Down Under by Jayant Doshi

(A report of a trip to Australia and New Zealand with Bhagini ) On a cold Sunday of 4th February 2007 at 8.30 in the morning, forty five enthusiastic travellers boarded a coach at Harrow Leisure Centre to take them to Gatwick airport to catch a long flight to Melbourne in Australia. The meticulously planned trip by Bhagini as usual started with a packed lunch being provided to each traveller, and that little box became a blessing for many

since the airline had made a mistake and only half the passengers got a vegetarian meal which had been ordered. After a stop over in Dubai and Singapore, the long flight landed on Tuesday early morning in Melbourne. The distance and the time

difference meant that we literally skipped a day on our way to Australia. But the twenty two hour journey, and the eleven hour time difference might have ruffled most of the group members, but they were still in high spirits when we landed in Australia. Melbourne, with a population of 3.6 million, is a very well planned city on a grid basis, has wide roads, and some impressive and outstanding architecture in its buildings. Melbourne, like England, has four weathers in a day, and lot of greenery though right now Australia has been suffering from drought for the past decade. It was a free day for us, but most of the members of the group decided to catch up on the lost sleep. Our hotel was right in the middle of the city, and that gave us an opportunity to explore the surrounding areas. There were restaurants of various nationalities, and as is to be

expected, the China town was nearby too. We took a circular bus and train ride and had a glimpse of the city life. The central city circular service was free and lots of locals and tourists were taking advantage of this wonderful service. The city seemed in very good state, clean and neat and well looked after. The buildings, which ranged from colonial style to ultra modern, were impressive to look and well maintained. Many of the modern buildings had lovely sculptures decorating their fronts. The city, and for that matter the country, shows its loyalty and ties with home country by adopting names of British royalty and early

explorers for naming its streets and locations. Melbourne has been voted as the best city to live in, the city of sport lovers and as the safest city; and during our short stay we could say that we would agree with those awards without any reservations. Next morning we started our sightseeing by first visiting Sovereign Hill, once a bustling gold mining town, but now a replica of the life in 1850’s is captured in a museum. Our lunch was to be a picnic on the shores of a lovely lake, but when we reached there we were told that the drought and the global warming had taken toll of the lake. The huge lake, once filled with clear blue

waters, was devoid of a drop of water when we reached the shores of the lake area. We were then taken down the gold mine. Later we went on top of the Rialto Towers, which is the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the

southern hemisphere and is well known for its unique design and glass façade. We had a panoramic view of the city from the top of the towers. The day finished with a dinner followed by a game of bingo. Travelling in a large group has its advantages. Long flights and coach journeys become pleasant with jokes and songs, with talking and laughing, with friendships built and bonds made. Meal times had lot of chattering and talking going on, and laughter was a common scene. Evenings after dinner became show time with sing-a-long, jokes and games.

We had the fortune of having some talented people who made the trip jovial and pleasant with well prepared jokes and entertainment, which was there at every point in time when members of the group were feeling sleepy or bored. Next day we had a tour of the city, and the guide highlighted the main features of the city, and pointed out some of the important buildings. The wide roads, and the lovely architecture made Melbourne a very impressive modern city. We were then taken for a tour of the world famous Melbourne Cricket grounds. We were given a conducted tour of the grounds and the stadium buildings. With a capacity of 98000 seats, and the turf quality of the highest standards, the grounds pride in its maintenance and quality of management. It caters for various ball games, and it can be adapted and changed from one game to the other in matter of hours. The grass looks like velvet spread on the ground, and we were told that the turf on the grounds cost a million dollars. Inside the buildings we saw

photos of famous cricketers and statutes of the most famous. Even the old seats from the past stadium have been exhibited on the walls. After lunch, we were given some time for shopping, and in the evening we were taken to Phillips Island. The island is famous for its penguins. The penguins come out of the water at night only, and as such we were taken to the island when we could view these little creatures walk out of the water. But it was enchanting to watch the calm waters of the ocean, and suddenly to see a penguin coming out from nowhere and walking on to the sands. It was a lovely sight, though not as exciting as we

anticipated, nor did we see hoards of penguins coming out of water as we expected.

