nomadwoman

Hi, I have done alot of traveling to areas where you have to not drink the water,not eat salads or use ice cubes that I have become use to not doing this. I don't want to insult anyone because I know that Australia's standard are quite high but I'm wondering if I have to be careful here also. Sometimes it's just a matter that the water is different and not what you are use to to get you in trouble. Can anyone give me a clue if they have had problems with the water or eating salads. I miss eating salads the most when I travel.Especially if you are from the USA traveling over there if you had any problems. I don't want to ruin my vacation. I have been looking forward to going here for too long. Also, I have been doing some research on the food over in Sydney,Cairns and Melbourne. When checking out the websites given to me from this site-THANKS-- it semed awful expensive to me. I don't know if I'm only looking at the very exclusive,expensive places in the cities on this website or what.Can you give me an idea of what it would cost in an average place to get a simple meal of lets say a fish dish with a vegetable or a potato, a piece of chicken or lamb with the same vegetable and potato, a pizza for two, hamburger and fries? Thanks. Also how much will an average glass of chardonnay cost? I know that that is a hard question to answer depending on the quality of the wine but try to give me an average price that you would pay? I would love to either cuddle or pet a koala and see more animals while I'm there .If you had to recommend 1 place to go where would that be? Like I said I will be in Sydney,Cairns, and Melbourne. Some places appear to be Taronga zoo, Weatherdale wildlife park and the Night Zoo in Cairns.Which one would be the best or do you have other recommendations? Thanks for everyones help!!! I enjoy reading all the info on this site and have used this site for many of my trips to get my information.

Tassietwister

We have had plenty of relatives come from the US and they have had no problem with water or salad. Except maybe not enough mayonaisse or creamy salad dressing.

I prefer champagne, the local pub where I am staying charges $3.95 per glass (about US$2.80) and it is a fairly good one.

I am travelling pretty much full time at the moment and we tend to stay at unserviced apartments, or holiday park cabins so we can have a kitchen and do our own cooking to save on eating out.

I have seen some on this board pay more for one night in one room than we pay for food, one night out and accommodation for a whole week.

It can save money to go to Coles supermarket. You can buy salad kits, cooked hot chicken and some prepared salads. Perhaps for 2 it could cost about US$11. No cooking. Also they sell cereal in little boxes, Just Right, for about US0.50 each plus a tub of yogurt, fruit and some milk and breakfast for 2 would be about US$5.00.

In Sydney many pubs offer $5.00 meals (well they were,maybe $7.50 now) so about US$5.00 each for a basic small steak or chicken schnitzle. Not high cuisine but does the job. There are a couple behind Wynyard Station and also along Foveaux St, Surry Hills.

Also Chinatown is pretty good value. Try Yum Cha (Dim Sum) for lunch at Marigold (EXPERIENCE) or Pho from Vietnamese restaurants. Noodle bars and Thai restaurants offer good value. If staying outside the CBD then more options are available as Sydneysiders do not tend to live downtown.

As noted clubs sometimes offer good value. Ask around, they are in every 3rd suburb.

oliverandharry

nomadwoman: There is some excellent information just posted under FOOD: Eating in Australia by LizF and others which could address most of your costs concerns. As to water and salads, Australia is a first world nation, not a third world country where you would worry about such things. I have never been ill in Australia or New Zealand, but here in the US we are victims of all sorts of things not the least of which is our fascination with 'fast food', despite the FDA doing all it can to protect us from ourselves.

lizF

On the drinking water in Australia: There were tests done only recently on drinking water and it came up better than bottled water actually, especially in Sydney. Having said that, the water in Brisbane tastes aweful even though it is fine and the water in Adelaide is dreadful tasting too because its mainly bore water and a little salty. Other than that there are more bugs in bottled Evian water than normal tap water in Australia and it has not been through 6 people either as in recycled water ( well at present it is not recycled but that may come if the rains do not).
Plenty of information on food in the places you are going too.

pat_woolford

nomadwoman, most of your food concerns are covered in LizF's post which oliver andharry have already referred you to.

In regard to Cairns, its a tropical city where fresh salads are automatically part of every meal. Sometimes in winter they're forsaken for briefly cooked vegetables, which can be quite welcome after 9 solid salad months. Rusty's Market in Cairns city (open Fri/Sat/Sun) is the place to shop for fresh tropical fruit, veg and a lot more. Because of the strong Italian background in North Qld there's a proliferation of Italian eateries, and at Rusty's you can buy freshly baked ciabatta bread, get some of the prepared antipastas and Italian locally made cheeses, and there's a cheap and delicious meal. Local coffee, grown on nearby Tableland is available there, as it is in every coffee shop, there isn't a Starbucks in 1700 kms. Even the mundane pineapple takes on a new meaning, a totally different fruit when picked where its grown, no need to discard the core which is just as juicy and sweet as rest of the fruit. If you tell us what time of year you'll be here could give a lot more information on seasonal tropical fruits.

Most wildlife parks no longer allow koala cuddling, its illegal in NSW (Taronga and Featherdale). Not sure if Cairns Night Zoo provides it, but that same zoo is Cairns Tropical Zoo by day, which is one of the one of the very few which still allows it. Legislation in Qld to ban practice is pending but Qld has always been a bit slower. But there are far better and more interesting wildlife experiences than to get up and personal with a koala.

fuzzylogic

Nomadwoman,

You don't sound like the sort of person who's done a lot of travelling to places where you can't drink the water. If you have it must have been wrapped up in cotton wool - ie you didn't have to bother to find out about any of the places you went before you went there. Cos you certainly don't seem to have bothered to find out anything about Australia.

I suggest spending huge amounts of money on bottled water - the whole 20m people who live here do just that. We just use the stuff out of the tap to flush the loo.

As for food - your tastes sound like they fit MacDonalds perfectly - stick to them and you'll be fine. Don't even think of eating in an ethnic restaurant (Thai, Vietnamese,Chinese, Indian) - oh, yeh, and avoid those cheap food courts all costs - they'll poison you.

eschaton

Nomadwoman, fuzzy is a bit of a provocateur at times on this forum, and often evoke a lot of fun responses. But just in case you are not familiar with the characters that inhabit this forum -
I like to stress that the water here is perfectly safe for drinking.

Sydney tends to make fun of the tap water of our sibling cities. I am guilty of that sometimes. Not long ago I was in the Blue Mountains when I chanced upon a nice young family. Chatted with them and discovered that they were from Adelaide. I laughed out aloud at the alleged poor quality of their water. I teased them that it must be barely fit for showers.
The man looked at me grimly, cleared his throat and said that he was the chief engineer in charge of water filtration for Adelaide water. He then went on a complicated explanation of new filtration technology implemented there and rattled off figures to prove that their water was of superior quality to that of our's, etc, etc.
That might well be so, but their water does taste slightly different.

As for food - Sydney is a big place.
If we know where you are hanging out in Sydney, we might be able to make some recommendation.

As for the zoos, if in Sydney go for Taronga for the excuse to catch a ferry there from the Quay, and for the views.

travellin

Thought Fuzzy was quite mild - the question about the water was scary! You are a very patient lot Downunder

emilid

I have to chime in, my mother is one of those women who refuses to drink water from the tap in an area that is not where she lives.

I've never had a problem with it, going from the US to Oz, and didn't have a problem with it going from Indy to Ireland, either.

Your mileage may vary...
Liz
ozmum.com

Toucan2

As mentioned, you'll not have a problem with any of the items you mentioned. Yes, I'm from the US and a) don't remember even thinking about this and b)never had a problem and ate plenty of salads, drank the tap water, and annoyed people by asking for ice in my drinks.

Food can be as expensive or inexpensive as you like. The folks here have given you some input already and would give you even more detail if they get some more info from you.

It does remind me though of a friend in Belize who is from Baltimore. They live on a farm, no running or filtered water, and he tells me that when he brings his Belizean daughter to Baltimore for a visit, she gets an upset stomach from the water in the US. Always carry Imodium I guess

nomadwoman

Hello, I was hesitant about posting the question about the water because I knew that I would get some ignorant person ridiculing the question-fuzzylogic step up and take the prize. It is not a stupid question because if you really read the first posting I SAID that I knew the water would be good but I know from experience that it can just be a problem when the water is just different from what your use to. I lived in Brasil for a year and when I got back to my home town and drank the water I got sick because I got use to the water in Brasil. Also I have traveled throughout Asia, Africa and South America so yes I have traveled in country where water is a problem.Also I do alot of research before I go. Also about the nasty comment about my love of eating in fast food restaurants. I don't like them . I eat quite simple.I don't think salads, lamb,fish ,chicken and vegetables sound like fast food to me. For the people who gave me the other advice. Thank you so much. It was some very helpful advice. Pat I am going on this trip in October.You are such an asset to this forum. Another reason I asked about the water and the food is that I had surgery on my stomach and I have to be more careful then the average person about this situation.Thanks again. I especially liked the info from Tassietwister about the supermarkets and champagne.Plus I really am looking forward to meeting some Ozzies again because I had taken a tour in Europe that was mostly comprised of Ozzies and they were AWESOME.

Bokhara

Hi Nomadwoman,
If you have one of those super sensitive stomachs,(as does a friend of mine), you may well notice a difference from place to place. He's Australian,lives in Qld & his system reacts to Sydney & Melbourne water. (Everyone hates Adelaide's (LOL) but that's a taste issue.) I don't think you'd have a problem with a bit of ice, but if you have a really really sensitive system and regularly use a particular bottled water, that might be the way to go here, too.

I guess it depends on how long you're staying in each location and how long your system takes to adjust. And, of course, how much water you take in your whiskey (LOL).

One of my eccentric aunts always claimed she needed to take extra gin when travelling for cleaning her teeth!
Must have worked - she was an inveterate traveller well into her 80's & never had a problem.

fnarf999

The cheapest and best way to enjoy wine with your meals is to pop into a wine shop before you go in. Many or most restaurants won't have a license for wine but will be set up to uncork your bottle for somewhere under a dollar.

And it'll be less than half as much in the shop as what you'd pay in a restaurant, anyways, especially if you go to a "Cleanskins" shop -- that's wine with no label, usually perfectly good, sometimes outstandingly so. It won't be completely blank -- it'll tell you where it's from and what grape it is. Hint: anything from the Margaret River is great. But you'll be able to find whatever you want for cheap, AUD 6 for a decent Chardonnay.

Neil_Oz

Well, I thought it was a fair question as long as you read the whole post, so I don't think there was any call to jump down nomadwoman's throat. And I have no more idea than nomadwoman where the fast-food slur came from.

As far as water is concerned, I don't much like the stuff and think it's safer and more enjoyable to drink beer and wine instead, wherever I go. (Pause for obligatory little smiley face ).

Just to elaborate on fnarf's post, you'll find many restaurants that allow BYO wine even though they have a liquor licence. Obviously they'd prefer to sell you their own at a larcenous 100-150% markup, but as they expect most people to bring their own you shouldn't feel "cheap" in doing so.

If the restaurant is unlicensed you'll need to bring any liquor you want to consume. If it's licensed but BYO, you can bring table wine but not pre- and post-dinner drinks (beer, liqueurs etc).

I agree that some "cleanskins" are good value, but by no means all - one or two I've tried have been pretty dire. I agree that you're pretty safe if you see the words "Margaret River" though. If you want branded wines, expect to pay AU$10 and up - $15-20 will usually make for a very decent red or white - when buying pinot noir it's usually a good idea to go above the $15 mark though, as the cheaper ones are usually pretty ordinary.

(In Australia "ordinary" in this context means "not very good".)

Oh, and a glass of chardonnay in a restaurant - say $5-10 depending on quality (and the pretentiousness of the establishment). I think the rule of thumb is that a glass should cost about 1/5th of the price of a bottle of the same wine as per the wine list. Better to bring your own, and if you like ask the restaurant to re-seal it so you can take the unconsumed portion home. (Even better, drink the whole bottle.)

Melnq8

Question for Neil -

Does BYO refer to alcohol in general, or just wine? I have no problem taking a bottle of wine, but I'd feel sort of weird walking into a restaurant with a bottle of my favorite gin. Is this really done?

If so, I assume the restaurant will happily sell the mixers, but do they also charge a "corkage" fee for non wine items?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'd always assummed BYO meant wine only.

