Showing posts with label Australia 2011 backpack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia 2011 backpack. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Brisbane.Darwin.Food.Glorious.Food.( My Maiden Australia 2011 Backpack part 9)

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Domestic airport

train to city

central station


I stayed here. Base Backpackers. Just across from the central station. Its very convenient to anywhere.
Sampai Brisbane, baru aku tahu betapa dekatnye Gold Coast dari bandar Brisbane.
Naik MRT dorang 90min je. Tapi aku tak gi la pasal aku nak gi Lone Pine Sanctuary, tapi ni aku dah tahu ni senang, pasal Air-Asia ada LCCT gi Gold Coast, Jetstar lak Changi gi Brisbane dan pasal Air Asia lagi murah so ok la naik MRT dorang je la senang. Contoh cam ada tiket murah giler, so kita bleh gi Gold Coast then sampai sana kalo pandai susun budget boleh pergi banyak tempat. Ni cakap terbuang je la, yo-yo-oh je angan2 mat jenin gitu. Lagipun MRT dorang kerusi kusyen siak
.
(Now I understand better why I heard some people from Singapore go see Metallica at Brisbane. Hmmmnnnn...) For me, I do check out on the airports and... I think Brisbane airport is comfortable enough to fall asleep too :-)

Memalukan, aku tak tau pakai lift ni, naik tangga, tapi lepas tu aku study orang lain pakai, baru aku cuba sendiri.

Question to all who stumble to this blog and actually read this line - Do you know how to operate this more traditional elevator?

Compared to Melbourne and Sydney, Brisbane is a bit similar to Perth ( as this is the 4 places I had travelled to see Iron Maiden ), but I notice Brisbane has a more bustling and bigger shopping area.

Aku jalan kaki pusing bandar ni ikut Brisbane River. Ada la pelan2 jalan dalam tiga jam empat jam. Penat jugak dan takut, pasal aku tak tahu aku sampai balik ke tak atau jalan makin jauh.
Malam2 lak tu tembus kat Kebun Bunga dia, aku dah terbayang macam2 orang jahat, hantu, macam2 la, tapi pasal kat tepi tu Sungai Brisbane jadi aku masih relak jugak. Dan malam2 buta pun masih kadang2 terserempak orang jogging.



The river color is still not clear, still has the color of mud due to the huge flooding in Queensland.













I didnt take this huge ferris wheel, or eye of brisbane or whats its called, but it looks very nice from below.

I like this photo very much..



I just keep on walking and crossing bridges etc, as long as I see the river, I know I wont be that lost.. It took me to near 4 hours of walking, very enjoyable walk, but it do get creepy when I was in the Botanical Gardens at night.

Motivational poster? Floods can Flood Off! . I like it.


Then you come back to the city center with all the tall buildings which are mostly empty of any humans as its already night and also it being Sunday...



A nice street art piece of a man using a handphone.

There it is, Brisbane Bridge, I was intending to climb it, but I dont have the time and the cash haha. Its about half the price of the Sydney Bridge Climb by the way.


They have this sort of riverside dining and drinking spot ala boat quay and clarke quay.





This is how some of the Brisbane residents go to work or run their errands. By boat. Similar to us taking a bus.
Last aku nak cakap, antara paling penting makanan.

Aku kira selenger jugak la, pasal semua aku buat research dan plan, tapi makan aku tak, aku mungkin ingat ni macam kat Perth dulu, siap jumpa nasik padang lagik. So aku sampai kat Melbourne, ok jugak aku jumpa makanan halal senang, those doner kebab yang siap ada tanda halal.







Tapi kat Sydney aku macam kejong sikit, kedai2 kebab takde sign halal. Aku macam fikiran ni boleh makan ke tak? So aku kat Oxford St Sydney tu aku jumpa kedai Istanbul Kebab ni, aku tanya halal ke tak? so dia tanya aku orang islam ke? aku cakap ah-ah. Terus dia cam bingit dia cakap terang2 dia orang Turkey, mesti la halal. Pasal dia cakap orang Turkey kan Islam ramai, dia cakap.

