Throw into the mix the fact that all of these cities aren’t more than a couple of hours away from some of the most amazing landscapes, natural wonders and wildlife and you’ll soon begin to realise why so many people come here and never leave.

Sydney

Sydney is one of the most famous cities in the world – and for good reason. Home to the iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House, over 70 stunning beaches and vibrant suburbs – this city has the right balance of relaxed and outdoor lifestyle and cosmopolitan culture.

City Highlights

· Walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge for amazing views and great photo opportunities

· Do the Bondi to Coogee walk for beaches, parks, cliffs, bays and rock pools.

· Drive your rented car or campervan up into the Blue Mountains for stunning landscapes and breathtaking views.

Melbourne

Victoria’s capital is a well-planned city, with its wide streets and excellent tram network. It’s famous for its culture, festivals, food and fantastic coffee.

It’s also been named as the world’s most liveable city – no less than four times running – which is pretty impressive to say the least. All this makes Melbourne the perfect place for backpackers to stop off, park up and go exploring.

City Highlights

· Get lost exploring Melbourne’s many hidden and winding lanes.

· Spend an afternoon soaking up the atmosphere in the Queen Victoria Market, home to shops and stalls selling a mix of food, arts, souvenirs and locally made goods.

Canberra

Canberra is the national capital of Australia – it’s also the largest inland city in the country. Canberra is also one of the few cities in the world where the natural bush land and parks were integrated into the original plan for the city.

City Highlights

· Visit the National Gallery with over 165,000 pieces of art.

· Hike up Black Mountain for panoramic views of the city.

· Visit Lake Burley Griffin for rowing, sailing, kayaking and canoeing.

Brisbane

Stunning beaches, year round sunshine and a relaxed culture make Brisbane the perfect place to pull up in your campervan or car and get stuck into Aussie beach life. Warm tropical days and nights make it easy to make the most of your time here.

City Highlights

· Spend the day at Streets Beach, Australia’s only inner city beach with lagoon and white sandy beaches.

· Stroll around the South Bank Lifestyle Markets held every Friday to Sunday for local arts, crafts and fashion.

Adelaide

Located in South Australia, this city is not only on the doorstep of some of the country’s best wineries, but it also offers residents and visitors a great blend of parks, historic buildings and culture, with hills to the east and beaches to the west.

City Highlights

· Soak up the café culture on Rundle Street in the heart of the city.

· Take the tram to Glenelg, a popular season destination with many nearby cafes, restaurants and bars.

Perth

Perth is the largest city in the state of Western Australia, the city of sun, surf and relaxed vibes.With bars, restaurants, perfect picnic spots and one of the world’s largest inner city parks – Perth is perfect for backpackers who are looking to relax into Aussie life.

City Highlights

· Fishing, picnics, walking and cycling are all a big part of daily life here – get involved.

· Take a day trip to the historic port of Freemantle.

Darwin

Surrounded by the sea on three sides, Darwin is Australia’s only tropical city. Darwin is a small city, and there aren’t many skyscrapers and high-rise buildings here, but this makes it easy to get around.

City Highlights

· Step back in time with a visit to the World War 2 Oil Storage Tunnels – hidden deep beneath the city.

· Get snap happy with a visit to Crocodylus Park, home to more than a thousand crocodiles.

A road trip in a hired campervan or car is one of the best and most economical ways of travelling around Australian cities. If you are planning a trip Down Under and will be travelling between the cities, then check this out as a possibility.

Whenever you review a place, you always hope you’ll have positive things to say. Hope springs eternal, right?

Our underwhelming experience began with finding parking. They are woefully underequipped for a lot of visitors, so if you choose to drive there make sure you can handle walking a decent distance. They do, however, operate a free shuttle from downtown Auckland, so that might save you some headaches. Although finding parking near their pickup spot isn’t so easy either, and it definitely isn’t cheap.

If you plan on visiting, I would highly recommend purchasing your tickets online. Not only will you receive a 10%-20% discount, but if they’re busy the line for prepaid customers is MUCH shorter. So, it’s a win-win all the way around.

