On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
BretH
I recently came back from my first and hopefully not my last visit to Australia. My wife has students in pre- and perinatal trauma resolution and was conducting a class in Melbourne and having been there once herself insisted I come along. Although Australia was really not a bucket-list item for me I am so glad I went! I would highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity. The trip was long and jet lag (especially on return to the States) was rough, but it’s a wonderful place to visit.
Since my wife was teaching for four days that meant that apart from the wonderful times exploring with her I had several days all to myself in Melbourne (and one in Sydney) which I used to see as much as I could. The stories accompanying the photos will talk about specific places and things we and I did, but I want to share some overall impressions about Australia (or at least Melbourne and Sydney, from the perspective of a North American):
Things are expensive in Australian dollars but the exchange rate was great. So factoring that in it’s maybe even a little cheaper than traveling in the US.
There’s no doubt you are in a very different place, yet there’s no language barrier. There you are, taking in the very different vegetation and trees, and hearing the crazy shrieks of the cockatoos and the brilliantly colored parrots in the trees and all the while you can understand everything people say and shop and go to restaurants and grocery stores stress-free. About the only language issue I encountered was learning to greet people with a proper pronunciation of g’DAY!
There is a feeling of calm and safety that I think is rare to find in the US. I think a large part of it is that there are simply no guns anywhere. It’s not until I visited Australia that I realized that in the US there’s a pervasive undercurrent of unease and tenseness that, for me at least, only goes away when I am out in nature. Australia felt different; the entire time we were there spending heaps of time plying the streets of two major cities we heard exactly one siren. And that was a fire engine.
People were unfailingly polite, even (or especially) the drivers. The best example I can give is when I was approaching a marked pedestrian crossing and there was a motorcycle food delivery driver coming fairly fast down the street. As a former motorcycle messenger myself I was completely prepared for the driver to press through quickly front of me but no, he stopped at the crosswalk and without a hint of impatience waited for me to step off the curb and cross and only then continue on his way. We do bear in mind that the population near the coasts of Australia is overwhelmingly white or asian and there are almost no indigenous people to be seen. I’m sure that played a part although they are being as proactive as they can in officially recognizing and honoring the original inhabitants – even a small talk on koalas at the zoo starts off with a sincere-sounding tribute to the people who lived there first and the knowledge that has been passed down from them.
Beyond using public transportation, scooter and electric bicycle rentals are a great way to explore the cities, if you are adventurous and comfortable with riding in traffic. I bought a seven day pass for Lime scooters/bicycles that was good for a total of 2 hours of riding and used that extensively to explore areas of both Melbourne and Sydney (the one pass was good for both cities) that I never would have been able to reach otherwise. Find a scooter with decent battery charge, scan the QR code and put on the helmet, hop on and zip away to a new destination, hop off and walk and explore, find another scooter or bicycle and zip off to the next place. Freedom!
I apologize in advance for the multi-part series of posts but there are simply too many cool experiences and photos I want to share.
From the airport we took a double-decker “SkyBus” to downtown Melbourne, dropped our luggage in a locker at the bus station and began walking towards the Botanical Garden. Little did we know that these steps would the first of many, many more as we ended up walking miles each day we went exploring. We first passed by the Flinders Street train station, an old building that was a rabbit warren inside of tracks here and there departing to all points around the city.
Continuing on from the Flinders Street station we crossed the Yarra River, which cuts through Melbourne. With walkways on both sides, ample pedestrian bridges and floating restaurants it was a wonderful and stimulating place to be.
We saw cruise boats, racing sculls, and dragon boats filled with rowers. A river is truly a great thing to have running through a city, and Melbourne takes full advantage of theirs.
I found the season change harder than the time change and the driving on the “wrong” side of the street. Next to the Yarra was a lovely group of sycamores dropping their leaves – while back at home it was the beginning of summer.
From there we entered the huge botanical garden which has within it tree-filled spaces, ponds, and areas with flora from different parts of Australia and the world. We took the long way through, marveling at the beauty and peaceful feeling, although that peace was most definitely interrupted by the shrieks of cockatoos and parrots, the laugh (yes, it really sounds like that) of the kookaburras, and the odd flute-like calls of the mischievous magpies (whose behavior I can only describe as a mix of our crows and bluejays on steroids).
Parks in both Melbourne and Sydney are graced with the most amazing trees – monster eucalyptus and a type of fig are everywhere.
