NSW - Terrigal and other places
From: The National Health Service in Scotland
In Britain, I live a reasonable life. In Australia I lived a life of my dreams for a year.

I lived in Terrigal a beautiful beach town one hour from Sydney, and owned a surf board. I would wake up on a morning off and if the surf looked good from my balcony, would call my surf buddy, Susan, a colleague. Barefoot, with little more than my purse, keys and board, I would walk 4 mins down hill and meet at the beach. 2 - 3 hrs later and thoroughly exhilarated we would lunch at one of many lovely cafes and often accompanied by fresh-squeezed juice - orange, carrot and ginger being the best I found.

Really sporty people find adventure sports wherever they are, but people like me who can go months without exerting themselves, but love it when they do will get so much from Oz. Activity and the outdoors are on your doorstep from the minute your plane lands.

I was told by an enthusiastic new friend soon after my arrival in Oz that the best things he'd done were:

*THE WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS, QUEENSLAND

*TWIN AND JIM JIM FALLS IN KAKADU NATIONAL PARK NEAR DARWIN

I agree with him that these are fantastic places to go. I had 3 wonderful holidays during my year of work:-

1/ Up the east coast, starting with the Whitsundays, 3 days on the SOLWAY LASS with SOUTHERN CROSS COMPANY. Moving on to Cairns and from there spending a day out at sea scuba diving with the biggest and most colourful fish I have ever seen. You must see the size of the mowri wrasse. It is awesome. A day in the Atherton tablelands where with ON THE WALLABY backpacker lodge I saw DUCK BILLED PLATYPUS in the wild! And a day up to Cape Tribulation, the beach which is framed by tumbling green jungle. For a backpacker lodge in Cairns you cannot beat TROPIC DAYS for comfort homeliness and helping you find the best days out.

2/Through the 'Red Centre' of Ayers Rock (ULURU), The Olgas and the Kings Canyon, and up to Kakadu National Park via hot humid Darwin. This was a HOT HOT trip excepting the ice cold night in swags (sleeping bags in a canvas foam lined bag) at Ayers Rock area. Kakadu is the land of crocodiles and wonderful lakes and rivers to swim in. It has to be seen. It is awesome. As are lots of the other nat parks there I have been told.

3/Victoria and a quick dash into South Australia for wine tasting. Melbourne was OK but sea lovers will prefer Sydney any day. I went inland in Victoria and experienced the bush. Beautiful, desolate and full of kangaroo herds jumping and jumping into the distance. The Great Ocean Road is a short scenic drive which you should allow a day for, and enjoy the

magnificent site of the 12 Apostles, stacks jutting from the ocean. Further up coast I joined a group galloping along a long golden sand beach, the horses running through the breaking waves. Here too I saw koalas in the wild. I was amazed by new and different wildlife wherever I went, but even so I was taken aback to find a baby penguin on the beach!

Holidays aside, my one year in New South Wales was a dream year of wonderful sunsets daily, weekends in Sydney, and road trips to a host of idyllic/active/fun places. Even in my flat which I shared with 3 Dr colleagues I only had to glance out the window to admire the most beautiful beach, and perhaps see a rainbow coloured parrot perching on my surf board!

It is 9 months since I left and I yearn for that country of beauty and outdoor exhilaration. You MUST visit. There is something for everyone and it is more than I had dared hope it would be.

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