When: 1 January - 4 January
Where: Tasmania/Sydney
For the Tasmania/Sydney section of the Aussie trip, we have our first guest contributor at mattinindonesia.blogspot.com - Nate Schmidt.
Nate was kind enough to add his personal writing style to my blog. He is a very talented young man and, as you will find, is one helluva writer. If you ever wanna check out his blog, it is: njschmidt2.blogspot.com
Everything in this blog post is his, except for the few items that are marked with an (-MP).
Sorry for the white background, but I'm not sorry enough to try and fix it.
I hope you enjoy, and thanks again Nate for sharing !!
After an early morning flight, we arrived in Tasmania. Matt and I were a bit exhausted and the weather was a little dreary so we decided to take it easy and plan out our time spent in Tasmania at the hostel.A few hours later we headed to the Shamrock Hotel & Bar for a late breakfast. I was ecstatic to find that the Duke and Texas A&M game was playing. I'm pretty sure I may have teared up with joy at being able to sit at a bar, have a burger and beer, and watch college football with a friend. To the simple joys of life!
Afterwards, we explored the downtown. To our delight, it happened to be time for the annual Taste of Tasmania, which meant authentic Tasmanian beer and other delicacies for us to gorge ourselves...
Matt seen enjoying a Huon Farmhouse's Forester Bitter Ale and me an Iron House Honey Porter.
The first day in Tasmania may have been our most low key of the entire trip, but taking it easy and going to bed early helped prepare us for the adventures to come over the next few days.
For breakfast Matt and I wondered around until we stumbled across Beaujangles, a tiny breakfast diner in the downtown of Hobart. The service was 'excellent'. I ordered a "normal cup of coffee" to which the server told me there is no such thing as a normal cup of coffee. I bring this up because Matt happened to use the bathroom where there was a sign on the wall advertising a normal cup of coffee for $2 AUD. That moment was likely the most nonsensical thing to happen in Australia. I've grown to expect things like that in Indonesia, but there it seemed a little out of place...
To work off breakfast we took a stroll through the Royal Tasmanian Gardens located in Hobart. Don't forget that Australia is a Commonwealth country and under the thumb of her majesty. Hence, the name.
In the Royal Botanical Gardens I was fascinated by this fountain made from Huon Pine, a rare Tasmanian timber used in port to repair ships. It was greatly valued in shipbuilding for its high level of resistance to water. The sculpture represents the bows and sails of a French ship. The French in 1772 were the first to sight the coast of present-day Tasmania.
To the left you can catch a glimpse of the rare Tasmanian durian. Above you can imagine yourself leisurely spending the day looking at the bay of Hobart and its bridges.
A riddle:
What do you get when you pay the equivalent of $10 USD for a backpack in Thailand (worse, it was at the cheap mall in Jakarta -MP) and then use it as your only travel bag in Australia?
If you guessed anything along the lines of:
The straps break.
The material tears.
You need to patch it once a week.
It's a piece of sh*t.
Any of those were acceptable responses, but for Matt it was another: Oh no! Not that darn bag again! Moment.
Next stop, the Museum of Old and New Art, also known as MONA. But, before we arrived we were able to take in the view from the ferry and the library.
Inside MONA:
Playing in one of the rooms in MONA was a specially edited version of The Jungle Book. Every character in the film had a dub from a different language. Above the TV playing the film, were portraits of every character in the film with the language that their dub was in below them (Shown above). Watching parts of the film gave me a new perspective on language and unity, it was one of my favorite exhibits.
This proved to be a more challenging version of table tennis.
This exhibit is of a living room with a lethal injection machine for euthanasia. After pressing "Start" on the laptop there is a two minute counter and a description of what happens to the body at each important point of the euthanasia. I was simultaneously fascinated and uncomfortable watching the video. This was an edgy and intense exhibit.
'This is a rubbing of a stone pulled from the train station in Hiroshima. The train station had been disassembled to erase it from history. The artist created many rubbings and filed them to show that history can never be forgotten. Everyday they allow a limited number of rubbings to be done at the museum and file them a way to signify the importance of remembering all aspects of history.
