Everything's so wizard in Oz

There's no place like Sydney, finds Virginia Blackburn

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Throwing a couple of sunglasses into my suitcases, along with hats, shorts and some very, very heavy-duty sun cream, I sang: "I'm off to see the Wizard - the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

At which point my husband asked: "Darling, why are you packing to watch a film on television? And it's not going to be on for ages. Christmas is months away." Very funny. "Not that Oz," I replied. "I'm going to be Australia's own Dorothy. Throw another shrimp on the barbie because Sydney, here I come."

I opted for a rather more comfortable means of getting there via a Qantas double-decker.

I've always wanted to see Australia, not least to check out if koala bears really exist. And so, in lieu of a house swept up in a tornado, a la the original Dorothy,

It's 22 hours flying time from London to Sydney, possums, so if you can I'd recommend breaking it up with Singapore or Hong Kong.