Now this is more like it. I flew from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast in the morning, arriving just after lunch. Despite the name, it was overcast, but still warmer than it was in the south, which is a definite improvement. A 15-minute shuttle ride later and I am at my hotel to check in. This place was recommended by one of the locals and is much more a condo than a hotel (so no maid service, but a full kitchen, bedroom and living room).

Just across the street is Coolum Beach, and as beaches go, it is amongst the best I have ever seen. Its at least eighty yards wide and stretches for miles towards Noosa in the north. I can’t resist taking off my shoes to feel the sand, which is the fine powder sort that squeaks under your feet. Even though it’s Sunday, there are only a handful of people as far as the eye can see.

Over the next few days (all of which are sunny and warm), I get to mix some business with a bit of pleasure as one of my business partners offers to show me around the area. Compared to the bigger cities I have come from, this area is downright rural. It swells a bit with tourists in the summer, but in the off-season, the whole area totals less than a half million people. I’m told though that it is the fastest growing area of Australia as the general population ages and retirees leave the cities in search of warmer climes.

In my original schedule, I had left a full day empty to try and do a short excursion, debating between Steve Irwin’s zoo and Fraser Island (a 90 mile long island a bit north of here comprised complete of sand that is supposed to make for an interesting). The Great Barrier Reef is still a bit north of here so that one has to wait for a future trip for sure. Unfortunately, this are a little chaotic back at the office, which appears set to keep me tied to the laptop instead.

With my flight back to Seattle starting on Friday, for the most part I’ve seen pretty much all I’m going to see here. It’s not a lot, but I guess will be something to start with when I have the chance to come on an actual vacation. From the limited time I’ve had here, there is enough to let me know I need to come back one day, and with my regular travel partner back in the mix (the word on the street is that we might also have some bushy-haired company) we can definitely get a little further off the beaten path.

Following a day of meetings and an early morning flight, my next stop is Melbourne. I have more meetings the day I arrive, but the next day is Saturday, so a free day to take a look around. My only exposure to Melbourne is an episode of No Reservations, which hasn’t given me a whole lot to go on, and of course, it is further south so a bit cooler even than Sydney.

I found a hotel called the Charsworth a few minutes south of downtown in an area called St. Kilda. It is near the pier and the beach, so close to a lot of cafes and restaurants provided you walk the right direction (which I didn’t the first night and ended up eating at McDonald’s). The hotel itself is a converted manor house, part of an eclectic mix of old Victorian buildings and new glass and steel construction that co-exist side by side throughout the city.

With my internal clock still a little off (and I admit I’m not trying too hard to convert completely to Australia time since I am not here that long), I am wide-awake a little after 5am. After catching up on a bit of email, I jump on the tram that runs in front of the hotel up to the Victoria Market. This is one of the few open markets I have seen outside of the third world, and is like Pike Place on severe steroids. There are hundreds of stalls selling fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, clothes, and most interesting to me, tasty snacks. I partake of a breakfast bratwurst and spend an hour or two just wandering around the market.

The rest of the morning I pick my way slowly back to the hotel, watching the rowers on the river, passing by the old Olympic stadium, and cutting through the gigantic botanical gardens. Like Sydney, Melbourne seems like a fairly pleasant city, and even on a Saturday, nowhere I go is very crowded.

After a few hours recharging at the hotel, I head back into St. Kilda to see the beach and find a place to eat. Down by the pier, I learn that Australia has penguins (who knew?) that have built nests in the various crevices in the rock seawall. I try to get a few pictures on my cell phone, but I suspect they will look like pictures of holes than anything else.

I’m back to the airport again in the morning to fly up to the Sunshine Coast (near Brisbane). It will be my last stop before heading home, but is also the one place where I have built in a few days to just enjoy some time here.

Much to my chagrin, this trip to Australia isn’t for vacation, but given it is my first time here, I figured it was worth dedicating at least a little ink to. I am without my faithful travel buddy as well, something she is not thrilled about since Australia is high on her list of places to visit. I did try to sell it as an opportunity to check the place out so I knew what places to see when we came together, but I don’t think she really bought it.

The flight over was on Qantas on an A380, my first experience with both the carrier and the aircraft. Aside from the length (about 15 hours), all was good and we touched down in Sydney around 6:30am, just it time to see the sun rise. The early arrival works out in my favor as passport control is pretty much empty and I sail right through.

From the airport, the metro train connects right into downtown Sydney, and having not been to a big city yet where that option doesn’t prove far quicker are more cost effective, I hop on for the 15 minute ride to the central business district where my hotel is. Since Ang is not with me, my accommodation choices extend a bit further that Sheraton’s, and I come up with a place called the Great Southern Hotel, which ends up being about 2 blocks from the main train terminal. It’s way too early for check-in, so I leave my bag and decide to explore downtown a little.

The first thing I notice about Sydney is that it is much colder than I had expected. It’s going into winter of course, but somehow I still pictured it being fairly warm and pleasant. It turns out that the temperature this time of year is really not much different than Seattle, and while that means I’m still quite comfortable in a light coat, the locals have broken out the wool coats and knit caps. Logically I can get my head around it, but still, in my vision of Australia I never imagined they even owned such things.

The next shock to my system is the cost of things here. It’s probably less noticeable if you have lived here all along, but with the weakness of the US Dollar of late, prices have far more in common with Europe than North America. After checking in, I stop at donair stand for lunch, with the only real difference between the meal I had here and the one a week ago in Cairo being the 1,000% increase in price (oh, and this one came with fries).

With nothing on the agenda for the day, I spend the rest of it wandering through town, seeing the sights like the Opera House, the bridge over the harbor, and the old town. Of the parts I see, it is a very pleasant and walkable city. People seem generally healthier (for a Wednesday afternoon there are a tremendous amount of them out running or exercising in the parks) and in far less of a hurry to get anywhere than the US (it only takes me a couple times jaywalking by myself before I realize that regardless of how little traffic there is, locals are fine just waiting for the lights).

Down around the harbor, there is a bit of a buzz with preparations going on for the arrival of the 16 year old Australian girl returning from her solo sail around the world. I recall a small bit of coverage back home about it, but here it is BIG deal. Unfortunately, I’ll be gone by the time she arrives, as it appears there will be quite the celebration.

By the time I get back to the hotel and get some dinner, it is a little after 8pm. I try focusing on a little work, but all the jet lag from the past week is taking its toll, and by 8:30 I am out like a light.