Kuba (Below) and Paradise (Above) by Kutlug Ataman
My favorite piece was a 4 meter high sculpture entitled the Berlin Buddha by Zhang Huan. It is made from compacted ash, faces its aluminium mold from which it was cast and will slowly disintegrate over the course of its exhibition. The artist was inspired whilst praying at a Buddhist temple, he recognized that the ash remnants of joss sticks are the incarnation of prayers. At the opening of the exhibition, the ash Buddha's face is revealed, leaving the unsupported head to fall and crumble, which in turn activates the gradual collapse of the entire sculpture. The disintegration is the focal point, as time goes by the environment will affect the work, as the floor trembles with movement the ash will also change and fall into pieces. The work questions, what is Buddha? The artist identifies his Buddhist practice as inspiration, and reminds us that experience outweighs material form.
(I'm sure this just slipped Nate's mind, but I think the coolest part of MONA was the iPhone that they give you when you enter (pictured below). All you have to do is press refresh and it uses GPS to tell where you are in the museum. Depending on where you are, information on the surrounding works of art pop up. It was very nice to read about the art. -MP)
After hours spent navigating MONA with delight, the remainder of our evening was spent at the hostel with a bottle of Shiraz from Panton Hill outside Melbourne and a pair of delicious pizzas from Pizzarazzi.
Good Morning! Matt and I were up bright and early for our day tour around Tasmania, which finally meant seeing plenty of Tasmanian Devils! Our first stop... Mount Field National Park where we saw the Eucalyptus Regnans, which are the second tallest trees in the world behind the California Redwoods. They are known to exceed 375 feet in height and have an average lifespan of 400 years. They are found on Tasmania and limited areas of Victoria.
Horseshoe Falls in Mount Field National Park
Russell Falls in Mount Field National Park
After we had explored Mount Field National Park found at the base of Mount Field we ventured further upwards with our tour group to Lake Dobson, which is one of the few locations known to be home to the platypus. The lake was gorgeous, clear straight to its shallow bottom, and clean enough to drink. Given the rise in elevation, the water and air were quite frigid and the area I learned is a popular winter getaway for skiers.
Due to the clear conditions of the lake, I thought I may catch a glimpse of a platypus in its natural habitat. Unfortunately, I was unable to spot a platypus. To my dismay our tour guide shared with me that platypuses are exceptionally skittish and that he had only seen one once in all of the years that he had been coming to the area.
A few fun and unique facts about platypuses are that males have a venomous spur on the inside of their hind leg, their soft leathery bill contains sensitive nerves that can detect faint electrical fields generated by small aquatic animals that they prey on (unique among mammals), and along with the echidna are the only other mammal that lays eggs.
Pandani plant found only on Tasmania.
Our next stop was billed as the highlight of our visit to Tasmania and it didn't disappoint. Bonorong Wildlife Santuary was up next and it is home to wallabies, kangaroos, wombats, koalas, and the main attraction, Tasmanian Devils. To the right you can see a volunteer holding a rescued wombat, which are cute, but able to do damage with their powerful front claws that they use expertly for digging. Otherwise it's devil time!
(we were told that the Tassie Devil's jaw is stronger than a croc's -MP)
The Tasmanian Devil is a carnivorous marsupial found only in the wild of Tasmania. It is known for its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odor, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity while feeding. The devil is mostly a scavenger, making it capable of easily crushing bone with its powerful jaws.
On a more difficult note, the Tasmanian Devil is under greater protection because of a currently incurable disease (Devil Facial Tumor Disease) that has become rampant across Tasmania devastating the devil population. It has grown to a level where extinction of the species may be at risk in the near future.
After reading that description, I'm sure all of you can explain how the above turned into a Looney Tune with a short temper, uncontrollable appetite, speech consisting of grunts and growls, and ability to spin to a speed capable of making a vortex. But heh who doesn't love Taz even if he isn't entirely accurate?
