TRAVEL TALES

Young Chang

A Costa Mesa family went down under last Christmas, had exactly the

sort of vacation they had hoped for and barely wanted to come back up.

Via planes, trains and automobiles, Jennifer and Lee Farris and their

children Julie, Jason and Jonathan Farris took in everything from the

famous Sydney Opera House to the local, not-so-famous beaches during

their three week vacation to Australia late last year.

“We wanted to go because it’s been kind of like a lifelong dream with

my husband . . . it’s a place we’ve never been,” said Jennifer Farris,

44. “We did everything.”

The family started by renting a car and driving down Australia’s Great

Ocean Road, which was Lee Farris’ favorite scenic moment.

“I’d have to say the most spectacular and memorable scenery was along

the Great Ocean Road, especially in the Port Campbell area and along the

Victorian Coast,” he said.

The family then took a sleeper train for two nights and three days

across the length of the continent and arrived in Western Australia. From

there, they flew to the middle, to Ayer’s Rock.

“They have magnificent rock formations and you can hike around the

area,” Jennifer Farris said. “It’s kind of like a desert area -- it’s

extremely hot. You can only hike certain times of the day cause you can

pass out.”

After flying back to the eastern Gold Coast of Australia, the Farrises

visited tropical areas and rain forests and rode sky rails that offered a

view of everything at once.

In Sydney, a baby sitter watched the three children at the hotel while

Jennifer and Lee Farris watched “La Boheme” at the Sydney Opera House.

“It was absolutely fabulous,” Jennifer Farris said. “We had seats in

the second row. We could see their faces, we could see the orchestra down

below in the pit.”

The family also took a tour of the Opera House and peered into all the

different rooms that stage different concerts and operas and plays.

Last stops before heading home included the Olympic Park, the beaches

(both big and small) and the Sydney Harbor Bridge, which they walked

across on a day that was so windy it was as if they were being blown

across.

“It’s their summer,” Jennifer Farris said. “But Sydney is very similar

to Los Angeles in weather. We went from freezing to the very hot of the

desert and the tropical weather along the coast.”

* Have you, or someone you know, gone on an interesting vacation

recently? Tell us your adventures. Drop us a line to Travel Tales, 330 W.

Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; e-mail young.chang@latimes.com; or fax to

(949) 646-4170.