Melbourne was cloudy and cool; but our flight to Cairns took us to hot sunny weather. Cairns is a small laid back town with easy going life. While south east suffers from severe drought, this part of Australia gets enough rain to make it lush with greenery. The cable car ride over the rain forests of Kuranda, with waterfalls cascading from its steep slopes, was the highlight of the day. The forest, a preserved area, was covered with thick growth of trees. Later we walked through a small town, with shops displaying wonderful aboriginal and other paintings. Our night stay was in a resort spread over a few

hundred acres with three lovely swimming pools, and lots of greenery. We took advantage of the swimming pools to cool us down before we left for dinner. Dinner was followed by a display of a cultural show by the aboriginal people. Their music and some dances were presented which, however, did not impress most of us. The show was followed by a display of fireworks. The aborigine shout of “piri piri” was copied by one of our group members very effectively, and entertained us with the shout many a times during the trip. This part of the Australian coast is known as the famous Great Barrier Reef, and is listed as a world heritage site. Great Barrier Reef is considered as one of the wonders of the world. It is the largest area of ocean with corals and hence its importance as world heritage site. We took a catamaran to go to Green Island. Some of us did swimming and snorkelling in the ocean. After lunch we had a ride in a submarine, followed by a ride in a glass bottom boat. The ocean bed is filled with variety of corals and fish, and we had good

sighting on our submarine and boat trip. Compared to the corals we saw in the Red Sea, I was not much impressed with the corals here, though I believe there was a lot more to see which we could not manage in a day. Next day was a free day. We started the day with yoga in the open ground. Morning passed away relaxing and swimming. After lunch we walked around the shops, and later saw a movie. After dinner we had group games and fun. Next morning we did yoga in a room, and spent the morning swimming. Later we flew to Brisbane, and were straight taken to

Tangalooma island. The highlight of the day was watching the dolphins being fed at night. These dolphins come out of the ocean in the dark only, and are fed by the tourists under the guidance of trainers and experts. It rained whole night. I decided to wake early and take a walk on the beach. However due to a mix up on the alarm, I woke up and went for the walk, not realising that it was midnight. However, it was a pleasant walk in the cool of the night. Today we had a tour of the island, and the highlight was going to be “skiing” on sand dunes, but due to rains previous night we were deprived of this pleasure. Instead we walked up the sand dunes, and had some fun doing so. On our return, I took advantage of a swim in the ocean. After lunch, it was raining heavily and we had to restrict ourselves to a game of cards. Later that afternoon, we left for Gold Coast, and passed through the city of Brisbane with a population of 1.3 million. The city faces severe water shortages, and that seemed to be the plight of most of Australia. Our night stay was in a very large resort in the Gold Coast.

It was Valentine’s Day today, and every member of the group woke to find a unanimous Valentine card. At breakfast, everyone exchanged Valentine Day wishes, and some were trying to work out who could have sent those cards. Our day was to be spent in the Movie World, which is based on similar theme as Disney world and other such theme parks. We experienced and had a look into the magic, fantasy and escapism of movie making. There were rides to suit every taste, and some of the shows were enthralling. Every

one enjoyed the day in one’s own way. Some of us spent time swimming while others rested before the Valentine night dinner which ended with some singing and jokes.

Next morning we had a tour in an amphibian bus. Firstly, we had an hour of sighting of rich and famous people’s magnificent houses along the broad water area. Then the amphibian bus went into the sea, sailed around for a while, and then gave us a taste of duck diving by splashing into the water. Rest of the day was spent at sea world with its numerous shows. The highlights were the dolphin show, skiing show and the 4-D show which was remarkable. Having completed the first phase of our

Australia tour, we took an early morning flight to Auckland, the capital of New Zealand in the north Island. New Zealand, consisting of two islands, has a population of four million only, with 1.5 million living in the capital city of Auckland. From rain deprived, drought

stricken dry atmosphere of Australia, New Zealand was a total contrast with lush greenery all around. The flight time was not that long, but because of the time difference (3 hours), our day just passed in travelling. From the Auckland airport, we drove through the city covered with trees all around, and greenery that was pleasing to the eyes. We had a hill top view of the city. Our hotel was located near a lovely park near the sea. The residences had some lovely features and designs. Auckland, we understood, has a large Indian population and a few temples. Some of us went for an early morning walk in the

park and along the sea, and we saw the giant Queen Mary liner docked in the ocean with a large crowd of spectators. Next morning we had a tour of the city which included the Harbour Bridge, the War Memorial Museum and the Sky Tower. From the top of the sixty floors high Sky Tower, we had a panoramic view of the city. The museum had some living artefacts, and the area of the museum was so huge that even a few days will not be enough to give it justice. We drove to our next destination and passed the richest and largest inland city of Hamilton. As the population is so small and land plentiful, the size of farms is enormous. On route we saw huge farms with lush green crops. We visited the limestone caves of Waitomo which is famous for the glow worms. We had a boat ride in the canal in the caves, and we saw the ceiling of the caves covered with glow worms which glowed like stars in the sky.

