50 Idylls: The Choice Is Yours
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday June 22, 1994
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
THERE'S a restaurant and bar called the Black Pearl in Newport, Rhode Island. I love to sit there in the winter, when the snow's thick on the ground, with my wife Dianne, a fish platter, and a brandy, and watch the fog -thicker than sin - roll in off Rhode Island Sound. I love the haunting sound of the fog horns. The backdrop to all this is the old colonial township of Rhode Island. The whole scene is quite magical. Ray Martin, host of A Current Affair.
MONKEY MIA, WA
THE long drive north from Perth is hot and tiring, a seemingly endless stretch of bitumen framed by rust-red soil and deep blue sky. You turn off at the Overlander Roadhouse, past Hamelin Pools with its incredible stromatolites, the world's oldest living beings, and along Shell Beach, made up of billions of tiny, sparkling, white shells stretching as far as the eye can see. And finally the azure waters of Monkey Mia and its dolphins. I was swimming in the water when two swam straight past me. I held my hand out and ran it along the side of one of the dolphins. It was an incredible feeling of being in touch with nature. Andrea Conlon, reader.
VIETNAM
I TOOK a train trip through Vietnam from Hanoi to Hui. Hanoi was an amazing experience but the 36-hour train trip was unbelievable. People were carrying live chickens, cooking in the corridors, and selling fresh lychees. Sometimes when the train travelled very slowly, I would pull down the window and eat Vietnamese food in the soft, yellow, late-afternoon sun surrounded by smiling faces. Ken Done, artist.
CAIRO
I LONG passionately to go back to the casino at the old Marriott Hotel in Cairo. My fondest memory is sitting among all those sheikhs with their bucket-loads of chips. I bought a few $20 chips. They were betting with$10,000 chips - some of them didn't even have to reach into their buckets; they had assistants to do that for them. But it's the ambience of the place that's the real thrill. It's full of Egyptian artefacts. It reminds you of an Agatha Christie novel. I kept expecting Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre to walk in. Spies probably did lurk behind every palm before the war in the 1930s. Everyone is still beautifully dressed. Discreet belly dancers waft about, occasionally doing their thing, and there are waiters everywhere proffering drinks. Noel Ferrier, actor.
GREAT BARRIER REEF
When you first snorkel on the reef, nothing can prepare you for the moment when you slip on the mask and flippers, sink into the water, and swim with the largest living being on earth. It's like being in your very own Jacques Cousteau film but this is no TV screen. You can reach out and touch the coral, swim with fish the colour of rainbows, and bathe in shafts of light refracted through the water. All you can hear is the sound of your own breath; it's like floating through space. Jennifer James, reader.
MYANMAR (BURMA)
WE spent an unforgettable Christmas on an ancient ferry chugging down the Irrawaddy from Mandalay to Pagan. We slept in the captain's cabin (heaven knows where he slept), smoked cheroots with elderly women passengers, had Burmese soup and noodles for Christmas dinner, and helped the crew free the ferry from a sandbank so we could reach Rangoon before our visas expired. Judy and John Ebner, readers.
PRAGUE
WALKING in Prague, depressed by subdued people and sullen service, I turned a corner. Ahead, unexpected and forever imprinted in my memory, was Hradcany, the castle and cathedral crowning the city above the Vlata River and its bridges. One single, inspirational vista and Prague was a changed place. JH Rattigan, reader.
NEW YORK
THE Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station. It's quite an institution, noisy, brash and with all the overbearing self-confidence that typifies New York. The service is super-fast. They sit you down, hand you the menu and slam down your order. There are about 20 varieties of oysters; I usually order two dozen. The cost is between $30 and $40 which is not expensive by New York prices. Apart from the oysters, you should visit Grand Central Station for its architecture. It's one of the great American buildings constructed in the days when the railroad was king. Richard Carleton, reporter for 60 Minutes.
CRADLE MOUNTAIN
THE sky is crystal clear, the air is frigid. The day has a clarity to it that cannot be captured on film. The walk takes you round a bend in the rock, past a log cabin, and down to a lake. There in the water is a perfect, mirror-still reflection of Cradle Mountain. How lucky can you get? Mary-Anne Taylor, reader.
