Sharon and Cary at the Grotto. -- Photos by Sharon Aschaiek

A honeymoon is supposed to be a time of joy. But when you're planning a one-month backpacking journey around the Australian continent, wedded bliss sometimes takes a backseat.

That's what I discovered last March when my husband, Cary, and I started planning our own honeymoon. In fact, the friction began long before we boarded the plane.

At first my longtime desire to explore the Land Down Under didn't jive with Cary. He is a longtime nature lover who'd much rather camp deep in the Canadian woods than deal with the stresses of foreign travel.

I, however, have a less-than-harmonious relationship with Mother Nature, especially when she's plaguing me with bug bites and sunburns. But successful couples know a relationship is about give and take. In the end he agreed, largely because Australia offers the best of everything -- a little country, a little city, and lots of adventure.

We devised an itinerary that could destabilize the most in-sync couple: A 10,000-km bus and plane trek through five states -- all in one month. If we could get through this without dissolving into Jerry Springer-style fisticuffs, we could survive anything.

Our first stop was Melbourne, a bustling city that's the country's arts and style headquarters. We took a tram to St. Kilda, a trendy, laidback beach town full of patio restaurants, knick-knack boutiques and bakeries with seductive storefronts. Later we dined on gourmet pizza at Fitzroy Street, the main artery of the city's nightclub district.

Only a few times did conflict arise -- what I've labelled MacGyver versus Dreamy Smurf effect. My husband, who grew up an ardent Boy Scout, is a man with a plan -- a map, compass and daily schedule of events are essentials. But the truth is, maps scare me. I prefer seeing where the road takes us. Thankfully, our upcoming week of organized tours meant our opposing navigational styles wouldn't be a problem -- yet.

From Melbourne we boarded a bus for the Great Ocean Road -- a coast-hugging highway in the south adjacent to the country's surfing hotspots. A short ferry ride over was Kangaroo Island, a wilderness mecca where wallabies, koalas and kangaroos far outnumber people.

From there it was out of the frying pan and into the fire as we ventured into the heart of the Australian desert. We quickly realized that three days of camping in the Red Centre's oven-like heat were less-than-ideal circumstances for romance.

Any concerns I had about turning into a real-life Pigpen character vanished in the spectre of the desert's magnificent rock structures, highlighted by Uluru, the world's largest above-ground monolith. At sunset it takes on a burning ochre hue before gradually, almost magically, fading to milk-chocolate brown. By trip's end, our group's stench was causing small animals to pass out, but we'd all survived it together.

The stifling heat gave way to humidity as we reached Darwin. It was here that my Dreamy Smurf tendencies led us astray. While foraging for lunch, I inadvertently led us into what I thought was a quaint sandwich shop, but turned out to be a strip bar. Turns out Cary had been right about the leers of the men outside.

Migrating to the northeast, we got an up-close taste of the country's showstopper, the Great Barrier Reef. The iridescent aquatic life of all shapes and sizes gliding in and out of intricately shaped coral homes made for an unforgettable first scuba dive.

Toward the end, my do-it-all attitude started clashing with Cary's desire for do-nothing downtime. It all came to a head one humid afternoon when he huffed: "It's been three weeks and I'm still not relaxing!" I thought I sensed an oncoming nervous breakdown. So, beach bumming it was, for five days in the southeast new-age town of Byron Bay.

Despite a few heated moments, our marriage emerged unscathed, and, I'd like to think, even stronger than before. I even managed to rub off some of the travel bug on Cary -- we're already planning our next big adventure. But that's only if I agree to accompany him into the wilds of Algonquin Park. With a little give and take, MacGyver and Dreamy Smurf may live happily ever after.

Uluru, the showstopper of all rock formations.

MORE INFO: Visit australia.com.

Sharon feeds a wallaby.