I did enjoy their entryway. They have created a fun optical illusion as part of their Scott Base exhibit.

The penguin exhibit is also entertaining, especially if you’re there when it’s feeding time.

And that’s kind of where the compliments end. Overall, we found the exhibits to be fairly uninteresting, at least for older kids and above.

Smaller children might enjoy the aquarium a bit more as there were some exhibits that were designed more for little ones. Like most aquariums, they do have a “touchpool” where visitors can touch some marine life.

They also have a tunnel with a moving walkway which provides a decent up-close view of some sharks and other creatures. If you’ve been on one of these before, though, you’ll find this one fairly unimpressive.

Although, I will give them props for having a preserved giant squid in a tank. That was kind of cool to see.

Visitor info

Ticket prices are pretty high in my opinion, but New Zealand tends to be more expensive for activities. The walk-up price for an adult (age 16 and above) is $36 NZD (almost $30 USD), but if purchasing tickets online, the rate starts at $28.80 NZD. Children’s tickets start at $14.40 NZD online.

If you are visiting with kids, check out their different family rates which could save you some cash.

The aquarium is open everyday with last entry being at 4 PM (and last shuttle pickup at 3:30).

Unless you are easily entertained, you don’t need to plan a lot of time to visit.

Bottom Line

We have to give this one the highly undesired rating of snoozefest. As divers, we enjoy going to aquariums sometimes. We both love the underwater world and seeing the different creatures, many of which we’ve seen in the wild. Perhaps having visited several really good ones has tainted others for us, especially after having thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium in Kuala Lumpur.

However, I have to say this Sea Life Aquarium is mediocre at best. There are more interesting things to do in and near Auckland in our opinion.

Do you enjoy aquariums? Which was your favorite?

While we were on the south island of New Zealand, we were staying with a friend. She happened to know someone who works at the International Antarctic Centre, and they were nice enough to give our group tickets so we could experience everything.

I had absolutely no idea that this center existed. Likewise, I didn’t know that the USA and other countries had their Antarctic bases here. Almost every research team and supporting crew member that goes to the continent leaves from this New Zealand base!

This center is designed to give visitors an education they aren’t likely to forget, and they are big on experiential learning.

The first experience we had involved entering a room that is chilled to –5 degrees Celsius. Thankfully, the center provides jackets and overshoes. Here you can experience an ice cave, go down a slide made from ice, and see what a minor wind storm with 40 km/h winds feels like as the wind chill brings the temperature down to –35 Celsius (-31F).

There is a penguin encounter, and it’s quite fun to watch the staff feed the penguins. You can really see some of their personalities.

The center offers a 4D movie experience (included in the XTREME pass) that is pretty fun. You will get a little spray of water to the face, but it isn’t that bad.

For the more restless kids, there are plenty of things to climb on.

One of the more interesting offerings is the Hagglund ride (also in the XTREME pass, or an extra fee for the XPRESS pass holders). These are the vehicles that take new arrivals from the airstrip to the research center. They are designed for virtually any terrain and can pass over crevasses and go through water. They have built a varied course on the property so you get a bit of a realistic experience of what riding in these things in Antarctica would be like. If you are prone to motion sickness, either take something, slap on a patch, or skip this ride. I usually do pretty well, and I got a bit nauseated from all the banging around.

The ride lasts for about 10 minutes. The scientists and crew get to endure it for 2-1/2 hours or longer. I can’t even imagine.

Visitor Information

The center is open from 9 AM to 5:30 PM every day of the year, including Christmas. Prices are not cheap. The XTREME pass provides the best experience, and it’s also the most expensive ticket. Adults will pay $59 NZD (about $49 USD) and children 5-15 are $29 NZD. If you have 2 adults and 3 children, you can get the family rate which is $147 NZD total. If you buy your tickets online, it will reduce the fees a bit.

