Issue 116 March 2015 A NEWSLETTER OF THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY Three Weeks in Australia N a t a l i a K e t a r e N After almost three years of being away, I was returning home for a summer Christ- mas. The last time I visited, my days were spent lazing in parks and beaches along Port Phillip Bay, dinners at trendy Mel- bourne joints with balconies where we could smoke and drink and of course, I did plenty of shopping. Coming home was all about catching up with friends and fam- ily, just… hanging out. However, this trip would be different. My American boyfriend was coming with me and he had never been to Oz. So this time around, it was fewer ev- eryday indulgences and more sightseeing. Here’s a little of what we did and saw. Week 1: Victoria Melbourne is the most populous city in the State of Victoria and the second most populous city in Australia, behind Sydney. Melbourne is Australia’s business epicen- ter. It’s the fashion capital and the music capital of Australia. It is a sporting city, The Twelve Apostles, Port Campbell National Park, Victoria, Australia. Photo credit: Natalia Ketaren home to major tennis tournaments, the home of cricket Australia and the birth- and you’re sure to get good pho and spring $20/cocktail. No tips required in the service place of Australian Rules football. Austra- rolls when you’re here. Crispy pork at Chi- industry, but the going is still quite dear. lia was declared a Federation under a tree na bar near the corner of Exhibition Street. Rooftop bars in Melbourne can be quite in Melbourne’s botanical gardens. Five of A souvlaki and chunky fries cooked in olive fun. Our go to on the trip is Rooftop Bar the country’s most prestigious universities oil at Stalactites on Exhibition Street. Pizza on Swanston Street in the city center. They are located here, not to mention numer- at D.O.C pizza on the corner of Drummond do very nice Pimm’s cups and champagne ous others. Thus, it’s not surprising that and Faraday Street serves authentic Roman cocktails in the summertime. the birthplace of Gough Whitlam carries style pizza. Fish and chips down Acland Shopping a great worth in Australia and its citizens Street in St. Kilda. Be sure to go to the shop Melbourne is home to some amaz- harbor abundant city pride. Whenever I closer to the Barkly Street end. Chips with ing local designers. I always venture down visit my hometown, here are a few things I gravy, dim sum, chunky spring rolls and Brunswick Street, Gertrude Street and reacquaint myself with: potato cakes, available at Charcoal chicken Smith Street, in the neighborhoods of Food and Drink chain stores all over Melbourne and coffee. Collingwood and Fitzroy where many lo- Melbourne is known for its rich food Coffee is a Melbourne institution, which cal designers and vintage wares can be culture, thanks to years of global immigra- serves some of the best coffee in Austra- found. Flinders Lane and the little arcades tion. My staples every time I visit are: lia. The city is packed with little lane ways off Flinders Ln, in the city are also home to A good parma at Mrs. Parmas on Lt. strewn with cafes and coffee houses, serving some great shopping. Bourke Street or the Leveson Hotel in alongside coffee and tea, amazing desserts Yarra Valley Wine Region North Melbourne. Pho on Victoria Street, and delicious sausage rolls and meat pies. Taking a trip down the Yarra valley just after Hoddle Street in Richmond. It Melbourne nightlife is forever chang- wine region is a favorite pastime of mine. doesn’t really matter where you go, this ing. Drinks in Australia are expensive, The grounds of the larger estates such as street is lined with Vietnamese restaurants where, on average, it’s $10/pint of beer and TarraWarra, Chandon and Dominic Por- 1 tet are breathtaking and I always pick up a the cliff-face are wondrous. nice Sauvignon, Rose and of course Reserve The drive along the Great Ocean Road Editorial Board Shiraz when I’m down here. I recommend to the Twelve Apostles is about five hours EDITORIAL BOARD renting a car or taking a tour when explor- from Melbourne. We made a journey of it, ing this region. stopping at a few beach towns and national Jim Keller Ferntree Gully and The Dandenong Ranges parks along the way. The lighthouse at Cape Aileen Marshall The Australian bush is a beautiful Otway is a nice stop and so is Erskine Falls Susan Russo wonder. The air smells of eucalyptus