Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Travel the Spectacular Route from Sydney to Melbourne

By Cody Kolar


In Australia there are friendly and sometimes not so friendly rivalries between cities as well as regions. The most prominent of these pairs is the one which involves the two well known cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Being the two largest cities of Australia, the cause for the rivalry was due to the fact that neither of the two cities was chosen to be the Australian capital when the federation was formed in 1901, even though Sydney was the oldest city and Melbourne the largest one.

Although rugby and football are played across the country, the Rugby League (NRL) is traditionally based in Sydney while the Australian Rules Foot ball is in Melbourne. As a result the historical as well as spiritual centers of the two games still remain in Sydney and Melbourne respectively and this divide is represented by the Barassi Line.

The population in both these big cities is almost the same. In Melbourne there are 4 million people while in Sydney there are 4.4 million residents. The Conde Nast Traveler has named Sydney the best city in the whole world eight years in a row and although it may not be the Australian capital but it is the capital of finance and the media. The city of Melbourne is also the capital of sports, cultures, the arts, and fashion. While Sydney attracts the tourists internationally Melbourne attracts mostly domestic tourists.

The city of Melbourne originated 47 years after Sydney had been established. In the 1850?s there was the Victorian Gold rush that drew everyone to Melbourne and by 1865 the city was the largest in Australia. Then in the 20th century Sydney started to grow by leaps and bounds and once again beat Melbourne.

There are various ways of travelling between Sydney and Melbourne and this passageway which connects the two cities is always busy and plying. People who have time on their hands could opt for the longer 960-kilometer rail corridor which would enable them to enjoy the sights while those in a hurry with a mission or to affect timely delivery of goods should take the 870-kilometer road which bypasses many towns.

Unmindful of the rivalry as one travels along the coastline from Sydney to Melbourne or vice versa, the innumerable beaches and coves carved out by the Pacific Ocean, Tasman Sea and the Bass Strait are more than just a passing sight. They not only enamor the most oblivious tourists but are sufficiently inviting to cause a traveler to don his swimming gear and indulge in adventure sports like surfing, diving and blue water sailing. On the opposite side, the landscape is naturally endowed with mountain ranges, national parks, forests, rivers and lakes.




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