Whenever we receive something for free or at a discount, I always have to ask myself would I have felt like it was worth it had I paid full price. While this is a really cool place, and some of the experiences are very unique, I’m not sure I would have felt like I got my money’s worth. It is a great way to experience Antarctica for kids, but with New Zealand already being so expensive for everything else, I’m just not sure I can honestly say this is a must-do.

Do you have any desire to go to Antarctica?

And it doesn’t stop there. The reef system also contains 400 species of coral, 30 varieties of seagrass (half of all the species found in the world), and 500 species of seaweed and marine algae. For you shark lovers out there, you can find 165 different species of the apex predator in Australian waters.

Australia is a great country with a lot to see, do, and experience, but experiencing a country from beneath the surface is an essential part of exploring the world.

Naturally, diving is a great family experience. The minimum age for doing open water scuba is 10, though, so it’s more appropriate for families with older kids. There are plenty of companies providing diving experiences in the region, with Hayman providing a 5-star experience.

Fish

If you’ve done any diving, you know that reefs offer some of the best diving. They are rich, interdependent ecosystems. Here are just some of the fish you can expect to find on the Great Barrier Reef.

Clownfish are quite popular. They can be really entertaining to watch as they move back and forth among the tentacles of the anemone that serves as their home. A special layer of mucus keeps them safe from the paralyzing sting of their host. If you are very still and don’t blow out large bursts of bubbles, they will often swim toward you briefly before darting back to their protective spot.

It is not uncommon to see large groupers along the reef. They are typically slow-moving fish that can be quite curious of divers. If you move leisurely, they will usually let you get fairly close. In Honduras, we went shark diving, and a grouper even let my son hug it! (I don’t support touching marine life, but the divemaster had him hugging it before I realized what he was doing.)

Triggerfish are beautiful creatures. During nesting season, you have to pay attention to their movements, though. They have been known to get aggressive with divers, and their bite can be quite painful. If they seem to be darting around a lot, keep your distance.

Corals

These are amazing forms of Nature’s art work. Corals are classified as hard and soft, and they are all critical to the marine ecosystem, with soft coral probably being even more important. I really enjoy photographing them. All the colors, shapes, and textures make for great photos, especially for macro shots. Just remember to keep your distance, watch your fins so you don’t kick any, and definitely don’t touch any of them. Not only can some be painful to humans when touched, but our fingers can disrupt their protective layer which could lead to diseased coral.

One of the best parts of travel is creating memories that last a lifetime. Diving the Great Barrier Reef and all the various other activities you can experience here are bound to give your entire family something to talk about for decades.

Have you dove the GBR yet? Is it on your list?

The cathedral in the square was long a symbol of Christchurch. Previous earthquakes had done some damage to the historic church, but the 2011 quake saw the complete loss of one whole side of the church, including its iconic bell tower. Today, it is surrounded by attractive fencing as it bears sober witness to the city’s destruction while the debate continues over whether to raze and rebuild or invest the multiple millions of dollars it would require for restoration.

Near the square several shops have been replaced with repurposed storage containers. A creative solution which is quicker than what many business owners have had to endure. Many buildings are still deemed risky or have been condemned. Reportedly, multiple people remain in limbo waiting for inspections to determine if they can reopen their business, if it will need renovation, or if the building needs to be demolished. And funding any of those options is going to be a big challenge.

An extremely large section of the city remains uninhabited and behind fences. It is surreal walking around a city that was once quite busy and now closely resembles a ghost town.

As we left Cathedral Square and the redevelopment center, we began to feel like we were strolling through a ghost town. Rarely any building was accessible. The streets were eerily silent. An occasional parking lot occupied the space cleared by the demolition of a building. Some buildings appeared safe but were clearly vacant, while others had only a single wall remaining, supported by a stack of shipping containers protecting the streets below from detritus.

Aside from decorated fencing, there have been several installations to help beautify the city. The sculptures, colorful bicycle parking areas, and other installations add some vibrancy to the otherwise austere environment.

