Because I am travel writer I often get asked about good places to visit in Australia.. Here’s some my list.
1.The biggest jumping off point for those looking to snorkel and dive the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is a popular point to catch a day tour to the reef. There are various operators that offer a wide variety of different kinds of trips out to the reef. You can choose between day-tours or overnight trips, which range widely in price, anywhere from around $70 to $200. If you aren’t yet certified to scuba dive, but can’t think of a day cruise to the Great Barrier Reef without doing so, just about all boats will give you the chance to do a resort dive, with no experience needed or you can easily pick up your dive ticket in a few days at any Cairns dive school. They offer a 4-day scuba course, which gives you your open water certification and gives you the opportunity for several solo dives out on the reef. Almost all boats now days have an ecotourism certification, which means you don’t have to worry about damaging all the beautiful underwater scenery while you are checking it out.
2.Considered the hot air ballooning capital of the southern hemisphere, Mareeba is just a 1 hour drive from Cairns. Hot Air has a ballooning package that incorporates a 5 am pickup from your hotel, a full breakfast and champers for approximately $220 . Enjoy the scenic landscape at sun up, enjoy 30 minutes flying in a hot air balloon, and is concluded with breakfast and champagne in a local resort. Checking out the gorgeous scenery from the air in a balloon makes this balloon tour a [worthy activity].
3.An hour or so south of Cairns Australia, Mission Beach is the closest mainland point to the Great Barrier Reef. The beach is a 9 mile long, white sandy beach, with fantastic views of Dunk and a couple of other islands just offshore. There is a small village here, where you can learn more about activities like sea kayaking or skydiving, though many would be perfectly content soaking up the rays and swimming in the crystal clear water.You can stay in local accommodation, though most will be on a day trip from Cairns. If you did not rent a car or camper van for your trip, there is a bus service named Mission Beach Dunk Island Coaches, which takes the scenic road between Port Douglas, Cairns, and the Cassowary coast.
4.Invented around 1850 to keep cricketers fit in the off season, Australian Rules is a hybrid of rugby, gaelic football and a charming Australian schoolboy game called get the koala that involves gang-tackling the unfortunate person who has the football. The game is played on an oval-shaped, polo field-sized oval between two teams of 18 players each. The idea is to kick the ball through two upright posts and earn six points. Miss and you get one point, or miss so badly the ball misses the smaller of the adjacent goals and you get zero. A free kick is gained when a catch is taken, awarded when a kick is caught before it touches the ground. This can be the most spectacular of sights, players ‘ride’ the backs of their opponents (and team mates) so high they often injure themselves when they fall back to earth. The players pass the ball by hitting the ball with their clenched fist and can’t run without bouncing it every 10 metres. That’s about the extent of the rules. The rules are so strange that it’s little wonder no-one on Earth bar Victorians know what’s going on. Crowds often reach 100,000, most of whom are as knowledgeable about the history of their team as a history lecturer from Cambridge knows about ancient Troy. That’s why, an Aussie Rules game is an absolute must see on a trip Downunder.
5.The Big Day Out is a summer music festival and Australia’s biggest travelling party. Like a mobile Glastonbury the show has featured in recent years bands like Limp Bizkit, and Placebo. In the past top acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Iggy Pop have made the trip to Australia. From what was once as a one day festival in Sydney on Australia day now travels all around Australia and even to New Zealand. It’s a must do activity for anyone under 30, from Australia or overseas.
6.The thing to do at Ayers Rock – climb to the top of it. Located near Alice Springs aka the Outback, Uluru, one of the World’s Heritage Sites, is a large sandstone formation standing over 300 m in height and turns varying shades of bright red throughout the day, particularly so during sunrise and sunset. Additionally, Uluru is a spiritual source to the Aboriginal people who also think that a curse is placed on anyone who takes rocks away with them. In the tourist information center, there is a exhibition of rocks that have been posted back from tourists hoping to get rid of the curse. There is a long chain built along the side of the trail that acts as a handrail for the hike up and the views from atop this magnificent site are simply unforgetable. The local Indigenous people do not like people climbing the rock, however this decision is up to you.
7.The oldest continuous area of rainforest in the southern hemisphere, the Daintree National Park is a protected area of unbelievable rainforest an hour or so north of Cairns Australia. The National Park, which encompasses around 1200 square kilometers, is not only a World Heritage site, but is also home to a large variety of plant and animal life—including marsupials, frogs, birds and the endangered [tree kangaroo|more]. Generally thought to be the oldest rainforest in the world, the Daintree forest is over 138 million years old and has more than 430 different species of bird, including 13 species that are found nowhere else in the world. There are some day hikes that allow adventurers to explore sections of this giant rainforest on their own, as well as guided tours that can help teach you about the ecology on your way.
8.The southern coastline of Australia is absolutely stunning. The Great Ocean Road runs right along the cliffs of the Southern Ocean where it impressed me that the next piece of land south is Antarctica. There are interesting sites to see like the weathered rock formations of the Twelve Apostles, volcanic craters that became lakes, waterfalls, and beaches. And there’s nothing like experiencing the lifestyle and culture of the quiet, coastal towns that have the honour of being situated on this brilliant coast.
9.Attend a surf school and experience the surfing lifestyle. Ever dreamed of riding the ocean swell? Well, now is your chance. Surfing is big in Australia. Not just as recreation, but as a way of life. There is something special about the people that live and breath surfing. They have a natural ease and serenity, that is impossibel to find elsewhere. And it’s difficult to understand it until you actually try it. The two seconds of elation when you stand on the board for the first time, with knees shaking like an old man will stay with you always. At least long enough to recover from the wave that will try to [drown you two seconds later.If you ever thought that surfing was easy, you were terribly wrong. Surfing is extremely hard, and can be a real pain in the ass, but totally worth the it.
10.Coober Pedy is most famous for the strange living quarters of a large part of it’s local inhabitants who live in converted mines. This practice came about when local resident sought escape from the intense heat before the days of modern air conditioning. Also known as the the Black Opal Capital of the World, Coober Pedy was first established as an opal mine in 1915. Today tourists can visit the old opal mines, visit underground churches, and stay underground in a motel. The local golf course, with sand instead of grass, is played at night with flourescent golf balls. The area served as the backdrop for the post-nuclear apocalypse film titled Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome starring Australian son Mel Gibson. Find a Coober Pedy hotel and enjoy this must see piece of Austraia.
I hope these help any future visitors Downunder.