My first day on my own found me scootering to the Queen Victoria Market, a marvelous, sprawling mess of vendors under a permanent open structure. Inside, the shops were loosely arranged in groups – luggage to clothing to tourist knickknacks to fruits and vegetables to food stands.
The Queen Victoria Market reminded me of a more tidy version of markets I had visited in Niger and Sénégal. It was absolutely bustling with locals and tourists from every area in the South Pacific. And I found a beautifully made, relatively inexpensive new leather purse for my wife who was clinging to her old one even as it was falling apart.
In a separate section across from the main Market is an enclosed section with meats, poultry and fish, deli meats and sausages, cheeses, pâtés and jams.
After the Market I scootered over to Melbourne’s Chinatown for lunch. Despairing at choosing between the restaurants I found a food court where I expected to find food-court grade asian food. I picked a Thai place and was served the most unusual – and hottest – soup I have ever eaten. My head is sweating right now thinking about it. The soup was comprised of chunks of mystery beef entrails, noodles, strange vegetables, huge slices of tomato and lots and lots of pepper. I was quite the sight, trying my best to eat inconspicuously all the while soaking napkins trying to dab the sweat off my scalp.
Slightly_peeved
Glad you enjoyed visiting the lands of the Kulin nation! I don’t think (I certainly hope) you wouldn’t see much overt rudeness towards indigenous people in traffic. Bucketloads of covert rudeness, sure – good luck getting a cab if you’re indigenous – but the vast majority of people aren’t going to violate traffic laws based on the race of the person in front of them.
BretH
@Slightly_peeved: I believe you! My comment was meant to say we recognized other people’s experiences might be different.
@watergirl – don’t know how that last shot was duplicated but I’ll send you the correct one of the food bowl with the mystery meat in it.
OzarkHillbilly
Never apologize, least of all for that reason.
MORE! MORE! MORE!
waspuppet
My wife is Australian; I’ve been a bunch of times, though mostly to her parents in Perth, which is meh. This last time we also spent time in Sydney, Adelaide and Darwin.
We might move to Australia someday, and she says (only half-jokingly) that we can’t see Melbourne because she likes it but doesn’t want to live there, and once I see it I’ll insist on living there.
The lack of guns really is something you don’t notice, and then It’s stunning when you do. For me it happened when I came face to face with some rough-looking guys and I realized there was a bottom end to the worst-case scenario.
And yes, the food is great in just the way you described. It’s like health care—at the top end, the States are just as good, but the day-to-day normal is so much better in Australia.
Looking forward to more photos!
TS
Australians love Sydney or Melbourne – rarely both. I am a Sydney girl – spent most of my time in Melbourne getting lost when I worked there for a short time – but you have certainly found some of the best views.
I look forward to your sights of Sydney.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I love these pics. We were in Sydney and Melbourne, but only as one-day stops on a cruise. I remember being astounded at these birds running–flying?—around loose when I’d expect to see them in a zoo of some kind. Would you have been able to get around on public transportation? I’d never have the nerve to ride a scooter on the wrong side of the road. I didn’t know which direction to look for oncoming traffic when I crossed the street.
randy khan
Our trip to Australia was great – lots of nice people, wonderful food, and wine that they obviously keep for themselves. It was the first place where I heard a land acknowledgment (in 2018). We didn’t get to Melbourne (it was Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney), which is one of the reasons I want to go back.
Trivia Man
I used to play Footy here in the states, as a result I recognize the names of many Melbourne neighborhoods. I have long wanted to visit and see a game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the MCG looks like a cool venue.
I am told the city can be compared to coastal Northern California in climate and geography, and the city itself looks amazing.
Bonus fact: Aussie Rules has the oldest set of codified rules of any football code in the world. The AFL has been playing essentially the same game since about 1880 which predates soccer, rugby, and the rest,
Trivia Man
I also suggest Fisk on Netflix for a few peeks at Melbourne. Very low key, quirky, funny lawyer comedy.
Trivia Man
One more AFL story that to me demonstrates the Aussie attitude. The AFL championship is The Grans Final. Always played at the MCG regardless of who is in it. 100,000+ tickets and it is their version of super bowl hysteria.
What happens if the game ends in a tie?* Come back next week and play another.
*They had a tie very recently and, sadly, changed the rules to settle it in extra time.
BretH
@Trivia Man: next sequence has my experience with AFL and the Melbourne Cricket Ground 🙂
Xavier
I visited Melbourne (Melb’n, in case you want to sound like a local) in March, from a city about as far north of the equator as Melbourne is south. Which means that the Sun was at the same height in the sky, but when facing in the direction of the the Sun it rose on the right and set on the left, which was definitely weird.
