AUSTRALIA

Australia officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world’s sixth-largest country by total area. Neighboring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.

Even a few days here are worth it; a month would be great. Australia -Terra Australia or the Southern Land, is not a place that can be explored thoroughly in a few weeks. Australia is HUGE, the distances are massive and every part of the country has mind-blowing sights that you’d be crazy to miss. Take your pick-bushwalk in the vast Australian outback, ski in the Australian Alps or go walkabout along the Gold Coast. Enthusiasts can snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef, hike in the Blue Mountains, bungee-jump into gorges, and party at one of Melbourne’s numerous festivals or just hop along with the kangaroos.

It’s a whole new world packed into one continent, packed into one country. In the Aborigines, an indigenous people with its distinctive culture; in its countryside, a natural beauty that leaves visitors gasping and in its wildlife, creatures that defy the imagination! To top it all, Australia is a safe country with laid-back people and endless tourism opportunities.

So leave your worries behind and dive down under.

Capital: Canberra

Best time to visit:

  1. The summer season, December to February is the best time to visit the south. You can lie on the beaches, visit Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra or Tasmania and enjoy great weather throughout. This is the time to hike, bike and have a good all round holiday.
  2. The central part of the country is hot during this period while the north is damp and humid.
  3. The winter season, June through August, is the time to visit the north. Queensland and other northern areas are relatively free of humidity and make great holiday destinations.
  4. Even central Australia is cool and do-able by road and the bush-flies that can drive you nuts in the summers stay away.
  5. The south, on the other hand, offers great skiing opportunity in the Victorian Alps or the Snowy Mountains – do check the snowfall before departure. Spring and autumn are probably the times of the year that you can go everywhere.
  6. Then its temperate weather all over the country, spring is the season for a riot of stunning wildflowers to bloom in the Outback.

Minimum days required: 7 days

Places of Interest:

  1. Sydney – Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach, Sydney Harbor Bridge, Taronga Zoo, Sydney Tower
  2. Melbourne– Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne City Center, Melbourne Cricket Ground, National Gallery of Victoria, Eureka Tower
  3. Brisbane– Sea World Gold Coast, Brisbane Entertainment Center, South Bank Parklands, Queensland Art Gallery
  4.  Gold Coast– Coolangatta Beach, The Rockpools, Natural bridge, Snapper Rocks, Kira beach
  5. Tasmania– Bay of Fire, Port Arthur, Mount Field National Park,Cradle Mountain – Lake St Claire National Park
  6. Canberra – Australian war memorial, Parliament house Canberra, National Gallery of Australia, Questacon

Climate:

  1. For most of us in the northern hemisphere, the thrill of going to a continent with diametrically opposite climatic conditions is always exciting.
  2. Summer starts in December and winter begins in July, spring is in September and autumn begins in March! As a result, Christmas is generally spent on the beach.
  3. So if you who want a break from the cold, Australia is the natural choice and the Australian Alps, perfect as a foil to the northern summer.
  4. The climate is relatively temperate, unless you are in the extreme south. In the north, there are only hot and wet and hot and dry months.
  5. It only snows in NSW and Victoria, where good ski options exist. The rest of the outback is hot, dry during the day, and bitterly cold at night. The climate is temperate in the south and east; tropical in the north while the rest of the country is arid to semi- arid.

Currency: Australian Dollar

Things to carry:

  1. Casual wear does just fine for most places in Australia. So keep the clothes informal unless on a business trip. In summer, from October to April, carry lightweight clothes; always carry a hat in Australia, as the sun and UV radiation can get very intense.
  2. For the coast, an umbrella or raincoat is a sensible item to carry along; and for inland and mountainous regions, you’ll need a lightweight coat.
  3. Winter months require heavier warm clothes and inland areas can get really cold. Beachwear is for the beaches, so carry your swimming togs along.

How to get there:

Air

  1. Australia is a long way from anywhere else in the world, so for most visitors, the only practical way of getting into Australia is by air.
  2. Approximately half of all international travelers arrive first in Australia in Sydney, the largest city.
  3. After Sydney, significant numbers of travelers also arrive in Australia in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. There are also direct international services into Adelaide, Cairns, Darwin, the Gold Coast and Christmas Island though these are largely restricted to flights from New Zealand, Oceania, or Southeast Asia.
  4. To Sydney it is a 3 hour flight from New Zealand, a 7-11 hr flight from countries in Asia, a 14 hour flight from the west of the United States and Canada, a 14 hour flight from Johannesburg, a 13-16 hr flight from South America, and up to a 24+ hour flight from western Europe. On account of long journey times from some destinations, some travelers from Europe opt to have a stopover, commonly in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur.
  5. If you have to change to a domestic flight in a gateway city, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth all have distinct domestic terminals, requiring some time and complexity to transit, check the guides.
  6. Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin, Cairns and the Gold Coast have all gates in the one terminal building or within easy walking distance of each other.