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Autumn Is Just Around the Corner

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:00:17 +0000

The Australian summer is nearing its end. Actually we haven't had much summer weather as February has been quite a wet month along Australia's eastern coast.

The hope is we'll have some brilliant sunshine in autumn as the days march into winter.

The start of autumn sees a number of events and festivals taking place in Australia, such as the street parade climax of the Sydney Mardi Gras and the start of Adelaide's three arts festivals.

Going Bush in Australia

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:38:55 +0000

It's a favorite pastime in Australia, going bush, even if it's only for a brief bushwalk.

Practically all of Australia's national parks feature walking tracks where you can go by yourself or with a group on a guided tour. It's probably one of the best — and easiest — ways to experience the Australian bush and you can even do that in or close to the cities or urban centres.

The walking tracks are of various distances and are graded according to degrees of difficulty. You can go on a 30-minute walk or, if you're feeling particularly adventurous, take several days to complete a long-distance hike through hills, valleys, escarpments, gorges, wilderness.

Put on your hiking shoes, and do the walk.

Bushwalking in Australia

Photo: Hikers on Tasmania's Overland Track, courtesy Tourism Tasmania and Don Fuchs

Go the Dunny. And Race the Yabby, too

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:01:18 +0000

In at least two places in Queensland they do the dunny races. There's one at the Ettamogah Pub on the Sunshine Coast and there's another in the Outback town of Winton. Oh, and there are yabby races, too, in Windorah.

These are just a few of a number of quirky, unique and fun events and festivals held in various parts of Queensland, several of them in Outback country.

If you're in the area, or can take the time to go there, catch one (or two, or three, or more) of these oftentimes wacky Queensland events.

Photo: Winton's Dunny Derby © Tourism Queensland

From Byron Bay to Eden: That's a Long Stretch of Coast, Mate

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:35:37 +0000

From Byron Bay in the north to Eden in the south, the New South Wales coast is some 1300 kilometres by road. Byron Bay and Eden are visitor coastal destinations or stopover places, as well as any number of cities and other towns along the NSW coast.

As areas of coast and sea, the NSW coastal destinations are replete with beaches, fishing waters, and various activities both on sea and on land.

I have listed 10 of these more popular coastal cities or towns, all of which I have visited or passed through.

Photo: Camel Rock, Bermagui © Sally Mayman / Destination NSW

Walk the Walk in a National Park

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:46:06 +0000

Visitors to Australia's national parks often go there for a picnic and for any number of activities and pastimes. Most have walking tracks of varying degrees of difficulty and bushwalking is enjoyed by many.

You'd think that national parks would be out in the bush. Yet quite a number of them — for instance, in Sydney — are actually within the metropolitan area or just a daytrip away.

Sydney Harbour National Park, for one, is just around the harbour foreshores and the popular Royal National Park is at the southern edge of the Sydney metropolis. And there are a number of other national parks within easy travel from Sydney city centre, such as Blue Mountains National Park which is a few kilometres from the edge of Sydney's outer west suburbs.

So if you feel like getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life, head for one of the nearer national parks, have a picnic, go bushwalking, have fun.

National Parks in and Around Sydney

Photo: Bushwalking in the Blue Mountains National Park © Destination NSW

Up, Up and Away - Take the Skyrail to Kuranda

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:11:32 +0000

You can take the Skyrail, or the Scenic Railway, or you can drive or join a bus tour.

Anyhow, if you're in Cairns, the village of Kuranda is a sidetrip to consider.

If you go by Skyrail or Scenic Railway, the journey is an adventure in itself. And there's more to see and do when you get to Kuranda.

Don't get butterflies in your stomach. See them instead at the Butterfly Sanctuary. Go on a guided Aboriginal tour, or head for the boardwalks. Or duck into an Army Duck and go on land and water tours of the rainforest around Kuranda.

Photo: Going by Skyrail © Tourism Queensland

Are There Dain Trees in Queensland?

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:05:59 +0000

No, no, no, no. There are no trees called dain trees in Queensland, and certainly there's no forest of dain trees.

The Daintree Rainforest, part of Australia's World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics of Queensland, is named after pioneering geologist and photographer Richard Daintree (1832-1878) who did a geological survey of north Queensland as part of his work as geologist in charge of the region.

The Daintree, as this rainforest region is known, can be reached from the town of Mossman some 80 kilometres from Cairns. Travel another 64 kilometres in a northeasterly direction to reach the Cape Tribulation section of Daintree National Park.

The Daintree features rugged mountain peaks, river gorges, waterfalls and rainforests that stretch eastward to the sandy beaches of the far north Queensland coast.

Red Dog Is Australia's Best Movie

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:44:31 +0000

The new Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has honored the film Red Dog with the academy's inaugural best picture award.

The major AACTA Awards for film and television were held in ceremonies at Sydney Opera House on the night of December 31.

The AACTA Awards take over, and continue, the Australian Film Institute Awards which had been in existence since 1958.

Red Dog tells the true story of a wandering red kelpie which helped unite communities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. A statue has been erected in the Western Australia town of Dampier in memory of Red Dog.

Djokovic Retains His Australian Open Crown

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:43:05 +0000

Australian Open No 1 seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has retained his title of men's singles champion by defeating No 2 seed Rafael Nadal (Spain) in tonight's final at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic defeated Nadal in a marathon five-setter, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, in what is reported to be the longest final in Grand Slam history, taking five hours 53 minutes to complete.

Djokovic was Australian Open men's singles champion in 2008 and 2011, as well as Wimbledon and US Open champion last year.

Nadal was men's singles champion at Roland Garros in 2010 and 2011 and at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010.

Photo: Winner Novak Djokovic and runner-up Rafael Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Azarenka Is New Australian Open Women's Singles Champion

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:18:58 +0000

Australian Open women's singles No 3 seed Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) defeated No 4 seed Maria Sharapova (Russia) in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0, to win the women's singles title at the Australian Open tonight, January 28, Australian eastern daylight saving time.

Azarenka had played in six Australian Opens, reaching the quarterfinals in 2010. She also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2009.

Azarenka defeated No 11 seed Kim Clijsters (Belgium) in the semifinals. Clijsters had earlier toppled No 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) in the quarterfinals.

Sharapova won the Australian Open women's singles title in 2008 and the US Open title in 2006.

Photo: Women's singles champion Victoria Azarenka at the 2012 Australian Open (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images