Hope you find the reviews you want, if not, contact us to get more help
The Museum of New and Old Art, or MONA, as it is affectionately known, is a weird and wonderful place, where ancient Egyptian mummies are placed next to an overweight Lamborghini and intrigue lingers with you, long after you’ve left the gallery.
I flew down to Hobart hot on the tails of their Lonely Planet accolade (the city was crowned number 7 in the guide book’s top destinations for 2013) with no doubt in my mind that the newest museum in the country had something to do with this.
The first thing I noticed as I walked into the hillside monolithic museum was the smell. Everybody around me could smell it. They looked at each other perplexed. It was worse than any zoo I'd visited. People in museums are inherently polite, but you could hear whispers of disbelief as they furiously checked their guidebooks for clarification. I checked the walls for plaques, but nothing could define this smell.
I decided I had to question an official-looking woman. With nostrils of steel, she answered, without even flinching: "Oh, it's the excrement machine, it mimics the human intestinal system." I had heard that MONA is famous for its shock-factor. But I was expecting a few phallic shaped sculptures and some wild pubic hair brush-strokes - not this.
"We feed it twice a day and it poos daily. You've just missed the 2pm release of faeces, but you can see it over there on the conveyor belt." And there it was - a prize dump, fresh and still steaming before my very eyes. There was a row of machines representing the digestive system, breaking down the food, churning it around like soiled washing machines. "You never know what you're going to get. Yesterday it was runny," I overheard the guide.
We were lucky to see this solid, chorizo-shaped poo. The Mona Lisa of shits. My guidebook, which is actually an iPhone-like device, tells me this is ‘Cloaca Professional’, by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye, part of the museum’s Monanism exhibition. The closer you got, the more horrid the smell. And yet, now that my brain has registered this healthy looking shit, the smell was kind of intriguing. Just one more whiff before I go. If this was the ground level, what else was I in for?
MONA is the brainchild of Hobart-born David Walsh, a self-made millionaire, professional gambler, university drop-out and all-round eccentric. He owns the museum and everything in it, therefore he has this I-can-do-whatever-the-fuck-I-want attitude, which is exactly what I love about this museum. This subterranean collection of art could inspire even the most terrified of art-phobics. In fact, the first exhibition is a bar, which we all know helps you digest the experience. (Pun intentional.)
Walsh is also fascinated with death, from the suicide machine, to the collection of funeral songs on a jukebox to the cinerarium where, for $75,000, you can put your ashes on display. I was enamored with the anal lipstick kisses that are prettily pressed on hotel paper. Don't ask. They are exactly as they sound, and perhaps a great idea for a Valentine's Day card, for those who have exhausted every other avenue. That didn't come out right. MONA has certainly perverted me.
Then there's the simple - the white library where the books and bookcases are all painted white. This is the calm before the storm. Outside you are met with 200 porcelain vagina moulds, like the anal kisses, each one tells a different story. Walsh doesn't call it the "subversive adult Disneyland" for nothing. It might not be for everyone but I can tell you there's nothing cheap about it. For a gallery full of shit and genitals it's surprisingly tasteful. Seriously, MONA makes the sex museum in Amsterdam look like a tacky hen's night.
See: mona.net.au
Avoca Beach, Sydney, Australia
Nicole Kidman knows the perfect Sydney city escape is a weekend at Avoca Beach, just an hour and half drive north of Sydney, she owns property in the beautiful sleepy surf town. Best place to surf, fish, wander endlessly along ocean-side rocks, and of course eat fish-n-chips!
Madame Tussauds waxworks on Sydney's Darling Harbour, is where you get to make friends with the stars..
It sounds like a dream. You're in a room full of celebrities who are all smiling and waiting to have their photo taken with you. Not one to disappoint, you oblige, placing an arm around each celebrity and smiling cheesily at your friend who is pointing their iphone in your direction, ready to shoot and upload straight to Instagram. Suddenly you realise Britney Spears, and in fact all the celebs, are actually made of wax. Quickly, you pinch yourself to wake up from the bizarre dream. Except it's not a dream, you are at Madame Tussauds waxworks, otherwise known as the closest you may ever be to placing your arm around Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Best make the most of it then.
Reviews International writers Autumn Mooney and Sarah Doran visited Madame Tussauds during a three month visit from Britney Spears and Beyonce Knowles (waxworks.) Madame Tussauds has waxwork studios all around the world, and occasionaly the statues travel to cities abroad. Of course, this meant Sarah got to shake her booty with beyonce, and Autumn got to hold Britney's MTV award. Followed by both immediatley social media posting to Facebook and Instagram, claiming to have new BFF's with the pics to prove..
