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The hustle and bustle of Sydney;
the rich wine of Hunter
Valley; the turquoise gleam
of the Blue Mountains; the
quaint town of Melbourne;
the vivacious Great Barrier Reef at
Cairns; and the picturesque Port
Douglas - each place majestically
contributed to making our journey
to down under awe inspiring!
Arrival in Sydney
On December 1, 2011, we flew to
Australia for a month’s trip. It took
us almost 24 hours to reach Sydney
from New Delhi. Around 8 pm, the
flight attendant announced our arrival
at Sydney Airport. As the plane
bent southwards heading down, we
saw the distinct Opera House on
the right just before we landed. Our
well wishers had warned us against
carrying any food articles, whether
packaged or open, on the journey and so we did not. Soon after we
de-planed, the endless clearing line
and thorough checking had us cribbing
and restless. But once we had
crossed the exit point, it was relatively
convenient to find a cab and
get to our hotel. A helpful policeman
dutifully instructed the cabbie to
take us to our destination, which
was a hotel located in the vicinity of
Darling Harbour. It was drizzling,
and the night was cold and foggy,
quite unlike our expectation of an
Australian summer. When we approached
the hotel (which was an
appealing European building with
a glass exterior), a terse lady at the
reception greeted us and handed us
our keys. Fatigued by our journey, we slept early, but our minds were
restless and feet wanting to begin
exploring.
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The kangaroos, koalas, and lorikeets, Dancing white peacocks, penguins, and the coral reef, The fish and sharks too, did smile. Driving, diving, and flying, The trip went by in no time, It was a wonderful holiday, the best of times!
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A bus and ferry ride
The next morning we were directed
to a shop in the nearby market to
buy the day’s bus and ferry ticket for
AUD20 per person. We purchased
the tickets and unquestioningly
waited for the bus at the nearby stop.
The bus came in no time to carry us
to Circular Quay - the hub of Sydney
Harbour, situated at a small inlet
called Sydney Cove.
 On the southern side of Circular
Quay is a walkway that leads to the
Sydney Opera House and Royal
Botanical Gardens; while on the
northern side, a short walk takes
one to the Harbour Bridge and The
Rocks market, one of the oldest,
most interesting parts of Sydney,
offering open stalls and artifacts,
local dresses and bags. The Parramatta
River is the main tributary
of Sydney Harbour and gallantly
flows through making its presence
felt at Darling Harbour, Circular
Quay, Sydney Harbour, and Manly,
among other places and renders an
outstanding view from the footsteps
of Opera House.
The Sydney Opera House boastfully
stands in the backdrop of
Sydney harbour over the Parramatta River. It was designed in 1957 by
Denmark’s Jørn Utzon, who was inspired
to create this structure while
peeling an orange. Opera House is
sprinkled with eating joints and coffee
shops. We tried an Italian Pasta
that brilliantly complimented the
foggy milieu with its sizzling steam
and delectable preparation. The
Sydney Harbour offers an excellent
opportunity to walk leisurely and
explore the place, with its attractive
shops selling niche curios. After an
exciting day at Sydney Harbour and
Circular Quay, we caught a ferry to
Darling Harbour. The ferry ride was
fascinating, with the skyscrapers,
and innumerable hotels, on both
sides of the river, pacing with the
speed of the ferry. Its on-board café
provided out of the world, sumptuous
muffins! They were enormous
in size, but quickly melting in the
mouth.
The occasional drizzling outside
pulled us out of the cabin onto the
open balcony to soak in the fog in
sync with the rhythm of splashing
water. The ferry silently approached
Darling Harbour. The place was
overflowing with Christmas celebrations.
There were walking Santas
approaching the children. Carols
were in the air sung by a group
of enthusiasts, adding spice to the
celebrations. After spending the
evening at Darling Harbour and
trying some Thai food, we walked
back to our hotel.
That night we went to sleep
thinking of our agenda for the next
day – a trip to the Sydney Wildlife
and Sydney Aquarium, both located
at Darling Harbour. We had discovered
that you can avail a combo pack
of entry tickets, including Sydney
Wildlife, the Aquarius, and the
Sydney Tower.
Some Facts about Koalas
The Sydney Wildlife satiated our
quest to see kangaroos, wallaby,
koalas, a variety of birds and other
insects and innumerable reptiles.
The Aquarium, citing some 2000
aquatic habitats offered a splendid
view through its glass tunnels.
At the Sydney Tower Eye
We also gathered courage to
climb the Sydney Tower Eye, the
tallest free standing structure in
Sydney, elevating to a height of
1014 ft above sea level, and located
at Sydney Central Business District
(CBD), not too far from Darling
harbour. We took a train upto Pitt
Street and walked to the entrance
of the tower. Our tour guide was a
young Korean girl who judiciously
built up our courage to climb the
tower. We were given costumes and
a chain. Once on the stairs leading
to the tower, our chains were tied
to the handles ascending upto the
tower. A gust of wind greeted us
at the top. We were literally flying,
only caught by the chain. On looking
down, to our shock, we found that
we were standing on glass floors
that boldly displayed the height and
the distance from the road below.
Before we could come to terms with
our situation, the floor itself began
to move, popping itself out of the
building structure. Needless to say,
there were screams and shouts in
unison.
On our way back we silently
descended the tower and when we
landed at the bottom of the stairs
we found displayed our shock stricken
photographs which we
purchased. This was an experience
to remember, and hearing our exclamations,
expressing both shock
and excitement, our guide advised
us to climb the Sydney Bridge as
our next adventure. Unfortunately,
we were running short of both time
and courage to attempt this.
