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Travel Australia - by Craig Hill
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King Island
March 7th 2008 22:20
King Island is an idyllic island located at the western entrance to Bass Strait on the northern end of Tasmania. Boasting a rich history of which shipwrecks, lighthouses and jagged reefs which can still be seen to this day, the island is better known today for its sandy beaches, lush green pasture and the origin of some of Australia's finest natural foods.
With a population of less than 2000, the area is serene and blessed with a mild maritime climate of moderate temperatures. Visitors to the Island are mainly there for three reasons - sightseeing (shipwrecks, lighthouses etc.), wildlife (Flora & Fauna) and great food.
The treacherous waters of Bass Strait have claimed hundreds of ships and more than a thousand lives. At interpretation sites all around the island, memorial cairns will give you an insight into the lives of those shipwrecked, the brave rescuers, and the lighthouse keepers who worked tirelessly through the night to make the King Island waters safe.
The island is rich in wildlife with native flora and fauna abound due to the isolation of the island and lack of natural predators. Other native animals include Bennetts wallaby, Rufous wallaby, Tasmanian pademelon, Echidna and Brushtail Possum.
King Island's mild maritime climate plays a vital role in its fresh produce which includes the famous King Island beef, diary products (cheese, yoghurt) and seafood (crayfish and abalone). Many visit the Island for its food alone and you will find many tours that takes tourists on a food expedition that samples the flavours of King Island which include the aforementioned beef, seafood, diary plus herbal teas and honey.
Tours to King Island can be found here.
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Flinders Island
February 28th 2008 22:57
Flinders Island is the largest and main island of the Furneaux Islands, a group of 52 islands that stretch across Bass Strait between Tasmania and Australia.
Known as 'a scattering of islands where mountains meet the sea', the main island of the Furneaux Islands is one of the most serene holiday destinations in the world offering crystal clear waters and sparkling beaches, amazing wildlife and rugged ranges.
Flinders Island from afar...
Adventurous types will love the outdoor activities which ranges from boating to climbing while the historic sites located throughout the island is a sight-seers dream. Due to the area's maritime climate which moderates any extremes of temperature thus ensuring mild weather throughout the year means that these activities can be enjoyed all year round.
The average minimum temperature in winter is 6.0 degrees and the average maximum temperature in summer is 22.5 degrees although it is not uncommon for the temperature to hover around the low thirties on a typical summer's day.
Wybalenna - the cultural icon
The must-see landmarks of Flinders Island include the cultural icon that is Wybalenna, Mt Strzelecki, Palana, Marshall Bay, Walkers Lookout, Cameron Inlet and Trousers Point. An executive tour of Flinders Island will take you to all the aforementioned areas and more.
The Flinders Island Adventures tour show you the beautiful wild and remote places that visitors rarely see including the wild life, the scenery on land or by sea, guided by experienced locals who love the islands on a luxury 4WD.
Marshall Beach walk
Tours of Flinders Island can be found here.
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Devonport
February 12th 2008 22:15
Mersey River
The City of Devonport is located on the beautiful northwest coast of Tasmania and is blessed with gorgeous river, ocean and mountain views.
The 26,000 residents of the coastal city enjoys a relaxed and active lifestyle thus making good use of Devonport's vast number of reserves and recreational facilities. Parkland, which has been established along the Mersey Estuary, along the whole Coastal foreshore and in the Don River valley, contains a cycling/walking track linking many of the City's recreational facilities.
Bluff Light House
Due to its location on the Mersey River, the city is the major sea gateway to Tasmania and the place luxury passenger ferries, Spirit of Tasmania I & II calls home. These ferries connect Devonport with Melbourne on a daily basis and along with the airport (the third largest in Tasmania), are the two main arrival points for most of the city's visitors.
The city boasts a mild climate and the weather is at its hottest in January and February with mean max. temperatures of around 22 degrees celsius while June and July are the coldest at 4 - 13 degrees celsius.
Don River Railway
The main tourist attractions in Devonport are the Regional Art Gallery which has a collection of Tasmanian art works, ceramics, prints, and photographs; the Maritime Museum with a collection relating to early shipping activities; the Devonport Entertainment & Convention Centre which is considered to be the premier entertainment facility in the North West; Imaginarium Science Centre, Tasmania's first and only science discovery centre; and Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum.
Find out more about the city at the City of Devonport website.
Spirit of Tasmania II
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Domestic Flights
May 9th 2006 10:44
First of all, the Australian airline market has seen a structural change that has generally resulted in cheaper flights. Big airlines have moved towards offering low cost options for domestic travellers that really make flying a viable option. Good news for us travellers.
The Internet is by far the easiest way to find the cheapest flights at the right dates and times. Many sites will compare prices between Jetstar, Virgin Blue and Qantas for you, so that you can just pick the cheapest and most practical flight. I don’t want to give free advertising so just type domestic flights into a search engine. One thing to keep in mind is that prices to change. If you are booking far enough ahead, you can afford to check back regularly to see if sale flights occur. Also, flying at certain times will make flights cheaper. If you take the earliest flights possible you’ll definitely notice the difference in price as you also will if you can avoid flying on Fridays or weekends. This is simply market forces at work.
As far as the airlines go, there isn’t a lot of difference, but enough to alter some people’s preferences. Virgin Blue, in my opinion, offers the friendliest service. Your space may be more restrictive than Qantas, but Qantas employees give the impression they know they are working on Australia’s most prestigious airline. Jetstar is consistently the cheapest followed by Virgin Blue, but take note that Jetstar flies into Avalon Airport in Melbourne (if that’s where you are going) rather than the more central Tullamarine so your saving may be taken away in taxi or bus costs. Also consider that not all airlines fly every route. For regional trips you may have to book through a smaller airline. All these factors should be considered, depending on what matters most to you and your travel plans.
Petrol prices could be the biggest factor that prevents flight costs from staying low, but they are still relatively reasonable and in Australia’s vast land, is the quickest way to travel.
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Posted By: Glen - Category: non metropolitan places
Tasmania's Port Arthur
April 28th 2006 06:34
I wouldn’t have returned to highlight a Tasmanian location so soon had it not been for an important date which twisted my arm. Today it is 10 years since Martin Bryant shot dead 35 people in a rampage that began at the Port Arthur historical site. Today a memorial was held to remember the deceased. The setting for the murders couldn’t have been in greater contrast to the horrors. Port Arthur, a beautiful historic site in Tasmania was in bright sunshine that day. Today there was a sense of remembrance in the area, but there is also the general feeling of having to move forward.
Port Arthur is best known for its connection with Australia’s convict history. Many convicts from Britain were taken there to work in a variety of labour intensive jobs. A great deal of the sites were built using convict labour, but ship building, housekeeping and work in the flour mill was also done.
The flour mill was converted to a penitentiary in 1857 to house convicts. This prison is probably the most stunning site at the Port Arthur Historical Site, as you can see in the picture.
A number of fires took its toll on other buildings, but conservation work has been done on the church and the hospital’s ruins still give a sense of the site’s history. There are also a number of buildings remaining that were the official’s quarters and offices, all of which make up over 30 buildings in total.
The site has been a tourist site since around 1916 and so there are plenty of amenities on site and in the area to cater for travellers needs including a visitor centre, a restaurant, a café and much accommodation. There is generally plenty to explore either on your own or on one of the tours offered, including a great ghost tour of the site.
Port Arthur should not be avoided due to the horrendous tragedy that happened there ten years ago because it is definitely up there when it comes to places to see in Tassie.
For more info visit the Port Arthur Historic Site Website
For more details on the horrific murders visit the Crime Library
Why not bookmark this blog or add me to you RSS reader using this URL: http://www.australiafound.com/rss/summary.xml
Port Arthur is best known for its connection with Australia’s convict history. Many convicts from Britain were taken there to work in a variety of labour intensive jobs. A great deal of the sites were built using convict labour, but ship building, housekeeping and work in the flour mill was also done.
The flour mill was converted to a penitentiary in 1857 to house convicts. This prison is probably the most stunning site at the Port Arthur Historical Site, as you can see in the picture.
Port Arthur's Penetentiary
A number of fires took its toll on other buildings, but conservation work has been done on the church and the hospital’s ruins still give a sense of the site’s history. There are also a number of buildings remaining that were the official’s quarters and offices, all of which make up over 30 buildings in total.
The site has been a tourist site since around 1916 and so there are plenty of amenities on site and in the area to cater for travellers needs including a visitor centre, a restaurant, a café and much accommodation. There is generally plenty to explore either on your own or on one of the tours offered, including a great ghost tour of the site.
Port Arthur should not be avoided due to the horrendous tragedy that happened there ten years ago because it is definitely up there when it comes to places to see in Tassie.
For more info visit the Port Arthur Historic Site Website
For more details on the horrific murders visit the Crime Library
Why not bookmark this blog or add me to you RSS reader using this URL: http://www.australiafound.com/rss/summary.xml
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Posted By: Glen - Category: non metropolitan places
Dubbo and Western Plains Zoo
April 26th 2006 11:28
Seeing as though a certain Sydney weather man has been presenting his reports from Dubbo the last couple of days, I thought it a perfect time to showcase the towns’ pleasures. This western NSW town has a couple of major tourist drawcards that I’m sure surrounding towns would like to have.
Dubbo isn’t just about these drawcards though. There is a general good feeling about Dubbo, a small town community feel with the services of a large centre. Old Dubbo Gaol and the Western Plains Zoo draw in enough people that there is plenty of accommodation from caravan parks to motels to rooms above pubs. If you are going during a hot time I recommend your accommodation comes with a pool. Dubbo is hot during Summer, really hot. In winter, overnight, it gets really cold. This is of course the nature of Australia’s more central locations.
Apart from extremes in temperature, a negative about Dubbo is the obvious police presence. It does make you feel a bit uneasy, mainly because there really doesn’t seem the need for it. The police seem to have experienced events that have given them a rather negative attitude towards their community, but that is only the blogger’s opinion.
As I said, Dubbo has some drawcards and really visiting Dubbo as a tourist you wouldn’t want to skip Western Plains Zoo. It is very different to your typical city zoo because you get around it by a 7 km road or walking tracks. Personally I think riding a bicycle round the zoo would be an ideal way to see the animals from Africa such as big cats, elephants, Hippopotamuses and a large number of Australian native species (as well as animals from 3 other continents). The good thing is you’ll get to see them in an environment more in tune with their natural one. With conservation as a central focus of the zoo I think your overall educational experience will be enhanced as opposed to just seeing a few animals in your run of the mill city zoo.
Dubbo as a town in itself and its proximity to Western Plains Zoo makes it definitely worth stopping into on your tour of NSW regional towns.
Why not bookmark this blog or add me to you RSS reader using this URL: http://www.australiafound.com/rss/summary.xml
Dubbo isn’t just about these drawcards though. There is a general good feeling about Dubbo, a small town community feel with the services of a large centre. Old Dubbo Gaol and the Western Plains Zoo draw in enough people that there is plenty of accommodation from caravan parks to motels to rooms above pubs. If you are going during a hot time I recommend your accommodation comes with a pool. Dubbo is hot during Summer, really hot. In winter, overnight, it gets really cold. This is of course the nature of Australia’s more central locations.
Apart from extremes in temperature, a negative about Dubbo is the obvious police presence. It does make you feel a bit uneasy, mainly because there really doesn’t seem the need for it. The police seem to have experienced events that have given them a rather negative attitude towards their community, but that is only the blogger’s opinion.
a bike ride is a great way to see the zoo
Dubbo as a town in itself and its proximity to Western Plains Zoo makes it definitely worth stopping into on your tour of NSW regional towns.
Why not bookmark this blog or add me to you RSS reader using this URL: http://www.australiafound.com/rss/summary.xml
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Posted By: Glen - Category: non metropolitan places
Start Pining for the Huon Valley
April 25th 2006 08:20
Tasmania has a lot to offer including good food and wine, character filled historical towns, some interesting wildlife and wonderful wilderness.
A highlight of this wilderness is in the Huon Valley. The Huon Valley is forty minutes from Hobart at the southern point of Tasmania (and the very south of Australia). The south of Tasmania contains vast ancient forests. This is a site to be seen and its value has resulted in heated debate over whether the forest should be subject to any logging or left for the enjoyment of current residents, future generations and tourists alike, but that’s something for another time.
