In a Sunburned Country #2

The first stop on Bill Bryson's train voyage is the town of Broken Hill, where he and Trevor, the photographer accompanying him on this trip, are to meet their guides. These two guides, named Sonja and Garland, are to take them 250 kilometers north across the outback to the community of White Cliffs. The plan is to then turn around and return to Broken Hill, where Bill and Trevor would rejoin their train.
During the trip, Bryson combines his own experiences with historical information that he has researched. These short history lessons are useful and informative. Not only do they give the reader a better understanding of the area, they also inform the reader about topics that are not general knowledge for most people. For example, in this section Bryson details the numerous early expeditions that were undertaken by Europeans to cross the Australian Continent. Most of the expeditions were shockingly poorly equipped and often ended in tragedy. The most notable of these doomed expeditions was that of Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills. Their so-called Great Northern Exploration Expedition set off in on August 19, 1860. The Age newspaper in Melbourne commented on the final result of the expedition, "some are dead, some are on their way back, one has come to Melbourne, and another has made his way back to Adelaide...the whole expedition appears to have been one prolonged blunder throughout."
Finally, Bryson arrives in Perth and spends several days sightseeing in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, this particular trip is nearing its end, but Bryson assures the reader that he will be back for more.

In a Sunburned Country #1

In a Sunburned Country is a novel written by American author Bill Bryson. The novel is about all things Australian, and details Bryson's travels throughout Australia. The first fifteen pages or so of the novel are spent familiarizing the reader with the country of Australia itself. Bryson admits that, "the fact is, we pay shamefully scant attention to our dear cousins Down Under." This observation is very true, since I can attest to the fact that, while I am aware of its existence, I know little else about Australia. Perhaps this is because, as Bryson suggests, "Australia doesn't misbehave. It is stable and peaceful and good. It doesn't have coups, recklessly overfish, arm disagreeable despots, grow coca in provocative quantities, or throw its weight around in a brash and unseemly manner."
Whatever the reason, Bryson sets out to tour the whole of Australia in order to give us a comprehensive look at a country that we have heretofore paid little attention to. He begins by giving a quick overview of the discovery of the continent by Captain Cook and the resulting colonization. The strange wildlife of Australia is also first mentioned here, namely the extravagantly varied array of animals that can kill you in many different ways.
Bryson also describes the torturous fourteen hour flight from North America to Australia, which is where his distinct style of writing becomes apparent. The witty and self-deprecating humour that Bryson is so well known for is tremendously entertaining. After finally arriving in Sydney, Bryson meets up with a reporter and photographer from the Sydney Morning Herald, who take him boogie boarding, where he is almost stung by a Portuguese man-of-war. Unperturbed, Bryson boards a train which will take him across the Australian outback to Perth, and from there make a round trip back to the Eastern coast.