Seeing the effects of the Christchurch quake and witnessing its aftermath was a fascinating exercise, but one that also left us quiet and slightly discomfited. If you come to the city during a visit, I suggest not only walking around just to explore but also visiting Quake City where you’ll be able to see a different side of the city, learn more about the disastrous earthquake, and the lives that have been greatly affected by New Zealand’s most powerful natural disaster.

Have you ever visited a place devastated by a natural or other disaster? What was it like?

Bus

There are a few bus companies traversing the country. Naked Bus (don’t let the name bother you) is one of the better known companies for budget travel, but InterCity also has some great fares. Both companies also offer passes that could save you some money.

If you’re planning on bus travel, make sure to check out discount sites like GrabOne Escapes which often has some super deals on Naked Bus. I utilized one of their recent deals to book roundtrip travel between Christchurch and Queenstown for $45 NZD total, which was for 2 people (normally one would spend that for 1 person just one way).

As stated previously, bus trips can be very long hauls. Our bus didn’t have a bathroom on it, but they did make a few short bathroom stops along the way as well as a 30-minute lunch break during our 9-hour journey.

Booking with Naked Bus is quite easy. You can do it online, and they don’t require a paper ticket. All you need is the unique number they give you which is great for travelers. I hate having to pay to print out a ticket, especially in this day and age with so much technology.

Planning in advance can help you save lots of money as there are $1 deals quite often.

Train

Really not your best option. Train prices are much more expensive than flights for almost every route I’ve investigated. Depending on your itinerary, you may also have to take a combination of train and bus which ends up requiring about the same amount of time as the bus for a lot more money.

Plane

Flying around New Zealand can be surprisingly inexpensive and shouldn’t be overlooked as a viable option, especially if you factor in transit times. Going from Auckland to Christchurch overland would cost over $200 NZD and require more than 1 day of travel. Flying that same route can be done for $44 NZD per person or lower, and that’s including the baggage fees. The flight will take about 1-1/2 hours.

When considering flights, make sure to check out Grabaseat (which offers more than just discounts on airfare). The further in advance you can plan, the greater the chance for big savings.

Flying within New Zealand is pretty easy. We flew with Jetstar from Auckland to Christchurch, and I not only didn’t need a paper ticket/printout, I didn’t even have to show ID at the ticket counter, when passing through security, or when boarding the plane. It’s a lot more relaxed!

Between the islands

If you want to travel between the north and south island and aren’t planning on flying, you’ll also need to figure in a ferry crossing. The crossing takes about 3 hours, and it is not cheap at $52 NZD per person. That price is only for traveling by foot.

Something to consider

You will obviously see much more of the country if traveling overland, and there is definitely some incredible scenery. So if you have the time, money, and temperament, it may just be worth going overland between cities of New Zealand. You just have to factor it all in.

When given the choice between flying or taking a half-day bus ride, which is your preference?

Our visit to Australia really surprised me. We actually only went there initially because (1) we were fairly close, (2) we needed to go there to cross the 6th continent off our list, and (3) Tigger really wanted to go. Despite hearing wonderful things, I just didn’t think I’d care all that much for it. I prefer undeveloped to developing countries. Australia seemed to be just one more European metropolis without the charm of say, my favorite city in the world Paris.

I ended up really liking it, though! We only had a few days in Sydney before our housesit in Ballarat, a small town about 1-1/2 hours outside of Melbourne. Sydney was nice but not impressive. The best part for me was visiting with some friends. For Tigger, their incredibly fast Internet was a huge feather in Australia’s cap.

When we arrived in the small village of Buninyong for our housesit, I was a bit concerned. It was very rural. I like rural, but I also wanted to be able to explore and see new things. However, we quickly fell into the rhythm of small town life, and we fell in love with our village and the town. We had such a great time there, and both places had such a great vibe to them.

We did manage to visit Melbourne, and I instantly fell in love with the city. It has such a great energy to it, has a gorgeous beach area, and a wonderful public transportation system. It’s just such a freaking cool city.

Once I got past the initial culture shock, it was even easier to enjoy the area. But the longer we stayed, one thing kept coming up for me.

