NO, getting there is definitely not half the fun. It's a very, very long trip from just about anywhere. But once you've arrived and started exploring that remarkable continent, almost everyone agrees . . . geographically, Australia is an incomparable marvel.

After three in-depth visits concentrating on specific regions, this traveller has barely scratched the surface of that country's fabled attractions.

Those lucky enough to be going out to the Commonwealth Games from March 15-26 certainly have many choices ahead. What do they want to see and do while there, besides the Games?

These, incidentally, are being held in Australia the fourth time since the Festival of Empire was first held in connection with crowning of King George V in 1911.

Bermuda has been a regular participant since those Games were revived in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1930. The earliest ones concentrated on track and field, swimming, boxing, rowing, wrestling and lawn bowling.

In years since, the name has undergone changes, evolving from Festival of Empire to Commonwealth Games. It's always been felt Commonwealth champions of today could become Olympic challengers of the future, scheduled as they are in between Olympic Games.

Four hundred athletes participated in 1930 . . . by 2002 that number had grown to nearly 3,700. Seventy-one countries participate, ranging from India with a population of more than 935 million to St. Helena, with a population of 320.

Australia is not a trip one casually schedules. So once there, a traveller wants to make the most of such a treasured experience. Those who try covering too much territory risk coming away with a blur of memories. Distances here are vast and it's impossible to cover everything.

It would be like seeing New York and Washington, DC, then racing off to Yellowstone, the Black Hills, flying on to San Francisco, detouring over to Yosemite, maybe Tucson with a side trip to the Grand Canyon . . . all in one jet-paced trip. That's just before you dropped from exhaustion and were hauled off to a local hospital.

Better to concentrate more in depth on a few major attractions allowing time to capture the flavour of what makes Australia different. Even if not going to the Games, it's a destination you'll want to tack onto your "to see list".

And as news comes back about Bermudians participating in different events, and local friends share tales about their onsite adventures, you'll definitely get in the mood.

First off, you'll want to spend time reading up on the country, its wildly colourful history and great diversity before making any decisions. Then settle down with your travel agent to discuss how to best get there.

MY first trip in September 1981 was via Qantas Business Class and was exceptional in every way, including the airline's choice of Australian wines which were just beginning to make news among vintners. Those who enjoy reading Michael Robinson's column as much as this wine fancier, know how popular they've now become.

Another trip via Continental was also excellent. But in most cases I made a point of breaking the trip en route, usually with a stopover in Hawaii. There have been several headline stories about passengers developing deep vein thrombosis on these long hauls, with headline emphasis on a young woman rushed to hospital after the 20-hour flight to London in Economy, who did not survive.

I'll never forget the time it was done in one gruelling long-haul nightmare. Original plan had been to stop over in Hawaii then San Francisco, overnighting at each . . . until I called home from Melbourne and my mother mentioned the local Historical Society House walk scheduled for a specific date, and I knew she really wanted me to go with her. That meant cancelling the idea of stopovers.

Counting all lengthy airport waiting times, late flights, connections, it was 35 hours from arrival time at Melbourne Airport, connecting at Sydney, Honolulu, San Francisco, and finally Chicago. It's amazing what human bodies can take when necessary, especially when allowed to collapse in their own bed for a few hours before emerging to face the world.

If you have a reserve of frequent flyer miles or an acceptably priced business class ticket is available, give it serious consideration. Yes, Melbourne will have sights to interest you (one of my favourite off-trail ones was the prison where famed Ned Kelly, considered a sort of Jesse James by Aussies, spent time . . . more about that later.)

Of course, take in city sights. But travelling all that distance and just covering major cities won't give the visitor a true picture of what makes Australia so unique. The vastness of its landscapes and relaxed mood of its population are best experienced once you take to the road.

Branch out, explore some headline places you've always heard about . . . wonders like Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Olgas, Ormiston Gorge, Great Barrier Reef. But in truth, it's lesser-known jewels that impressed this explorer most.

Who could ever forget a weekend spent at the opal mining centre of Lightning Ridge (incidentally, Paul Hogan's birthplace). Less well-known than Coober Pedy, its wonderful Outback flavour was a delight. Locals, who admitted only first names, were so colourful they seemed like recruits from central casting.

"Taxes aren't collected on opal discoveries until sold," we were told. "When a miner dies, people rush out to their place with shovels looking for hidden buried treasure." Did you know fire opals are treasured by Asian customers, often as valued as diamonds?

How about the day at Pat Waterford's large working sheep station to watch shearing and visit with locals over "Billy Tea". Getting there was via back roads encountering far more kangaroos than cars.

There was a stay at an inn, Bentnick beyond Melbourne and past Picnic Rock, where our small press group was observed with curiosity one might expect if extra-terrestrials had landed on their lawn.

Some journalists were still lingering around the van when I walked along the upstairs hall to my room and saw a group of curious Aussies peering out the window and calling out to their mates: "Come and look . . . a bunch of swells have just arrived."

Casual, informal, definitely laid-back, the average Australian enjoys meeting strangers, but will not hold back strong opinions out of politeness. They'll rudely accuse someone of being a Pom . . . translated "Prisoner of Mother England".

DON'T come expecting some sort of Utopia. No doubt you've seen television coverage of the out-of-control race riots around Sydney last month. And there's been enough long-standing racism and mistreatment displayed against Aborigines to make any Bermudian of African heritage wonder how they'll be treated.

Of course, one can't make blanket generalisations. Aussies are noted for their informal, breezy personalities . . . but there will be those you'll find will sometimes translate to brusque, rude and rough around the edges. Few would dispute it's definitely a macho man's society, curiously proud of its convict heritage.

There were many favourite personal, never-to-be-forgotten discoveries . . . watching the much- publicised penguins parade ashore nightly on Phillip Island, closely observed by masses of Japanese tourists wrapped in their hotel's blankets . . . and activist environmentalists buried up to their neck in the roadway up to the unspoiled Northern Territory to protest prospect of local development.

There was the fun of buying a traditional "dry-as-a-bone" Outback coat for my brother Jim at Morrisons, in the Rocks district near our Sydney Regent Hotel, and taking a very personal "Walkabout" tour with Aborigines to learn first hand about their customs and beliefs.

There were several memorable train and bush plane trips, visiting the Outback Royal Flying Doctors Service headquarters, as well as the School of the Air broadcast to educate children in remotest regions, and also my birthday celebrated at Port Douglas with excellent Australian champagne and a delicious home-made Pavlova dessert, for which the country is noted.

GOLD camp history is still very much alive at Sovereign Hill and other mining areas. But on three trips I've yet to find time to research Great, Great, Great uncle John Higgins, who went out to Australia seeking gold and never returned.

Remember, all this has taken three trips to discover . . . so you'll have to pick and choose carefully. What was most memorable of all? Everyone has different interests, but for this traveller, Tasmania was like a microcosm of all Australia encompassed in one dramatically beautiful mountainous island. Ruins of Port Arthur, infamous as one of the country's major convict prisons, are haunting. We'll be visiting it later.

What better way to be introduced to Australia's mind-boggling diversity than through some of its award-winning films. So next week we'll take you to visit super-scenic mountain ranges, then Outback to examine Aborigine culture, introduce readers to Ned Kelly and some truly back-of-the-beyond locations.

Next week: A movie fan's travel guide to Australia