Aku cakap balik, aku tak tengok sapa jual, kalo kedai melayu pun jenis nak cepat kaya guna barang tak halal atau was-was sumber dia, pun takkan kita nak support. So aku cakap la, kalo masakan Jepun ke cina ke, kalo ada sijil halal aku makan la tanpa was-was. Terus dia cakap "eh mana boleh? kan jepun kan bukan Islam? ", jadi pekedai ni konsep dia lain sikit ngan cara pemikiran aku, tapi whatever la kan, dia pun baik ngan aku dan aku enjoy makan2 kat kedai dia selama aku kat Sydney.




Kat Brisbane aku suka pergi kat food court dia kat mall mall kat tempat shopping district dia. Insyallah korang akan jumpa la kedai2 yang halal dan jugak kedai2 aku tak was-was iaitu kedai jenis full vegetarian nye.

Tapi korang nengok la harga...ni aku kasi contoh...fruit mixed, buah2 potong taruk kat cawan gitu kecik nye size dah $AUS5. Giler babi mahal dia haha.
Aku budget aku dapat kontrol tapi banyak kena cover kat makanan.
Balik kerja kawan aku cakap aku gemuk. Dia cakap " eh apa ko dah makan kat Australia ah? " haha. Siol betul.


Balik aku pilih untuk landing kat Singapore, bukan Kuala Lumpur pasal aku nak terus gi kerja.. so aku ambik Jetstar. So ok la, aku beli awal aku dapat tiket harga ok la, tapi kena stopover kat Darwin. Darwin ni tempat buaya eh? wooo aku suka aku suka... Tapi dua jam je, airport pun jenis airport kampung je...




This is the final photo I took of Australia haha. When the plane left Darwin after a stopover and change of plane.
So... I would never thought all these possible before. Its quite an experience. An eye opener. Insyallah ada rezeki boleh tengok negeri orang lagi... tapi aku try to squeeze Maiden inside la.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (My Maiden Australia Backpack 2011 part 8)

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susah giler nak snap foto burung tengah terbang arah aku, siap kena elak lagi.



Australia is a great place for those who are fascinated by animals. Lots of zoos and locations to observe species of all kinds.
One of them is tuck away in Brisbane. Not as glamorous as other animal attractions, with the vicinity of Brisbane also being inclusive of the famous Steve Irwin Zoo among others, but I think Lone Pine Sanctuary is certainly a very unique experience for me.
I have the time and budget to choose one animal attraction location in Brisbane, and I think I made the fabulous choice.

Pembukaan Lone Pine Sanctuary ni ialah 0830 sampai 1700hrs.
Cara2 nak pergi ialah dua cara, kalo korang macam aku jimat belanja

This is the way to go to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary by cheap public transport.
1) Brisbane City Council Bus No 445 dari Stop 40 Adelaide Street
( this bus dont run on Sunday - take note )
2) Brisbane City Council Bus No 430 dari Platform B4, Queen Street Bus Station. This is inside at the basement of one of the shopping mall in Brisbane city itself.
Tambang bas ialah seorang $4.20 per trip.
Travel Time sikit lebih kurang 30minit gitu.

Aku pun terkejut ramai orang asing naik bas awam ni, dari Jepun, dari German. Semua nak pergi tempat Lone Pine ni.
Macam aku cakap tempat ni tak glamer, tak ramai orang nak pergi kot, tapi kalo sapa tahu pasal tempat ni, mesti rasa nak pergi, pasal memang lain dari yang lain. Satu2 nye tempat kat dunia macam gini. Bukan zoo biasa.

This sanctuary I believed was hit hard by the the destructive Queensland Flood that happen at the start of this year. This sanctuary do need the support of the public and animal lovers especially with the conditions that faced. Hopefully things do get better for them.

As usual, a proper visit to this type of place needs a study of their timetable of attractions and shows in advance. So I make sure I am there for the BIRD OF PREY SHOW which is held twice daily.

