Fodor's Australia 2000

Destination Australia

Those who live in Australia call it "Oz." The name fits. This is a land so different from any other that it can sometimes seem as if it were conjured rather than created. It casts its spell through paradoxes: It is a developed nation, poised for the Century of the Pacific Rim, yet it is largely unpopulated, a land of vast frontiers -- and with a frontier spirit in its people that was lost in other nations long ago, when life became crowded or comfortable or both. Its cities can be at once sophisticated and unpretentious, as can its people. If you love outdoor recreation, imaginative cuisine, natural beauty seemingly without limit, and the idea of an English-speaking nation actually being exotic, Australia was made (or conjured) for you.


SYDNEY

With nearly 4 million people, Sydney is Australia's largest metropolis, and like most big cities, it moves at a fast, hard-driving pace. Visitors from New York and Los Angeles feel right at home, dining in first-class restaurants, admiring the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city's skyline, and enjoying performances in the Sydney Opera House (or simply studying its architecture). Even outdoorsy Angelenos are surprised by the Sydney beach scene and the gusto with which Sydneysiders pursue it. Between wide, wonderful Bondi Beach and peaceful Palm Beach there are 30-plus strands, and on many of these, sun-lovers regularly trade business suits for birthday suits (although most beaches do have a dress code, if only thong bikinis, tops optional). Surf carnivals in which teams of lifeguards match muscle power are big. So are such legacies of Empire as cricket and rugby, not to mention Australian Rules Football -- very rough, a bit self-consciously manly, and a window on the Aussie soul; catch a match. More contemplative outings take you to the fine Taronga Zoo, the splendid Royal Botanic Gardens, oh-so-English Argyle Place, or nearby Cadman's Cottage, the oldest building in town, once the home of a convict-settler who got lucky. Ponder that for a minute -- Britain used to send people to Australia as a punishment.


NEW SOUTH WALES

If Sydney were nothing more than one of the loveliest, most cosmopolitan cities of the Pacific Rim, that would be quite enough. But as capital of New South Wales, it's also gateway to some of Australia's finest scenery. The town of Katoomba is charming, surrounded by the magnificent Blue Mountains, a trail-crossed area of towering eucalyptus groves and rugged sandstone cliffs. Nearby is Echo Point, with its commanding view of the stone pillars called the Three Sisters. Farther north are the vineyards of Hunter Valley, which draws many weekend visitors for wine-tastings, good food, historic towns, and dazzling fall foliage (in April). At Kosciuszko National Park in the rugged, alpine Snowy Mountains, look for some of the country's most scenic cross-country skiing and bushwalking (as Aussies call hiking). Back at sea level, near the North Coast resort town of Coffs Harbour, is Big Banana Leisure Park, hinting strongly at the main product from these parts (and it's not Carmen Miranda figurines). Perhaps the best of New South Wales is a two-hour plane ride away in the South Pacific: those who have known the beauty and peace of coral-fringed Lord Howe Island would travel two weeks by kayak to know it again.


CANBERRA AND THE A.C.T.

Much like other great purpose-built capitals, the city of Canberra is too often underappreciated. Its detractors call it, together with the surrounding Australian Capital Territory (A.C.T.), soulless and sterile. True, it's not the place to come seeking the cutting-edge. But in this gem of urban planning you will find some of the most vigorous cultural life in the land, in a setting of great natural beauty. The city itself is calm, orderly, clean, and green, free of billboards and other evidence of urban chaos. You are rewarded with a surprisingly extensive array of museums and galleries as well as festivals, performing arts events, and, lately, an increasingly vibrant food scene. Some of the country's finest modern architecture is also here, including the vast Parliament House, the gleaming High Court of Australia, the National Carillon, and the National Gallery of Australia, with its fine Australian collection -- all just a walk from the city's hotels. And the town is an easy drive from some of Australia's most scenic national parks, including Kosciuszko and the New South Wales snowfields, Namadgi National Park, and historic Lanyon Homestead National Park.


MELBOURNE AND VICTORIA

Melbourne prides itself on many things -- too many, if you ask Sydneysiders. Many think the city a bit formal, even stuffy, and see Melburnians as overly class-conscious, as sedate as their streetcars, as Victorian as circa-1860 Como House. At least to visitors, Melbourne more than justifies the city's good opinion of itself. As the self-styled cultural capital of Australia, it is home to the impressive Victorian Arts Centre, whose program includes first-class companies such as the Australian Opera and the Australian Ballet, and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, for al fresco entertainment. Melbourne is also ground zero for Australian sports fans, from January's Australian Open, one of the tennis world's four Grand Slam events, to the first Tuesday of November and the Melbourne Cup. Australia's Kentucky Derby or Grand National, it draws Melbourne society, dressed to the nines, along with working-class punters and wags in outlandish get-ups. It's almost as good a show as a Sunday afternoon spent along the waterfront Esplanade and elsewhere in suburban St. Kilda, where Melburnians from every walk of life rub shoulders in cosmopolitan nosheries, on the Ferris wheel and roller coaster, and in the audiences gathered around mimes and street musicians. Beyond Melbourne the state of Victoria's countryside beckons. Bushwalkers head for Alpine, Wilson's Promontory, and Grampians national parks. Much of the region, including the area around the mighty Murray River, the country's largest stream, showcases wineries and old goldfields towns such as Ballarat, Maldon, Bendigo, Beechworth, Chiltern, and others.


The Gold Australia 2000 guide contains additional information not included in this excerpt.