ANGKOR WAT, CAMBODIA
SILENT jungle all around; chattering monkeys in trees high above; giggling little boys selling us temple-rubbings; elephants in the river outside Auberge des Temples; monkey-dancers on the steps of Angkor Wat by moonlight; dawn over the jungle as saffron-robed young priests carry begging bowls to the local town. Indelible memories. Hilary Daymond, reader.
THE KIMBERLEY,WA
It knocked me sideways, the place was extremely satisfying at a very deep level. I could understand how Aborigines relate to that land. The grandeur and impassive quality of the rock formations and the gorges are truly inspiring. There is a strong sense of importance which reduces you to a mere nothing. Ruth Cracknell, actor.
NORTH ENGLAND
WE had just visited Beatrix Potter's house in Near Sawrey and were walking through the village. "Teas," said the notice outside a grey-stone cottage. For Pound 1 each, we had "high tea" in the sitting room of a bright-eyed lady who looked a bit like Mrs Tiggy-Winkle. Barbara Bartlett, reader.
ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA
ARRIVING in the capital of Mongolia, when I was working on the Olympic bid, on a clear, crisp morning, the first thing that struck me was the raw, spectacular scenery. The sky was dark blue and the rolling hills surrounding the city a billiard-table green. There are no advertising hoardings in Ulan Bator, no neon signs at night, no rush and frenzy, no pollution, and the people are so engaging. The natural history museum is a must; it has the most fabulous collection of fossil dinosaurs. Mongolia has the best water in the world. That's why Mongolia's Ghengis Khan Vodka is the best; it could fuel rockets. One official I met up with opened a bottle at 8am. We polished it off and, I might add, we got Mongolia's vote. Rod McGeoch, Sydney's Olympic Bid chief.
SANTA FE, USA
My engagements continually take me around the world, but I have formed a special attachement to Santa Fe, New Mexico, the oldest capital in the United States. It was founded by the Spanish in 1610 and still has a romantic Spanish old town, with narrow streets and mission architecture. Santa Fe is one of the few American STate capitals without its own airline or railroad. Most visitors arrive via the road to Albuquerque. I love the marvelloue mountain scenery -and Santa Fe's many culinary delights. Edo de Waart, Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
GREAT OCEAN ROAD, VIC
THIS must surely be one of the world's greatest coastal roads; twisting, turning, revealing a magnificent panorama of rugged cliffs, pounded into extraordinary shapes by untamed ocean waters. I've never seen nature look in better condition. Eric Williams, reader.
ZIMBABWE
BUMI Hills Safari Lodge over looking Lake Kariba. Evening on the balcony of our chalet as we watched for animals. A distant crunching sound is heard. A fully grown elephant looms up, stares at us, and then calmly continues to forage two metres from where we sit. Fear, excitement, exhilaration, wonder -Africa. An unforgettable experience. Rod Ralston, reader.
CAPE CANAVERAL
JUNE 1992 on the causeway of Cape Canaveral in Florida, along with thousands of wellwishers for the Shuttle Endeavour's maiden launch, the first since the Challenger disaster. Sharing the emotions of that huge breath-taking crowd, willing that hurtling, bone-reverberating speck into a safe orbit was my all-time holiday high. Berice Dudley, reader.
BUENOS AIRES
MY top spot is the polo fields at the Bosques de Palermo. That's where you will see the best players and the best polo in the world and you don't have to travel far out of the city to get there. Years ago, after the polo, I used to head for Uruguay and the beach at Punta del Este. When I was swimming there in 1954, I came face-to-face with a walrus. I was still swimming when I was halfway up the beach. The walruses are probably still there, although I hear Punta del Este has become the St Tropez of South America. I'd like to go back to see if the little cafe on the beach called Mejillones (Mussels) is still there. Sinclair Hill, polo ace.
CORTINA, ITALY
ONE summer morning, while walking in the hills behind the alpine village of Cortina, I skirted the edge of a recently harvested hay field. A patch of colour caught my eye, I bent down, and bliss | The whole field was a blanket of thousands of amethyst crocus flowers, hidden by the golden stubble. Nancy Land, reader.
