Working in Australia

This was a slightly unusual trip. I won a university scholarship and found myself catapulted "down under" overnight. It was a fantastic experience in every sense. I didn't get much chance to play the tourist, because I was down there for "work", but a "walkabout" I did do for myself! Sydney for me is home. There's no more beautiful city in the world. A wander round its bay in the evening, when everything is lit up, is worth the trip. The Botanical Garden is beautiful. The classic tour is to see the magnificent Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour. Pyrmont too is a very charming neighbourhood, full of trendy little spots for brunch. I recommend going to eat at the Fish Market. They practically cook the fish you like best right in front of you. For shopping, Martin Place and George Street are famous, or the old Rocks district, but I love Paddington.

If you dare to venture further, a day at Centennial Park is also worthwhile, a giant park not far from the centre. BUT Sydney is above all beaches full of surfers. The most famous and youthful is Bondi Beach; then if that's not enough there's Manly (at the end of the bay), reachable by ferry, or Coogee and Cronulla. If instead you want a boat trip, go as far as Watson Bay and moor there; it's beautiful. My favourite beach will always be Palm Beach, which is a bit outside Sydney, but it's stunning. An alternative to the sea is the mountains. A couple of hours from the city, reachable by train from Central Station, are the famous Blue Mountains. Go for a lovely walk in the rainforest.

What can I say about Melbourne? A city in European style, rich in monuments of old England. It's very chic, full of restaurants, venues, but above all designers' galleries. If then you want to rest, there's nothing better than Flinders Park, or a little trip to St Kilda beach, not far away. At the weekend they hold a market there.

I didn't like Brisbane much, but it's there that the Great Barrier Reef begins. Take a ferry and spend a few days on Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world and, for me, the most beautiful. There are 7 of the 9 most venomous snake species in the world and dingoes roaming free, but it's a true jewel; in fact it's protected by Unesco. If you rent a jeep to get around, watch out for the tides, or you could get stuck on the shore.

At Airlie Beach there are some very pretty beaches, but above all it's the departure point for the cruise to the Whitsundays. The only one worthy of note among the thousand islands is Whitehaven Beach, which, as the world says, is an unspoiled beach of the whitest sand that squeaks underfoot. Try it to believe it.

There are several atolls set within the Great Barrier Reef; I chose Lady Elliot, which is less famous and less touristy than the others. There's a marine biology centre and you get there by landing in a propeller plane on a lawn twice a week. It's an unspoiled island that, as the welcome sign reads, "belongs to the turtles and the birds". So there's a curfew and in the evening there's just you together with millions of stars.

I recommend doing Australia in stages, perhaps by states, because it's enormous, highly worthwhile and all to be discovered. Obviously, depending on the season you set off in, different regions are advisable climatically.