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Travel Talk
Ports of Australia
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The southernmost of these ports is Melbourne. While Sydney is larger, Melbourne is considered the business and cultural capital of Australia. The city’s skyscrapers form an impressive skyline: a closer look reveals lovely Victorian-style structures and a strong Asian influence, which is most evident in the city’s many parks. Everything you would expect to find in a modern urban area is here – cafes and shops, museums and ethnic neighborhoods. The rambling Queen Victoria Market is fascinating to visit. You may also want to visit some of the waterfront shops and cafes along the Yarra River.
If you arrive at Sydney in daylight, watch from your balcony or an open deck as you approach. You’ll see the magnificent Sydney Opera House, with its sail-like roofs, and you’ll dock beneath the equally famous Sydney Harbor Bridge.
You can stroll the harbor area, pausing along the way to enjoy cafés, art galleries, boutiques, gardens and pubs. You could visit the Sydney Aquarium, the Museum of Contemporary Art, or the Australian National Maritime Museum. If you want to see all of Sydney at once, take a monorail to Sydney Tower, which has an observation platform 1,000 feet up in the air.
Sailing north from Sydney, the next major port is Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. The Brisbane River provides the best way to get around – river ferries and boat services can take you to museums, wildlife parks and historic neighborhoods. If you’d rather stay on dry land while you can, follow the footpaths located on either side of the river to explore the shops and restaurants in the riverfront plazas.
Your ship may continue north to call on Cairns, the starting point for many excursions to the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest structure made by living organisms and home to gorgeous sea life.
From Cairns, you can also take excursions to nearby rainforests, beaches and the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. Or, you can spend a delightful day right in the city: shops, gardens and other attractions are within easy walking distance of the cruise ship dock.
If you think you are only going to make one trip to Australia in your lifetime, it is strongly recommended that you also consider a land tour in conjunction with the cruise. There is so much to see and experience beyond the popular coastal areas. It’s worth some extra time.
Your cruise of Australia may also include port calls in New Zealand, which is near to but amazingly different from Australia.
If a Cruise to Australia has peeked your curiosity and you would like more information, rely on your personal travel experts at Vellinga's Travel / Cruise Holidays 519-352-5150.
Vellinga\'s Travel / Cruise Holidays is a full service travel agency taking great pride in our relationships with our customers. We love travel and cruising, and it is our aim not just to satisfy our customers, but to exceed all their travel planning needs. We have been providing excellent service for over fifty years to the Chatham Kent area.
