Australia
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Explore Australia from the city buzz of Sydney and Melbourne to the big skies and wide horizons of the Outback deserts. Follow beaches running all the way from Queensland down to Victoria on the East Coast. Travel into Australia’s Red Centre from Adelaide to Darwin or travel across the Bass Strait to visit Tasmania’s wild island beauty. Don’t forget the west coast with its deserted coastline and isolated capital, Perth.
Background
You’ll find that most Australians live on the fertile East Coast between Brisbane and Melbourne. Go to the holiday state of Queensland for the colourful corals of the Great Barrier Reef. In Australia’s first-settled state of New South Wales, take in the vibrant outdoor lifestyle of Sydney. Or visit Victoria, the smallest mainland state but home to Melbourne, Australia’s shopping and restaurant capital. Indulge in fine food and wine in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, and stop to smell the wild flowers in spring along the wide open road leading to Western Australia. Hike and bike in Tasmania or visit the Northern Territory to witness the raw beauty of Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Kata Tjuta National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s sacred to the Aboriginal people.
Urban
Visit Australia’s number one city, Sydney, with its glittering harbour and thundering surf at Bondi Beach. Take in the prized collections of indigenous art at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art in leisurely Brisbane. Or immerse yourself in regional art and social history at the Canberra Museum and Gallery in the Australian capital. Enjoy Melbourne’s stylish shopping and gourmet restaurants, and the arts festivals in Adelaide. Or relax on some of Australia’s best sandy beaches close to Perth on the Sunset Coast.
Rural
Experience the remote Outback at stark mining towns like Queensland’s Mount Isa or New South Wales’ Broken Hill. Visit sleepy country towns in the cattle-grazing country of northern New South Wales or follow the inland desert route to monolithic Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the major Outback hub of Alice Springs. Tour vineyards in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, Western Australia’s Margaret River and the Yarra Valley in Victoria. Across the water, seek out Tasmania’s quiet rural towns filled with convict-era Georgian architecture. Don’t miss its national parks like Cradle Mountain, where you can bushwalk through its gorges and mountains.
Fast Facts - Australia
- Language
- English
- Currency
- Australian dollar
- GMT
- GMT +8 (Western Australia Standard Time), GMT +9.5 (Central Australia Standard Time), GMT +10 (Eastern Standard Time)
- Electricity
- 240V AC, 50 Hz, three-pin plugs are standard, but not the same three-pin plugs as Britain's
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