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Travel Writing
The Rediscovery of Eden
Words and pictures by Paul R. Davies
Terra australis incognita, “unknown land of the South”. Today it is called Australia but we affectionately call it “Oz”. It is an immense country that is equal in landmass to the United States. Around 250 years ago, the land was inhabited by just a few thousand indigenous people known as the Aborigines. They are a nomadic people who have a mystical relationship with the land, trees, plants and animals. Then came the British, who set anchor in Botany Bay, with boatloads of transported convicts. The new settlers laid claim to a colony, but today Australia has emerged as a proud, almost brash, independent nation that is seriously working towards becoming a republic. For the visitor there is so much to see and do, the mind boggles, whether for just a highly active fortnight or for a more leisurely number of months.
For the majority of first timers down under it involves an arrival in Sydney. Without doubt it is the scenic harbour that really makes the city. You have a feeling that “you’ve arrived” when you stroll down by the Harbour Bridge close to the famous Opera House, the icon of Sydney. The city has become a global, multicultural and vibrant metropolis towards which even the visitor feels an affinity. Typically, the British backpacker can quickly integrate into the lifestyle when they find work locally to subsidise a lengthy stay in the country. As a contrast to the city lifestyle, there is always the Sydney surfing beaches, typified by the famous Bondi, though for me arguably less commercialised are Coogee and Manly.
If you head north to the Sunshine State of Queensland you’ll come across popular attractions such as Fraser Island. This is the world’s largest sand island, and here you can hire a four-wheel drive vehicle for a few days to explore its pristine inland lakes and creeks, safe from the “Great White” sharks to be found in the ocean thereabouts. You can end the day in true Ozzie style with a “tinny” and a “barbie” under the stars. Further north still, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, of course there’s the world’s largest single living organism, the Great Barrier Reef, home to an infinite variety of colourful tropical sea life. This can be easily accessed from Cairns. However, becoming ever more popular, is the town of Airlie Beach from where you can sail amongst the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. Here you can experience the colourful coral reefs and miles of heavenly white beaches. So before you have even seen half of Australia you will realise just how close to the Garden of Eden you can actually get.
Bored of the ocean? Australia can take you to the other extreme with its seemingly unending arid landscapes. Thousands of travellers visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), a mountainous monolith sacred to Aborigines, situated in an otherwise flat expanse of desert. It is a truly imposing sight of solid orange rock, although it spectacularly changes colour according to the daylight hours, especially at sundown. Not far away, and often under-rated, is the lesser-known King’s Canyon, well worth a visit. Further north, and in true “bush” country, is Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, better known in movie-folklore as “Crocodile Dundee” country. It is a vast area of swampland and tropical forests with its indigenous wildlife of buffaloes and basking crocodiles, and is regarded as the true wilderness of Australia.