travel souvenirs — part 7

I've been twice to Australia over the past four years. Nearly as large in area as the United States, its total population is about the same as Florida.

Australia offers natural beauty to appeal to all travelers. 

• The Great Barrier Reef offers some of the world's most amazing snorkeling.
• The Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Island offer abundant opportunities to witness Australia's marsupials in the wild.
• Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the massive natural outcropping in the very center of the continent, has an almost mystical quality if you visit at sunrise (see my photo below) or sunset. 

The souvenir pictured above is a piece of aboriginal art that our group leader gave me during our Swain Destinations tour in 2016. Claire and I had the chance to visit Uluru in 2019. Do drop in to the art shop in the Visitors Center. While there, I watched an aboriginal artist create a painting in the same style, filling her outline entirely with dots of paint.

Uluru at dawn (c) 2020 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Click here to sign up for the Ourisman Travel Newsletter

copyright (c) 2020 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel,

email me

Australia needs our support

We are all aware of the ongoing bushfires in Australia. They have been all over the news, but it's important to know where they are burning. One of my travel partners, based in North Queensland, writes this:

We are totally unaffected by the bushfires currently causing havoc in the south. We are seeing clients cancelling travel unnecessarily due to media coverage.

Only two areas often visited by international visitors have been affected — Kangaroo Island and the Blue Mountains. 

Sydney, Melbourne and other major cities, Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Rainforest, Great Ocean Road, Winelands, Uluru, the Kimberley and more are unaffected. 

Affected areas — Kangaroo Island is a small island, 100 miles south of Adelaide (I have circled it on the map above). The Wolgan Valley, in the Blue Mountains, is 115 miles west of Sydney.

Unaffected areas — The Great Barrier Reef is 1200 miles north of Sydney. Uluru (Ayers Rock) is 1260 miles west of Sydney. Would you cancel a trip to Chicago, Illinois because of fires burning in Key West, Florida, 1243 miles away?

The fires have been tragic. An estimated one billion animals have perished in the blazes, and their natural habitat has been destroyed. Southern Ocean Lodge has been totally destroyed, but Baillie Lodges is committed to rebuilding.

Australia needs our tourism support to assist in its rebuilding. Don't cancel your trip at a time when it's most needed. Travel instead to areas unaffected by the fires. Australia is a vast nation, virtually the same size as the continental United States ... and a most incredible place to visit.

copyright (c) 2020 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

a postcard from Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Uluru at dawn (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

A postcard from Uluru ... the Aboriginal name for this massive rock formation in the center of Australia. The English settlers called it Ayers Rock, probably the name you know.

The top photo was taken well before dawn. The half hour before the sun actually peaks above the horizon is the most special time to visit. We stood alone in the darkness, watched the sun's glow from below the horizon, and observed the gradual, almost imperceptible brightening of that glow as dawn approached. Once the sun gets above the horizon, the magic is lost as everything is cast in bright light.

Sunset is another popular time to visit Uluru. In the middle of the day, the heat can be oppressive and the harsh, bright light of the sun washes out the colors. As sunset approaches, the low angle of the sun casts golden and then reddish light upon Uluru, creating the ethereal glow you see below.

Uluru at sunset (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Well worth a visit, Longitude 131º is an exclusive resort with luxury tents, each with a view of Uluru. Included in your room rate are all meals, fine wines and cocktails, and excursions to explore the area — mostly at sunrise and sunset. What to do in the middle of the day? Relax by the pool ... or pamper yourself in the Spa. Book through a Virtuoso travel advisor to receive an exclusive resort credit towards your treatment!

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Australia | first time? many times?

I visited Australia earlier this year, but this You Tube video from Tourism Australia has me ready to go back. It's an easy trip with non-stop flights to Sydney from Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas and Honolulu. I was able to use United miles to fly business class on United's Boeing 787 Dreamliner — highly recommended. It's a l-o-n-g flight, but the Dreamliner's lie flat seats, higher air pressure, and diverse entertainment possibilities let me travel in comfort. Just one tip when flying United: bring your own travel pillow, as UA's supplied pillow is too thick and stiff for comfort.

Even better than the flight is the destination. Sydney is a gorgeous city with stunning views. At Wolgan Valley, I saw numerous kangaroos and other marsupials. And nothing surpassed the luxury and sea vistas at Kangaroo Island's Southern Ocean Lodge.

Australia is as large as the United States, and I have two outstanding items on my bucket list — (1) snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and (2) staying at Longitude 131º to see the iconic Uluru.

We will work with you and our travel partners in Australia to orchestrate the bespoke vacation of your dreams. Just drop us an email, and we'll help you Discover More ... Down Under.

copyright (c) 2016 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.