Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Gold Coast, Queensland. Up to
6,000 bronzed Aussie and interna-
tional men and women swim, ski
paddle, sprint relay, pilot rescue
boats, parade past admiring crowds,
and resuscitate “drowning” swim-
mers in front of 10,000 spectators.
Contact Surf Life Saving Australia
(
&
02/9130 7370;
www.slsa.asn.
au). March 18 to 21, 2004.
June
Sydney Film Festival.
World and
Australian premieres of Aussie and
international movies are shown in
the State Theatre and other venues.
Contact the Sydney Film Festival
(
&
02/9660 3844;
www.sydney
filmfestival.org). Two weeks from
first or second Friday in June.
August
Sun-Herald
City to Surf,
Sydney.
Fifty thousand Sydneysiders pound
the pavement (or walk or wheelchair
it) in this 14km (8.75-mile) “fun
run” from the city to Bondi Beach.
Entry details are posted on the web-
site www.smh.com.au/marketing/
citytosurf from June onward. If
there are still slots available, you can
enter the day of the race. The fee is
around A$25 (US$16). Second
Sunday in August.
September
Floriade,
Canberra. A million
tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and
other blooms carpet the banks of
Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin in
stunning themed flower bed
designs at this celebration, which
features performing arts and other
entertainment. Contact Canberra
Visitors Centre (
&
1300/554 114
in Australia; www.canberratourism.
com.au or www.floriadeaustralia.
com. September 18 to October 17,
2004.
Henley-on-Todd Regatta,
Alice
Springs. Sounds sophisticated,
doesn't it? It's actually a harum-
scarum race down the dry bed of
the Todd River in homemade
“boats” made from anything you
care to name—an old four-wheel-
drive chassis, say, or beer cans
lashed together. The only rule is the
vessel has to look
vaguely
like a
boat. Contact the organizers at
&
08/8952 3040;
www.henleyon
todd.com.au. One Saturday in late
September.
October
Lexmark Indy 300 Carnival,
Surfers Paradise, Queensland. The
world's best Indy-car drivers race a
street circuit around Surfers Par-
adise on the glitzy Gold Coast, as
part of the international FedEx
Championship champ car motor-
sport series. Contact Ticketek
(
&
1300/303 103
in Australia or
07/3404 6700 in Brisbane; www.
ticketek.com), or check the event's
website at www.indy.com.au. Four
days in mid- or late October.
November
Melbourne Cup.
They say the
whole nation stops to watch this
horse race. That's about right. If
you're not actually there, you're glued
to the TV for this A$3
1
⁄
2
-million
(US$2
1
⁄
2
-million) race, or well, you're
probably not an Australian. Women
wear hats to the office, files on desks
all over the country make way for a
late chicken and champagne lunch,
and don't even think about flagging a
cab at the 3:20pm race time. First
Tuesday in November.
December
Sydney-to-Hobart Yacht Race.
Find
a cliff-top spot near the Heads to
watch the glorious show of spin-
nakers as 100 or so yachts leave Syd-
ney Harbour for this grueling
world-class event. The organizer is
the Sydney-based Cruising Yacht
Club of Australia (
&
02/9363 9731;
www.cyca.com.au). The event's web-
site is www.s2h.tas.gov.au. Starts
December 26.
