www.theblisspages.com - travel: Australia
www.theblisspages.com - travel: AustraliaI have loved my visits to Australia between 1987 and 1990. I have visited three times and on two of them managed to circumnavigate the globe, once in each direction.
I didn't manage to travel around as much as I would have liked, only visiting Sydney and Cairns, but I still think I packed a lot into my brief visits - each comprised one or two weeks of work followed by a week of leisure.
Sydney is one of my favourite cities, and it holds some great memories.
I still remember the thrill of my first view of Sydney Opera House.
It is a great city to walk around, and I spent many happy hours wandering around the coastal walks.
On one visit, I stayed at The Harbour in Double Bay. The oval pool, though small, got plenty of use. I struck up a friendship with the wife and small child of a producer - I seem to recall he was mixing Midnight Oil by Inxx. I think he was a little suspicious that something was going on, but our relationship was purely platonic. We often went down to Bondi beach, and consumed quantities of boxed - but palatable - wine.
On another occasion, I stayed in the suburbs with some friends and commuted to work. The trains were more suited to the third world - sometimes I would be hanging half-outside the doors for several stops.
Taronga Zoo has to be my favourite zoo world-wide. The views are amazing and the animals looked healthy and contented. Some people are anti-zoo, but I believe zoos have a valuable role to play in conversation and education.
I was very taken with the number of restaurants that allowed BYO - bring your own wine. It encourages the purchase of better wines without having to worry about huge mark-ups, and anything that encourages quality over quantity should be welcomed with open arms.
Kings Cross has a very vibrant and studenty feel to it, and there was a lot going on. I went to a New Age fair there and enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere. I also attended a Victoria wine tasting comprising over 300 wines. I was careful to employ the spittoons, only drinking a little of my top eight wines. I was pleased to wake up bright and early the next morning with no trace of a headache.
I took ferries from the harbour to several beaches...
One of my abiding memories was of pulling into Circular Quay on a ferry whilst listening to The Pogues' Waltzing Matilda as they were singing about pulling into Circular Quay.
I spent lots of time on the various beaches round Sydney, and hooked up with a couple of models and their photographer.
There's something about lounging around on Bondi beach, but I also hung out on Congee, Manly, and at Watson's Bay.
I wandered around Sydney, including Double Bay – where I was working - Rose Bay, and Centennial Park, in which I cycled, and walked round extensively.
On my flight from Sydney to Cairns on Qantas, the steward was amusingly camp. As he proffered the wine, he said, "You must try this, it's fruity with a great body ... Just like me!" I drank the wine but resisted any other implied offers.
[from a postcard January 1988]
I'm sitting in the Red Ox in Cairns, and I'm writing postcards whilst eating a rare steak and half-a-litre of red wine.
I've spent the last three days disporting myself in rock-pools and waterfalls, sunbathing and snorkelling, and throwing boomerangs.
I visited the Atherton tablelands, catching a train from Cairns to Kuranda. This plateau is west of Cairns and comprises rainforest, lakes, caves and many waterfalls.
I particularly enjoyed natural rock slides, swinging on ropes, swimming in rock pools, and trekking through the forest.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world, stretching for 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles). I didn't have the time to visit the Outer reef, but loved my time at Green Island.
I took my snorkel, mask, and flippers and loved swimming over the coral, looking at all the different fish, and chasing sting-rays.
It was a magical experience that words are sorely inadequate to describe.
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: © Mike Bliss 2008