The only thing I knew about Australia before I decided to take a trip there was that its modern history began as a European penal colony, and that it is known as one of the most naturally beautiful destinations on the planet. I suppose I also knew I’d see kangaroos, but we’ll come back to them later. To get to Australia, I’d taken a morning flight from Denver, Colorado, thus landing me (with one short layover) in Sydney around 11pm local time. Because of this, the view from my 20th floor room in a downtown hotel the next morning nearly shocked me out of my already jet-lagged skin.