Post-Tragedy Trip to Australia

Despite being nervous about flying a few weeks after the Sept. 11th attacks, our family's 3+ week vacation to Australia turned out to be a huge success.

First Day in Sydney

My mother-in-law, however, was dead-set against our going, convinced that we were unnecessarily putting her three-year old grandchildren in harm's way. But, Allan and I did not make our decision lightly.

Taronga Zoo

Besides the few thousand dollars we had spent on non-refundable airline tickets, we:

• Figured airports and airspace would be heavily monitored for at least the near future;

• Were traveling to a country where we would look fairly similar to the natives;

• Had weathered a similar situation a few years earlier in Israel, which had began suffering a series of suicide bombings a few weeks before our departure. We went anyway, found Israel to be fascinating (although understandably tense), and met plenty of other travelers there.

Kids with Echidna

In addition, it was Australia's spring, a lovely time of year to visit, Our kids were also the perfect age for this kind of trip -- young enough that they wouldn't miss school, light enough that we could do substantial hikes with them in backpacks, and wild enough about animals that seeing unusual ones in the wild would be a big thrill. 

Hiking with Wombats

Our flight from San Francisco to Sydney on October 1, 2001 was eerie but uneventful. The plane was so empty that we felt like we were in First Class and each of us had a whole 5-seat row to ourselves that enabled us all to get a decent night's sleep. It was a great start to a great trip.


We had a terrific time. We visited Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Kangaroo Island and Tasmania. Besides getting to see amazing animals (such as wombats, kangaroos, koalas, and echidnas) up close in the wild, we also did some hiking in the mountains,snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, and plenty of sightseeing in the major cities.



We also met many Australians who, upon learning we were American, expressed their condolences for the attacks upon our country. ("You are American? I hope they get those bastards!" exclaimed one woman we met our first day in Sydney.)  A week or so after we arrived, we happened to be in the airport waiting for an internal flight when we caught a bunch of Australians and other travelers watching Tony Blair on TV giving a memorable speech about Britain joining the War on Terror. It certainly added an interesting dimension to being an American traveling abroad that we would have missed had we traveled during a more innocuous time.

Out with Kangaroos

And, ironically, my mother-in-law felt much less safe at home in Florida, having to carefully check her mail for signs of the deadly anthrax virus!