Things to do in Australia

Australia covers about 7.7 million square kilometres, and the mainland spans three time zones. Sydney to Melbourne is roughly 700 kilometres in a straight line. Sydney to Perth is nearly 3,300.

The cities people start from

• Sydney. A harbour city. The Opera House opened in 1973 and the Harbour Bridge in 1932. The Rocks, where the first colony settled, sits under the bridge, and Bondi Beach is a short ride east.
• Melbourne. A grid of laneways covered in street art, with a Victorian-era gaol and market in the centre. The Great Ocean Road starts at Torquay, about 100 kilometres south-west.
• Perth. A river city on the Swan. The nearest city of any size is Adelaide, some 2,100 kilometres east.

Phone-guided walks and one long road

Most of it is phone-guided. The games are self-guided walks that start whenever you do, run one to three hours. They cover the Sydney harbour front, a Rocks ghost walk, Bondi, Melbourne's street art and gothic corners, and Perth's cathedrals and gardens.

The one big outing is a private day on the Great Ocean Road, about ten hours. The road runs 243 kilometres along Victoria's coast and was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, as a war memorial. The Twelve Apostles lie about four hours from Melbourne.

Nothing here reaches the Reef, Uluru, Tasmania or the Top End.

Practical

• Weather. Seasons are reversed. Sydney runs 26C in January and about 17C in July. Melbourne is changeable and can pass 40C in summer. Perth reaches about 32C in January and stays dry through the summer.
• Distances. Sydney to Melbourne is a flight of about an hour and a half or a drive of nine hours. Sydney to Perth is about five hours in the air.
• Driving. Kangaroos are most active at dusk and dawn, which is when to stay off rural roads.
• Clocks. Perth runs two or three hours behind the east coast, depending on daylight saving.
• Holidays. Late December and January are school holidays, and the coast and the Great Ocean Road get crowded.
• Sun. Summer sun burns fast. Hat, sunscreen, and shade at midday.
• Money. Contactless cards work almost everywhere, and tipping is not expected.