LIZARD ISLAND
FOR four years I've been taking cruises on a luxury boat called Laura J from Lizard Island, off Cooktown. There's fantastic diving on the Outer Barrier Reef at a place called Cod Hole, where you can swim beside three-metre Potato Cod. We catch and barbecue red emperor and coral trout, watching the sun rise and set over the sea. What I love most is living in a pair of swimmers, with no watch and above all no telephone. John Quayle, general manager NSW Rugby League.
IGUAZU FALLS, ARGENTINA
STAYING at the Internacional Hotel in Iguazu National Park, and visiting the mighty Iguazu Falls. The sheer magnitude and isolated setting were magical. Walking on the causeway to the heart of the falls was a moment to
savour, surrounded by the roar of the water cascading over the edge. Niagara after this was a fizzer. Imelda Silva, reader.
SUDAN
WE were on the road, making a harrowing documentary about conditions in the Sudan. I had scarcely been out of Australia before. Most of the time we slept rough by the roadside, making do with a hole-in-the-ground loo. Then we checked into the Khartoum Hilton. Can you imagine how I felt? I all but hugged the loo. By the time I sank into a hot bath, I was reciting poetry. It's one of those grand hotels where they fly in pastries from Paris; it has beautiful gardens with the sheikh's polo people running around in jodhpurs. The electricity supply was affected when the Nile waters were low. Jill Perryman, actor.
SYDNEY
WHY bother travelling? Can any other city match the sheer physical beauty of Sydney Harbour on a cloudless day, when the sunlight seems to dance on the water, creating a dazzling explosion of sparkling diamonds, and the ferries chugg across the water, and the green open spaces frame tiny slivers of golden beaches, and the soaring glass towers of the city stand proud in each other's reflections. I think not. My favourite place? Home. Robert Barr, reader.
VENICE
DRIFTING down a quiet canal in Venice in a gondola with the gondolier singing Neapolitan arias. I went to Venice about three years ago with my parents. It was my first experience of Europe, other than a quick stopover in Paris, and it lived up to all my expectations. Venice is beautiful, romantic, and it has the most beautiful little opera house (La Fenice) in the world. It also has stunning seafood and risotto, great wine, and very attractive men. Marina Prior, actor and singer.
DUBLIN
ON my only trip to Ireland, I had the most wonderfully crazy bus trip from the ferry into Dublin. The driver wouldn't open the doors to let the passengers on a moment before he had to, not until the appointed second. There were Don't signs everywhere: Don't Talk To The Driver (everyone did), Don't Stand In Front Of The Yellow Line, Don't Ask The Driver To Stop At Undesignated Stops. But he did, for everyone he knew. The best thing was all the fun everyone had in the shared knowledge of his little conspiracies. Senator Cheryl Kernot.
CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
A DAY out with the outback mailman from Alice Springs, flying from remote property to even more remote property. The plane was laden with mail, books, and groceries which we dropped off through the day. Some of the properties don't see outsiders for a week or more. You can imagine their delight when the mailman flies in with a week's supply of goodies. From the air, the land is wild and barren, scarred by great dried-up river beds which fork out across the landscape like giant branches on a tree. The thermals kept us soaring like an eagle. Truly the great sunburnt country. Jack Barr, reader.
BORDEAUX
WITHOUT a doubt, driving from Bordeaux in southern France to the Spanish border. The countryside in that area reminds me of Australia; it's the least populated part in France and very wild. The trip also takes you past some of the best restaurants in the world. I can spend a very happy week eating and sightseeing there. Tony Bilson, chef.
NEPAL
WE stumbled upon a little village in eastern Nepal that wasn't even on the map. The people had never seen tourists before, although some of the men had served as
Ghurkas in the British army. The people were dressed in colourful, home-spun clothes with lots of jewellery and the local beer was delicious, drunk out of a bamboo pot. Tim McCartney-Snape, mountain climber.
