Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
The Best of Australia
by Marc Llewellyn & Lee Mylne
M
aybe we're biased because we live here, but Australia has a lot of bests—
world bests, that is. It's got some of the best natural scenery, the weirdest
wildlife, the most brilliant scuba diving and snorkeling, the best beaches (shut
up, California), the oldest rainforest (110 million years and counting), the old-
est human civilization (some archaeologists say 40,000 years, some say 120,000;
whatever—it's old), the best wines (come see what we mean), the best weather
(give or take the odd wet season in the north), the most innovative East-meets-
West-meets-someplace-else cuisine—all bathed in sunlight that brings every-
thing up in Technicolor.
“Best” means different things to different people, but scarcely a visitor lands
on these shores without having the Great Barrier Reef at the top of his “Things
to See” list. So they should, because it really is a glorious natural masterpiece.
Also high on most folks' lists is Ayers Rock. This monolith must have some kind
of magnet inside it designed to attract planeloads of tourists. We're not saying
the Rock isn't special, but we think the vast Australian desert all around it is even
more so. The third attraction on most visitors' lists is Sydney, the Emerald City
that glitters in the Antipodean sunshine on—here we go with the “bests”
again—the best harbor, spanned by the best bridge in the world (yes it is, San
Francisco).
But as planes zoom overhead delivering visitors to these “big three” attractions,
Aussies in charming country towns, on far-flung beaches, on rustic sheep stations,
in rainforest villages, and in mountain lodges shake their heads and say sadly,
“They don't know what they're missin'.” Well, that's the aim of this chapter—to
show you what you're missin'. Read on, and consider the road less traveled.
1 The Top Travel Experiences
•
Hitting the Rails on the
Indian
Pacific
Train:
This 3-day train
journey across the Outback regu-
larly makes it onto the “Top Rail
Journeys in the World” lists com-
piled by travel magazines. The
desert scenery ain't all that mag-
nificent—it's the unspoiled,
empty vastness that passengers
appreciate. It includes the longest
straight stretch of track in the
world, 478km (296 miles) across
the treeless Nullarbor Plain. Start
in Sydney and end in Perth, or
vice versa, or just do a section. See
“Getting Around Australia” in
chapter 2.
•
Experiencing Sydney
(NSW):
Sydney is more than just the mag-
nificent Harbour Bridge and
Opera House. No other city has
beaches in abundance like Sydney,
and few have such a magnificently
scenic harbor. Our advice is to get
aboard a ferry, walk from one side
of the bridge to the other, and try
to spend a week here, because
