Everything seems upside down Down Under. On this vast, bizarrely beautiful continent, wild bush gives way to coral reefs, kangaroos bounce through vineyards, a seemingly empty red-earth center pulses with spirituality and its most famous building—the Sydney Opera House—is breathtaking not just in its grandeur but in its refreshing originality. Home to the world’s oldest living culture and one of its youngest societies, its major cities cling to the coast, where some of the best food is to be found in cheery neighborhood cafés. Australians are ever more cosmopolitan and sophisticated, all the while retaining their signature good humor—an attraction in itself.