DOWN UNDER AND A BIT ON THE SIDE :: Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia ...

Everybody in Malta has at least one relative in Australia. Well, maybe not exactly everybody, but almost. This is because of the mass emigration that took place in the early 20th century and in the years immediately following World War II, when many Maltese were constrained to seek greener pastures across the world's oceans. Australia was one of the countries the Maltese went to in search of work, lured by official incentive schemes and the rosy accounts of successful settlers. Today there are about 200,000 Australians who were born in Malta or claim Maltese ancestry. As a result of the close ties and historic connections developed between the islands of Malta and Australia, there has always been a desire to visit. The opportunity arose in 2012, when my wife Suzanne was invited to speak at an international conference in Melbourne. As always, when such occasions come by, one makes the best of it and takes full advantage of the distance covered to explore the neighborhood, even if it means lengthening the trip and extending the journey with a detour or two. As it turned out, the trip to Melbourne developed into an itinerary that comprised Sydney, Cairns (Barrier Reef) and Uluru (Ayres Rock), as well as a 10-day New Zealand driving experience, a few days in Malaysia and a brief stopover in Dubai. As 'a bit on the side' goes, it wasn't bad.

More about this later....