The Glimmering Blue
Mountains
The next day was the
trip to the Blue Mountains,
for which we had
booked a tour. Sharp
at 7 am, our minibus
arrived at the entrance
to our hotel to take us
on the trip. Mike, our
driver, guide and specialist
on the tour came
in to greet us. It took
just 15 minutes to collect the passengers, 12 in all, and
once we were all seated we happily
began our journey. Our first stop on
the way was the Feather Dale Park,
which is near the Blue Mountains.
After handing us miniature koala
mementos, we were instructed to
explore the park, and return to the
minibus at a stipulated time. The
park is definitely the entrance to the
world of natural koalas, kangaroos,
dancing white peacocks, hanging
bats, penguins, and other species
of birds.
We had enough time to talk to
every kind and also feed the kangaroos
and koalas. We then returned
to the bus to resume our journey to
the Blue Mountains. On reaching the
Blue Mountain region, Mike took us
for a walk in the jungle. Huffing and
puffing, we must have climbed and
then descended some hundreds of
stairs and natural elevations. It was
green and wet all over, with the
drizzle posing challenges. But as we
reached the top, we were pleased
by the view of the glimmering Blue
Mountains. On our way back we
went on a cable car ride to the Blue
Mountain Café. Along the way we
were visited by the uninterrupted
view of the Three Sisters, located
at Echo Point near Katoomba. One
of the best known sites of the Blue Mountains, the Three Sisters is essentially
an unusual rock formation
representing three sisters, who according
to Aboriginal legend, were
turned to stone. Their names are
Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m),
and Gunnedoo (906 m).
The Blue Mountains offer the best
and most economical collection of
Australian artefacts and toys. Another
spectacular experience here
is the rail ride from the Café to the
jungle below, in an open train that
slowly takes you down a steep route
and brings you back up. It is the
steepest rail journey that I have ever
undertaken, but was very enjoyable.
A cruise on Captain Cook!
The end of the trip came with a
surprise cruise on board the Captain
Cook ship. We were brought to
Sydney Harbour, where we boarded
the ship and took a relaxing journey
to Darling Harbour. The Sydney
Bridge looked alluring, but the
thought of driving to Hunter Valley
the next day, inspired more and we
humbly came back to our hotel.
At Hunter Valley
The next morning we checked
out of our hotel and took a cab to
the airport, where our car which
we had taken on hire from the Red
Spot rental service was waiting for
us. This was our first attempt at
international driving, and since any
country driving licence, as long as
it is in English, is valid in Australia,
we set out after a few false starts of
the automatic car, straight to New
Castle, at Hunter Valley. With the
help of the car navigator we completed
our journey in three hours.
The Hunter Valley is Australia's
oldest, and one of the greatest
premier wine growing regions situated
in the deep, lush, rolling hills of Barrington Tops and Pokolbin.
We stayed at the Mercure resort, in
Pokolbin, just next to the botanical
garden. The resort, the undulating
hills and petite smoky cafés, can
make one feel like Alice in Wonderland.
Its ambiance and wine and
cheese tasting tours, can soothe the
mind for days. We regretted assigning
only a night’s stay at Hunter
Valley. It definitely deserves a week
of uninterrupted attention.
At Melbourne
We drove back the next day to
Sydney, and in the evening boarded
a Jetstar flight to Melbourne where
we were greeted by our friend in
whose house we stayed for the next
three days. During this time we
visited the Melbourne Docklands
located on the spectacular Victoria
Harbour and 3 kilometers of Yarra
River frontage. We also went to the
Queen Victoria market, and rode in
a horse carriage, and to the Phillip
Island to watch the Penguin Parade.
The drive on The Great Ocean
Road is an incredible experience
in the arms of nature. The Great
Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 243-kilometre
road between the cities of Torquay
and Warrnambool. The road is the
world's largest war memorial built
by returned soldiers dedicated
to casualties of World War 1. The
journey introduces The Twelve
Apostles, a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of Port Campbell
National Park.
The Great Barrier Reef at Cairns
Our Australian adventure would
have been incomplete without a visit
to the Great Barrier Reef, which saw
us boarding our flight to Cairns.
The Jetstar flight from Melbourne
to Cairns took almost three-and-a-half
hours, including a time zone
difference of an hour. The weather
at Cairns was an absolute contrast
to that of Sydney and Melbourne.
We were greeted by sultry weather,
typical during the monsoons. On
reaching, we took a cab to the Galvin
Edge Bungalows (an A-rated,
bread and breakfast outlet). We were
greeted by our genteel hosts Julie
and Jesse Lowe, who handed us the
keys to a beautiful two-bedroom
bungalow, with a swimming pool, and library. The entire place was
ours for the next few days that we
were at Cairns.
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The next day we took the two hour
Magic Reef cruise to the land
of the Great Barrier Reef. I tried my
hand at helmet diving and snorkelling,
despite not knowing how
to swim. With my heart pumping
speedily I put on the heavy oxygen
filled helmet, and dived in, and the
next thing I knew my head was one
with fish and coral. The guided snorkelling
tour was an amazing sight
replete with the coral reef, some
species of fish, turtles, and unknown
shark-like fish.
A visit to Cairns is incomplete
without undertaking a drive to Port
Douglas, which is a 60 km straight
stretch of road along the sea. It is a
treat for driving lovers!
Once at Port Douglas, we enjoyed
our Lunch at the Wildlife Café, accompanied
by lorikeats and other bird species.
Completing our stay at Cairns
a week later we flew back to India.
Australia is a large nation with a
small population, and is a window
to the world of exotic animals and
much besides. Memories of our
expedition to Australia will remain
with us for a lifetime! |