Aside from the social media opportunities and pretending to be best friends with a re-incarnate Michael Jackson, Madame Tussauds offers a great 3D gauk at people you see images of in mainstream media all the time. Viewing a life-size waxwork lets you view details you often can't tell from a photograph. See how tiny Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga really are in comparison to yourself, or how teensy Olivia Newton John's waist really was back in the 1978 movie Grease. Remember what John Farnham looked like in his heydey, and see the extraodinary heights Justin Biebers fringe really does boof up to. The leaders room lets you pose in the office with Obama, contemplate with Nelson Mandela, Stand by Julie Gillard at the lectern, or sit on the royal throne by the queen.
Recommended - to people who love to social media, and celebrity stalkers - you will adore Madame Tussads
Feel on top of the Word with a 45 minute walk in the Sky, on the skywalk tour, Sydney Tower Eye.
Watching the lights turn on over the city of Sydney with a sunset Skywalk tour at Sydney Tower, aka Sydney’s iconic Centrepoint, is exactly how to feel on top of the world; because you are!
Smack-bang in the middle of Sydney city is an historic tower called Sydney tower (often referred to as Centrepoint) where tourists and locals dine at sky levels as the building and view rotate 360 degrees. For those not hungry and slightly more brave, there’s a sky high tour on the very outskirts of the building. Forget vertigo, this amazing view is worth 45 minutes of any height fear!
ON ARRIVAL
On arrival you will check-in with friendly staff, and follow directions to take the lift. Not just any lift. It’s a tiny spacecraft vessel! As you realize the elevator is taking a little longer than normal, your ears will pop with the altitude. How high are you? Well, upon exit you can see for yourself, as 360 degrees of floor to ceiling glass window in the observation deck shows off the city of Sydney in all it’s glory. Sydney Tower escorts will direct you from here; first a breathaliser to test your alcohol limits, I’m guessing so you don’t drunkenly stumble, fall and dangle over the edge at any time, (!) then change into the signature blue wind protective clothing. Designed to catch any falling items from your own clothing underneath, the sexy attire may have you wanting to perfect those long lost 80’s hammertime dance moves, however you will definitely feel protected from the wind.
THE WALKOUT
Next, strap on the harness which attaches to a rail stretching along your walking path around the building. A friendly tour guide gives instruction and information along the way. Music blares as the special roller door rises. Revealed, is a staircase to pull your harness along, which makes a loud clanking noise to get the adrenalin pumping, while walking in single file with your group. Anyone a little nervous of heights will walk at the front and rear of the group, closest to the tour guides - who seemed to be experts at taking the mind off any worry with jokes and funny anecdotes. PHEW!
NOW YOU'RE WALKING IN THE SKY
The pathway wraps 360 degrees around the outskirts of centrepoint Sydney Tower, so stepping out to this view will kind of take your breath away. You are now standing on Sydney's tallest free-standing structure, at a height double the Sydney Harbour bridge, overlooking the entire city of Sydney at a birds eye view. You are standing above all the highrise buildings, looking down and through them via a transparent glass foothpath - people and cars below become like ants. If you’re lucky enough to book in for a sunset tour, the ambience is striking. As the city lights turn on, sun sets, and the world is an amazing place. Your tour guide points out viewing hotspots like the purple water haze of lavender bay, Hyde park’s fountain donated from the French, next to Australia’s largest cathedral illuminated in magnificent tungsten lighting, and the western suburbs as far out as the Olympic stadium and airport. This view is nothing short of amazing.
RECOMMENDED: To those who love a magnificent view, and are too afraid of Sydney's bridgeclimb, this is the tour for you. With my vertigo I found this tour has a safe sense of security, and enjoyed hearing interesting facts on the city.
RECOMMENDED: To those who love a magnificent view, and are too afraid of Sydney's bridgeclimb, this is the tour for you. With my vertigo I found this tour has a safe sense of security, and enjoyed hearing interesting facts on the city.
FINDING THE ENTRANCE:
First find the Westfield shopping mall entrance on the city’s busy Market St. Here, opposite David Jones. Here, there’s a lift to the left, take this to level 5. Turn left for Sydney Tower, which is right next door to Madame Tussauds.
DEETS
Tel: +61 2 9333 9222
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Pricing: