Australia Travel
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Why Travel to Australia?

Australia is diverse, laidback, wild and as big as Europe, providing an eclectic hoard of experiences, and endless space for isolation seekers.
Spectacular deserts, rainforests, waterfalls, canyons and a huge array of strange flora and fauna are just some of the reasons to go this distance.
White sand beaches stretching to infinity provide some of the best snorkelling, surfing, diving and lounging on the planet.
Some cosmopolitan cities are home to cutting edge arts, music and cafe cultures.
Amazing contrasts lie in the anonymity of the Outback and Red Centre, underpinned by an ancient and fascinating Aboriginal past.
Australians are very upfront [straight talking] people, tricky at first for repressed, po-faced Brits, but actually a plus point. Get used to it!
If you want to stay longer, work options for foreigners are ample and varied.

Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney

Downside:
- The place is HUGE, so unless you have infinite time you must limit your your itinerary and it's going to cost you to get around. Planes and car hire are the most time effective way to travel Australia.
- Nor is accommodation especially cheap, though you can rough it on a budget.
- The southern hemisphere sun is way more intense than the north and needs constant care to avoid burns and possible skin cancer.
- Winter [June - August] can be cold in the south, particularly if you were expecting to spend your days in a swimsuit.
- Australia's deadly critters require considerable respect and attention. [I was invited for a swim in a suburban Sydney pool, and found a couple of funnel web spiders cooly paddling about in it] - visit Dangerous Animals.
- Outback flies can be incredibly persistent and irritating while leeches, ticks and mites acquired when hiking can lead to swellings, rashes or infections.
- Travelling long distances to some towns expecting an interesting, lively culture and finding a dull, mall and beer dominated town can be depressing.
- Spooky, desolate mining district are reminiscent of moonscapes, without a trace of vegetation or humanity. But maybe that's a good thing?

Uluru [Ayers Rock], the Red Centre

Australia climate guide:
Best: Nov-March [summer] is best for the south e.g. Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide. Book well ahead for Dec-Feb!
May-Oct is best for travel in the north, [humidity and temperatures become more bearable] e.g. Cairns, The Great Barrier Reef, Darwin.
Worst: the south, April-Sept [cool and rains], but skiing may be possible June-Aug.
The north: Nov-March [rains, humidity and the north-east coast gets an influx of stingers making diving, snorkelling and swimming less attractive.

Loafing caddies just off the Great Ocean Road

Length of stay:
Min. worthwhile stay 2 weeks for Sydney, Cairns, Uluru.
Recommended: 1 month - 1 year, tho' regular visas are only valid for three months.

Australian Activities:
Trekking and camping: half-hour bushwalks to month long 'walkabout' travel can be found in the canyon and rockscapes of the Northern Territory, as well as around Cairns, the Blue Mountains,Tasmania, the Grampians near Melbourne and many other spots.
Tropical Rainforest excursions: can be done independently or with guide in the Daintree area near Cairns, Kakadu near Darwin, and West Australia.
The wilderness of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania is a terrific off-the-beaten track option.
Camel trekking: in the desert, mainly out west.
Driving: Buying a used vehicle and exploring the coast and vast, red interior is a popular, lowish-cost option for travellers, with a glorious sense of freedom and adventure.
The Great Ocean Road drive from Melbourne is one of the world's best, needs three days.
Water sports: Resorts on the East coast such as Cairns, Port Douglas, Byron Bay, Hervey Bay and the Whitsundays offer everything from sailing, scuba lessons, white water rafting, sea kayaking, to lazing in the sun.

Surfer's Paradise? Not on this particular day! Welcome to the Gold Coast.

Surfing: a national obsession so available just about everywhere except the NE Barrier Reef area, with plenty of schools and rental equipment.
Skiing: in the Snowy Mountains, Great Dividing Range.
Weird and wonderful: dip into the outback towns and rodeo-ranch lifestyle for a fair dinkum insight into the Ocker Ozzie world; check out the country's peculiar obsession with BIG things - truly heroic models of crocodiles, kangaroos, lobsters, bananas and more, in the 20 metre high range and randomly scattered around the country; visit Nimbin, a small town that's been colonised by the New Age, and decorated to match, rainbow apparel optional.
Wildlife walks: not as easy as you might think to find wild things in a short time, apart from funnel-web spiders.
Some prime locations are Kakadu National Park in the north [World heritage, very scenic and Aboriginal art], 800km [500mls] Flinders Range in the south-east, and Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania. If you want to really get away from civilisation, try travel around distant Kimberley.
Whale watching: along the east coast off Eden [NSW] and Fraser Island [Queensland], and on the south coast off Warrnambool, both July-Sept. Dolphins all year round in all directions!
Turtle Hatching: mid Oct- end of April in Bundaberg, Queensland.
See Animal Pictures.