If you’re visiting the Huon Valley you’ll want to go on the Huon Trail which offers both coastal and forest views and contains a number of great stop offs. One of these stop offs is the Tahune Forest Airwalk which has you 37 metres above the forest floors. The 570 metre bridge walk has views of forest for miles and flowing rivers below.
While on the Huon trail you’ll also want to stop off at Hastings Caves with their ancient form, but more importantly their naturally heated springs you can swim in. There’s nothing like a spa formed by nature.
This part of Tasmania is good for the older traveller with more interest in heritage and scenery, but with contentious issues over logging right at the fore of local debate, the hot headed younger traveller can take something from the south of Tasmania as well. It is so close to Hobart though that I’d say all other travellers should give it a go.
A highlight of this wilderness is in the Huon Valley. The Huon Valley is forty minutes from Hobart at the southern point of Tasmania (and the very south of Australia). The south of Tasmania contains vast ancient forests. This is a site to be seen and its value has resulted in heated debate over whether the forest should be subject to any logging or left for the enjoyment of current residents, future generations and tourists alike, but that’s something for another time.
While on the Huon trail you’ll also want to stop off at Hastings Caves with their ancient form, but more importantly their naturally heated springs you can swim in. There’s nothing like a spa formed by nature.
This part of Tasmania is good for the older traveller with more interest in heritage and scenery, but with contentious issues over logging right at the fore of local debate, the hot headed younger traveller can take something from the south of Tasmania as well. It is so close to Hobart though that I’d say all other travellers should give it a go.
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Posted By: Glen - Category: non metropolitan places
Grand Pacific Drive - Get out of Sydney for a day
April 20th 2006 09:10
Very much in the mould of Victoria’s Great Ocean Rd, NSW now has a picturesque driving route of its own called Grand Pacific Drive and it is something to be seen. Despite being a response to a falling rock problem in the northern part of the coastal city of Wollongong, the NSW government have turned a bridge into a tourist destination that will impress anyone, however well-travelled.
The best part of it is it is only an hour south of Sydney, making it a perfect daytrip before the cold weather really sets in. The highlight of the Grand Pacific Drive which takes you from the Royal National Park along the escarpment overlooking a number of fantastic beaches is the 665 metre long Sea Cliff Bridge which goes high out over the ocean. I recommend you stop somewhere before or after the bridge and walk across it so you really take everything in because in a car it is just over too quickly.
The route takes you through some great coastal villages such as Stanwell Park and Coledale so stop off at one of them, have a swim and then grab something to eat. A must stop is the Headlands Hotel at Austinmer towards the end of Grand Pacific Drive. Grab a beer (or whatever your tickle) and sit out the back of the pub at the picnic tables. You’ll have views all around of the escarpment, way over the ocean and further down the coast towards Wollongong. Don’t worry if you get caught up in it (the view or the drinking) because you can stop over at Headlands or one of the caravan parks nearby.
Remember too, if the weather hasn’t been laid on for you or something goes wrong, you can just jump on the freeway and you're back in familiar old Sydney town in an hour.
Check out the website for further info: http://www.grandpacificdrive.com.au
A spectacle and an engineering marvel
The route takes you through some great coastal villages such as Stanwell Park and Coledale so stop off at one of them, have a swim and then grab something to eat. A must stop is the Headlands Hotel at Austinmer towards the end of Grand Pacific Drive. Grab a beer (or whatever your tickle) and sit out the back of the pub at the picnic tables. You’ll have views all around of the escarpment, way over the ocean and further down the coast towards Wollongong. Don’t worry if you get caught up in it (the view or the drinking) because you can stop over at Headlands or one of the caravan parks nearby.
Remember too, if the weather hasn’t been laid on for you or something goes wrong, you can just jump on the freeway and you're back in familiar old Sydney town in an hour.
Check out the website for further info: http://www.grandpacificdrive.com.au
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Posted By: Glen - Category: non metropolitan places
Post End Text
January 1st 2006 13:56
The content on this site is written and mediated by Craig Hill
Go to Craig Hill's home page for information about corporate training courses, university preparation courses and writing services available
Go to Craig Hill's home page for information about corporate training courses, university preparation courses and writing services available
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Posted By: Craig Hill - Category: non metropolitan places
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