Australia is way too . . . vanilla for me.

There’s plenty of museums, shows, theatre, etc. If you’re in bigger cities, there is a lot of ethnic food available. But I felt like I was surrounded by . . . I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but far too many white people.

I grew up in a melting pot, a place full of color, different languages, and ethnicities. As we’ve traveled, we’ve primarily remained immersed in similar situations. Even in France, there was a healthy amount of diversity. Not so much in Australia.

New Zealand has a slightly different culture, especially with its large Maori population. But it still feels very, well, “white bread.” I greatly miss hearing all the languages around me I don’t understand, seeing all the different colors of skin, the down-to-earth lifestyle of developing countries. I miss my hawker food places. I miss the challenge of trying to figure something out because I don’t understand the language. While it can be nice communicating with the locals, I miss both of us, a local and me, laughing as we try to figure out how to communicate. I even miss the chaos of motorbikes whizzing around.

Most of the people I’ve met in both countries have been extremely friendly. But it still feels. . . sterile.

New Zealand reminds me of home in the Pacific Northwest, but I don’t think I could live here long term. Australia would be a bigger draw to me. I’d love to visit and stay longer in both places, but could I live in Australia or New Zealand long term?

They’re both special, wonderful places, but I don’t think I could call either country “home.”

A sudden run of fluid from my nose let me know I was having a spontaneous nosebleed. Not a big surprise. We’ve been in a lot of dry heat lately since we were in Australia during their winter. My nose had felt pretty dry. In fact I had even told myself that I should pick up some saline nasal spray. Which I hadn’t done yet.Little did I know this wasn’t going to be any simple nosebleed, and I would soon get to explore a side of travel no one hopes for.

The stupid bleed went on for a while and finally stopped. I took a couple of small sniff tests, and it was all clear. PHEW! I was so relieved. Minutes later, though, a stream of blood poured out of my nose. I grabbed ice and rubbed it around my cheeks and over the bridge of my nose since that often helps. I tried laying down to take pressure off. A total rookie move. A former trauma nurse knows better! But I was so tired of sitting up pinching my nose.

After coughing rather violently, I sat up and leaned forward for a while. Like you’re supposed to. I grabbed my Kindle Fire and googled to see if I was forgetting any other trick. It just wasn’t stopping, so I googled directions to the hospital to refresh my memory where it was in the next town just in case.

Finally, it felt like it stopped. I continued with the pressure and did another ice down. Things seemed to stop. I gingerly released my grip on my nose. Within a few seconds, a larger stream gushed out of my nose. It was big enough that I actually heard it splash against the Kindle and the blanket as it poured out.

“I need to go to the hospital,” I told Tigger quickly. This bleed had been going on for about 1-1/2 hours already. Two gushers equaled not going to stop any time soon.

I arrived at the ER, my hands covered in my own blood, the pile of Kleenex held to my nose rapidly saturating with the continued flow. I kept adding more tissues to the stack to keep it from flowing down my arm.

Like with most hospitals in developed countries, not much gets done until paperwork has been done. Since I’m not an Australian resident, I have to pay up front. “That will be $240 (AUD)” the bored blonde clerk told me. I added another wad of tissue to my current collection as I dug my wallet out of my pocket and handed over my card.

When I returned to triage, she saw the amount of additional blood that had gathered and quickly ushered me into the back.

After about 4 hours’ total time of bleeding, they decided it was necessary to pack my nose. If you’ve never had the pleasure of having a device known as a Rapid Rhino Rocket shoved up your nose and rapidly inflated with air so that it appears like one of those balloons clowns use to shape into animals is protruding from your proboscis, I hope you get to remain ignorant.

“We’ll leave them in for an hour and reassess.”

An hour. Wonderful.

I watched the large wall clock as the hands crept every so slowly. My head throbbed from the combination of the devices wedged up both my nostrils and elevated blood pressure from the pain and the whole situation.

“Well, at least this birthday will be memorable,” Tigger says. He is so my child.

