"Unless you are prepared to give up something valuable you will never be able to truly change at all, because you'll be forever in the control of things you can't give up." -- Andy Love

Getting a Taste of the Olympics at Sydney on Day 51

10 years after the Sydney Olympics came an opportunity for me to get a taste of the atmosphere during a live event.

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Melbourne to Sydney on the XPT on Day 50

I reached a personal landmark today on my travels. After several journeys by various modes of travel, on the 50th day since I left London, I was making my final journey aboard an inter-city train to Sydney.

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Melbourne from Yarra River

Two hours to see Melbourne from its river was not long. But that's all I had so the only option was to limit the river cruise to the minimum. That equated to just being able to see half the sights that Melbourne has to offer from Yarra River.

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Streets of Melbourne by Foot, Rail and Tram

Having arrived early in the morning, I had half a day to take in everything Melbourne had to offer before making my way to a suburb to see folks in Glen Waverley. My return to Sydney was in 24 hours. Challenging for an intrepid traveller who wants more for less.

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From lowest to highest points of Sydney before Melbourne

After seeing many faces from her lowest points yesterday, I would see Sydney from some of her highest points today. Accompanied by Cheesedrummer, we would walk along Harbour Bridge, grab some history at Sydney Observatory and a try the Skywalk atop .

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Many faces of Sydney; one stretch of water

Yesterday was a chance to dip feet into the water at Dee Why. Today was to see the many different faces of Sydney from the water. Avis and I were going to try out the Sydney Ferry network aboard its River Cats.

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At Dee Why Beach on Day 46

The day after the Harbour Cruise was quiet and relaxing. About the only memorable event was Dick Pound trying to get into the wrong car in a carpark. According to Cheesedrummer, they've never had that model of car or that colour.

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Goin' Cruisin' with Kumarbhai on Sydney Harbour - Day 44

I had already gathered experiences from the places that I wanted to take home with me from my trip downunder over the last 16 days. Now I was entering the next stage of my trip. Spending quality time with the folks.

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Brisbane to Sydney in 12 hours on XPT - Day 43

I had left Sydney 16 days earlier for a round trip covering over 5700 miles to travel through half of Australia. Now, it was time to complete that loop aboard CountryLink's XPT service to Sydney.

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Brisbane River Quiz on Day 42

Readers of this diary will be familiar with travel to date. I was in Brisbane on Day 42. Those who have only just arrived at this column may find reading my last article (Brisbane Full of Surprises on Days 41/42) useful for some context.

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Brisbane full of surprises on Days 41/42

Home to over a million and half people as the 3rd largest Australian city, Brisbane boasts scenic beauty, balmy climate and friendly atmosphere as some of her natural charms. There is a subtext under her marketing slogans that Brisbane does things a little differently.

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January Earnings in: Check your Earnings tab

This month's revenues have now been posted, albeit a trifle later than usual.The share of revenue is based on page clicks on your column, not how active you may have been on Newsvine during January.

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Getting to Brisbane on The Sunlander on Day 41

It was time to say goodbye to Townsville and board Queensland Railways' Sunlander to Brisbane. The train departed late in the afternoon for a 24 hour trek along the Pacific Coast in Queensland.

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Thunderstorms in Townsville Prevent Reef Sighting - Days 40/41

Townsville is the second largest city in Queensland. It was my preferred choice to see the Great Barrier Reef instead of the more renowned Cairns, despite having to pass through Cairns from Darwin. Over-hyped tourist destinations rarely excite me.

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From Darwin to Townsville by Bus, Plane, Train, Bus on Day 39

Today would be the single longest journey that I would make on my Australian travels encompassing all modes of travel.

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One Day Tour of Kakadu National Park on Day 37

Kakadu is an ancient landscape of tropical rainforests and majestic rock formations. The largest national park in Australia encompassing some 4.3 million acres (about a third the size of Tasmania, Ireland, Switzerland or West Virginia), it is a UN World-Heritage listed site.

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Darwin on Top End is next stop for Days 36 to 38

Named after his friend in 1839 (some 20 years before Origin of the Species) by British captain, John Lort Stokes when his ship landed there, the Port of Darwin is small and colourful.

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Australia's Red Centre to Whet an Appetite - Day 35/36

Uluru (Ayers Rock) is an instantly recognizable symbol of Australia. Strangely, the imposing view of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) is not as easily recognized. Both form part of the World Heritage site at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

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Alice becomes a Sandwich for Red Centre - Days 34 to 36

Representing 12% of the population of the Northern Territory (and its second largest city), Alice Springs has less than 27,500 people serving the needs of some 400,000 tourists every year. It represents the geographic centre of Australia.

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Following the trail of the camels on The Ghan from Adelaide to Alice Springs on Day 33

The opening up of the Australian interior was pioneered during the mid-19th century. Afghan camels were imported to aid the expeditions; John Stuart became the first European to cross the Red Centre from South to North.

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Brighton near Adelaide Provides First Taste of Suburbia outside Sydney: Days 30 - 32

I had been looking forward to spending a few days in Brighton. Outsiders see and hear a lot about life in Sydney; Brighton would offer an alternative view that was not only beyond Sydney but also outside any major city.

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Doing Adelaide and Being at Brighton: Days 30 - 32

South Australia ran a headline-grabbing recruitment campaign in the UK just under 2 years ago, enticing Brits to jump a sinking ship and come work in Adelaide. I wasn't sure if the downturn had changed the bottom line of the campaign since.

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Indian Pacific: One of the World's Greatest Train Journeys on Day 29/30

The Indian Pacific links Perth on the Indian Ocean to Sydney on the Pacific, travelling right across Australia from East to West. I had so wanted to do the entire journey in 2 steps. But that just wasn't feasible.

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Starting off in Cherrybrook – Day 28

Cherrybrook is a quiet and quaint suburb of North Sydney. In common with many other suburbs in Sydney, it has witnessed much growth and prosperity. For my first day in Australia, the plan was to do as little as possible.

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Australia Zooms into View – Day 27

Yes, I was on my way down under. Apart from being born (and brought up in my youth) just south of it, this will be the first time I will be crossing the Equator and go well into the Southern Hemisphere.

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Raat ki Raani

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