Bonorong also gave me the opportunity to get nice and close to kangaroos.
I really enjoyed this series of pictures: "He looks left, he looks right, he looks down?"
After our life changing experience at Bonorong, Matt and I headed to the last stop of our day tour. We ventured to the top of Mount Wellington (1270 m or 4,170 ft), which overlooks all of Hobart. It left us with a lasting impression.
After another long night spent in an airport, Matt and I arrived in Sydney. Navigating the subway system proved to be convenient and easy to follow once we figured out the route we wanted to take. We disembarked at the stop closest to Sydney Harbor to make our way across the Sydney Harbor Bridge and of course check out the Sydney Opera House. We stopped briefly at a cafe for an excellent bacon and egg breakfast, where Matt made a friend with whom he was kind enough to share his water.
Then, we made our way across the bridge to take in the view...
View from Sydney Harbor Bridge
Panorama from a pylon on the Sydney Harbor Bridge overlooking the bay
View from the pylon
View from the pylon
Our next stop was the Sydney Opera House and our guided tour, but first we strolled along the bay seeing street performers and vendors galore!
Sydney Opera House
Matt and I being tourists
Sydney Harbor Bridge
Squeezing in a workout...
Now for the tour:
Interior of the Concert Hall
Coming into the tour I had no idea of the uniqueness nor controversy that surrounded the construction of the Opera House. The Danish designer and architect, Jorn Utzon, had been selected in 1957 as the winner of an international design competition. Interestingly, his design was initially disregarded for not meeting all of the qualifications of the competition, but was ultimately selected when a new city official decided to go through all of the entries. The work began in 1958 with Utzon directing the construction. The initial budget had been for $7 million dollars and a completion date of January 1963. Given Utzon's unique design, many of the worlds leading architects thought it impossible to build such an ambitious structure that presented the amount of design challenges of the Opera House. Due to increasing costs and scheduling overruns, Utzon was forced to resign in 1966 when the city of Sydney refused to continue paying his salary.
The project continued under the direction of a specially appointed Executive Board. The facility officially opened on October 20, 1973, ten years after its projected completion date. Its final price tag was a whopping $102 million dollars, which was $95 million dollars over-budget.
Internal view of the shell ribs that hold the structure together and allow it to have its unique shape
Utzon Room
In an attempt to reconcile with Utzon, the Sydney Opera House Trust commissioned Utzon to refurbish one of the smaller rooms in the Opera House. It was made precisely to Utzons specifications and oversaw by his son. He designed the tapestry located at the back of the room. The redesign was completed in 2009 shortly after his death in late 2008. After Utzon's forced resignation, he never returned to the Sydney Opera House.
I found it to be a compelling narrative, that someone who has designed one of the most distinct and recognizable buildings in the world and Sydney's most iconic structure was forced to resign. And as an additional slap in the face they give him a tiny closet like side room as compensation for his efforts. If you're ever in Sydney take the tour.
Following our tour, the remainder of the day was spent walking through the Royal Botanical Gardens and killing time window shopping until we met up with our hosts Samir and Shampee. You can see me checking out this sweet Chicago Bulls hat that I regretfully didn't purchase (How ridiculous is this hat? I mean, c'mon. I learned on this trip that Nate is a flat-bill hat guy. smh -MP). On a side note, all Australians seem to be Bulls fans. Everywhere we went, Bulls jerseys both old and new were seen. I felt like I was walking around Chicago during the summer.
Matt and I met Samir and his wife Shampee in downtown Sydney where they took us to Star Bar for a few rounds of drinks and some excellent conversation about both my principal Anba and politics in Singapore. Samir was a former employee at my school in Indonesia and close friend to my principal. We laughed a lot and were able to relax before an outstanding Indian meal in the Indian area of Sydney. They were incredibly gracious hosts (can't stress this enough - thanks guys !! -MP) that let us stay overnight at their apartment before we headed off on the final leg of our Australian journey. We shared a bottle of Panton Hill Chardonnay Liqueur that we purchased outside Melbourne and soon fell asleep.
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