Cable Beach: Tropical Playground
Thursday May 15, 2008
With long stretches of a white sand beach, seas of such clear blue purity, palm-fringed coast, sunset camel treks, parasailing and water sports, sundrenched resorts, and the air of an exotic and distant tropical eden, Cable Beach does conjure in one's mind a certainly desirable holiday destination. Particularly with the southern winter nearly upon us, it's time to travel to warmer tropical regions. And discover Broome as well. It's really one pearl of a town.Photo: Cable Beach © Tourism Western Australia
Jindabyne - On the Way to the Snowy Mountains
Tuesday May 13, 2008
Yes, it's nearly winter — and ski time — in Australia. If you're heading to the Snowy Mountains, about three hours' drive from Canberra is Jindabyne, the New South Wales town closest to the ski resorts of Thredbo and Perisher Blue.Jindabyne sits on the shore of a scenic man-made lake. From Jindabyne it's just about half an hour to the state's major ski slopes.
Photo: Bird's-eye view of Jindabyne © Tourism New South Wales
The Phantom Returns to Sydney
Saturday May 10, 2008
First performed in 1986 at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera, has since played to a worldwide audience of more than 80 million. It has been playing on Broadway for 21 years.The Phantom of the Opera had its Australian premiere in 1990 and has since completed two Down Under seasons. It now returns to Sydney for its third Australian season after performances in Melbourne and Brisbane.
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Head North for the Tropic Sun
Thursday May 8, 2008
If you're not particularly fond of the winter cold — winter begins in Australia and New Zealand on June 1 — consider a trip north to Australia's tropical regions.For those wishing to visit the Great Barrier Reef, one of the destinations of choice is Cairns in Queensland which is a popular jump-off point to the Reef.
If you're driving north along the Pacific coast, there are many coastal Queensland cities and towns from which you can take a ferry to one of the resort islands on the Reef. On the other side of the continent, there's Broome and Cable Beach in Western Australia to consider, and in the Northern Territory there's Darwin and Kakadu.
Photo: Snorkeling off Heron Island, courtesy P&O Australian Resorts
Aussie Singer Receives France's Highest Cultural Honor
Tuesday May 6, 2008
Australian singer Kylie Minogue has received the Chevalier Dans L'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres decoration, France's highest cultural honor.She received the honor in Paris from French Culture Minister Christine Albaniel who said the singer was a "Midas of the international music scene who turns everything she touches into gold."
The minister also praised Kylie over her fight against breast cancer.
"I want to publicly salute the courage you showed by revealing publicly that you had breast cancer," Albanel was quoted as saying. "Doctors now even go as far as saying there is a 'Kylie effect' that encourages young women to have regular checks."
Kylie received the French honor on the eve of a European concert tour which was to kick off in Paris.
Past recipients of the French award include singers Bob Dylan and David Bowie and Hollywood stars George Clooney, Leonardo Di Caprio, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis. Photo: Kylie Minogue on receiving the French decoration (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
They're Digging up Ned Kelly's Glenrowan
Monday May 5, 2008
Archeological diggings have begun at Glenrowan, where Australian bushranger Ned Kelly made his last stand and was eventually captured.It's been nearly 130 years since the Glenrowan shootout but a team of archeologists and archeology students from Victoria's La Trobe University hope to find artefacts from the siege that will shed new light on the episode.
The most enduring image of Ned Kelly is that of a man suited in rough armor — wrought from, no doubt stolen, iron plows — and with his gang facing the superior force of police at the Glenrowan Inn in Glenrowan in 1880.
Facing wave upon wave of policemen, Ned Kelly was finally brought down when the police realised he could be felled by shooting at his unprotected legs.
The generally accepted story is that only he, of the Kelly gang, survived the shootout at Glenrowan which lasted well into the night.
Captured and tried, Ned Kelly was hanged at the old Melbourne Gaol in November 1880.
The Glenrowan diggings are expected to continue for four weeks.
Photo: Giant Ned Kelly statue in Glenrowan, Victoria © Tourism Victoria
Walk the Streets of Perth
Saturday May 3, 2008
In Perth, capital of Western Australia, discover the city attractions on a leisurely walking tour.From the banks of the Swan River to the city's historic buildings and on to the malls and gardens, a Perth walk can be both informative and enjoyable.
It's true that if you're in Sydney, or anywhere along the eastern coast of Australia, Perth is on the other side of the continent. But it does have its own unique attractions and Perth is a jump-off point to Margaret River in the south and to Monkey Mia, Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef, Broome, Cable Beach and the Kimberley region in the north. Photo: Kings Park on Mt Eliza overlooks the city of Perth © Australian Tourist Commission
No Whaleshark Festival This Year
Thursday May 1, 2008
What used to be the annual Ningaloo Whaleshark Festival in Exmouth, Western Australia, usually held around this time, has turned biennial, and the next festival will be held during the whale shark season in 2009.That doesn't mean you can't go swimming with these denizens of the deep this year or any other year. The whale sharks should be at Ningaloo Reef now.
And then there's Shark Bay and, of course, the dolphins at Monkey Mia to visit. Photo: Whale shark © Tourism Western Australia
Walk the Gardens in the Autumn
Tuesday April 29, 2008
It's mid-autumn in Sydney and, after a fortnight of showers, the weather's turned fine for long garden strolls by the sea.If you're going down to the Quay, and then to the Opera House, the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney are just a short walk away. Take a leisurely stroll through this oasis of green in the heart of Sydney: a paradise of flora.
The cool-climate garden of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney is located at Mt Tomah in the World Heritage region of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Drive up on a daytrip. Photo: At the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney © Larry Rivera licensed to About.com, Inc
April 29 Marks Anniversary of Captain Cook Landing in Botany Bay
Saturday April 26, 2008
Two hundred thirty-eight years ago, on April 29, 1770, English explorer Captain James Cook arrived on the Endeavour at Australia's Botany Bay.This first landing on Australian soil by the English explorer led to his claiming Australia for the English Crown, although the first English settlement at Sydney Cove, in what is now The Rocks district, was to come 18 years later.
Captain Cook's landing place is now part of Botany Bay National Park which is not only a historical site but a place for seaside picnics and many leisure activities as well.
The Endeavour is usually docked at the Australian National Maritime Museum at Sydney's Darling Harbour. Photo: Replica of Captain Cook's Endeavour, courtesy Australian National Maritime Museum