The book consists of three parts: 1. Into the Outback The first part of the book mainly describes the journey taken by Bryson aboard the
Indian Pacific from
Sydney to
Perth. He is accompanied on this journey by a young English photographer named Trevor Ray Hart. The author describes his experiences on the train, the places the train passes through on its way to Perth such as the
Blue Mountains and
White Cliffs. The author also supplies plenty of humor in the form of historical accounts of
early explorers and
settlers of Australia. from north escarpment, outside
Katoomba:
Three Sisters far left;
Mount Solitary left of centre;
Narrowneck Plateau, far right, all part of the
Blue Mountains region as seen from Currumbin Beach 2. Civilized Australia (The
Boomerang Coast) This section of the book starts off with historical accounts from the time when Australia was discovered and goes on to illustrate how the Australians built a dynamic and prosperous society from a modest and unpropitious beginning. The rest of this section is devoted to the author's account of what he considers to be Civilized Australia, with accounts of Sydney,
Melbourne,
Adelaide,
Canberra, the
Gold Coast,
Surfers Paradise, and many countryside towns in between. 3. Around the Edges This part of the journey covers the
Great Barrier Reef, the cities of
Cairns,
Darwin, and
Alice Springs, and the mighty monolithic rock
Uluru. Later Bryson visits
Perth and the
Shark Bay area of Western Australia. around sunset, showing its distinctive red colouration at dusk. ==Notes==