World Tour of Australia

- Season 1

(1996)

Connolly introduces himself and his tour with a preview of where he and his team will be heading and what they will be seeing. He kicks off his tour in October in Sydney by visiting the Harbour Bridge and giving a history of its construction and opening. While on the bridge he points out the Opera House where he performed during his stay in the city. He then takes a tour of the harbour on The Bounty, the ship used in the 1984 film of the same name featuring Mel Gibson. The boat sails past Goat Island, at which point Connolly tells the story of Charlie Anderson, a ...

Billy explains how close Australia came to being a French colony while in Botany Bay. A trip to the nation's capital reveals just how much he hates the coldness of the architecture and the bureaucratic nature of Canberra. A return to Sydney for an interview on The Today Show allows him to take in the sights and sounds of the street performers plying their trade at the harbour.

Billy stops off at Nobbys Point on the way to Newcastle to talk about the history of the area. A ride out to Stockton allows him to enjoy a spot of Salmon fishing. A quick detour to a graveyard in Maitland sees him tell the story of the Australian boxer, Les Darcy. Back in Sydney, he reads his way down the "manhole covers" on Poets Walk. He finishes with a trip to the Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills.

Billy rides to Melbourne, where he starts by telling the story of the West Gate Bridge collapse. His next stop is Melbourne Gaol where Ned Kelly was hanged. A trip to Mornington Peninsula takes him to the Harold Holt Memorial. A walk around Melbourne allows him to enjoy some of the many outdoor sculptures, and his enthusiasm turns up a notch as he shows us the sights of the William Ricketts Santuary.

Billy heads to Adelaide where he meets the Aboriginal artist Jimmy Pike and a pair of hairy-nosed wombats. He then heads to Perth where he takes a ride up the Honour Avenues in Kings Park, before meeting a curious quokka on Rottnest Island. A boat trip sees him take a swim with a pod of dolphins in Rockingham, his friends and family surprise him on his 53rd birthday, and Nambung National Park gets to experience him in all his glory.

Billy heads to Brisbane and finds himself walking through a man-made rainforest. A glider flight in Caboolture has to be repeated following a battery problem. The benefits of buying a home from a secondhand home lot are met with a smile. A flight to the United Nations World Heritage Site on Fraser Island lead to a rainforest, a lake, and a beach fit for a banjo.

Billy explores a disused Opal mine in Coober Pedy. A grave marker in a local cemetery provides some amusement. Golf confuses him even more than usual when he finds a course without any grass. A short stop in Alice Springs takes him to a river without water. 'Connolly's Outback Kitchen' hits the mark when it comes to making damper bread, and a view of Ayers Rock makes the journey worthwhile.

Billy heads from Darwin to the Adelaide River where he enjoys a crocodile cruise. A trip to the Tiwi Islands sees him hunting for crabs and worms with the local indigenous people. A fishing trip at Shady Camp is cut short by a thunderstorm. The tour ends where it all began when he returns to Sydney to reflect on the last four months.