Tassie Honeymoon

“Nothing much to do in Tassie” I was told. Yet it was a struggle to fit everything in that we wanted to do.

Admittedly a lot depends on what sort of holiday you are after. I was on my honeymoon so cruisey suited me very nicely. If you want excitement plus then Hobart is not for you. Hobart is definitely cruisey. It’s much like a large regional centre. It’s easy to park in the city centre and easy to walk around to take in the scenery.

There was one stage when I felt that all Hobart had to offer was fine dining. Many friends raved on about the food. So many restaurants that were meant to attract the tourist like me. Luckily I was after many dining options for my new wife and me. Although some prior research and a visit to the information centre proved that there was so much more to Hobart than food.

Some activities I had planned to do prior to arriving:

• Cascade Brewery – You don’t have to love beer to appreciate the process of making it. They do ciders as well anyway.
• Bellerive Oval – I have a fascination with sporting fields and my wife enjoys cricket. A lovely day strolling around the facility gaining insight to what goes on game day. I will be able to watch the footy and cricket in a different light now.
• Salamanca Markets – A must do I was told. They were right.
• Port Arthur – Our biggest venture outside of Hobart. Was worth the trip for the drive alone. The tours included in the basic package were fantastic.

Other activities were decided to do once we had arrived:

• City Tour – A narrated drive around the city with a few stops. Three hours in total. Well worth the money and time.
• Hobart Show – Originally wanted to go to the markets at the same venue until we found out that a mini version of the Sydney Royal Easter Show was on at the showground. A great day out.
• Theatre Royal– My wife happens to love live theatre and approved of the show that was on. I had no idea. She enjoyed the chance to get dressed up.
• Mt Wellington – Great views. We were lucky to have a clear day. Enjoyable drive to the top. Right near the brewery so combining the two is advantageous.

Yet there’s still things we missed:

• MONA (Museum of Old & New Art) – Our tour bus driver suggested that the art is a bit ‘out there’ so we might not have enjoyed it anyway.
• Theatre Royal – As well as the show we could have done a tour of the facility and seen backstage. My wife especially would have found this fascinating.
• Port Arthur – We just got the basic package, but there is potentially so much more to do.
• Derwent River Cruises – Can be pricey so we made it a lower priority. I'm sure they would have been nice.

Plus there is so much more of Tasmania to explore.

I must give huge accolades to our accommodation called ‘@ Eleven’. I was after a serviced apartment when I found their website. It’s not your regular serviced apartment. It’s an affordable villa in suburban Sandy Bay on the outskirts of Hobart. It’s rather quaint with plenty of character. I recommend it highly and if the opportunity comes to return to Hobart I will be staying there again. I’m hoping that it may be possible to go to a footy game at Bellerive. Here’s hoping.

Dubbo: Time To Smile

Much like many of its regional contemporaries, Dubbo offers a multitude of activities to suit all demographics.

My brother and I spent two days in Dubbo recently yet we could have easily spent more. Considering me missed the two main tourist attractions in The Western Plains Zoo and The Old Dubbo Gaol. Then there are always the nearby country towns with their own attractions.

I have pumped up Dubbo now, but our main purpose there wasn’t exploration, that was merely a bonus. Rather we went to connect with family whom we previously had little interaction. That was the highlight of the trip. Not to detract from Dubbo at all.

While attractions weren’t high on our agenda we still managed to get around to some. The Western Plains Cultural Centre was impressive and also free. It had some great displays on local history, their aboriginal heritage and also works of art from local artists.

There are many wineries in Dubbo. Most needed bookings and suited groups. We found one called Red Earth. They had a great selection and could not leave without taking home some local product.

We stayed at the Formula One Motel, as it was simple and cheap. Given different company I would probably go more upmarket.

I recommend a holiday to regional New South Wales. Get out of the city or suburbs to slow down and relax.

Not Bitten By The Travel Bug

I requested a book from travel company, Bunnik Tours, and received it in the mail yesterday. Despite the book being filled with great looking tours around various regions of the world nothing really excited me.

If I were to do one of their tours I would be traveling purely for the sake of it. There seems to be a perception that ‘society’ expects a young single bloke, like me, to get out and see the world (while he can). Yet the world doesn’t really interest me, at least not enough to travel for the sake of travel.