Melbourne's Federation Square

Hitchhiking is not recommended:
Bearing in mind the huge distances needed in Australia travel, the irregularity of public transport and the generally relaxed and friendly attitude of the natives, hitching might seem a good option for budget travel.
Unfortunately roadside hitching can easily lead to lifts with dangerous drivers or assault - especially on women.
If you must, try to travel in pairs, but best of all is to find lifts beforehand on hostel notice boards, or even in roadside restaurants [roadhouses] where you can assess a potential lifter before getting yourself trapped in a tin can with a lunatic for tooth-grinding hours.

Cairns' terrific, free, salt-water lagoon

Festivals guide:
8-30 Jan, Sydney Festival, a solid tho conservative arts event, no fringe madness.
26 Jan, Australia Day, nationwide but especially lively in Sydney with the Big Day Out music festival, a Regatta and more.
late Jan-mid Feb, Midsumma, gay Melbourne.
1st weekend of Feb, Melbourne Blues Festival, excellent.
1st Fri of Feb-early March, Sydney Mardi Gras. A huge and deservedly famous celebration of gaiety in all artistic spheres. Fun for straights too!
mid Feb-early March, Perth Arts Festival, a massive art attack.
early March, a weekend, Melbourne Moomba Waterfest. An extravagant family festival.
March every 2 years, even dates, Adelaide Arts Festival. A superb, innovative event.
early March, 2 weeks, Quicksilver Pro Surfing, Surfer's Paradise.
mid March, 1 week, Surf Life Saving Championship. A muscular event.
From 4th Thurs of March for a month, Melbourne Comedy Festival.
1st Sat/Sun of June, Manly Food & Wine Festival, Sydney.
2nd Sat/Sun of June, Melbourne Good Food & Wine Show.
July, Darwin Beer Can Regatta. Racing craft made of empties.b
3rd Fri of July for 3 days, Boulia Desert Sands Camel Racing, Queensland. A big giggle.
1st Sat of Oct, Sleaze Ball, Sydney. An unbelievably queer event.
28 Sept-16 Oct, Floriade, Canberra. A flowery celebration of spring.
Oct for 2 weeks, Melbourne festival. A city-wide arts and culture event.
1st 3 weeks of Oct, Western Australia Pride, Perth. The west's biggest thing.
1-14 November, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney. An extensive display on Bondi's gorgeous coastal path.
Nov-Feb, alternative gatherings across the country, in particular around the hippy mecca of Nimbin and Byron Bay on the East Coast.
19-23 Dec, Parmalat Christmas Celebrations, Brisbane. Jolly, no holly.
26 Dec, Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, a great harbour spectacle.
31 Dec, New Year's Eve Fireworks, Sydney. A spectacular blow-out.
Dec 31, Sydney Pride New Year's Eve Party.

A mammoth fish-barbie restaurant in Daintree

Cuisine:
Thanks to considerable Asian, Middle Eastern and European immigration the dishes available and styles of cooking have increased immeasurably in Australia recently, improving quality and variety no end, although this is limited to larger towns. And the price is right too!
Apart from delicate Greek, Italian, Lebanese, and all the classic Asian dishes, chunky unsubtle meat pies are also popular - a relic of English cuisine.
Unsurprisingly seafood is big on the Aussie agenda, as are all sorts of tropical fruit for dessert, though the favoured dessert is Pavlova - a sweet meringue cake.
And then there's bush tucker, derived from native Aboriginal foods, such as possum-tail soup, kangaroo kebab, crocburgers [chicken/porky], emu au vin [also tasteless but the wine's good], bunya nuts, witchetty grub sashimi [peanut butter taste] and, of course, crunchy ant entree.
Beware: 'tea' often means the evening meal, and an 'entree' is an appetizer, cougettes are zuccini, peppers are capsicums and aubergine eggplants.
Vegetarians are fairly well catered for and shouldn't go hungry, outside the outback at least, and then there's always witchetty grubs.
Tipping: Not exactly customary but a growing trend. 10-15% would be welcome but not mandatory.

Rottnest Island near Perth, loaded with coral, marine life and wrecks.

Transport:
Air: the country is so vast that those with limited time - even budget travellers - should consider domestic air travel. Discount passes are available, especially for students and some combine air with buses - hop on/hop off style travel. Check before you leave your home, passes may be cheaper to buy abroad.

Trains are excellent and have different value passes too, but they're not exactly a cheap way to travel and don't run everywhere, natch.

Car rentals are really the best way to travel quickly and efficiently but need a big wallet or a small group to afford.
The ultimate system for short-time tourists is flights between major destinations and car hire from those airports.

Car ownership is a a great way to get around for longer term travellers - especially if you get something you can sleep in. Used vehicles are on sale privately as well as commercially in most of Australia's cities, particularly Sydney, but check that the car is legal in all of Australia's states that you intend to drive through.

Biking:
Not an easy option due to monstrous distances, dust, flies and slightly awkward bus and train freight systems.

Electricity:
230v, 3 flat pins at an oblique angle. i.e. peculiar.

Visas:
Needed by all except Kiwis! Standard is 3 months but longer is possible. Online visas, [ETA] are available for citizens of UK, USA, Canada, most of Europe, Malaysia and Japan. See Working Guide for more information on work visas.

And while you travel in the area, check these guides...

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