Our overnight stay was at Rotura on the shores of a lake. This area is over a volcanic plateau which is dormant now; and famous for the steam and hot water springs that come out of the volcanic activity underground. The hotel had pools with actual hot water from these hot water springs. The water containing sulphur is meant to be beneficial for the skin. Every one took advantage of this facility in the few hours we were spending in that hotel. The visit to the world famous sheep show at Agrodome was the programme for the next day. Besides the sheep shearing show and a tour of the farm, the farm had an

array of amazing adventure activities. However, we were not given any free time to enjoy the same, and I am not sure many besides myself, would have been interested in those activities. After lunch we visited the geothermal volcanic area, which have huge reserves of thermal springs. One could witness boiling water and steam gushing out from the ground. We had the afternoon free. During our walk in the area we saw hot water and steam coming out of many houses and gardens. We later called others to come and see the same. The water was extremely hot and could burn ones skin even if a drop was to come in contact with the skin. Next morning, on our walk we saw a place offering mud bath and we took advantage of the same. Everyone was jealous and angry that they did not get a chance to experience the same. Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world, is situated on a huge lake, and its natural beauty is stunning. The area is famous for its lakes, fjords, water sports and bungee jumping. However, the itinerary did not allow much time to see or enjoy all this. We reached Queenstown in the evening and were leaving the town in the morning, which did not allow someone like me to try hand gliding or free air drop. However, after dinner we had the opportunity to visit the famous Minus 5 bar. The bar, size of a normal sized bed room, is made totally of ice, with table, counter

and shelves and some sculptures, all made of ice. Each visitor, with a warm coat and gloves, is allowed thirty minutes, and given one drink. The drink is served in glasses made of ice, which the customer smashes in a dust bin before leaving the bar. It was a totally unique and unusual experience for us all. Franz Josef glacier descends to just 250 metres above sea level amidst the greenery and lushness of a temperate rainforest. The plan was to take a

helicopter ride to see Mt. Cook region. But the travel from Queenstown to Franz Josef took much longer than anticipated, or perhaps it was a bungling of the itinerary planning. The trip to Franz Josef was interrupted by a stop at a gold mining town of Haast, and we stopped to watch a water fall with stunning scenery. But these stops, which many did not find worth visiting, meant that we were too late for the helicopter ride. While most of the group members were reeling in disappointment, some of us walked right to the mouth of the glacier, and took some stunning photos. We all woke up early in the morning so

that we could do our postponed helicopter ride. However, luck was not with us as all the flights were cancelled due to thick mist and rain. Our journey to Christchurch was arranged in a train ride that would take us through the beautiful scenery that is New Zealand. The Trans Alpine train rails have been cut

through Alpine mountains that result in nineteen tunnels that we pass during our journey. We pass through lush greenery, mountains, rivers, lakes and valleys that represent the enchanting beauty of the country. In Christchurch, our first visit was to what is termed as Antarctic experience. All the major nations of the world cooperate on research and preservation of the continent of Antarctic, and the headquarters are based here in Christchurch. All the expeditions, and the research, are planned here and they start from here. A replica of

the conditions in Antarctic is created so that millions who cannot actually travel there can experience it here. Firstly we were given a taste of travel in Antarctic by being driven in snow plough tractors which are actually used in Antarctica. Then we were taken inside the centre where they have created the conditions and atmosphere as they are in Antarctica – the snow, the gusting winds, the cold and even the penguins. We were given winter coats and gloves to withstand the cold and face the winds. It was a wonderful experience, and the thought occurred that we should have our next holiday cruising Antarctica. Of course, it would be difficult to travel on land in Antarctica for many of us, but a cruise ship that would show the beauty of the glaciers, the water falls, and the snow covered land would be a sight worth seeing, and certainly different from all the man made cities we have been holidaying so far. The city tour included some lovely flower gardens that sent all the cameras clicking frantically and poses being set amidst the colourful flowers.

I tried to book balloon ride for some of the group members, but no spaces were available. I booked a sky dive for myself, and got ready in the morning with all the excitement and trepidation in my mind. However, after waiting past the given time, I was informed that the sky dive had been cancelled due to bad weather. We flew to Sydney that evening. Our trip started with the usual coughs and colds, and minor ailments ever since we left London, but overall everyone was in good health on this trip. However, when we reached on the last leg of our trip, on our flight from Christchurch to Sydney, one member of the group collapsed in the plane, causing

panic for a while, but then it did not seem as bad as it appeared at first. However on reaching Sydney, the member had to be admitted to hospital. Being a week end she was kept in hospital for three days, though it was later found that she was suffering from nothing serious. I have been on many Bhagini trips over the years, planned meticulously by the enthusiastic Bhagini committee members, and arranged with some tour company. Success of such trips depends a lot on the manager of the tour, who executes the planning that has been put onto paper. If this tour can be classed as successful, then all the credit goes to the tour manager. When the news came that the tour manager was a lady from India, there were faces made amongst the tour members and specially the committee members. When we first met her, she seemed harsh and aloof. But then over the days during the tour, we found that she was the most caring, well informed and thorough tour manager we had ever experienced. She made sure that everyone was looked after at meal times and that everyone enjoyed and saw all that was worth seeing, and she persuaded those who would not go on rides or shows to do so. She took care of each and every group member, and ensured that no one was left out or ignored. She was well informed and well prepared for all the sights we had to see each

day. It was a pleasure to have a tour manager who complied with her duties so thoroughly, and who was so caring for each and everyone. When one of the group members was admitted to hospital, she went and saw the patient twice a day. She even asked her sister, who lived in Sydney, to sit with the patient for one whole day. After a whirlwind tour of the city, we were taken to the botanical gardens. We had a fixed time appointment to have a conducted tour of world famous Sydney