I have been overseas twice, both times to America. They were centred on a specific purpose. The first was an opportunity to work at a summer camp in Massachusetts. The second was an opportunity to play footy in America at their national championships against their national team. My inspiration and motivation to travel seems based around specific opportunities. If they work out then all well and good.

Maybe I’m boring or maybe it’s the simpler trips that excite me. For example:

• Ride on the Indian Pacific to Perth with brother Danny
• The PUFWE trips to Melbourne with friends in 2005, 2006 and 2007;
• The house sit for friends in Melbourne that coincided with the Swans premiership in 2005
• The ultimate football weekend in 2006
• Visiting friends in Canberra and seeing the sights in 2008
• The same day fly in / fly out trip to Melbourne to see Swans play the Hawks with a friend this year

Obviously going to Melbourne really excites me, and it’s more than just the thick presence of my favourite sport.

There is a common theme running throughout my trips. Even if overseas a main goal is to see a sporting event. In my trips to America I have seen minor league baseball in Bridgeport Connecticut and basketball in New York City.

Most tours are focused around scenery. I am usually after experiences, just check every post in my travel section. Although I did enjoy Niagara Falls, which is both scenery and an intense experience rolled into one. Although I could be converted if the ‘right’ person took me somewhere to appreciate scenery.

My “Non-Obvious US Cities To Tour” Tour

When informing people of my various destinations on The Convicts tour one stood out as strange. Louisville, Kentucky was to be the venue for the US Footy National Championships yet when people hear it their response was usually, “Why are you going there?” This was a very reasonable thing to say, as I would have thought it myself.

What I found though was that there is a surprisingly large amount of stuff to do in Louisville. Problem is that there is no chance that an organised tour would ever travel through places like Louisville. For starters, you can only fly in via Chicago. Tours are more likely to pass through our other destinations, such as: New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Las Angeles.


Based on my experiences in Louisville I am proposing a tour with the working title written above. it may never happen because it would be somewhat of a logistical nightmare and would need a lot of preparation and research which might be why I’m starting early.

First step is to come up with a list of cities that don’t get all the kudos as cities tourists would go to. Louisville is definitely on the list. What else? Perhaps Pittsburgh, PN and Dallas, TX. Any suggestions?

How To Do A Convicts Tour On The Cheap

On the tour I was labeled “The Seagull” by the tour manager because I was able to spend a little amount of money compared to everyone else. Here’s the tricks, and I don’t think they will be all that surprising:

1. Don’t drink – just leads to expensive shouts
2. Avoid the nightlife – not that hard for me, as I don’t like the music they play or the dimmed lighting. Some cost an arm and a leg to get into plus we had to rely on cabs sometimes, whose fares add up rapidly.
3. Make the most of a free feed – breakfast wasn’t always included in our hotels but when it was I loaded up which meant I didn’t need to buy lunch.
4. Make the most of buffets – for similar reasons to No 3. These are especially prevalent in Las Vegas and are affordable so load up
5. Stick to a budget – don’t carry all your cash at one time
6. Souvenirs – cheap and small ones are fine. They are easy to pack and probably more useful in the long run eg magnets, postcards, ornaments, casino chips, badges. Some of the best souvenirs are sometimes free from the motel eg pens, notepads and the key cards.

And I was still able to enjoy myself, despite the opinion of the tour manager.

L.A. To Finish

Our final destination before heading home was going to be a whirlwind one. Our flight being delayed for 2 hours did not help things bu at least I got to finish the book I’ve been trying to read for the past few months.

Upon arrival we were taken on a hasty tour around LA and the surrounding districts. We stopped off at Venice Beach for a quick walk up and down. Lots of little art stalls and people trying to get your money. The rest of the time we had to be satisfied with looking out the window of our bus.

We had all arranged to go to Universal Studios the next day. Think WB Movieworld on a surprisingly smaller scale and with less rides. Also with a lot of money spinning merchandise stalls and food stands.

I would recommend it for people with children, however it might turn out to be one expensive day.

Vegas, eh?

I am not a fan of casinos and not keen on the nightlife either. So what am I to do in Las Vegas? The thought of going to Vegas didn’t excite me nearly as much as the others in my tour group. The line ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ to them meant they could party a lot harder than they had been already.

