Wanderung 26

Bob:

Wow, what a trip! Well what did we learn? First off, is it really worthwhile to cross the Pacific Ocean to see Australia? Well, I would definitely say "Yes!", and for two specific reasons. First, Austalia is a huge land, about 80% the size of the Lower 48 States of the United States. There is, therefore, a lot to see. That said, most of the people, cities, towns, and farms, etc. are concentrated around the coastal perimeter of the continent. We have visited several times and have only seen the south-eastern 1/3 of that coastal area, from Rockhampton a ways North of Brisbane in Queensland on our first visit, to the southern coast of Victoria on our second visit and as far West as Adelaide in South Australia on this trip. Each section is different and really soaking it all in while covering the land is almost overwhelming, but well worth it.

Secondly, though, the reason to visit Australia is to meet the people there, who are typically among the friendliest folks we have met on our travels. After many weeks and many thousands of miles in Australia on our three trips, we really only encountered two grumpy people, both of whom were coincidentally overworked bus drivers. So I would recommend that if you visit you should try to meet the local people wherever you happen to be and don't just limit yourself to pre-packaged tours which tend to prevent that, in my opinion. Now taking a driving tour would require that you feel comfortable and safe when driving on the left side of the road, but unlike England or Ireland, the roads are as wide as American roads and the drivers are typically quite law-abiding, so driving on the left is not as difficult and dangerous as in those countries. Alternatively, skip the car and consider a train/bus pass for getting around as we did for our first visit. The only problem with that method is not being able to stop to see the many interesting things you encounter along the way. One hybrid approach I would like to try would be to us train/bus transport for some of the longer sections but then use a bicycle (Australian: "push bike") to get around and see the more interesting areas in more detail.

Ok, suppose you do decide to visit Australia. Well, how are you going to get there? I, for one, would recommend crossing the Pacific Ocean on a cruise ship if you have the time to do so, as it is a lot more pleasant and interesting than the long, boring, flight between California and Sydney. That flight typically takes 14 or 15 hours, and no matter how you slice it, that is a very long time to spend cooped up in an aluminum tube even if you aren't cramped up in economy-class seats as we typically are. Of course, the cruise ship takes almost a month to get across that huge ocean, but consider all the interesting things you will see and all the great food and entertainment you will have along the way! We enjoyed every one of the stops we made on our cruise, and even all those South Sea islands were surprisingly different when you got to see them "Up Close and Personal!" Economically, in our experience the cruise costs a bit more than an economoy-class seat on the airplane, but roughly the same as a business-class seat and generally less than a first-class seat, so the cost differential is not as bad as you might expect.

The two main questions you should ask yourself before taking a cruise ship between the U.S. and Australia would be (1) "will I get bored being on a ship for a month?", and (2) "who will I be having my meals with for that month?". Some folks cannot imagine spending a month on a ship, and I was worried about being on a ship that long, too. But we picked an itinerary that interspersed ports-of-call with stretches of two to five "At Sea" days, and I found that to be a very nice rhythm to live with. Too many ports-of-call in a row, and I find myself becoming exhausted with all the the go-go-go of visiting ports. Too many days "At Sea" in a row, say more than a week, and I can start to go "stir crazy". But interspersing things the way this cruise did avoided both the exhaustion of too much activity, on the one hand, and the tedium or cabin fever of too long a stretch of Sea Days, on the other hand.

However, the critical element to spending this long on a cruise would be having meals with compatible people, and we were very lucky to have dinners with Ian, Judy, Roya, and Alex. If the Gentle Reader is a confirmed Extrovert, then taking "Anytime" seating for dining and meeting new folks every night might be just his or her cup of tea. But if you are not such an extrovert, you might want to consider traveling with, and scheduling meals with, people with whom you are compatabile. In our case, that group would include anyone in our combined familes and any of our friends. But even though that is quite a list of folks, they are not generally travelling on the same ship as we are, so perforce we meet new people. If that happens to you, we hope you will have the same good fortune in meeting people you like and enjoy chatting with as we have had over the years!