OZtralia.tv Blog

Where To Grab A Drink While Down Under

By: Karen Halabi

Next time you’re passing through a country town, head for the wide verandahs and cheery atmosphere of the local pub. Here you’ll discover the soul of a town; it’s where the beer is cold and the yarns are spun.

New South Wales
Apart from the legendary Pub With No Beer, NSW is dotted with quirky and colourful character pubs.

In the tiny township of Tilpa, 130km north of Wilcannia, in far west NSW, there’s a classic pub called the Tilpa Hotel. The interior of this old corrugated iron pub is plastered with graffiti from its many adorning fans. And, for a $2 donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, you too can leave your mark on the pub’s tin wall.

In nearby Broken Hill, call into the Palace Hotel, the historic, three-story pub with long verandas and elaborate cast-iron balustrades featured in the movie, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, or visit the Silverton Hotel in the former mining ghost town, known for great hospitality and quirky locals.

Then, hit the Pacific Highway and head north to possibly our most famous pub of all. As country singer Slim Dusty once lamented “There’s nothin’ so lonesome, so dull or so drear, than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer”. But as legend has it that’s exactly what happened at this historic pub in Taylors Arm on the north coast of NSW. While the debate still rages as to whether this pub was in fact the inspiration for the song, one thing is for sure — with the addition of a new brewery the pub’s valuable liquid asset will never run dry again.

A little further north you’ll come across The Billi Pub in historic Billinudgel, the former home of Australia’s oldest publican, a woman by the name of Mar Ring.

Mar Ring was publican for 53 years until the age of 101. She taught former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke how to pull a beer, and was awarded an M.B.E. for community service. A painting of her still hangs over the public bar. This timber pub in the Brunswick Valley of Northern NSW, close to Byron Bay, is steeped in history, with many photos of the old township along with a good collection of memorabilia. The Billi is a good old country pub with tall stories and a friendly atmosphere, much the way it would have been in the early days.

Queensland
From Billinudgel you can head out west via Goondiwindi to Nindigully, just across the border into Queensland.

Walking into the rustic Nindigully Pub is like walking into the lounge room of the Outback. This quintessential Outback pub on the banks of the Moonie River has been the meeting point for locals for well over 100 years. It’s famous for the more than 140 Akubra hats from local farmers and stockmen which adorn the walls. Queensland’s oldest hotel, it was issued a license in 1864 after it had been shearers’ accommodation for Nindigully Station and is still in its original condition.

From here you can head north to Roma where the historic 1863 Romavilla Winery is a rarity – an Outback winery. Sample the local wines in the rustic timber and corrugated iron building, and imagine the hardships establishing a winery here.

From Roma take the Matilda Highway north through historic Outback towns such as Blackall, Barcaldien and Longreach to Winton.

Legend has it that Australia’s best known and much loved national song and the nation’s unofficial national anthem, Waltzing Matilda, was sung for the very first time at the North Gregory Hotel in Outback Winton in north-west Queensland. The Tattersalls Hotel in Winton has also been serving up genuine Outback hospitality for 120 years and is a top spot to share an icy beer with locals including miners, station owners, ringers, truck drivers, cattle buyers and shearers.

A little further north along the Matilda Highway through Outback Queensland be sure to stop and drink a toast to Australia’s hardest working dog, the blue heeler, at the Blue Heeler Hotel in Kynuna, the 100-year-old hotel where Banjo Patterson observed champagne being handed through the window to end the angry shearers strike of the 1800s. The Combo Waterhole, the famed billabong featured in Waltzing Matilda, is 20km south of Kynuna.

On the same Outback highway headed north towards Mt Isa you’ll meet locals as colourful as Mick Dundee over an ice cold beer in the historic Walkabout Creek Hotel in McKinlay in Outback Queensland. It’s famous as Crocodile Dundee’s regular drinking spot in the original movie of the same name. Known originally as the Federal McKinlay Hotel it was sold for $290,000 after the movie was made and is now the town’s one tourist attraction.

One of Australia’s most legendary watering holes is the Birdsville Hotel on the desolate Birdsville Track in Outback Queensland near the South Australian border. Built in 1884 it has been witness to history made, yarns spun and the survival of Australian mateship. It epitomises the essence of the Outback.

