This past summer I  was lucky to travel to Australia  with a a very good friend, and we stayed with an Israeli family living in Sydney, who took us on a road trip to the Gold Coast. 

The Israeli Family we stayed with (we spoke both Hebrew and English together) used to live in Rose Bay, a Harbourside district that has been the centre of Sydney's Jewish community, which includes all over the Eastern Suburbs. The family moved to an apartment in the neighbourhood called Edgecliff. There are now about 15,000 Israelis who live  in Australia.

The Jewish community of Australia currently numbers 120,000 and traces its roots back to the 18th century. The first Jews to come to Australia were eight English convicts transported to Botony Bay along with other English convicts in 1788. By 1845 there were about 800 Jewish convicts,mostly male Londoners  who were of working-class background (with only 7% of female Jewish convicts)

Before World War II, Australian Jewry was, according to veteran community leader Isi Leibler, “a decaying Anglo-Jewish outpost.”But the massive influx of post-war European Holocaust survivors essentially doubled the size of the Jewish community, to over 50,000 by 1961. In fact, the Australian Jewish community absorbed more Holocaust survivors proportionately than any other Jewish community, with the obvious exception of Israel.

As Isi Leibler has written "The 'Lucky Country' enabled many penniless and crushed Holocaust survivors to work hard and prosper. While a significant Jewish underclass still remains, former Jewish refugees comprise an extraordinarily high proportion of Australia’s most successful and wealthy businessmen, of whom a notable number have become commercial and industrial giants in the nation." A wave of  Russian Jews and financially independent South African Jews  have also enriched the Jewish community, most of which live in Melbourne and Sydney.

The day that stands out the most of my visit to Sydney is the day I

learned how to surf for the first time in my life at the famous Bondi Beach, one of the most visited tourist sites in Australia. I took a group lesson with friends and managed to stand up a couple times. When we first got out onto the beach with our surf boards I thought it would be a lot easier, but surfing isn't as easy as it looks. It takes a lot of balance and patience. 

There is a Jewish connection to Bondi Beach as  after World War II, Bondi Beach and the Eastern Suburbs became home for Jewish migrants from Poland, Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Germany. A stream of Jewish immigration continued into the 21st century and the area has a number of synagogues, kosher restaurants , a kosher  butcher, and Chabad of Bondi. In 2007, the Guinness World Record for the largest swimsuit photo shoot was set at Bondi Beach, with 1,010 women wearing bikinis. 

Although Antisemitism in Australia is relatively rare, I was taken aback to learn that the Yeshiva college in  Bondi in 2014  erected the concrete wall, and bomb proof windows after a spate of antisemitic attacks , including an incident when a group of drunken anti-Semites got on Jewish elementary school bus. (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184957#.VoH6BfkrKUk)

Another highlight was walking along the beautiful Sydney harbour where we visited the nearby aquarium and wildlife sanctuary. At the wildlife sanctuary I saw Koalas up close for the first time  They weren’t very active and were sleeping most of the time but when they got new leaves they woke up and started to eat. We weren’t allowed to hold the Koalas, but were allowed to take pictures. I did manage to hold a Koala at a wildlife sanctuary in the Gold Coast.

The aquarium wasn’t as exciting as the wildlife sanctuary but it was still pretty interesting. 

I also enjoyed seeing downtown Sydney, and shopping there, and did spot some orthodox Jews at Edgecliff mall. 

There are some  35 synagogues (mostly orthodox) and 6 Jewish day schools in Sydney. (Synagogue goers are mostly traditional or conservadox, since the Conservative and Reform movements in Sydney have not been nearly as popular as they have in North America)

After being in Sydney for several days,  we went on a road trip to the gorgeous Gold Coast resort area in Queensland . The drive took 10 hours in total but we stopped for a day along  the way at Byron Bay, a relaxed , scenic and  charming town, with pristine beaches and good dining choices. Seeing the sunset over Byron beach at the end of the day was a highlight.It is definitely worth stopping in Byron Bay for the day.

The  Gold Coast was green, tropical, lush, filled with natural beauty and with world renowned beaches, and sunshine all year round. We planned full days with activities, and from the hotel we stayed at in the iconic Surfers Paradise, I could see the sign for the nearby Chabad centre. (There are a number of Gold Coast synagogues such as the Orthodox Gold Coast Hebrew Congregation).

On the first day of  our Gold Coast trip we visited Sea World  I had never been to anything like Sea World before and it was a very cool experience. I saw a number of shows put on by the Sea World workers with dolphins and seals, and other animals. The seal performance was my favourite because it was a little play about a terrible money launderer who was over-fishing in the harbour. A team of detectives including a seal detective had to find out who was over-fishing and what their motive was. The seals did all kinds of cute tricks such as saluting and pretending they were dead when they got fake shot at. The dolphin performances were also extremely entertaining, and the dolphins were very graceful.

The second day at Gold Coast we went to a really neat water park. with all all kinds of slides.Since it was winter in Australia, there weren't many people at the park such that he lines were manageable and and we were able to get on every single water slide, even the really terrifying ones.On our next day we went to  theme park devoted to all roller coasters. The scariest ride we went on was the superman ride which consisted of a really high drop. We also  went surfing in the Gold Coast, although in my opinion our lesson at Bondi Beach was much better than the one at Surfers Paradise Beach. It also might have had to do with how good the wave action was at the time. One of my highlights of the Gold Coast was going to the wildlife sanctuary where we we were able to hold Koalas, as well as pet the Kangaroos and Wallaby's. (The only other place where I have bet kangaroos is in Israel's Gan Garoo park on kibbutz Nir David. ) 

When we returned to Sydney, we went on a trip to the Blue Mountains. A story  that is told is  that the reason the mountains are blue is due to the eucalyptus trees but its a myth and the reason that the mountains are blue is that it just has that affect of looking blue from far away. The Blue Mountains were absolutely beautiful.We we hiked a bit around the area and found a couple little streams and waterfalls. I would say that the Blue Mountains was probably the highlight of the entire trip for me just because of how breathtaking the expansive view was. If you go, plan to spend ample time there.

The Israeli Family we stayed with (we spoke both Hebrew and English together) used to live in Rose Bay, a Harbourside district that has been the centre of Sydney's Jewish community, including all over the Eastern Suburbs. They moved to an apartment in the neighbourhood called Edgecliff. (There are about 15,000 Israelis in Australia by the way)