"My first time in the land of Oz won't be... " a Australia Travel Page by WestCoast79

My friend, his sister and I decided to take advantage of Spring break and some money we'd saved up. My friends other sister was in Australia studying abroad in Adelaide, so we decided to take a trip to Oz and see what all the fuss was about.

As soon as our flight from Los Angeles to Sydney touched down, we immediately got back on a smaller jet and flew north, to Cairns which is a tropical climate, home to the rain forest and the Great Barrier Reef.

My friend had a family friend living in Melbourne, which was vastly different from Cairns and much different from Sydney, too, as I would later find out. In Melbourne we were able to stay with our friend, so we could spend our money on lavish meals and whatnot.

Melbourne's temperature was much more moderate than Cairn's hot, humid tropical climate, and a bit more overcast than Sydney. Melbourne reminded me more of a European or Canadian city, where as Sydney reminded me more of San Diego + San Francisco.

It was a very cool city. If you start to tire of the beachy, surfy atmosphere of many of Australia locales, Melbourne will be a nice change for you. Great shops and restaurants, too.

We visited my friend's sister at her school in Adelaide, staying in a hotel nearby. The next two nights would be full of collegiate drinking (I love Australian beer! COOPERS!) and getting to know the locals. Great dining in that city as well.

We took a little road trip to wine country and really had a relaxing couple of days.

Then it was on to Sydney for the last leg of our trip. Flying in over the bay and thousands of inlets and waterways, I decided that Sydney was the most beautiful city I had ever seen to date. Its lush, hilly, full of great architecture, waterways, night life and great dining. We stayed at Bondi Beach, and finished our trip eating, drinking and taking pictures. We also took a bike tour of Sydney.