ARNHEMLAND, NT
I WENT there in 1990 with Terra Safari Tours. John Williams of the Clan Gummulkbun showed us his land. As well as the beautiful billabongs, beaches, banyan forests, and flood plains, we were privileged to be the first white white women to visit his sacred site, Mulbuya. Dorothy Rogers, reader.
HAY-ON-WYE, ENGLAND
A MUST for any book-lover is Hay-on-Wye, right on the English-Welsh border. A tiny picturesque town in idyllic countryside, it has more than 20 bookshops, including one of the world's largest. Coffee shops, craft shops and barns overflowing with books, mean you could happily browse for a lifetime. John Bell, actor.
LONDON
Arriving in London on a Sunday morning, buying the papers and reading them over coffee at Browns Hotel in Mayfair. It's one of those old-fashioned English hotels where they serve wonderful afternoon tea. It's quite a ritual; it arrives on a little three-tier stand with cucumber sandwiches, tomato sandwiches, and lots of little cakes around the bottom tier. People queue for it. That's one of the things about staying at Browns; as a guest, you can always get in for afternoon tea. Sue Milliken, head of the Australian Film Commission.
ALASKA
TEN days in Alaska, perfect summer weather. No organised tour, we pleased ourselves. Denali National Park, 11 hours on shuttle buses, incredible views and wildlife; crossed the Yukon River and Arctic Circle in a float-plane, landing on an isolated lake. Prince William Sound, close to glaciers, more wildlife. Fantastic. Marilyn Tindall, reader.
ULURU
Achieving the climb to the summit of Ayers Rock and feeling as if you're on top of the world. It looks like an easy climb but it's not, especially when the wind gets up. It's quite a struggle to make the summit but that makes the arrival all the more of an achievement. All you can see is desert, the Olgas, tiny humps in the distance, and the great central Australian sky. My photographs look like they even show the curve of the earth. I don't know if that's possible, but I like to think so. It's no wonder this is such a special place to Aborigines. Ellen Carey, reader.
FLORENCE, ITALY
August 1992, after the Olympic Games in Barcelona, I travelled on to Rome and then Florence to sign the Sydney Florence Sister City Agreement. The party included Gough Whitlam. We all had dinner one night with the Mayor of Florence at this wonderful hotel outside the city; it used to be a convent. We sat in the grounds, on the banks of the River Po. The meal, company, conversation and atmosphere were wonderful. It was a balmy night and otters were frolicing in the river. Frank Sartor, Lord Mayor of Sydney.
BHUTAN
ARRIVING in the kingdom of Bhutan and looking out on the snow-capped Himalaya Range at sunset. I simply stood in awe. Tim Fischer, National Party leader.
BRINDBELLA VALLEY, NSW
BEYOND doubt, heaven on earth. Rainbow trout's lair; is there a valley like it? None to compare. Days of dazzling blue, arc of night's blackness, ablaze with diamonds. Bounding cataracts, Elysian fields of alpine daisies. A living treasure, loveliness beyond measure. Richard Wright, reader.
SAHARA DESERT
SITTING under a night sky in the Sahara Desert, 1,600 kilometres south-west of Cairo. Above were a million winter stars, the air was sweet and still, and the moon so bright. The dinner was not so good - gazelle haunch and oily rice- and the company was all male, but you could dream. Pria Viswalingam, SBS presenter.
LES TROIS VALLEES
WE stand at the top of the mountain, my husband, children and I. No-one in sight, only endless mountain peaks. Above, a vivid blue sky; below, thick snow, squeakingly perfect; ahead, a favourite exhilarating half-hour run back to the village. A moment of pure skiing perfection at Les Trois Vallees, France. Rhoswyn Joyce, reader.
YAGOONA
YOU can't go past Yagoona. The crowds are small, even in peak season, and it has frequent bus connections. Andrew Denton, host of Denton.
NORWAY
CAN there be perfection? At Ulvik, Norway, we found it at Brent's Hotel on Hardanger Fjord, beauty supreme - snow-capped ranges, mirror-still waters, a little village with a traditional, white, wooden church and spire, all set in a landscape of Christmas trees. Life was complete. Loftus Dun, reader.
