The true magic of Australia: the unknown
There’s a lot of answers to why Australia tempted me and drew me in so suddenly and deeply. But the simplest answer is: pure, wild magic.
When you think of the beauties of Australia, I bet you think of the Twelve Apostle, the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House or Bondi Beach. I don’t. I’ve seen them, I appreciate and admire them, and they deserve all their fame, but they’re not what makes Australia magical for me. It’s the unknown, the places you’ve never heard of - and the places you wouldn’t see on a few weeks long trip.
I find a stunning beach, with golden sand, crashing waves, turquoise hues - and a sea cave. Enormous, breathtaking sea cave! It becomes accessible at low tide, and I walk in. There’s no one else there.
I stumble upon a canyon so narrow that I can touch both of its walls with my palm, and I look up to them, marveling at their shapes that resemble waves. I can hardly believe I’m not dreaming, but what’s even harder to believe is: how come no one else is interested in this place? We only meet two other people all day.
Another canyon is so narrow that I can barely squeeze myself through it, after taking my backpack off. The trailhead is unsigned, out in the Aussie bush, reachable on a dirt road, and the canyon itself is another unsigned turnoff from the main fire trail through the forest. Well, not entirely correct: it’s marked with a pink ribbon, tied to one of the branches. The place would deserve to be on a postcard, and if it were in Europe I imagine there would be huge paid parking lots, tickets that need to be booked in advance in order to visit, and possibly even limits on the visitor numbers. No need for a limit here. It’s only the three of us and three young locals.
Australia - and I’ve seen only a tiny corner of it yet! - is full of places which are incredibly, mind blowingly wonderful, yet you’ve never heard about them, and if you happen to find them, you’d find yourself alone there, or sharing it with only a few locals. Like no one is interested. But that’s not the case.
The truth is that the number of people is much less than the number of natural wonders in Australia. Visitors do come, but they stick to the main tourist paths and often only see the most famous attractions - of which there are many, and they’re quite far from each other, too.
If you only slightly go off the beaten path and take the dirt road (there are lots of dirt roads, and a high clearance car is recommended), you’ll find yourself alone, surrounded only by the endless eucalyptus trees or grassy plains, the squeaking cockatoos and wild kangaroos. And you’ll find yourself at magical places. If they were on other continents, visitors would flood them. But Australia is at the end of the world.
Enormous landscapes and enormous skies where humans feel little and get lost. Never mind, because getting lost is magic.