Australia has to be one of the most unique travel destinations in the world. Excluding Antarctica, Australia is the driest, least-inhabited, and most remote continent on the planet. Even in the age of modern air transportation, traveling to Australia is a sizable ordeal from anywhere in the world outside of New Zealand. Australia's geological isolation from the rest of the world's major landmasses led to the evolution of all sorts of plant and animal species not found anywhere else, most famously represented in the form of kangaroos and koalas and the like. The people of Australia have developed their own singular identity as well, formed from a combination of the original aboriginal inhabitants blended together with colonists from the British Isles and more recent arrivals from China and India. Australia is a place of immense open spaces, and the frontier ethos of the early settler population still permeates the country despite the fact that almost everyone lives in a handful of urban locations along the coast. Many people dream of visiting Australia even if the high cost of transoceanic travel puts it out of their reach.
Liz and I were fortunate enough to be able to vacation in Australia in 2019 for our honeymoon trip. We had been married earlier that year at the end of March, and delayed the honeymoon trip for a few months until it would line up with the quieter summer season for our jobs. Of course, late summer for us in the northern hemisphere would mean late winter during this trip to the southern hemisphere, and the weather would end up being quite chilly throughout much of our stay. We were able to line up a long series of fantastic experiences for this trip as we explored the eastern coast of the continent: cuddling koalas and feeding kangaroos in Brisbane, diving on the Great Barrier Reed off Cairns, touring the opera house and climbing Tower Bridge in Sydney, hiking in the Blue Mountains, exploring the government buildings in Canberra, and watching a parade of penguins near Melbourne. Although we weren't able to visit Perth, Tasmania, or the Outback, this was still an incredible journey that we were fortunate enough to enjoy together.
As usual, the pages that follow contain some of the pictures and stories that we accumulated along the way. We hope you enjoy seeing them!