Finally, the hour passed and no one came. I gave them 15 minutes before I hailed a passing nurse. The doctor came over hesitantly. “You see, I spoke with my boss, and, uh, well, he wants you to be seen by the ENT in the morning.” Okay, whatever, just remove these things! “Well, he wants the ENT to remove them in case you have another bleed.”

You’ve. Got. To. Be. Kidding.

“The ENT will be in at 7:30.”

I gaze at the clock to discover this means 3 more hours.

We had a couple of overnight options available. A different lady came and explained to me, at 5 in the morning, that if they admitted me, I would need to pay $1200 AUD which would cover everything, including the operating theatre and all x-rays. Otherwise, they could keep me in the ER, and what I already paid would cover everything.

Yeah, option 2 please.

They moved us into a more private area of the ER as Tigger’s improvised bed which involved dragging a chair over and laying across the chair and onto the part of the hospital bed that wasn’t covered by my uplifted mattress scared them. They kindly offered me something to try to help me sleep since it would be at least 3 hours.

I waited patiently, in and out of sleep until the 7:30 arrival time of the ENT. Except he hadn’t shown up by 8:15. At this point I was nearly in tears. “Would you please call him? I’m really miserable.”

A few minutes later a young guy walks in and introduces himself as the ENT and announces his brilliant plan of admitting me overnight, starting antibiotics, and leaving the Rhino Rockets in for 24 hours. I was ready to grab something sharp and deflate the damn things myself!

No one had checked with my emergency medical insurance to see if an admission would be covered, so there was a conundrum on their end. Luckily, a more senior ENT arrived. “No, no, no,” I heard him say as they explained their plan. He came into my room, said his name, and uttered the most beautiful words I could’ve heard that morning: “We’re going to take those packs out and send you home.”

“Thank gawd!” I replied.

“I’m not from this hospital, so normally I would have to bill you separately for my services. But I’m not going to do that. If you become wealthy or something some day, how about you donate my fees to a charity of your choice instead.”

A few minutes later he pulled the balloons out of my nose and took a look. A few pokes and scrapes from silver nitrate sticks, and I was a free man.

So what did I think about Australia healthcare? Besides wishing I hadn’t had the experience, I mean.

• Pretty efficient, but I was also in a smaller town.
• Every doctor introduced themselves to me by their first name. There were at least 3 physicians on duty which impressed me for the size of the city and hospital. The doctor also did the majority of my patient care, including the IV insertion.
• $240 AUD flat fee for the ER? Includes the physician, medications, x-rays, labs, etc. WOW! $1200 AUD for an inpatient stay which would’ve included everything done, including surgery, except if an outside consultant came in. I’d have to pay their fee separately.
• Fastest call button answers in my life! I would press on the button and within seconds a nurse was in my room.
• They watched out for Tigger and made sure he was comfortable throughout our long stay.
• I’d give the system 5 stars from what I experienced. Yes, my experience was pretty limited, but I’ve worked in ERs for enough years to see a VERY different experience.

I’m grateful it was a relatively minor situation and that the fee was relatively low (lower than my copay in the US!) I was pretty impressed and hope to not experience any other country’s healthcare system for a very long time.

Actually, let’s just say hopefully never.

1850s Gold Rush

Ballarat was the site of Australia’s gold rush in the 1850s. One of the town’s big attractions celebrates that early history. Sovereign Hill is essentially an open-air museum dedicated to re-creating the first decade of the big gold rush.

In addition to old-style buildings, all the staff are dressed in period costume. Much of the machinery used for the mining industry has been preserved and is kept in working order so that you get a real feel for how things were done.

One of my favorite demonstrations was the gold pouring. Getting gold from the form its find it in the ground to ingot form for sale was quite the process. They have a very cool demonstration showing the final process of melting it down, purifying it, and then pouring it into the ingot mold. Kids will get a bit of physics education as well.