But even without heading so far Outback you can see some great Aussie pubs by sticking to the Pacific Highway. If you’re passing through Brisbane, stop off at the Story Bridge Hotel (formerly know as Kangaroo Point Inn), one of only a few hotels to feature architecture from the quintessential Queenslander period. Built in 1886, it’s famous for its Australia Day Cockroach Races.

Further north up the Pacific Highway on the Sunshine Coast is historic Eumundi. There is something special about a country Queensland pub with their wide balconies and timber lattice work shading dimly lit bars and swirling ceiling fans and Joe’s Waterhole (formerly The Commercial Hotel) in Eumundi is one of these treasures.

Rockhampton is Australia’s beef capital. The Great Western Hotel here is widely regarded as the home of great steak, beer and rodeos. This 116 year old pub plays host to major national rodeos and features a huge undercover rodeo arena for 1,000 people that attracts champion riders to the hotel, which also has a Saddler and Poker Saloon and Mavericks Western Wear Shop.

South Australia
The only stopover on the 528km Birdsville Track, the Mungerannie Hotel sits on the edge of the Sturt Stony, Simpson, Tirari and Strzelecki deserts and is nestled beside the Derwent River – an oasis in sharp contrast to its surrounds.

Right in the heart of Burke and Wills explorer country, the Innamincka Hotel at Cooper Creek in South Australia once played host to early drovers who brought cattle down the Strzelecki Track. The pub’s convivial Outamincka Bar has become the stuff of bush legends and is must stop for anyone travelling in these parts.

You can’t get more Outback than the famous Prairie Hotel at Parachilna in South Australia. Built in the 1890s, the pub attracts visitors from all over the world who come to try the renowned Australian native cuisine or bush tucker, otherwise known as ‘feral food’, while drinking in the view of the magnificent Flinders Ranges.

The William Creek Pub is located smack bang in the middle of the world’s largest cattle property, Anna Creek Station which, at 23,800 sq kms is almost half the size of Tasmania. William Creek is South Australia’s smallest town. The William Creek Pub has an almost legendary status and is the only watering hole on the Oodnadatta Track between Marree and Oodnadatta.

On South Australia’s Darling River is the picturesque town of Pooncarie. With only 89 residents, a general store and a pub built in 1976, the town has a lovely old country town feel. But the first Saturday in October sees the town swell to around 1,500 people for the annual Pooncarie races. People come from all over the country, and of course they drink at the old Telegraph Hotel.

Tasmania
In a beautiful little valley called Pyengana you’ll come across a sign that says, “Pub in a Paddock 3km - Come and see our Beer Drinking Pig”.  The Pub in the Paddock is surely one of Australia’s quirkiest pubs. This 1880s watering hole sits in the middle of a paddock in Tasmania’s Pyengana Valley and is famous for its beer swilling pig, Priscilla, who can scull a watered-down stubby in seven seconds. In a pen out the back the sign says, “Hi, Geez I’m dry, I’d luv a beer”. The owner claims the pig has downed 76 stubbies in on session, “more than Boonie”. A Tasmanian institution since 1880, the pub offers hearty country meals and comfortable accommodation.

Northern Territory
The colourful Daly Waters Pub, clad in corrugated iron, is crammed with decades of Australian memorabilia. Once a popular drover’s rest, this quirky pub built in 1930, gained fame again as a stopover for pilots and passengers arriving on the new Qantas airline in 1934. Today, it is a pit-stop for thirsty tourists travelling the Explorer’s Way between Alice Springs and Darwin.

At The Mataranka Pub at Mataranka Springs just south of Katherine you can lean against the bar with its brightly coloured paintings then toddle off to see the nearby replica of the hut in which Jeannie Gunn lived at Elsey Station. Her story was captured in the book We of the Never Never.

The Humpty Doo Hotel in Arnhem Land is conveniently located for travellers heading to Kakadu. The hotel has many colourful local characters, so stop in at the famous Humpty Doo Hotel when next in this part of the world.

