Initially, I hatched the idea to take a trip to Australia back in 1992, thanks to one of my eccentric teachers Mrs. Fraley, who designed our entire school year around her love of The Land Down under, from science units on the life cycles of marsupials, to traditional folklore myths and songs, to geography lessons about the Outback and what was known, at the time, as Ayer’s Rock. (She even took us to Outback Steakhouse, although I now know that place is anything but Australian!)
On account of being young (and very middle-class) at the time, it took me exactly 20 years to take my first trip to Australia, where I saw koalas and kangaroos up-close, traipsed through the red sands of the Outback, ate real Australian food and hummed along to “Waltzing Matilda” the first time I heard it. I’m eager to return to Australia to cover the vast amounts of the country I missed during the six weeks I spent there, but for now, use my pictures are inspiration to plan your own trip to Australia.
Robert Schrader is a travel writer and photographer who’s been roaming the world independently since 2005, writing for publications such as “CNNGo” and “Shanghaiist” along the way. His blog, Leave Your Daily Hell, provides a mix of travel advice, destination guides and personal essays covering the more esoteric aspects of life as a traveler.
