Australia: Then and Now
Of all the places I’ve traveled, not all of them made it to the list of places I’d return to. Australia did. However, if I’m going to travel halfway across the world again, I’m not about to see the same things, especially in a place with so much to offer.
My first trip down under was in October 2010. I flew into Sydney then Cairns and took a bus to Cape Tribulation. It was a balanced mix of city, beach, and rainforest with popular sites and aboriginal culture blended in. Highlights included:
Harbor Bridge climb
Sydney walking tour
Manley beach
Zoo in Darling Harbor
Blue Mountains
Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef
Bats at dusk in Cairns
Horseback riding on the beach in Cape Trib
Crocodile pizza topping
Drunk lizards
Taking this solo trip, I stayed in hotels, joined guided tours, and explored by foot, ferry, and bus. Uber wasn’t around yet, so I’m pretty sure I walked everywhere around the city and took taxis or public transport to and from the airport.
Being by myself, I was more open to meeting other people. A teacher who happened to be on the same flight to New Zealand and Australia introduced me to the oldest bar in Sydney. A retired couple from the UK invited me to dinner after we met on the Reef cruise. The bartender at the Cape Trib resort treated me to a kangaroo steak.
As the second country of a five-stop tour, the long distance was not as much of a factor since the flight was between New Zealand and China. When the opportunity came up to return, it was still an easy decision, especially since this itinerary would be different.
After 16 years, Australia felt the same. I felt older. Similar to the first time, this trip was a mix of city, outback, and beach – taking us to Melbourne, Uluru, and the Whitsundays (with a short stop in Sydney). There were other similarities between the two adventures:
We went during the beginning of spring. This time I noticed the weather was cooler, wildflowers were blooming, and the magpies were dive-bombing.
The same company that did the Sydney walking tour had one in Melbourne. However, this felt a lot longer and ended up with us getting lost trying to find our way back.
A second stroll around Darling Harbor, Harbor Bridge, and the Rocks Market in Sydney brought back a lot of memories.
While the Blue Mountains had aboriginal culture and was as close to the outback as I got the first time, the desert landscape and art around Uluru/Ayers Rock took culture to another level.
Even though we skipped the snorkeling this time around, a sunset sail offered an ocean perspective.
Of course, traveling with family for this trip added a new element. We stayed in a high-rise apartment overlooking Melbourne and a Whitsundays condo at the top of a strenuous hill but with a lovely ocean view. The planning was divided between me booking flights, my sister booking accommodations, and my dad – well, he didn’t plan on anything but showing up.
While we didn’t meet anyone new on this trip – other than the friendly tattoo staff – I was able to reunite with an Australian friend I made on a previous trip to the Galapagos Islands. Traveling with a local meant going to hidden spots for animal watching (like a golf course for kangaroo sightings), getting a scenic tour of her hometown and the Great Ocean Road with delicious pitstops along the way.
Would I go back to Australia for a third time? Absolutely. There’s still so much to see and do. There just needs to be enough time to recoup from a full-day flight. Maybe next time will be during another season with new people and different cities, adding something unique to the same destination.
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