Your admission ticket gets you into most of the activities, including gold panning, but there are a few others events that require an additional purchase. At the candlemakers, they lead a very informative presentation on candlemaking prior to the kids (and adults if you want) being able to do some candle dipping on their own. There are also a few mine “tours” which can be interesting if you’ve never done something like it. You only go down 18 meters (60 feet) into the mine, but it is still interesting. They’ve put together some entertainment that goes along with the mine tour and included some really great cultural and historical information.

Most of the extra activities are offered at very reasonable prices, and the mine tours offer a family ticket which can save you quite a fair amount of money.

If you’re interested in coming back the next day, you can get your admission ticket validated at the site’s post office (make sure the name you write on the ticket matches your photo ID because you’ll need to show that for readmission). This gives you free admission on the 2nd day, but it does have to be the consecutive day. When you return, enter the building and turn to your right instead of going through the normal ticket lines. They process the 2nd-day visits.

Parking is also free. There are a few different establishments offering food and beverage, and you can expect to pay typical restaurant prices. If you have the Ballarat Pass, it includes admission to Sovereign Hill (and yes, you can still get the 2nd day for free). The mine tours and most of the shops accept credit/debit cards, and there is an ATM machine located in the food kiosk area.

When you’re done at Sovereign Hill, you can cross the street and check out the gold museum. Your admission ticket also gives you free admission into the museum. I wasn’t as impressed with the museum so can’t really encourage people to make a special visit.

We really enjoyed our visit here and did return the 2nd day for more fun.

Medieval Times

Also included with the Pass is admission to Kryal Castle. This is billed as a medieval adventure park. However, the park is really more of an interest if you have younger children. We went with a friend and her 12-year-old son, and both boys agreed it just wasn’t that interesting for older kids. I actually felt it was a bit of a letdown. Their website and brochure make it seem much better than it proved to be for both our families.

This one gets a “go ahead and skip it” from Tigger and I. Go to the wildlife park instead.

Do you like to take a step into the past and do any type of historical travel? What was your favorite experience?

• Koalas are extremely emotionally sensitive. If a koala is on the ground and has to flee from a predator, it may be so traumatized from the experience that it could die within a couple of days from the emotional shock.
• Koalas rarely drink water. They get most of their supply from the eucalyptus leaves they eat. They will only drink if ill or in extreme hot.
• They cannot sweat. Imagine wearing a fur coat in 35-degree weather (95 degrees Fahrenheit)!
• There are about 8 species of eucalyptus, but koalas pick about 3 different types as their favorites and make up their diet from that preferred group.
• The ones located in the state of Victoria are up to 30% larger than the koalas in other parts of Australia.

During the presentation, we each had the opportunity to pet one. She fed on leaves and pretty much ignored us while we all took our turn stroking her back. My other favorite presentation was on wombats. I think they give koalas serious competition on the cuteness scale. And they’re quite large! Whenever I’ve seen their name, I’ve always envisioned a very aggressive animal, but wombats are quite gentle, inquisitive, and loaded with personality. Their keeper told us that you also can’t change their personality. If you get a grumpy wombat, it will always be grumpy no matter what you do. Wombats communicate with each other with bites, some of which may be nips but at other times are quite aggressive and break the skin. They have a cartilaginous strip in their backside which protects them when they’re hiding in their hole from predators.

There is also an exhibit of Tasmian devils which is one of the best I’ve seen. Often they’re behind glass or in a small enclosure, but these devils have a lot of room to roam around outdoors in what appears to be native habitat. Yet they are still close enough for you to get a good look. In addition to the furry cuties, there is a nice collection of reptiles. We missed the crocodile feeding demonstration because we were having too much fun with some kangaroos. We also enjoyed a nice lunch in their cafe, which, incidentally, serves wine in addition to hot and cold beverages and some tasty food. I definitely recommend a visit to the wildlife park. We enjoyed it so much, we may go back before we leave Australia. If you’ purchase the Ballarat Pass, it includes admission to the wildlife park. It’s hard to beat being able to experience Australian animals up close and to interact with them. I think we’ll remember our buddies the kangaroos for a long time.

—Special thanks to the Ballarat Regional Tourism office who provided us with a Ballarat Pass.