Timeline: 28th May to 14th September 2005

From the heat, sun and shine of a South East Asian summer it came as a bit of a shock to go straight into the cold, wet darkness of a southern hemisphere winter in under seven hours.

We got off the airport bus at 4am and made our way to the nearest cash point. Standing there, inexplicably dressed in shorts and t-shirts, we caught our first rain-laced gust of wind since leaving home, we shared glances, was this Australia?

And it was, Melbourne to be exact, where the weather does tend to have more than a passing resemblance to Scotland's.

Located pretty much on the southern tip of Australia it has the misfortune, during winter, to catch the passing Antarctic weather systems. But the similarities don't end there, the Victorian architecture and grid system of the city reminded me of Glasgow, and throughout the state of Victoria place names were clearly taken from home; Selkirk, Dundas, Erskine, Argyle Street. The stunning coastline and rolling hills continue the illusion but the presence of kangaroos and wineries soon awakens you to where you really are.

We were in Melbourne for three months in total and fell in love with the city.

It is modern, cultural, vibrant, cosmopolitan, even European. Despite travelling extensively in Europe and North America before, I have never visited a city with such a lust for life, with so much to do and see, yet to have such a laid-back feel. So it came as no surprise to discover Melbourne was once voted the world's "Most Liveable City".

Arts, sports, festivals, museums, markets, bars, cafes, restaurants, pubs, clubs, music, comedy, shopping and parks, the list goes on. Whatever you want Melbourne has it in abundance.

Over half of Melburnians have a parent born overseas, and 23% of Australia's population is foreign born (compared to 11% in the US). As a result, Australia has been strongly influenced by immigration. This is evident in the wide mix of shops, eateries and cultures you will see along any main street.

The first and most significant influx was from Britain and Ireland, then Europe, and now, in more recent times from Asia. But the Australian government has once again turned its attention to the UK and is making immigration for skilled workers a simple and appealing option.

We worked in Melbourne in order to top-up our travel funds. For anyone thinking of working in Australia I would offer the following advice: A working holiday visa must be obtained before entry, this allows 12 months in the country with an option for a one year extension. A Tax File Number (equivalent to a UK National Insurance number) should be obtained before you commence work otherwise you will pay 49% rate of tax. An Australian bank account should be opened as employers will not pay wages into an overseas account. Then all you need is a CV or resume, as they like to call it, and you're off!

It was at my new workplace I discovered one of many distinctive Aussie traits - the butchering of the English language. Aussies don't believe in exerting undue effort so if a word can be shortened, it will be. To my workmates I immediately became Dave then Davo despite introducing myself as David. Even iconic Melbourne landmark the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) is deemed to long, and is referred to as "The Gee".

As a rule of thumb, take any word that can be shortened and suffix it with "y", "ie" or "o" even if this borders on the ridiculous. Politician becomes "Polly", Relative becomes "Rellie", Sunglasses are "Sunnies" and Smoke-break becomes "Smoko". You get the drift.

This isn't reserved to your average individual either; newsreaders, politicians and broadsheets will readily use this terminology. The odd swear word also seems to be acceptable on both radio and TV at any time of the day but cigarettes and revealing bikinis are censored, even pixilated.

Another significant trait is their patriotism, everything is advertised and labelled as being "Aussie Made" and you are constantly encouraged to "Buy Australian".

Our onward travel plan from Melbourne was to fly to Cairns in the north, then spend 3 and a half weeks travelling down the East Coast to Sydney. The East coast is a well-trodden backpacker route. It can be lots of fun and includes some amazing sights, although in the summer when numbers increase I can imagine it must feel like you're an insignificant piece of cattle on a conveyor belt. The backpacker hostels cater almost exclusively for the 'gap-year' market and mentality, and most resemble student union bars. It was odd to be amongst so many people who carry hair-dryers, constantly text and call home and blow all their money in Irish theme bars at the expense of seeing a bit of the country. It could almost be the Med.

The upside is that the various backpacker travel agencies along the way offer great travel packages that in terms of money and content cannot be beaten on an independent budget.

