T R AV E L Heading Down Under Eastern Australia is a long way to travel from the UK, but well worth the journey for a family-friendly holiday By Matthew Martin, Log Board member I t was more than a decade ago that I was last in Australia. Visiting again had been on our to do list, but until the children were a bit older, it was on hold. One of my brothers moved back there when he got sick of cold UK winters and the early-morning drudge, replacing them with early-morning surfs before work. It sounded good, so we decided to book a trip and check out what life Down Under is really like. Melbourne, Victoria We flew with China Airlines, changing in Taipei, and I was very impressed; they have new A350s and it was comfortable enough in economy. We arrived in Melbourne the week of the Australian Grand Prix, so it was busier and noisier than usual. It was also extremely hot, with temperatures well into the 30s. We visited St Kilda Beach, Luna Park and Southbank from our hotel in the central business district. The free tram around the city was a great way to get around. A highlight was the Eureka Tower: a 975ft skyscraper named after the Eureka Stockade, a rebellion that happened during the 1854 Victorian Gold Rush. It is a very interesting building, with a 360 view of Melbourne from its 88thfloor observation deck, and a restaurant on the level above in the evenings. Something I found particularly interesting was a glass cube called The Edge, which extends out from the building by 3m; being inside it is a rather scary experience. Initially, all the glass is opaque and you cant see out. Then there is a cracking noise and you feel the box moving before all of the glass suddenly turns transparent. You are now looking directly down onto the street. Thankfully, there is a hand rail to hang on to as you nervously shuffle along for a photograph. I was certainly glad when the box moved back into the building and was safe on level 88. Nevertheless, it is a great viewing experience by which to see this amazing a city, the population of which has increased 24 per cent over the past 10 years. Its now only around 200,000 behind that of Sydney, and likely to overtake it in the next decade. Melbourne also has around 750 high-rise buildings, 77 of which are defined as skyscrapers. I am more a countryside person, though, so the next three weeks of our trip were spent in rural Queensland much more my idea of a holiday. Crikey! Its Australia Zoo We spent quite a few days on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, enjoying beach trips, surfing and playing late-night tennis in the heat. The children had seen a few kangaroos (but hadnt seen one bounce), so we went to the world-famous Australia Zoo, created by the naturalist Steve Irwin. We stayed in a Crocodile Hunter Lodge, which was great. Its located in the zoo and has many (friendly) animals surrounding it. On check-in, we saw two great pythons thankfully behind a thick glass screen which is something new for me in a hotel reception. The Lodge was very comfortable, and we had a pleasant dinner the night before the visit. The 25m infinity pool was superb: warm with great views, and a great start to a long day. We enjoyed watching kangaroos, koalas and emus while being served a poolside breakfast. The zoo itself was nothing short of amazing. The 700-acre park is well structured into different sections, such as Africa, which has elephants, giraffes, rhinos, zebras and meerkats, among others. Tiger Temple has Bengal tigers and a daily show, when they are fed by handlers. This section was built to resemble the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, and includes an underwater viewing area. Of course, all the native Australian animals were there, too: snakes, turtles, wallabies, reptiles, wombats, dragons, Tasmanian devils, and many 52 THE LOG Autumn 24 pp52-55 Aus.indd 52 13/11/2024 14:43