Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Size Does Matter
When planning your trip, keep in mind that Australia is as big as western
Europe and about the same size as the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Mel-
bourne and Brisbane are a long day's drive from Sydney, and driving from
Sydney to Perth takes the better part of a week.
Tips
wildlife, art galleries, and Aboriginal
influences), and Outback opal-mining
towns White Cliffs and Lightning
Ridge, which exist in a wacky under-
ground world of their own.
QUEENSLAND
Without a doubt,
the biggest draw for visitors to
Queensland is the Great Barrier Reef.
Ogling the tropical fish, sea creatures,
and rainbow-hued corals is a holiday
highlight for most people. The Reef
stretches more than 2,000km (1,240
miles) along Queensland's coast, as far
south as Bundaberg, 384km (238
miles) north of Brisbane. Alluring
island resorts dot the coast; while most
are expensive, we've found a few that
won't break the bank.
Queensland is also known for its
white-sand beaches. Many of the best
are on the Gold Coast in the state's
south (about an hour's drive from
Brisbane), and the Sunshine Coast, a
2-hour drive north of Brisbane. Cairns
and Port Douglas in the north have
their fair share of beaches, too, but be
warned: Swimming in their waters can
be
very
hazardous to your health.
Deadly box jellyfish, or “stingers,” call
a halt to all ocean swimming at
beaches in the northern third of the
country October through May. In
Queensland, stingers may be found in
all coastal waters north of Gladstone.
Most patrolled beaches in these areas
have “stinger nets,” which aim to keep
the little blighters out, but the thim-
ble-sized Irakandji jellyfish is small
enough to sneak through the mesh
and its sting can be fatal. All patrolled
beaches have warning signs and the
lifeguards do regular net drags to see if
there are any in the water. If they find
any, the beach is promptly closed. But
to be absolutely sure, you should stick
to the waterfront lagoons at Airlie
Beach and Cairns, or your hotel pool
this time of year. The jellyfish are
mainly found in coastal waters and do
not interfere with Great Barrier Reef
activities like snorkeling or diving, as
these are out of the habitat of marine
stingers.
Island swimming is mostly stinger-
free, but be careful and take advice
from the lifeguards before plunging
into that inviting water.
One of the most appealing of
Queensland's destinations is the
aquatic playground made up of the 74
Whitsunday Islands in the Great Bar-
rier Reef Marine Park. These mostly
uninhabited islands are a paradise for
kayaking, snorkeling, diving, fishing,
hiking, watersports, bird-watching,
and bareboat sailing.
Another big attraction is the lush
110-million-year-old Daintree rain-
forest, just north of Port Douglas.
The capital, Brisbane, has Aus-
tralia's largest koala sanctuary, (you
can cuddle one if you like) and you
can hand-feed wild dolphins on a day
trip across Brisbane's Moreton Bay. In
the Gold Coast hinterland is Laming-
ton National Park, a rainforested
mountain region great for hiking and
spotting wildlife.
THE RED CENTRE
The eerie
silence of Uluru, also known as Ayers
Rock, is what draws everyone to the
sprawling ocher sands of the Red Cen-
tre, the heart of the Northern Terri-
tory. For many, there is the delightful
