Where should you visit when you travel Down Under?

My first visit to Australia, nearly twenty years ago took me to the west coast of Australia and the lovely city of Adelaide. Since school I had dreamed about seeing the Koalas and kangaroos along with visiting some of the most iconic places on earth - Adelaide as a start point certainly didn't disappoint. We stayed with friends for the first part of our trip and made the most of all of their local knowledge. We visited local wineries in the Adelaide Hills and a local wildlife centre where I got to feed the kangaroos It was awesome. These huge creatures eating out of your hand - something the locals were far less excited about I have to say!! After catching up with friends in Adelaide ( much of the time spent avoiding the local delicacy of kangaroo - never quite understood why all our friends thought I would have an overwhelming desire to eat Skippy - a childhood friend) we set off on our adventure to travel the Great Ocean Road between Adelaide and Sydney. We stayed at Port Fairy, saw the twelve Apostles, visited  various parks en-route (I spent hours looking for Koalas and was delighted to spot one and then another and then another........), we say Wedge Tail Eagles and the most amazing bird life. We visited a blow hole and stayed in some lovely places. We only had a week so we didn't get to spend much time in Melbourne but it looked great as we drove through LOL........ Our time in Oz was really limited and we had just seven days to meet friends in Sydney. Our road adventures would fill a few blogs but with limited time I'll fill you in on Sydney. This is an amazing city. Getting around on foot, boat and train means that you have the opportunity to see a lot in short space of time. The design of the Opera House is spectacular. It's a warm and soft building and it literally takes your breath away (and the ice cream purchased nearby wasn't bad either I remember!!). We visited the waterfront - Darling harbour, shopped, went to see the surfing at Manly and did lot's more in a very short space of time. I want to go back in the not to distant future but next time I want to really explore Sydney and not just scratch the surface. On a more recent trip we travelled even further afield and made it to Tasmania. Hobart and Launceston are both well worth a visit but I will keep my Tasmanian Adventures for another blog and another day........ Another city well worth a visit was Brisbane - great beach, fab casino, lovely restaurants and such a laid back attitude to life. If I had been a bit younger I would have considered becoming a surfer dude (not sure what the female name would be!!) for a season - this place with it's sunshine and holiday feel felt like a very welcome taste of what a real holiday should feel like! When I visit Oz again I will be heading north to Darwen and all the delights that the North has to offer. Watch out for more about Tassie and of course my Crocodile Dundee type adventure when I make it to Kakadu!!