QUEENSTOWN, NZ
Fly with the family to Christchurch Airport; hire a car and drive south to the Lake View Motel in Queenstown. Separate suites and separate kitchens, one for us, one for the kids. Then skiing on the slopes of Coronet Peak, looking at the sun on The Remarkables, and the reflections of the other mountains in Lake Wakitipu. Lloyd Waddy, QC, chairman of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy.
AIX-EN-PROVENCE
ON a warm, still night, enclosed by by the ancient walls of the Archbishop's Palace, with a star-filled sky above us, we watched a magical open-air performance of Purcell's The Fairy Queen. It was one of Aix-en-Provence's outstanding International Festivals of Lyric Art and Music -unalloyed, unforgettable pleasure. Honore Forster, reader.
ARCTIC CIRCLE
ABOUT seven years ago, I caught a train from Stockholm to Trondheim in Norway. It was the first time I'd been in Scandinavia. On the spur of the moment, I decided to travel on to the Arctic Circle and hopped on another train in Trondheim. It was winter and the light was fading as I went through theCircle, but I went on to the last stop, Bodo. I got out at the Bodo military base station, spent half-an-hour there, and caught the same train back. Fantastic. Robyn Archer, actor.
BUNGLE BUNGLE, WA
THE rotor blades of the helicopter drown out the sound of your rapidly beating heart as the chopper races like a tiny bumble bee over the extraordinary domes of the Bungle Bungle. The sun throws spectacular shawdows across the rockfaces eroded by millions of years of nature's way. You feel so insignificant in this awe-inspiring landscape. Lesley Nicholson, reader.
LORD HOWE ISLAND, NSW
I'VE been going to Lord Howe Island since I was 12 years old. My father knew a lot of people there, and we'd go over on the flying boat. The island has a lot of sentimental value for me and my wife, who was conceived there. Th ere's so much to do - surfing, fishing, bike-riding, diving, walking in the mountains. The locals are a breed apart. I've been there eight times now, and always stay at the Pine Trees Motel. Nick Farr-Jones, former Australian rugby captain.
LUXOR
Setting out before dawn, crossing the Nile on a ferry with all the locals, trotting on your donkey (called Nefertiti) beside the Nile as the sun rises and then heading inland to the Valley of the Kings. After a couple of hours at the famous tombs, your trusty steed is waiting to take you to a viewing point to see the Nile twisting its way through the desert. A wonderful experience. Amanda Kehrli, reader.
BROOME, WA
CABLE Beach Resort in Broome gave us the perfect family holiday. The swimming pools and tennis courts are outstanding, the accommodation quaint, and the sunsets the most beautiful I have ever seen. We met people from Malaysia; Broome is a real meeting of east and west. Best of all, we switched onto "Broome time", where mobile phones don't work and everything is done at its own pace. Gai Waterhouse, horse trainer.
IRAN
I'LL never forget taking a cargo boat up the Shatt-al-Arab River at dawn, sailing past the date palms on the banks of Iraq and Iran; sleeping out alone on a trek from Glen Ormiston Gorge in central Australia; climbing a Welsh mountain last year in the mist; trying on the most beautiful dress in the world at Barneys in New York; rowing with my daughter around the Amsterdam canals in the moonlight and looking in people's uncurtained windows. Hilary McPhee, head of the Australia Council.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Jungle flight by light aircraft from Port Moresby. Early morning at tiny air company shed. Pilots checking fuel lines, tyres. Passengers seated silently on cargo of flour, soft drinks, local produce. Spectacular mountains and valleys. Alarming grass runways. Coffe with nuns at Fane Convent. Back to Port Moresby, nursing kittens on lap. Rick Lawler, reader.
DARJEELING
THE pony trails lead through glistening rainforest to the glorious spectacle of Mount Kanchenjunga. Returning, if serendipity plays its part, you will be invited into a tiny Buddhist monastery to sip tea with a Tibetan monk and admire his wall posters of Marilyn Monroe. Where else such heavenly incongruity? Robin Kamaralli, reader.
© 1994 Sydney Morning Herald