Opera House, but some of the group members got lost in the botanical gardens, and the tour manager had to leave them behind and take the rest of the group instead of missing the booking. We stayed behind to find those who were lost, whom we found after a while. The coach came to pick us up, and the tour manager had arranged specially to ensure that we do not miss out on the tour of the Sydney Opera House. The planning of the marvellous Sydney Opera House began in 1956 and lasted three years. The construction, which started then, lasted till 1973. It has five auditoriums. We were given a chance to sing in the famous auditorium, and some

ladies took advantage of the same. Continuing our Sydney tour, we visited the Harbour Bridge and the Rocks. We stopped at the famous Darling Harbour. Our visit to the Sydney Tower, and a panoramic view of

Sydney from the top of the tower was breath taking. We visited the aquarium with a walkway built under the huge water pool which contained sharks and fishes of various varieties. The boat ride and the show in the aquarium did not impress us at all. Weather again spoilt our ride to the famous Blue Mountains as we missed all the stunning scenery due to thick mist and fog. However, the world’s only train ride into the valley which travels at 45 degrees compensated for our loss. The valley has well built paths and bridges and we took a

walk in the thick forest in the valley. We had a cable car ride followed by an amazing film show which realistically portrayed as if we all were riding a helicopter all over Australia. The mountain is covered with many caves, but we had time to visit only one cave, namely Chiefly caves. But the walk through those caves was fascinating, and the various formations of rocks and limestone were impressive. The abnormal rock formations were focused by lights being thrown on them, and photos could be taken of those abnormal structures of nature. Next two days were free days for us. The walk on the rounded arch of Sydney Harbour Bridge looked daunting from the ground, but I decided to try it. And based on my presence, eleven ladies and one gentleman decided to join me. The bridge was built between 1924 and 1932. The walking on the top of the bridge started in 1998, and now that walk is almost like an industry employing hundreds of people, and creating revenues in millions. I was

told that between 500 and 1000 people walked the bridge everyday. A group of up to 12 left every ten minutes. During summer months, walking on the bridge is open twenty four hours a day. Most of the group was not sure what to expect, and fears of failure to walk or aching legs was common. We were dressed in special suits, that would withstand any winds or rain, and every item on our body was removed. Even caps and handkerchiefs were properly tied. After some training instructions, we started our walk. There were plenty of stops all along, and of course photos were

taken by the guide as our cameras were not allowed. We had a belt with a hook that fixed on the side of the railings so that there was no question of falling or tripping during the walk. After a few flights of steep steps, we came to the semicircular arch of the bridge. This part, from the ground, seems the most difficult, but in reality that was the easiest to walk. At last, we did complete the walk, and everyone was ecstatic. Photos of the success and our smiles, and the hair fluttering in the strong winds, were captured in the camera by our guide. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and an achievement everyone could be proud of. The evening finished with a gala dinner, where jokes were told and songs sung and everyone enjoyed the jovial spirit of the group. This was our last night of the trip, and good byes were exchanged with promises of keeping in touch. Next morning, the day we were flying back, was free for us all but I booked a free fall from

a plane from a height of 14000 ft, but in tandem, and this time I was excited and determined that I will go through with it. I went to the office, and I, together with three others, was taken to a remote air field outside the city. There we learnt that there was some delay and we will have to wait. We were four of us, all from various European countries, sat there partly excited and partly worried, but all determined to go through with the experience. Then we were dressed up in suits and given preliminary instructions. It seemed as if the time for the experience was approaching fast. We waited and

waited. Few phone calls were made, and ultimately we were told that the plane had mechanical problems and our trip had been cancelled. There was disappointment on every face and I knew that I had missed my last chance to experience this wonderful sport. We

were taken back to the city and I joined the rest of the group at lunch. We spent the afternoon walking around the sea side and the shopping along there. Later in the afternoon we were driven to the airport. Our flight took us to Bangkok, where those going to India, disembarked. Then our flight landed in Dubai where another group disembarked to spend a few days there. Rest came back to London. It was a satisfying and pleasant holiday, though the two countries have so much to see that the trip seemed too short. But, as usual, Bhagini maintained its reputation of

a well planned and executed trip. (If you wish to trip photos then email to : jubhai@aol.com) – website www.jayantdoshi.yolasite.com) Not for publication without permission.