One thing I wanted Tom to understand about Australia was the impact of the First World War on that country. We have both done multiple tours of that war’s Western Front over the years, both together and separately, and we have seen many of the sites where Australians lost their lives, notably Fromelles, where there…

When we planned our Australian itinerary, we imagined we’d be pretty tired of moving every day or so after we left Melbourne, so even though it was a little hard on our budget, we slotted in 4 nights in the Blue Mountains to catch our breaths before we moved on to the Asian leg of…

We had originally planned to go south from Broken Hill to Griffith, but changed our route at the last minute and decided to go via Bourke and Brewarrina instead. This route would keep us in the outback a bit longer and get an opportunity to visit a couple of Aboriginal (or First People’s) sites along…

Tom loves deserts. He has loved them ever since living in Saudi Arabia many years ago, when he crossed the ‘empty quarter’ with some friends. He loves the heat, the muted colors, the dryness, the sparse flora, the clear air and starry nights. I guess his love of these arid places is not surprising since…

We were actually sad to leave Melbourne after being there for nearly 2 weeks. I had quickly re-acquainted myself with the city and felt right at home there, and Tom immediately took to Melbourne’s genteel charms, preferring its stately, slightly more European feel to the hustle and bustle of Sydney. We had a chance to…

Not all of our time in Melbourne was spent retracing my past life there and exploring the city. As noted in a previous post, we ventured out one day to French Island looking for koalas in the wild. And on the hottest day of our stay, when the temps soared to 39C, we headed to…

Naturally, one wants to see ALL the animals when one ventures to Australia, and this trip did not disappoint though there were some notable absences along the way. First on the list is always the cute, cuddly marsupials. I knew from past experience that it is very difficult to find koalas in the wild, so…

Because we stayed an extra day in Paradise, we faced an eight hour drive to Melbourne, though it turned out not to be that arduous. We chose the coastal route, which winds among thick forests of stately gum trees, through many small towns and over some very pretty countryside, made all the more beautiful for…

After our nostalgia tour, in which Tom generously participated, taking a certain vicarious pleasure in our reliving the past, Bill led us out of Canberra in the late afternoon and we drove 100 miles to the south coast of New South Wales. Canberra sits at the foot of the Australian Alps at almost 2000 ft…

After nearly a week in Sydney, we spent our final evening at a lovely restaurant on the bay called Bathers with our hosts Michael, Catherine, Nick and Julia, and Tom’s cousin Trish and her husband John, enjoying Sydney rock oysters, barramundi, pavlova and other local delights. Saying a fond farewell to them the next morning,…