In January 2016 I went for a two-week stay to Melbourne, Hobart (Tasmania), and Sydney, for research but also for fun. Although I didn’t see the outback, Australia quickly became one of my favorite countries I’ve visited, with a low hassle-factor. It’s an expensive country, but it’s easy to do things and to get around, the people are friendly, and it’s beautiful. Australia is Canada with nice weather and without a stick up its bum.
If You Go
Melbourne: Melbourne is smaller and has a more European feel to it, like an Australian San Francisco. The downtown is easy to navigate, has lots of beautiful park space, and has tons of markets, shops, and scenic old buildings. There isn’t really a harbor or beach culture, but the river is pretty and it’s near the Great Ocean Road running along the south shore, which has nice sea views as well as rainforests and fishing villages.
Hobart: Hobart is like the Halifax or Edinburgh of the south: lots of brightly-colored wood and stone buildings, and an isolated, windswept feel, along with lots of strange animals and plants. I’m not sure I’d want to live there, as it was the height of a Tasmanian summer and it ranged between low twenties in the daytime and mid-teens at night, but Tazzie does have beautiful rolling hills and rainforests, and yes, the devils– who look like tiny black bears until they show their giant fangs. It’s a beautiful island and one of the most exotic places I’ve ever seen.
Sydney: Sydney feels much like any big west-coast city in North America. Its architecture was less interesting to me, and while the Opera House / Bridge combo are impressive, that’s about it. Sydney’s draw is that there’s lots to do, the weather is perfect, the beaches are great (Bondi is one of the best sand beaches I’ve seen in my life, and I’ve seen a few), and the harbors and botanic gardens are wonderful. If Hobart is a place to tour, Sydney is a place to live. |