Cairns we found to be overly touristy. However, it is the best spot to access the Great Barrier Reef. One of the seven natural wonders of the world, at over 2000km long and 80km wide, it is the world's largest reef system and is actually visible from space. The coral was spectacular but I found there to be less fish than I was expecting and on the whole I actually preferred diving and snorkelling in Vietnam!

Our route south took us to some busy places and some idyllic little towns but everywhere we went had countless activities and sights to undertake, white-water rafting, dolphin kayaking and surfing to name just a few. We visited Mission Beach, Airlie Beach, Mackay, Hervey Bay, Rainbow Beach, Brisbane, Byron Bay and Port Mcquarie before ending up in Sydney.

Two additional highlights were a sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands where we visited Whitehaven Beach (right), which was simply breathtaking. It exists exactly as it appears in postcards complete with talcum soft sands and crystal clear water. And Fraser Island "The world's largest sand island" (this is said over and over again like a mantra amongst the tourism sector of the East Coast) and it is said to hold more sand than the Sahara Desert.

On this heritage-listed island there are hundreds of creeks, huge rainforests, freshwater lakes and gullies all co-existing on nothing else but sand! It really is unique in terms of ecology and deserves to be protected for all to see. The only access is by 4WD and the beach is the main highway but the ever-increasing flow of traffic during holidays and weekends has resulted in an equally increasing number of restrictions for the island's protection and the latest rumour is that the fate of 4WD on the island is dubious.

While in Hervey Bay we went whale watching. Southern humpbacks return to the safety of the bays warm waters each year to raise their young before returning to Antarctica. Sightings are as guaranteed as nature will allow. We spotted around 20 of these huge, graceful mammals and they seemed only too happy to perform for us flipping their tails out of the water, playing with one another and swimming alongside and under our boat (below). They are amazingly complex and beautiful creatures and it is hideous that the Japanese should still wish to hunt them.

In Sydney our first stop was the Opera House. The surrounding area of Circular Quay is very attractive and at the weekends is a great place to see some interesting street performers. The history of the Opera House from inception to completion was one of bitter feuding, extensive delays, and gratuitous over-spending with which only the Scottish Parliament building could compete! And up-close shows its age. I was surprised to find the stunning white shell was little more than off-white ceramic tiles on a bed of mortar and the decor looked to be the same as the day it opened in 1973, thick green shag-pile carpet and all.

Of course there's more to Australia than simply tourism and I was particularly intrigued about the Aboriginal people. Their story is dreadful. Despite the fact there was an estimated 300,000 in Australia at the time the British settled the land was declared as "Belonging to no one". From the outset they were driven from their land by force and deception as well as the introduction of disease and feral animals and few Europeans were ever prosecuted for killing Aboriginal people despite the practice being widespread.

In Tasmania they were wiped out completely. Incredibly it took until 1972 before they were given the status of citizens. Tension exists to this day and the matter of land rights remains both a massive and thorny issue. Aboriginal people still struggle to assimilate into Australian society and have huge social ills within their own communities such as poverty, illiteracy, drug-abuse and unemployment. "Reconciliation" is the buzzword of the moment.

After almost four months in the country I was sad to be leaving, I liked Australia and I liked Aussies. Their fascination with back to back (to back) American cop shows and medical dramas is difficult to understand but they make up for it by being passionate in everything they believe in, sport and politics in particular. We would have liked more time to see more of the country; particularly the west coast but time and geography conspired against us.

Australia is the 6th largest country in the world and covers 5% of the earth's land surface. It could easily swallow Western Europe or the mainland US but the population is under 20 million and as such Australia has the lowest population density in the world.

It is often referred to as "The Lucky Country" not only because 85% of Aussies live within 50km of a pristine beach, but also the standard of living is significantly higher than that of the UK while the cost of living lower. It's a comfortable, modern lifestyle but it comes with an ever-present laid-back atmosphere, even in the cities, and its almost always sunny!

Coming from Scotland that seals it for me.