Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Planning Your Trip to Australia
by Lee Mylne
T
his chapter aims to answer all the practical questions that may pop up as
you're planning your trip: How will you get there; how much will it cost; the ins
and outs of traveling Down Under; and myriad other details. We've done the
legwork—ferreting out deals on airfares, listing package companies, locating
outdoor adventure operators, and more—so you won't have to.
1 The Regions in Brief
About 84% of Australia's 19 million
people huddle in cities around the
coast covering a mere 1% of this vast
continent. The reason is simple: Much
of Australia is harsh Outback country,
characterized by savanna land, spec-
tacular rocky outcrops, shifting
deserts, and dry salt lakes. In these
parts of the country, the soil is poor,
the rainfall scarce, and some rivers
don't even make it to the ocean. The
roads that traverse the interior are
sometimes barely distinguishable as
roads, and most people choose air
travel or stick to the coastal fringe.
In spectacular contrast, on the
coast—particularly the east, where
most people live—Nature's bounty
has almost overdone it. Here, Aus-
tralia is blessed with one of the great-
est natural attractions in the
world—the Great Barrier Reef. There
are also rainforests in Queensland,
alpine scenery in Tasmania, wildflow-
ers in Western Australia, rolling wine
country in South Australia, a great
coastal drive in Victoria, bird-filled
wetlands in the Northern Territory,
and countless sand beaches more or
less everywhere.
Australia is made up of six states—
New South Wales, Queensland, Victo-
ria,
Australia, and Tasmania—and two
internal territories—the Australian
Capital Territory (ACT) and the
Northern Territory. The national cap-
ital is Canberra, in the ACT.
See the map on p. 6 or the map on
the inside back cover to visualize the
regions described here.
NEW SOUTH WALES
Australia's
most populated state is also the most-
visited by tourists. They come to see
Sydney—and who can blame them?
It's one of the most glamorous and
beautiful cities in the world, with
dozens of harbor and ocean beaches
within and around the city, and a mix-
ture of bushland and city development
around Sydney Harbour itself. Sydney
is also a good base for day trips or
overnight excursions inland, especially
to the scenic Blue Mountains and the
wineries of the Hunter Valley.
Farther afield, a string of quaint
beachside towns stretches all the way
down the southern coast to Victoria.
Along the north coast are remnant
areas of rainforest and a more tropical
air in the laid-back hangout of Byron
Bay, where “Croc Dundee” himself,
movie star Paul Hogan, has a home.
The inland is dry and sparsely
forested. Highlights include the min-
ing town of Broken Hill (known for
South
Australia,
Western