and in Lorne. We chose to camp as we travelled Qiong Wang the sounds of native wildlife provide an and campsites are abundant. The app Wiki- Peng Kate Gao amazing soundtrack to a day hike or walk Camps Australia was an invaluable tool, as Jason Rothauser through the bush land. You might even spot we booked no campsites in advance. Camp- a few kangaroos or wallabies amongst the ing in Australia in the summertime is ex- selections.rockefeller.edu [email protected] rich native flora. Birdlife is abundant when pensive. It can be about sixty dollars per walking through these parts, spreading day for an unpowered site. their colors across the backdrop of dense Weeks 2 & 3 – Sydney to Melbourne of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. gum trees. When you’re visiting the Eastern board The beautiful beach was packed to the The Great Ocean Road of Australia for the first time, your visit brim with beachgoers, but the waves that The Great Ocean Road is a breathtak- would be lacking if you didn’t visit Sydney. day were quite large and unforgiving. On ing, scenic drive along the southwestern Arriving early morning in Sydney, we were advice from my Sydney-dwelling friends, coastline of Victoria. The Road begins at still quite jetlagged. By the time we made we skipped the hustle and bustle of Manly the famous Torquay beach and winds its it to the hotel, we accidentally slept till late beach, and walked a short distance to Peb- way across some of the most picturesque into the afternoon. We spent one night in bly beach. As the name suggests, the beach coastline in Southern Australia. You travel Sydney city, one night in Bondi and then a is covered in pebbles. The water was gentle right along the cliff at times and then all of a couple of nights with an old friend of mine and crystal clear that day. You could even sudden are surrounded by silvery eucalyp- in Stanmore before we made the long drive see the fish swimming amongst the rocks tus trees. We saw a few native fauna along back to Melbourne. Here’s a little of what and seaweed. Pebbly beach was one of my the way: a sleepy koala plonked in the cen- we saw and did. favorite swimming holes on the trip. ter of the road, some curious wallabies and Circular Quay Sydney to Melbourne a light-footed echidna trotting across the Circular Quay is the postcard shot of With New Year commitments in Mel- road. A lot of the beaches that dot the coast- Australia. Facing the harbour, to your right, bourne approaching, it was time to make line are made famous by Australia’s surf- you have the majestic Sydney Opera House, our way back South. We decided to rent a ing culture. At times the ocean can be too and to your left you have the Sydney Har- car and drive back along the New South rough or too cold to swim. But just looking bour Bridge. Ferry terminals sit at the base Wales (NSW) coast. We had a day and a out onto the turquoise waters is enough to of the harbour, where you can take a ferry half to accomplish this feat and the non- fill your senses with the beauty and wonder to many different coastal points in Sydney’s stop drive was estimated to take 12 hours. of the Victorian coast. The end point of this outer suburbs. The hype is real. The Opera Once we had driven out of Sydney, we drive, in Port Campbell National Park, is House and the Bridge are truly beautiful crossed many picturesque beach towns. two of the most breathtaking sites in South- works of architecture. One such town was Durras, just north of ern Australia. The first of the two is The Bondi to Coogee Beach Walk Bateman’s Bay. South Durras beach was one Gibson Steps. The steps are a set of stairs The famous Bondi beach. The water is of the most beautiful beaches on the trip. along the cliff-wall that take you down to a perfect turquoise and the water is warm. The waves collapse into a stream of bubbles the stretch of beach at the base of the cliffs. The waves were rather choppy, but it was at the shoreline. The glistening blue-green Once you reach the beach, you feel the full still fun being tossed about. The neighbor- water laps gently at your body as you walk force of the wind and hear the roar of the hood of Bondi is super trendy, especially into the surf. The water was so clear that waves crashing and smashing about. It’s a North Bondi and the people are from all you could see the movement of sand at your frightening yet exhilarating experience. The across the globe.