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Published: March 8th 2023
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One remarkable aspect of this world tour happened to be the fact that, although there was an original script, it was still all subject to change, and open to all kinds of influences. With that in mind, pages just had to be torn from the jotter pad, and, not wanting to be deflated by a sense of loss, they had to be replaced by welcome inclusions. Australia never got a look-in when it came to the blueprint stages as the cost of living made it look unachievable, but when consideration allowed for a few re-thinks, the opening salvo was booked, in the shape of an onward flight to Brisbane, and thus began a visit down under, in the nation's third largest metropolis. Brisbane scores highly on the first impressions scale for being a business city with a fair few features which qualify it for something of an all-rounder. The city centre comes across as dynamic and punchy with the kind of urban atmosphere which you might be familiar with, but look closely, and you'll realize that there is a real hotch-potch of styles rolled into one here, ranging from the modern, to the traditional, fusing both the businesslike and the leisure
districtlike. Customs House might just be a prime example of what I am referring to, but in fact, there are just way too many buildings of note to mention which add to this effect, so the advice might well just be to take your pick of the city's crop of museums, seek out the shops and eateries which appeal to you the most, and decide if it is worth straying from the riverside development to check out a beach somewhat further afield. In order to satisfy the latter intention, it just seemed logical and appealing to ride a combination of a train and a tram to reach nearby Gold Coast, a famed Australian coastal resort city, the centrepiece of which is surfer's paradise, a mecca for both surfers and hedonists alike, where entertainment options abound. For my money, perhaps the most enjoyable indoor attraction at Gold Coast happened to be a futuristic and psychedelic indoor maze-like attraction which goes by the name of Infinity, and delights visitors with the various features contained within which create illusionary effects, while you feel like you are trying to crack codes and solve puzzles to progress from one room to the next. The only
factor which made leaving Brisbane acceptable was the prospect of boarding a flight bound for Melbourne, and sampling the delights of the nation's second city. Melbourne has taken the template for a substantial British-style city, and has squeezed it out in all directions to create a city of interconnected suburbs, each with the kind of character which would make an urban planner think they're at the peak of their creative powers. The city layout is both logical and sensible, making it an easy task to work your way from one place of interest to the next, and Flinders Street station would seem to be a sensible starting point for a city tour. This is a city very much deeply rooted in the Arts, and the architectural styles are evidence of a city whose traditions have given way to modernity, without compromising the elements which made the city so magnetically attractive in the first instance. Melbourne museum, one among a vast array of city museums, will offer you a perfect snapshot of all the elements which collectively constitute Melbournian culture, but whatever you settle upon, be sure to explore some of the city's truly fine suburbs, South Yarra to name but
one, where suburban culture hints at why you'd most accurately describe this as a city of districts making up an eclectic whole. As far as day trip options go, perhaps the one which has most pulling power happens to be the Great Ocean road tour, which covers a large amount of coastal terrain from Melbourne, heading west through towns such as Torquay, and incorporating visits to places of wild beauty, among which, the twelve apostles seems to grab the majority of visitors by the lapels and demand their attention. Not feeling like the Australian episode was as complete as it could be, the closing stretch of the trip was a short stay in the nation's largest metropolis, Sydney, a city which has garnered rave reviews from visitors the world over for being a world-class city in a spectacular setting. Aside from obvious landmarks such as the Opera House, Darling Harbour and Bondi Beach, Sydney's urbanization is the kind of result which would emerge from a large team of professional urban planners getting together, and then competing in an all-out attempt to outclass each other in a contest to see who can prove to be the most innovative planner. In the same way as any major metropolis of the world is laid out, this city of themes and separate urban styles has meant that the visitor can surf in Bondi, dine in King's Cross, overnight in Wynyard, and secure business deals in the CBD, to the backdrop of a surprisingly unstressed local populace. Perhaps the most popular of all Sydney's out of town day trips is the Blue Mountains tour which dazzles the visitor with the kind of dramatic scenery which showcases the best of the region's topography incorporating the viewpoint of the three sisters, a highly scenic cableway, and, on the route which guided me, a stop-off at Sydney Zoo to get up close and personal with all the animals and wildlife you would associate with Australia. On the whole, though there wasn't really much you could fault in Australia in the way of appealing features, pleasing development and scope for tourist exploration, it doesn't come terribly cheap, and is way too vast a nation to take in more than a certain portion of the land in a compressed timeframe (9 nights, in my case). Allow the experience to truly seep into your soul though, and this 'bonzer' nation will have you coming back for more like a well-flung boomerang.
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