Trip to Australia March 4 to April 3, 2014
TRIP TO AUSTRALIA MARCH 4 TO APRIL 3, 2014 We timed this trip so that we'd be in Australia at the beginning of their fall season, reasoning that had we come two months earlier we would have experienced some of the most brutal summer weather that the continent had ever known. Temperatures over 40°C (104°F) were common in the cities that we planned to visit: Sydney (in New South Wales), Melbourne* (in Victoria), and Adelaide (in South Australia); and _____________________________________________________________ *Melbourne, for example, had a high of 47°C (117°F) on January 21; and several cities in the interior regions of NSW, Vic, and SA had temperatures of about 50°C (122°F) during Decem ber-January. _______________________________________________________________ there were dangerous brush fires not far from populated areas. As it turned out, we were quite fortunate: typical daily highs were around 25°C (although Adelaide soared to 33°C several days after we left it) and there were only a couple of days of rain. In m y earlier travelogs, I paid tribute to m y wife for her brilliant planning of our journey. So it was this time as well. In the months leading up to our departure, we (i.e., Lee) did yeoman (yeowoman? yo, woman?) work in these areas: (1) deciding which regions of Australia to visit; (2) scouring web sites, in consultation with the travel agency Southern Crossings, for suitable lodging; (3) negotiating with Southern Crossings (with the assistance of Stefan Bisciglia of Specialty Cruise and Villas, a fam ily-run travel agency in Gig Harbor) concerning city and country tours, tickets to events, advice on sights, etc.; and (4) reading several web sites and travel books.
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