My name is Sarka Pleskacova and I am a student from the Czech Republic who decided to go to Australia for six months. I was there to improve my English but travelling as well. I visited many great places, but I would like to write only about the most spectacular and fascinating.

Without doubt, The Great Barrier Reef, The 12 Apostles and, especially ULURU - Ayers Rock - in the red outback will remain in my memory and heart for ever because they are synonymous with the most gorgeous places in the world for me.

The Great Barrier Reef All my life I had been dreaming about seeing The Great Barrier Reef and I really did it. Now, when I am back in my country,I can´t believe that I was there... This unbelievable marine ecosystem is really one of the natural wonders of the world. For the
first time in my life I saw such clear azure water, such a blue colour as I had never seen! I thought that on the postcards it was only created artificially by a computer, but it wasn´t. This fabulous blue is real, not an optical illusion!

I felt as though I were in paradise. I enjoyed snorkeling in a beautiful lagoon near Lady Musgrove Island (the southeastern part of the reef), and I observed fascinating corals and fish; it was an amazing and breathtaking spectacle. We had to use very strong sun cream because the sun was really very intense, three times as potent as in Europe. The threat of cancer was real, and I didn´t want to underrate it. The next day I heard that in that same place at that same time someone was attacked by a shark! They said that it was rare there, but it happened. Fortunately I didn+t know it during my carefree snorkeling, so I wasn´t afraid of anything. If I had known it, I would never have gone in the water because I have panicky awe of sharks. However, it was an unforgettable experience, and I would strongly recommend it to everybody as an ideal holiday.

The
Great Ocean Road

We visited The Great Ocean Road with The 12 Apostles during December. I had thought that the weather would be like summer, but I was wrong. In this place, the winds were so strong and cold that I put on all the clothes that I had planned to wear when I returned to my country in February (i.e., cold winter weather). Because of these harsh conditions there, is very scanty but adapted vegetation.

I must say again that I have never seen such a nice and marvellous coast full of rocks eroded by ocean and wind. The 12 Apostles, twelve separated rocks, are really a tourist paradise and the number one attraction in this region, but I can tell you that places nearby, such as la Grotto, The London Bridge, and The Arch are more beautiful. I was really impressed by the wonderful forms of the cliffs. This coast is also well-known for another thing. It was the most dangerous and dreaded coast for ships in the 18th and 19th centuries; 50 ships were wrecked here and many lives were lost because of the cliffs, the strong wind and the frequent fog. I can vividly imagine this because the wind was so strong that I could close my eyes and lean into it without falling at all because of its force! On the coast you could read the stories of many of the lost ships not only from the individual memorials but also from sad witnesses - anchors that testified silently to these tragedies.... "To get safely to Melbourne was as difficult as getting a camel through the eye of a needle," was a common expression for this fabulous but dangerous coast fora long time.