holiday to Australia.

Almost 20 years later, my travel cravings remain hard to satiate. Long backpacking trips around South America and much of the rest of the world just leave me returning with an always-increasing travel bucket list. I meet people who have been to corners (metaphorically speaking) of the globe that just invite exploration. Lists of must see sights and cultures.

As I plan to make the move to start a new life down under, I muse whether this will be the start of the end of my constant global wanderings, or whether it will just be another start.

All aboard for a (not so) brief encounter

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When people first heard what I was doing there was a mix of “are you mad” and “can’t you just fly across”? But this, my friends, misses the very essence of why I was doing it. It wasn’t the destination that was important. Although, plainly, that’s underselling Sydney. In my humble opinion one of the world’s greatest cities. What was important to me was the journey. What I’d experience whilst I was getting there.

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

And, if truth be known, I was kind of compromising. Given that the actual epic train journeys on my list were the inimitable Trans-Siberian and also the Canadian Rocky Mountain train. So, 4 days would be a cinch. Wouldn’t it?

Having been dropped off and saying my goodbyes to Doug, I rolled out of East Perth train terminal at 11.55 on a Sunday morning. My first thought was, this carriage looks a little more crowded than I expected. My second thought was, damn, I have a seat mate. That said, the lady from Germany was nice enough and didn’t talk much. My ideal travel companion. She only piped up every now and then with very bizarre questions. I could deal with this.

A few facts about the train and the journey. For a start, the whole trip takes 65 hours, covering 4352kms. Leaving Perth every Sunday through winter and arriving at Sydney’s Central Station at 10.20am on a Wednesday. There are 41 carriages plus the locomotive engine. The symbol of the train is the wedge tail eagle, Australia’s largest, with a 2m wing span.

There is a range of services, the most expensive being the Platinum and Gold, where you have your own cabin and fold down beds. Having spent all my money on a business class flight to get here, I was in the more parsimonious Red service. Plain and simple, but fully reclining seats. With a shower and 2 toilets for the whole of this carriage. You did get provided with a towel though.

For food and drinks on board the Red service carriage, there was the Matilda café, open between 7am and 10pm serving hot meals, freshly made wraps and sandwiches, hot meals, hot and cold drinks and the all pervasive meat pies. Probably the most sought after item in the café though were the 2 power sockets. As the whole of the Red carriage didn’t have any, there was a fight to secure the opportunity to charge up the multitude of devices that we all seem to travel with.

I managed to somehow circumvent this by getting access to the Red Lounge, a place where you could pay $10 a day to be able to sit in large comfy seats and have access to unlimited power sockets. And I got access for free. One of the chaps working in the Matilda café recognised my Northern accent and told me his mum lived in Pontefract. We reminisced about the sweet factory and the locally produced Pontefract cakes. After that, I got free coffees and when I asked to buy a wristband giving me access to the lounge, he gave me one without charge. I certainly wasn’t complaining.

And the time passed ever so blissfully. How relaxing is train travel. Sat in your carriage, rocking across the Nullarbor Plain for endless hours. I was not even yet at night 2 and strangely don’t want the trip to end, what is that? A world within a world, without the constraints of daily life.

In the morning we hit Adelaide (south Australia) and my German friend left the train and was replaced by a lady going to Broken Hill (New South Wales to stay with her daughter and her family for 3 weeks. I was tempted to hide the “Cheesecake Factory” box that she said was for the grandchildren.

The day passed in a haze of reading and napping, and once dinner was served I had a final nights meal of Australian lamb and a couple of glasses of Riesling. Retiring to the carriage, and having dropped my seatmate off at Broken Hill, I now had 2 seats upon which I was able to spread out a little. I’d like to say I slept, but snoozed is probably a better description, waking to an early sunrise, and after a final few hours, rolling into Sydney Central Station.

The next stage of my adventure starts here.

The expat’s goals for 2013

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I’ve recently been thinking of my goals for 2013.  I wonder why that is?  
And I have come up with a short list that I’m sure is achievable.  Well, at least 3 of them I’m sure of.  One of them I’m less sure but feel that by writing it down and sharing publicly with you, I’m more likely to commit to it.  I may even blog regular updates, until you tell me you are bored with them.
Anyway, here is the list.  Can you spot the one that fills me with trepidation?
–  Drink less.
Not abstinence, as I love (really love) drinking.  But definitely reduce my intake and frequency.  Perhaps tailoring my current philosophy of only having a drink on days with a “Y” in them.  And limit myself to spirits, less calorie laden than my usual Coopers Pale ale, or Dirty Granny cider.  This of course will have to wait until after Australia Day on 26th January when it seems the whole country shuns sobriety.
–  Lose weight
This will no doubt be aided by the one above but also by reducing my intake of Tim Tams, Anzac biscuits, Lamingtons and Charlie Lovett’s banana bread.  I also have my bicycle now so have no excuse not to get out on it on a weekend, helping trim inches off the burgeoning waistline.  I don’t think Mosman, or indeed the rest of Sydney, is quite ready for my truffle shuffle just yet.
–  Travel to new places
This appears on my list every year, and will continue to do so whilst I am still breathing.  However, now I am based on the other side of the world, and am upside down, I should explore the opportunities now open to me.  Places like Vanuatu (which I had not previously heard of) immediately spring to mind.  And Tasmania, one of the only major places of Australia that I have yet to visit.  And what about all the gorgeous little coastal towns, with sun kissed beaches?  Friends of mine are going to Jervis Bay soon so I immediately checked it out on the internet.  It looks amazing.  And not far from home.  In a car, not on the aforementioned bicycle, or my beloved Besbi scooter.  I could spend the whole year exploring places like this.  Even better, fulfill a life’s ambition of travelling in a campervan.
–  Read “War & Peace”
In literary circles, widely regarded as one of the THE best books ever written, this is one of Tolstoy’s that I have yet to tackle.  At over 1400 pages long, it is not an undertaking to accept lightly.  Having completed the 1079pages of “Infinite Jest” (David Foster Wallace) last year I know tomes of this size are possible, but how many other books would have to be sacrificed?  I suppose there is only one way to find out.
So there we are, my (potential) goals for 2013.  Now, do I commit to them???