A casino is a casino to me, but I did manage to see them all while tagging along with a teammate that wanted to collect $1 chips from every decent casino on the strip.


Las Vegas is good for shows. There are so many quality productions going on at any one time. From Cirque de Soleil to Elton John, it is all here. I was torn between seeing Stomp for the third time or The Producers featuring Tony Danza. I chose Stomp and was still excited to see them do their thing and the show was different enough to make it very interesting.

Ended up getting tired of Vegas very quickly and was bereft of inspiration. Was looking forward to leaving.

Footy Comes First

Louisville is in the state of Kentucky and always stood out as a strange place to go to when telling people of my trip. Fair enough I guess when it is lumped in with the big names of New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.


But you would be surprised at the amount of stuff there is to do in Louisville. This is the home of most of the world’s best bourbons if that’s what you’re into. It’s also the home of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory and museum as well as The Muhammad Ali Centre. A full cabinet of brochures will show you so much other stuff to do in Louisville and all over Kentucky.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to do any of it as this visit was purely business. The business being the US Footy National Championships. It is a two-day carnival involving about 30 teams from all over the country as well as 4 women’s teams.

I could have bypassed some of the footy to explore the local attractions but I knew I wouldn’t be able to do them properly and spend a decent amount of time.

The Big Apple

New York was very productive as far as doing and seeing things were concerned. However there is so much to do and so much left undone.

Highlights

• New York Knicks preseason game at Madison Square Garden
• Being part of the live studio audience for the Late Show with David Letterman
• Visiting Ground zero – The tribute display as well as the ’10 House’, the first fire station to respond to 9/11
• Statue of Liberty
• The biggest Apple Store you will ever see

Still to do

• Yankees game – almost got there except the Yankees got knocked out of their finals series before we got to New York
• Broadway show – would have gotten lynched if I suggested Mary Poppins as an option. As it turned out I had to choose between Knicks or show. I chose the sport.
• Central Park – never had the chance to just walk around and check it out properly, perhaps something to do with a ladyfriend.

The Monument Capital

Give the USA some credit, they sure know how to build a monument. Washington DC is testament to that. You need all of one or two days to see them all properly, not forgetting all the great museums. Good thing is that the city has a hop on/hop off trolley service that are very efficient and tour right around all the main sights. After a day of checking out monuments you feel as if you have done the city properly. I compare it to Canberra, mainly federal buildings and monuments/memorials/museums except here they are bigger and more elaborate. Check out the photos of the Lincoln Memorial (bottom) and the Washington Monument (top) and you will understand.

Canada In A Flash

Unfortunately we were unable to do Toronto properly let alone the whole country. All I was able to see was whatever we passed in transit. The only things worthy of excitement on those trips were their big stadiums:

• Air Canada Centre - (Toronto Maple Leafs - Ice Hockey)
• Rogers Centre - (Toronto Blue Jays - Baseball, Toronto Argonauts - Football)
• BMC Stadium - (Toronto FC - Soccer)

We were able to check out Niagara Falls and like any natural wonder the magnitude of the place blows your mind away.

Up the hill from the falls was a place called Clifton Hill which is the most ridiculous place on earth. It is a starnge place where nothing exists in relation to the falls. It's all a blatent marketing ploy to score off the population being there for the fall. You will find things such as:

• Arcade games
• Wax museums
• WWF Store
• Themed Restaurants
• Sky wheel
• Putt putt
• Souvenir stores

So go for the fall and ignore the rest, if you know what's good for you.

Pre Convicts USA/Canada Tour

I am going OS for the next 3 weeks to spread the word of Aussie Rules Internationally. World Footy News has alerted the locals to our arrival and our matches against the Canadian Northwind and the USA Revolution.

Our match is particularly exciting as we will feature on the same day as their national titles, that’s right kids, USA has a national competition for Aussie Rules. As well as that we have heard that legendary coach, Kevin Sheedy will be in attendance.

It is also an organised travel tour so apart from out football playing shenanigans we visit the cities of Toronto, New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Las Angeles. To stay up to date I will try and blog either on Hammertime or The Real Football or you can check out a general itinerary on The Convicts website.