Here is an overview of the many sites to see in Australia from native Australian and professor of journalism Dr. John Cokley...

THE voyage to Australia from the United States literally takes the traveler "down", below the equatorial "zero" line that runs round the waist of the world.

From the 34 degrees North that marks Los Angeles, the typical air route takes the traveler 16 hours flight time southwest to 34 degrees South and Sydney, the biggest and probably best known city in the island continent that is Australia.

Thousands make the trip every year, landing all along the Australian Pacific coast, from tropical Cairns in the far north of Australia (16 degrees South), Brisbane (27 degrees South), Sydney or Melbourne (37 degrees South).

These cities offer a range of experiences, from tropical reef and island life, warm water and superb diving and fishing around Cairns in north Queensland, golden beaches and temperate rainforests around Brisbane, to the bustling business and entertainment hub of harbor side Sydney (site of the 2000 Olympic Games) and the cosmopolitan and almost-European shopping and life style known to the residents of Melbourne.

But wait (as they say on the Shopping Channel) there's more!

From each of these cities, international travelers have been known to venture forth and discover things unique to Australia, adventures they want to remember and sights and sounds that cannot be had in the northern hemisphere, including native kangaroos and koalas in the wild.

Travel is easy in Australia, and for Americans good value: $1 in US currency buys $1.20 in Australian currency at the moment, which means $100 in US currency translates to $120 Down Under: enough extra for a very nice bottle of wine or another course at dinner.

Starting in the south:

Melbourne can be the base for winery tours that rival Nappa Valley and the antics of Sideways stars Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. There is so much glorious red wine coming out of the hills and valleys near Melbourne that a tour there could easily take on a tannin flavor all its own: not to mention the chardonnay and sparkling varieties.

And to the west of the Victorian capital lies a road trip which those who take it might agree is reminiscent of the Big Sur journey in California:

It's the Great Ocean Road, including ancient stone monuments known as The Twelve Apostles ... that nature has just recently whittled down to nine, thanks to the labours of erosion. For more information, visit this website: http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/

About 500 miles (872km) north of Melbourne lies Sydney:

The capital of the state of New South Wales. Both Sydney and Melbourne boast populations of more than 3 million so the bustle and size of the cities comfortably match. But the feeling of the more northerly metropolis is much more brash, possibly because it's hotter and because there is a harbor life there which Melbourne does not have. Sydney Harbor is immense and the life-blood of the city. But west from the city is the continent's major line of mountains, the Great Dividing Range, beyond which lie the vast inland plains, river systems and agricultural heartland of the southern nation. There is a well-developed road and rail network allowing hire-car travel for hundreds of miles into the center.

The exploration potential continues - indeed increases - the further the visitor heads north.

Six hundred miles (970km) north of Sydney - past more excellent wineries of the Hunter Valley region - is Brisbane:

Here begins the sub-tropical and tropical life of eastern Australia and this is the gateway to the great Outback and that other "great", the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest and most diverse body of coral reefs and islands in a single line.

Northwest from Brisbane (750 miles; 1200km) is a 3000-citizen town called Longreach:

Located on the itinerary of thousands of international visitors every year, the attraction is the Stockman's Hall of Fame, a huge monument and museum celebrating the sheep, cattle and horse ranchers of Australia's 18th, 19th and 20th century foundation years, and the families who established the agricultural riches of this part of the world. Visit Longreach in the southern winter months of May-July, when the scorching arid heat of this harsh region is replaced by clear, sunny and cool days and chilly, sit-by-the-campfire evenings under a canopy of billions of stars untouched by light pollution.

Finally, to the far north of eastern Australia, and Cairns (also site of an international airport, like Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne):

Cairns is the northern gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, at the same time as it is the southern stepping off point for explorers of the enormous wilderness known as Cape York Peninsular, the "pointy" bit of Australia that reaches north towards the southwest Pacific and Papua New Guinea:

This part of Australia is home to many of the First Nation people known as Aborigines, who populated this continent up to 80,000 years ago, coming down - according to the latest scientific thought - from the Middle East and across south-east Asia during some of the "Out of Africa" migrations of early humans. Their isolated communities are populated with friendly faces and generous hearts that, as with indigenous peoples in most parts of the world, welcome travelers who bring with them open minds and a willingness to understand a deeply different culture.

*About the Author: Dr John Cokley PhD - a long-time journalist, educator and traveler-writer - lives in Brisbane, capital of Australia's fastest growing state, Queensland. Visit his website www.strictlyliterary.com.