BretH
@Dorothy A. Winsor: In Melbourne for sure, the CBD (Central Business District) is a fare-free zone for trams, and I used them as well. The tram/rail system is extensive, clean and not too expensive, especially for a tourist.
twbrandt
These are great, thanks! I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
Australia and New Zealand are definitely on the list.
kindness
I did the New Zealand/Australia tour in 2015. Loved New Zealand and will go back. We went to Melbourne and then Sydney in Australia and Melbourne was nice but dull except it’s access to the southern coast. Sydney was awesome. Met up with my niece who moved there 10 years ago and just loved the place. Except…. there is no such thing as 1/2 & 1/2 in Australia. Gotta use whole milk or cream in your coffee. What’s up with that?
Madeleine
My husband and I visited Australia in 1988–bicentennial year—for an international music conference in Melbourne. We spent a bit of time in Sydney and a bit more in Melbourne. That’s a long time ago so things have changed but we enjoyed seeing something of both cities. They’re quite different from each otheras others have said.
At that time we found public transportation in Melbourne more than adequate for reaching places we wanted to see. I don’t remember Sydney as well, and we didn’t have more than a day or two to explore.
Thank you BretH for these fine pictures and the memories they recall.
Yutsano
Australia is high on my bucket list. I have friends in New Zealand I want to visit, but I wonder if they’d be open to meeting me in a place like Melbourne, Heads up for anyone wanting to go to Australia: you do need a visa. Fortunately the process is pretty painless for Americans* and can be done online quite easily.
*Canadians shouldn’t need a visa thanks to the Commonwealth, but just in case the website is there.
SageIllini
Nice pictures and summary. Met my Aussie wife in 1985 in New Zealand (we were both traveling) and she’s from a Melbourne suburb. We now have a second place in a Melbourne suburb and I spend about ten weeks there during their summer (US winter) and she stays about four months.
First thing to understand is that many Aussies are first generation and their parents are from somewhere else. My wife’s parents emigrated from (then) Italy (now Croatia) after WWII. The latest wave is from Asia. Definitely a melting pot, but the people are friendly, and you definitely don’t have the gun culture of the US.
If Australia is on your bucket list, plan on an extended trip. It’s a long way to travel–15 hours from Los Angeles–and expensive, and you’ll be jet lagged for a week (I’ve done the trip about 35 times), and jet lagged for a week when you return. It’s best to avoid from around December 15th to February 1st, because the schools are out and the locals are traveling to the popular spots.
Sydney has the setting of San Francisco and the climate of San Diego. The beaches are simply spectacular. Melbourne is similar to Chicago but with better weather. Public transportation is great in either. Driving is on the wrong side but you get used to it. Australia is roughly the size of the continental US, so it’s a long way between places. Most of Australia is uninhabited and most people live along the coasts. And the Great Barrier Reef is a long way from everything else.
Lots of things to see and plenty of outdoor stuff to do. As the Aussies say, “She’ll be right, mate.”
Omicron
I visited Australia several times in the 80s in the course of my employment by a multinational law firm (IANAL). Loved it, and especially loved the Aussies. It’s the only English-speaking nation I’ve ever visited where an American accent is a social asset! Strong egalitarian ethic — when you take a taxi you sit in the front seat next to the driver (mateyness, a strong social ethic in Oz). Lively, smart, interesting women. Excellent system of education, judging from its products. Beautiful countryside. The only downside is that you’re *really* a long way from anywhere except New Zealand, which is why I didn’t emigrate there when I had the chance. I keep meaning to go back, but I’m just too old now.
Slightly_peeved
@kindness:
from the Australian perspective, we don’t put cream in coffee. It’s just not a thing here.
BretH
@Slightly_peeved:
@Slightly_peeved: oh, but the coffee is so damn good!
Chris T.
One warning: it is not always thus. When I was there last time, it took about US$1.30 to buy A$1. Ouch.
(On the other hand I’ve been there when the ratio was inverted. I’ve also been NZ once when US$1 bought NZ$2!)
Chris T.
@waspuppet:
I like Perth for the climate, but it’s so frickin’ far from everything, and expensive, and, well:
Melbin has the best food! But oh the hot and sticky in the summertime…
Slightly_peeved
@BretH:
Putting cream in it would detract in my opinion, but each to their own