It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to visit all seven continents—a dream that was finally realized in February 2015, when I set foot on the tarmac at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport. The itinerary for our two-week trip included visits to Sydney (the country’s largest city), Cairns (the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef), and Melbourne (Australia’s second city in the temperate southern state of Victoria).
Sydney Harbour Bridge
As a Canadian, my first impression of Australia was one of pleasant familiarity. Australia, like Canada, is a huge country with a small population, and it is resource-dependent for its prosperity (whereas Canada is known for lumber and oil, the Australian economy is dominated by mining and agriculture). Instead of frozen tundra, Australia’s vast, uninhabited hinterland is burning desert, and the majority of the country’s population lives along a thin strip of coastline, which has just enough water and a benign-enough climate to be livable. Like Canada, crime rates in the cities are low, prosperity is apparent and the people are friendly and polite. In short, I felt at home in many ways.
Sydney:
With a population of over five million, Sydney just tops Melbourne as the country’s most populous city. You would need a year here to see everything, but in our four days, we visited the Rocks District, with its historic buildings and quaint Victorian ambiance; the Royal Botanical Gardens; and the marvellous Sydney Opera House, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007. Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon and gracing the right side of Circular Quay harbour, the Opera House is a lovely counterpoint to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Sydney Opera House
Another must while in the Sydney area is a day trip to the World Heritage-designated Blue Mountains. The views are spectacular, with rushing waterfalls and bracing mountain air, but bring a jacket, because it can get cool and misty. This is a great spot for hikers—the trails run the gamut from easy to challenging, but all boast breathtaking views.
Cairns:
The next stop on our whirlwind tour of Oz was the tropical northeastern city of Cairns. Here, the Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef make this area of North Queensland the only place in the world with adjacent UNESCO World Heritage sites. Certainly the highlight of any Australian visit is the Great Barrier Reef, the largest reef in the world at 2,000km in length, with a surface area larger than all of Great Britain. It is listed as one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and for good reason. I’ve embarked on diving excursions in the Galapagos Islands, Cuba, and Mexico, but the Great Barrier Reef boasts the most colourful coral I’ve seen anywhere, and a host of reef life, including sea turtles, minke whales, dolphins and clownfish, not to mention a 7-foot whitetip shark who, “checked me out”…
Easy tiger…er…shark!
From Cairns, another great day trip worth taking is a run up to the rainforest town of Kuranda, by train. The narrow-gauge railway features antique cars and fabulous views of the Barron River Gorge, the rainforest, and waterfalls. A visit to Kuranda National Park affords traditional “dream time” performances by Aboriginal dancers that depict native myths and creation traditions extending as far as 50,000 years back in time. Here, you can gain insights into the Aboriginal culture and even learn to throw a boomerang. There are lots of friendly wallabies and kangaroos to pet, and even a few Tasmanian devils around, but with the strongest bite for their size of any animal on Earth, petting is not recommended.
Melbourne:
At 38 degrees latitude, Melbourne has a temperate climate and is Australia’s centre for arts and culture. Fine dining restaurants abound, and the city is very European in ambiance, even having Parisian-style open-air boats cruising the Yarra River. The Old Melbourne Gaol, a spooky 19th century prison, is an ideal spot to get an appreciation for the “bad old days” of convict Australia. If prison chic is not to your taste, however, then indulge your shopping propensities at the Victoria Market, the largest open air market in the southern hemisphere.
Alas, after a unique, fine dining meal in Melbourne aboard a vintage trolley car, our holiday in paradise ended all too quickly, and it was back to Sydney for the long haul home. The flight back provided a chance to savour the many memories formed in our two-week stay, and I was glad I had saved Australia for last. The mixture of the familiar and the unique that this continent-country embodies proved a fitting ultimate venue for my tour of all the continents.
Photo Credits
All photos courtesy of George Burden – All rights reserved
This article first appeared at The Medical Post
Hi Ron,
Nice to meet you cousin! I know some of the details but would love to chat further. Send a message to the editor of LAAH if you would like and he can connect us in a less public forum.
http://lifeasahuman.com/contact/
WOW GEORGE – !!!
I JUST SENT YOU ONE COMMENT – NOW HERE IS ANOTHER —
I SEEN YOUR PHOTO WITH THE LITTLE BEAR.
I SWARE TO GOD YOU AND I ARE THE S P I T – OF ONE ANOTHER. IDENTICAL TWINS.
WITH LOVE
RON
Hi George;
I, Ron Kirby, your 1st cousin by blood. my grandmother, Edith was your dad’s mother. and your
grandmother too.
with love
Ron