At the Barra Bar & Bistro on the Kakadu Highway at Jim Jim, you can cook your own local delicacies on a supplied barbecue with an accompanying buffet.

Just south of Darwin on the Darwin River Road at Berry Springs,  you’ll find the Lichfield Pub, home of the bull arena and shed, which has a 180ft long bar.

Western Australia
Over on our West Coast, The Roey, Broome’s oldest pub, lives by the saying “if it’s going to happen in Broome, it’s going to happen at the Roey”. If you stumble across a local character by the name of Swindle, pull up a chair and order a coldie because he has enough tales about pearling and gangsters to last a week.

While sunset camel rides on Broome’s Cable Beach are world famous, it’s the tales about beer drinking camels that draw attention at the Whim Creek Pub.  Half way between Karratha and Port Hedland, this pub has its own wildlife sanctuary and was once home to a camel with a penchant for beer. Don’t worry about missing the pub – it’s painted bright pink!

The biggest and best known pub in Kalgoorlie is The Exchange. It holds the record for the biggest volume of Jim Beam sold in regional WA. It was originally constructed as a shed in the late 1800s.

The population of the small goldmining town of Kookynie, 200km from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, is less than 10 people, but the town’s 1894 vintage Grand Hotel with its big verandahs and spacious rooms continues to survive. It was once the favourite watering hole for local prospectors.

True Australian country hospitality is alive and well in our great Aussie pubs. Whatever the style of accommodation or the location, the locals will greet you with a firm hand shake and a strong stare. Our great Aussie pubs are about the people and the places, and they’re the heart of our nation.

Third Installment of Coonawarra Wine

By: Phoenix Arrien

Lunch at a winery is always good and we happily stumbled onto one of those dining events to which I am happy to fly anywhere to experience.

In rare places in often secluded spots in Australia there are restaurants (such as Stephano’s in Mildura) where freshness, food combinations, superb skill and the right ambience are put together in a perfect balance which sends one off into an altered state; a place where happiness is no effort, the world is rosy and every sound, movement and taste becomes an endless moment of ecstasy.

As you can see food has a profound effect on me and I am forever on the search for its perfect form. To find a place like Hollick Restaurant, above the Hollick winery tasting room, is like surfing the sound waves of a symphony orchestra in perfect pitch.

That large loft overlooking green vines will stay stamped on my memory as one of the great food restaurants in this country. Kate Murray has created a fine restaurant where UK chef Ian Perry sends out his sublime dishes complemented by Hollick’s own fine wines.

My roasted duck breast came on a braised leg tartlet with a beetroot jus. I took in each tender morsel slowly, savouring the subtle flavours and juices. Companions murmured appreciatively over their chargrilled yellowfin tuna and aged scotch fillet and there was much dreamy eyed contemplation of going off to lie under a tree and watch the blue Coonawarra sky, but patient Ken of the limousine waited. After swiping into waves of chocolate mousse and letting out our belts, we left that oasis of fine food and drink to purr our way over to the cellar door of the Zema estate.

Zema’s tasting room was functional and simple. It stated: ‘we concentrate on wines not aesthetics’. This is serious stuff. While many wines have been lightened up to capture the ‘drink now’ market reflecting the needs of an ‘instant gratification’ society, Zema is for the wine connoisseur. Traditional full bodied reds, deep and dense, need to be holed up for a while in a cellar and pulled out of their cool, dark prison to be opened some years down the track.

“I am spending time watching the grapes grow,” reflected Bruce Redman of Redman’s Winery. Above him the walls were plastered with gold, silver and bronze wine awards, attributing to the fact that he doesn’t just watch grapes grow. The tasting room at Redman’s was small, intimate and cluttered. Bruce is knowledgeable about his wines and spoke in a laid back way that in no way inhibits the obvious love for wine that characterizes the winemakers of Coonawarra.

We leaned on the small counter and sipped his very drinkable Shiraz’s and Cabernet Sauvignons while gazing at family photos. Companionable silence filled the spaces between relaxed chats with Bruce and we walked out of there and into the limousine feeling complete.

We couldn’t of course head back to the plane and fly off full of wine, our pilot had that glazed happy looks reminiscent of Snoopy the cartoon dog on a slow day, so we chose to hire a house in Penola, a pretty little town at the southern end of the ‘cigar’. Townsend cottage is a 100 year old house ideal for a large family, several couples or a group of friends. Comfortable and offering all facilities, it’s perfectly situated at the edge of town where it was only a small walk to the shops and Petticoat Lane.

In this appealing part of town curio and craft shops like the Petticoat Lane Herb Garden and Shop share a wide heritage street, which harks back to when Mary Mackillop, the nun soon to be Australia’s first saint, walked her talk. I stopped to smell the flowers with Jenni Hinze at the Herb shop and farm where she creates wonderful foods, body lotions and potions as well as craftwork with the produce she grows. It’s a step into a slower pace, a creative and very different lifestyle and we wandered around her shop, the lane and the town in pure relaxed holiday mode.

I love Coonawarra, for me it provides an escape and a basis for some very worthwhile eating and drinking.

The Great Ocean Road’s Crown Jewel

By: The OZtralia.tv Producers

On the south coast of Australia you will be in wonder of the Great Ocean Road. A group of rock formations on the Great Ocean Road, The Twelve Apostles, are the crown jewel of the route and help make-up the soul of Australia.The Twelve Apostles are part of the Marine National Park which protects the rock formations as well as the ocean under them. Under the rock formations there are a series of coral reefs and caves that the eye cannot see.

As the ocean is ceasly forming the land along the Great Ocean Road, one of the Apostles fell in 1999. Researches say that one will fall every 30 years.

The OZtralia.tv producers recommend taking a helicopter tour before dusk over the Great Ocean Road where you will fly over the Apostles. Then get in your car and drive back to watch the sunset upon the rock formations of the Apostles. It is a beautiful sight.

Storm Boy Outside of Adelaide

By: Phoenix Arrien

An iconic film was made in Australia decades ago. Storm Boy is an endearing and enduring film about a boy who befriends a pelican. It was filmed on the Coorong, a system of lakes stretching along the South Australian coast east of Adelaide.

If you want to experience this beautiful, bird-filled natural paradise you will have to go soon. The lakes are fed by the Murray River, the greatest river in Australia - that is not so great anymore.

Decimated by drought and irrigation, the lower Murray now does not have enough water to always reach the sea and moves are afoot to build a weir upriver from the mouth to save enough water for Adelaide’s drinking needs as well as saving the lower Murray from acidification.

This means that the lakes of the Coorong will be filled with seawater and changed from its natural condition.

Farmers have had a terrible time with prolonged drought and while the government is sporadically buying voluntary irrigation rights to put irrigation-allocated water back into the Murray, to save the Murray (the lower end problem is only the start) means some drastic measures.

Conservation groups talk about the need to buy back of a lot more water, making the irrigation systems more efficient (some estimates point out that most of the diverted Murray water is actually lost to evaporation on the way to the farms) and perhaps shutting down water guzzling operations such as cotton farms that a dry continent like Australia really cannot support.

Groups and governments are arguing, while the Murray dries up and the pelicans fly away.

The One and All: Part Two

By: Phoenix Arrien

Remember last Friday that storm hit us and drove us to shore.

The next morning dawned bright and clear and we headed back out into the ocean, confident and in high spirits. On bow watch I floated with an albatross on the wind and rolled with the seals on the waves, whiskers showering drops of sparkling water. The coast of the Victorian/South Australian border emerged out of the sun haze and looked dramatic made of cliffs and surf beaches with soft green hills behind them.

Victor Harbour, a South Australian holiday town with its 19^th Century carnival atmosphere, horse-drawn tram and fairgrounds, was a fitting place to disembark. We parted from ship and other crew members in sadness, after a voyage of close comradeship where we had worked very work closely together

OZtralia Sailing Adventures

By: Phoenix Arrien
As I approached the wharf in Geelong on the southern coast of Australia I stopped and stared in awe. I was looking at a tall ship and she was stunning.

The One & All is beautiful; a sleek two masted Brigantine. Designed by a racing yacht designer, it’s a vessel boasting clean flowing lines and a white hull. I boarded her with glee; this was going to be great.

We sailed out of Geelong and into the Southern Ocean aiming for South Australia. Having experienced the Leeuwin, I found this sail easier and soon fitted in with the four hour shifts that crewing tall ship demands.

The captain on a sailing ship is the pinnacle of a hierarchy stretching back centuries and his or her word is law. Next in charge is the Mate, then it goes to bosuns, engineers and most importantly a cook, for every ship runs on its stomach.

Storms blew in after the second day and we tossed about on the ocean like a white matchstick. For several days, we ploughed on. Fog closed in around us and visibility dropped to metres.  The sheer cliffs of the Great Ocean Road vanished into greyness until sighting the Warrnambool lighthouse we found shelter at Portland. The West Victorian coastline is also appropriately called the shipwreck coast and skeletons of many vessels litter the seabeds.

We were pitching hard. Were we going to join them? Next Friday find out…

South Australia Leads The Way

By: Phoenix Arrien

The state of South Australia (SA) is phasing out plastic bags and I believe the other Australian states should follow. SA is also the state in Australia offering cash-back for bottles and cans.

In fact, let the world follow. Not that SA is the only place in the world to do this: San Francisco and China are two that come to mind.

Imagine if all of Australia banned plastic bags: we would see five billion plastic bags less in our landscapes and oceans. The birds, whales, seals and turtles out there that are hurt and choked by such items would be much happier as well.

Travelers can do their bit by refusing plastic bags when offered at shops anywhere. Take along the backpack or material bag and reuse.

OZ Blog Writer Experiences Lakes Entrance, South Australia

By: Phoenix Arrien

The best way to explore the Lakes is by boat. Our boat, The Director, a modern 12 metre catamaran with indoor and outdoor entertaining areas and fully stocked bar,  picked us up at the jetty just outside our accommodation at the luxurious Moorings.

This accommodation is dazzling. The Moorings are a complex of apartments overlooking the pretty Metung Marina, a focus of the charming little lakeside village of Metung, which we found to be a quieter place to stay then the buzz at the Lakes Entrance township.

What is it about waterside accommodation that eventually finds one relaxing on a balcony with a glass of local wine, watching yachts bob up and down in calm water while gulls dance on the air waves?

The Director took us on a journey into the Lakes with history, nature and birdlife vying for our attention until the dolphins leapt alongside and everything else became secondary. The skipper had spent many years on the lakes and was full of stories, while he let kids, brimming with importance, take the wheel on the calmer stretches of water.

Afternoon tea satisfied everyone and a walk across a spit of land to see the wild waters of Bass Strait and hear about an epic walk undertaken by shipwreck survivors to Sydney in the 1800s let our imaginations run as wild.

Sadly leaving the Lakes area we headed along the highway to Orbost, a vibrant little place where walks, picnics spots and shops are the main attractions. The road from here is through forests and over rivers; a magnificent drive though nature and we sighted wallabies (a small kangaroo), echidnas (similar to a porcupine), a blue-tongued lizard and plenty of birds.

Try the south eastern coast of Australia - I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Snow Me Kangaroo Down, Sport!

By: Phoenix Arrien

Snow, beauuuutiful snow! Yes the white cold stuff is beginning to fall on the mountains of southern Australia.

Cross-country skiing is my favourite type of snow play: out there in the bush, all that exercise, those gnarled snow gums frosted with ice, the sharp clear skies and invigorating cold air…I love it. However most visitors seem to go for downhill skiing so here is a wrap of the most popular resorts:

Falls Creek (upmarket, fabulous location)  www.fallscreek.com.au

Mt Hotham (own airport, something for all ages and abilities) www.hotham.com.au

Mt Buller (close to Melbourne, value for money) www.mtbuller.com.au

Thredbo (more remote than most other ski fields, serious runs) www.thredbo.com.au

Don’t forget if driving you need to use snow chains. Fuel is expensive but there are plenty of other options including public transport, groups and tours.

News.com.au reported that Kangaroo Island is looking to tourism to help get back on track.

Seal Bay and Kelly Hill parks have opened and the government is hoping to open more soon along with a campaign to promote the message of the parks being open.

You can see the whole story at here.

-OZtralia.tv Staff