Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kimberley and the Northern Terri-
tory. Fine Feather Tours (
&
07/4094
1199;
www.finefeathertours.com.au)
based near Port Douglas near the
Daintree Rain Forest, operates bird-
watching day trips and afternoon river
cruises.
CANOEING & SEA KAYAKING
Katherine Gorge in the Northern Ter-
ritory offers some spectacular flat
canoeing. You'll find delightful canoe-
ing on the bird-rich Ord River in the
Top End. Katherine Gorge and the
Ord are full of generally harmless
freshwater crocodiles, but
never
canoe
in saltwater-crocodile territory. White-
water canoeing can be found in Bar-
rington Tops National Park north of
Sydney.
A growing number of operators all
around the coastline rent kayaks and
lead guided expeditions. Popular spots
are the Whitsunday Islands in north
Queensland, the cold southern seas
around Tasmania, and Byron Bay,
where you can take a 3-hour “dolphin
kayaking” trip to see wild dolphins
(and whales June-Oct) and “kayak-
surf ” the waves.
Rivergods
(
&
08/9259 0749;
www.
rivergods.com.au) conducts multiday
sea kayaking, canoeing, and white-
water-rafting adventures throughout
Western Australia's pristine ocean and
rivers, in which whales, sharks,
dugongs (manatees), sea snakes, tur-
tles, and dolphins abound. They also
run a “sea kayak with wild seals” day
outing from Perth.
Gecko Canoeing
(
&
08/8972 2224;
www.
geckocanoeing.com.au) leads canoe-
ing trips of 1 to 21 days from Kather-
ine along remote Top End rivers
between April and September.
CAVING
Australia doesn't have a
lot of caves, but the ones it has are
spectacular. The best spots are the
Blue Mountains west of Sydney, and
the Margaret River region in south-
west Western Australia. For tourists
who want to see caves and stay clean
and safe (as opposed to spelunkers),
the best caves are the spectacular
Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains,
a honeycomb of caverns bursting with
intricate stalactites and stalagmites;
and the 350 limestone caves in Mar-
garet River, of which five are open to
the public. Two are “adventure caves,”
which any novice caver (as opposed to
an experienced spelunker) can explore
on a 2- or 3-hour tour. You can also go
caving at Olssen's Capricorn Caverns,
near Rockhampton, in Central
Queensland.
FISHING
Reef, game, deep sea,
beach, estuary, and river fishing—
Australia's massive coastline lets you
do it all. Drop a line for coral trout on
the Great Barrier Reef; go for the
world record black marlin off Cairns;
hook a fighting “barra” (barramundi)
in the Northern Territory or the Kim-
berley; or cast for trout in Tasmania's
highland lakes. Charter boats will take
you out for the day from most towns
all around the coast.
GOLF
Australians are almost as pas-
sionate about golf as they are about
football and cricket—after all, Greg
Norman started life as an Aussie!
Queensland has the lion's share of the
most stunning resort courses, such as
the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas,
Laguna Quays Resort near the Whit-
sundays, and the Hyatt Regency Sanc-
tuary Cove Resort on the Gold Coast.
The Gold Coast has more than 40
courses. Joondaloop Country Club in
Western Australia was voted Number
One Resort Course in Australia by
Golf Australia
magazine for 2003. One
of the world's best desert courses is at
Alice Springs.
Most courses rent clubs for around
A$30 (US$20). Greens fees start at
around A$20 (US$13) for 18 holes
but average A$65 (US$42) or more on
a championship course.
Koala Golf
(
&
02/9980 9073;
www.koalagolf.
com) offers escorted day trips and