Sarvowinner

People don't tend to take a litre bottle of hard liquor ino a BYO, but rather take cans of ready mixed drinks such as Gin & Tonic or Bourbon and Cola. However, I don't think it would be a problem if you did - most BYOs do not let you bring in soft drinks and would expect you to buy it there tho, I'm not sure if they would have splits of tonic water.

nomadwoman

Hi again, Thanks again for the info. Can you really have the restaurants cork off a bottle of unfinished wine? My traveling companion doesn't drink alcohol and I can only drink about 1-2 glasses so this would be great.I can't drink sodas so usually I drink wine or beer when I travel and I especially love wine so I'm really looking forward to drinking your wine. Can you get clearskins at any wine shop or just special shops? Do you guys drink ice tea or is that just a USA drink? I have a question that I've been wondering about for quite some time. Why do they call Australia -OZ? What would be the not to miss things to do in Melbourne if you had 2 days? I only have 2 days in Cairns.I get an included day on Green Island.My question is--Would you go on the free trip to Green Island and also book another trip to the Outer Barrier reef lets say with Reef Magic or would you just book 2 seperate trips to the Outer Barrier Reef and skip Green Island? I've gotten the ideal from this forum that Green Island is not the greatest place to view the GBR. Since Green Island is free should I go or would I be wasting my time and It would be better to spend the money and go on the 2 Outer Reef tours? Thanks again for the great info.

fnarf999

Australia --> Aussie (pronounced "ozzie" --> Oz. I was unable to locate any yellow brick roads when I was there.

Two days in Melbourne isn't a lot of time. I assume with that schedule you'll be in the CBD mostly. I strongly recommend a stroll up Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, just northeast of the CBD -- many fascinating shops, cafes, and street life. It's not a bad place to end up for dinner, either, if you time it after a day elsewhere.

I also strongly recommend a tram trip to someplace a bit further -- St. Kilda for instance. There's a beach and a pier there, but the real attraction is the many wonderful cake shops on Acland Street. Marvel at the window displays and then go in for a coffee and a pastry.

And riding the trams is just fun in and of itself. There are LOTS of fun streets in the near suburbs (which doesn't mean the same thing that "suburb" means in an American city; these are fully urban areas) that you can tram to and then stroll around -- Victorian Street for SE Asian life and restaurants, Bridge Street, Lygon Street, etc.

Melbourne to me wasn't a city of single specific stupendous attractions, like the Sydney Opera House, but more of a charming place to just stroll the boulevards. There isn't any one thing on Brunswick Street about which I'd say "don't miss this!" but I WOULD say it about the street as a whole.

The other place I'd recommend would be a stop in Pellegrini's, an old-style Italian coffee bar in the CBD. What an atmosphere! You step in the door into 1958 Milan or something. And so friendly! It was the highlight of our trip, oddly enough.

Neil_Oz

If you ask nicely I think it would take an unusually churlish waiter to refuse to reseal your wine. You could make it easier by buying screwcapped wines - screw caps are gaining in popularity and not just in the lower-price category. You may find some half-bottles in a liquor shop too, but the choice wouldn't be great.

If you see a Woolworths supermarket with attached liquor store you'd find cleanskins there - also the Dan Murphy chain (which like so much else is owned by the Woolworths octopus). They're not limited to those outlets though - look for a larger outlet.

Yes, iced tea is pretty much an American thing, although I think I saw it on sale in a supermarket - maybe someone could confirm that.

Personally I'd skip Green Island, but if Pat Woolford is tuning in she may have an update - I had the impression that the situation may have improved since my visit. If you only have two days in Cairns, you could consider booking one good Reef trip and a day trip to the Daintree Rain Forest on the other day.

pat_woolford

I wouldn't skip a free trip anywhere, but with only 2 available days there's far better choices than Green Island. Although wish had been there the other day when Migaloo, only known albino humpback whale in the world was breaching on Cairns side of Green Island with a couple of his girlfriends. Because of its proximity to mainland Green Island is highly visited, its close enough for a half day trip, the others are all full days.

Whilst the reef is the main attraction it would be a pity to miss the World Heritage rainforests which surround Cairns, you don't have to go far out of town to find them. Check www.cairnswildernesswalks.com - Lake Morris trek is for fit hikers, the Crystal Cascades trail is far gentler. Margaret, the operator, is a font of knowledge and she takes only a maximum of 6. She's been spotting cassowaries lately, but no guarantees. Margaret will pick you up at Cairns accommodation about 9.15am which gives time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast.

Tea is a long established beverage in Australia, we drink buckets of it. Usually hot, but in summer I often drink iced tea. In Cairns city, Spence St, there's a shop called Specialteas, it really has every variety you can think of.