I first Visited Australia in February 1988 to attend Macquarie University in North Ryde, a suburb of Sydney.  I landed at the Sydney airport with a backpack and a letter stating I had been accepted to Macquarie University but no place to stay, even for the night.  I quickly found a hostile in downtown Sydney to crash at for the weekend before I reported to school.  In the 5 months I spent in Australia I got to do some great things.  I celebrated my 21st birthday with Natasha Turner at a bar up the street from the dorm called "The Ranch".  Nothing like greasy fried food and an awful rum and coke to make a 21st birthday memorable.

While I was in Australia I got to visit Brisbane and see World Expo '88.  A great event with pavilions for each country.  While very culturally enlightening it was also a great time.  There were about 8 of us from Uni who took the train up and stayed in a hotel room.  One night when a few of us were heading back to the hotel we stopped at a small bar for a drink.  Natasha ordered a XXXX (bitter lager) at the bar and when she asked how much was told that all midi's were free for the next 15 minutes as part of a promotional.  Needless to say we all started ordering beers and stocking them on the table behind us.  That left us with a surplus that took a couple hours to get through.  What a fun task to have...

From Brisbane I flew to Melbourne to see the city and visit the zoo which was hosting two Giant Panda's from China.   The weather was not so great, overcast and rainy but the zoo was nice.  After seeing the Panda's I walked around to the other exhibits and saw two African elephants engaging in that wonderful spring time activity of propagating the species.  When they went at it everyone stopped to stare, you could almost feel it through the ground.  A few days after leaving the city I saw on the news that some residents of the hotel I was staying in were requesting political asylum from Russia.  It was all over the news for several days. 

Following Melbourne I flew to Perth on the west coast of Australia.  Well isolated from the rest of the country it really is a city worth visiting.  In developing Perth the city council set aside one parcel of land for every two that were developed.  This means the city is full of parkland.  On both sides of the Swan river there are beautiful parks to walk through and relax in.  The beaches in Perth are very nice and not  crowded.  It is a great place to visit to relax and enjoy nature. 

In returning to Sydney I chose to take one of the worlds most beautiful train rides on the Indian-Pacific, so named because it traveled from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.  The train takes you through the outback and the Nularbor (No Trees) plain where the only thing to see are scrub brush and lots of Kangaroos.  It was a great trip but as a student all I had was a seat and not place to lay down for the 72 hour journey.  To sleep I crept into the first class lounge and laid on the bench with my Driza-bone as a blanket and my Akubra to cover my hear.  Of course I got chased out each morning, but that was OK.  Unlike American trains where anyone can dine in the dining car as long as they pay, the dining car on the Indian Pacific was restricted to the upper class ticketed passengers.  This means that me and the rest of the economy riders were limited to a small snack vendor that ran out of just about everything the first day.  Luckily another student from Uni was on the same train and knew to expect this.  When we stopped at Kalgoorlie we dashed off and found a place that sold meat pies.  We bought a couple to last until the next day.  After that we were out of luck until Adelaide.

This is the back of Dunmore Lang college at Macquarie University.  This is where I lived during my time at Uni.  The rooms were small but singles so you had privacy.  Behind the college was a small creek that became somewhat of a river during the wettest March on record in Sydney.  Beyond that was the University campus which was quite nice and spread over a large area.

This is the view from Dunmore Lang looking toward the Campus.  You can see the creek with the bridge and beyond that the parking garage for the university.

During my time at University in Australia other American students and I would often go into Sydney to see the sights or go to one of the many drinking establishments.  A few of our favorites include Jackson's on George St.  Molly Malone's down in the Rocks and a place called The Oaks that included a great outdoor area. 

I have been back to Australia Several times since that first visit in college.   On my return trips I often spend time in Cairns.  This is a magical city in northern Queensland known for it's incredible diving.  Before leaving Australia on my first visit I spent a little over a week in Cairns.  This is where I learned to SCUBA dive, at Peter Tibbs Dive School.  After a trying first attempt at Open Ocean where I hyperventilated and went through my entire tank in about 5 minutes on the surface I finally did some great dives and got my certification.  On later trips I took the railroad up to the top of the plateau that overlooks Cairns and spent some time in the town before coming back down to the Aboriginal Center on the Sky Rail through the rain forest. 

This picture is the view as you come down from the Plateau to just outside Cairns at the Aboriginal Cultural Center.  On the way down the gondola stops at two places in the rain forest where you can get off and walk around for a bit,  The trees there are absolutely spectacular as are the birds that inhabit them.  It is a beautiful view on the way down.

On one visit to Australia I took a flight out to Ularu also known as Ayres Rock.  They call that part of Australia the Red Center because the soil is a bright red color due to the oxidized iron content.  It is amazing seeing Ularu standing out from the desert floor like a lone monolith.  Off in the distance you can see the Olga's, a series of dome topped rocks that also come out of the desert.  The highlight of my visit to Ularu was an event called the "Sound of Silence Dinner".  For this excursion you get on a bus for a 20 minute ride into the desert.  As you get off you walk up a small hill and there are waiters with Champagne and Canapés.  You watch the sun go down as you drink and talk and admire the views.

When the sun sets they take you down a short path to an area where they have set up a kitchen with several large round tables, complete with white table clothes, candles and full table settings.  There is also a large fire burning and braziers for warmth.  Dining is buffet style and included a salad with Crocodile, Kangaroo, Lamb, and an Australian fish.  Throughout dinner they keep your wine glass filled.  After dinner a speaker comes out and all the artificial lights are turned off so you have the most incredibly clear view of the southern sky.  The speakers tells you the legends the Aborigines have for the starts and how they play apart of their dreamtime.  After the mythology lesson he pointed out the stars and constellations the westerners named.  The evening concluded with a wonderful desert and more wine, including mulled wine to keep us warm.

This was such a wonderful experience that not only would I strongly recommend it, I intend to do it again on my next visit to Ularu. 

These are but a small sampling of my Australia photographs.  I have hundreds, maybe thousands more.  If you are interested in seeing more please contact me for access to my posted and private archives.