A beautiful setting for the Birds Of Prey show.
You have all these huge birds, Falcons etc which fly and brought near to the audience.

Giler kuku dia, kena cakar sekali abis...
You have some of the birds literally flying at you and just above you..
Some interesting flying and feeding display
Really worth it to catch this show especially as the birds are huge, fearsome and very the Battle Hymn cover haha.


Then I continue to walk and come across this sort of a Jurassic Park enclosure..with fences and double gates...


Ooo first time ever in my life, I come into contact with a Kangaroo Mother and her Joey Baby Kangaroo.



Mak dia korang nak pegang, usap2 belakang semua boleh, si anak dia kangaroo kecik tu baik jangan usik, mau kang mak dia mengamuk, sekali dia boxing , rabak nanti.
Then aku nampak dekni, toing toing toing depan aku, so aku ikut pergi arah dia lompat2 gitu..


Siak ah... Best giler!!! Kawan2 dia punye ramai ngah lepak kat belakang..











Burung emu, dorang lepaskan gitu je siak kat tempat Kangaroo ni, giler babi besar siot burung ni, mau kang dia mengamuk... lepas tu kan dia ikut2 orang yang kasi dia makan tau..haha.
Ooo lupa, korang bleh beli makanan binatang dari sanctuary ni, then korang kasi kangaroo makan la apa la, tapi paling bagus pagi la korang pegi, kalo petang, kangaroo dah kenyang dorang tak mau makan dah. Aku tahu zoo Singapore pun ada open space boleh main ngan kangaroo tapi tak bleh fight la, sini besar giler area dia, kangaroo banyak. Havoc, korang nak baring2 golek2 peluk2 ngan kangaroo lantak la , tapi kalo korang apa2 kena tendang ke, kena boxing ke, korang pandai2 la settle haha.





Being Australia, this koala sanctuary also have the venomous and poisonous snakes on display and some weird creatures which I think I saw appearing on the movie RANGO.

Suka giler aku tengok Rango, part yang mexican band tu 4 ekor burung hantu, tiba2 gitaris dia pakai gitar karen. Best giler tu part. Lain dari lain la Rango.. Jonny Depp lawak la.



But the main reason people came here is to catch the koalas...
Lone Pine ensure a proper habitat, feeding, and caring for koalas of all ages.
It is nice how they split up the sanctuary to ensure we can differentiate and appreciate different passages of a koala's life.
Baby, young, adult, mature even old age.

This is one of those places where Koala lovers from all over the world will come so they can cuddle koalas to their hearts delight provided they paid for it of course to support the sanctuary. A bit too gay for me haha. So I skip that part.




dekni kenyit mata Like I say, its quite a humble place, using a just a whiteboard for what I think are some great infos.


Observing them, you realise they are just like humans too. This koala was literally chasing and clinging on the leg of one staff because he or she just want to be carried and cuddled. Unlike other koalas who are 'bochap'.
Before I forget, this place actually plant eucalyptus trees to feed the koalas and ensure constant supply of the only food koalas consume.

I come across the old retired koalas section where basically the koalas are spending the last days of their lifes. This is exactly like we humans, you can see the koalas, whom we know are mostly not really active, are even less active among the old ones.

But unlike in the wild, the koalas here are properly taken care off and they could end up living much longer.

This couple are an old romantic pair it seems haha. Just being with each other all the while.

The best was this pair which seems are from the younger lot. The lower one was actually being helped and hugged by the upper one as he or she was climbing up.

But you have to be patient to see all these. You have to be silent and just enjoy the scene. I know its not for everyone, but I like it.

So now, is there a Meerkat Sanctuary... out there? haha. The only place that I know can see Meerkats for us in Malaysia and Singapore is still the Mandai Zoo. I tell you they are the best of the best if you get to know about them.



I actually took lots of photos, I just need time to upload everything on deafeningforever.blogspot for those who enjoy these things...

wait a bit.