In late November, I packed my bags and headed for Australia to check out Sydney and Melbourne. It was quite the journey to get there, having had to fly from Buenos Aires to Santiago to Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney (a total of 18 hours in flight and another 5 in airports). But, it was certainly worth it, especially since I managed to secure an upgrade to first class for all of the segments!
Starting in Sydney, I did the usual tourist sights, visiting the world-famous Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour bridge, as well as excursions to Hyde Park and the botanical gardens. Then it was beach time. I rented a car and drove to Jervis Bay for some spectacular beaches, all of which were nearly stranded. I made a stop at Hyam's Beach, named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the beach with the whitest sand in the world. While in the area, I saw a few kangaroo, unfortunately, most were on the side of the road, killed by drivers. They have turned into a nuisance in Australia.
A few days later, I flew to Melbourne, where the biggest draw was an excursion to The Great Ocean Road, stopping at the Twelve Apostles and London Bridge - huge rock formations caused by millions of years of waves from the Tasmanian Sea slamming against them and causing them to erode. At one point, the tour stopped as the driver spotted some koalas in a tree so that was a highlight. Also in Melbourne, I hiked a few kilometers along the oceanfront from St. Kilda to Brighton Beach as well as went to the 88th floor of Eureka Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere.
While in Oz, I didn't miss a chance to take in all of the local seafood including delicious local oysters, crab and lobster.
Click here to see more pictures from my latest excursion.
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