Australian Vacation Guide

Spectacular Australian vacations start with gaining local knowledge from those who live here.Having local knowledge will put you in the right place at the right time of year to catch festivals, art and flower shows or simply the best weather!

You will also be able to instruct family members on what to expect and offer a better vacation story when you get home. More knowledge, more fun!

In parts of Queensland for example, you can escape the heat easily with a quick trip to the nearby mountains, and even as far north as Cairns in the cape country you can move from a sub- equatorial tropical climate to a cool four season climate in 30 minutes by simply climbing up the hill out of Cairns to the Atherton Tablelands. Two climates in one spot.

Some inland destinations even in the north are uncommonly cold at night, especially those inland as far as Mount Isa in Queensland.

We do not have extreme cold anywhere in Australia, but desert cold has to be experienced to be believed. It soaks in to your bones in the open at night, so most inland accommodation has great heating.

These are all the states in Australia and the territories for you to visit, each having it's own special charm.Aboriginal history abounds as well as the history of European settlement and the convict built bluestone buildings that are to be found all over Australia.

• Victoria.
• New South Wales.
• Queensland.
• South Australia.
• Tasmania.
• Western Australia.
• The Northern Territory.
• Canberra (A.C.T.)
• The Australian Territorial Islands.

You've probably heard of Uluru (Formally Ayers Rock,) the Sydney Harbor Bridge, Surfers Paradise, The Gold Coast and Sydney Opera House.These icons are a must see if it is your first Australian vacation.

Australia has a lot more to offer than these wonderful tourist attractions though and you will find them all here.

You may not know that a painter on the Sydney Harbour bridge became an Australian TV star, then a movie star in his own movie "Crocodile Dundee".

Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) got his first big belly laughs as a walk on skit in a television show. He then became bigger than the show itself and recognized he was much loved as an Australian comedian, thus the "The Paul Hogan Show" was born on Australian television.

As well as Paul Hogan who resides in Bryon Bay, Australia is also the home of Olivia Newton John from "Grease" and the original "Boy from OZ" Peter Allen who composed our unofficial anthem " I still call Australia Home". Kylie Minogue is also an Australian who is famous for her roles on Australian television as well as her queen of pop status with masses of fans in England as well as Australia.

A warm handshake and a hearty "G'day mate have a cold one!" is the common greeting in Australia. (cold one aka: beer, Bud, Coke, Pepsi )

You will notice the accent changes when you get further away from the big cities, but it is not so much the accent as the delivery that changes. Australian humor is as dry as the desert land itself!

There are so many amazing places off the beaten tourist tracks that have great historical stories and backgrounds as well as solitude if you want it!

I like to wander along outback roads stopping for a yarn with the cockies (farmers) and other local people. The stories can be well worth the time, some of these people have seen a lot.

Tourists returning to Australia many times get to know their way around pretty well after a while and with experience comes the realization that this is a beautiful place to travel inland to isolated towns away from the tourist resorts, staying in nice friendly little homesteads and hotels inland and in small towns on the coast as an alternative to the well known places.

The biggest cities are built on the coast in Australia where there is at least some fresh water, the source of that water is the mountain ranges that divide the flat landscape and run along the coast. These mountain ranges and their foothills are dense forests teeming with enormous diversity.

The mountains are dotted with history, old gold mines. old abandoned farms, Old orchards standing in the middle of forests, trout fishing, snow skiing all located close to accommodation.

We offer the new tourist to Australia a place to find the unusual and out of the way places, and a glimpse at our varied culture, especially Australian bush culture and the ways of the outback in some places you have never heard of.

The largest Island on Earth is one of the most diverse and interesting places in the world that a Tourist would wish to visit.

Vacations in Australia are the most relaxed you will find. Take your time, have a look around.

I hope you can join in the fun for an Australian adventure!

Australia is not only a very big country but is one of the most unusual to the senses if you are not living here permanently you will notice the fresh air that is often scented by the many forests.

The native forests here have a feeling and smell of their own. A mixture of eucalyptus and wild flowers in the early morning is so uplifting.

Australian animals and birds have many unusual calls throughout the day, but the forest in the evening is a cacophony of voices calling the family home, and it is a unique experience in each type of forest you visit from Queensland to Victoria and all the forests in between you will see animals that you will not see elsewhere.You will love your Australian vacation, ask those who have been here!

• Sydney harbor and the Opera house.

• Uluru (once called Ayers Rock) in the Northern territory.

• Rugged Shipwreck littered coastlines of Victoria.

• Kalgoorlie Gold mines in Western Australia.

• Coober Pedy the underground Opal mining town.(Opal capital of the world)

• Pristine waters and forests of Tasmania.

• Sea World on the magnificent beaches of Surfers Paradise in Queensland.

Many experienced tourists know to look for the little known places too.

Australia is full of hidden wonders that most tourists never see.

As well as beautiful and rugged visions Australia has a multi cultural depth that is exciting to explore. 40 Million kangaroos cant be wrong!

Victoria is one of the three mainland states that share a boundary along the bottom of Australia. Victoria is the smallest of these by a large margin.

The rugged coastline in Victoria is steeped in the history of wrecked ships, and lost souls. One of the beaches stretches for 90 miles.

Victoria has a rich gold mining history that is open to tourists as well, with historic mines scattered around Victoria in such places as Ballarat, Bendigo, Walhalla, Matlock and Jericho.

Melbourne is the capital city. Situated on two beautiful rivers, the Yarra and Maribyrnong as well as Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne is a modern cosmopolitan city with world class hotels and restaurants and old world charm.

There is even a restaurant tram, that tours around Melbourne while you enjoy a fabulous meal. The tram restaurant is very popular locally too, so booking is essential.

Melbourne is mostly flat to undulating, so cycling is also a great way to get around the city. Swanston walk has been changed to a pedestrian area so apart from trams and service vehicles, you can walk on the main street of Melbourne without worrying about cars on your walk up to Bourke Street with its massive shopping in another open walkway, with bronze statues on the corner standing of Bourke St looking as if waiting for a tram, the cityu centre is a great place to shop with international brands in all the major outlets much like New York or any other large international city.

For more details about Victoria : Victoria

The capital City of New South Wales is Sydney. It is known throughout Asia as "The Jewel Of The East," because of it's modern sparkling beauty. Built on and around the magnificent Sydney harbor with a population of 4.4 million Sydney is a very modern cosmopolitan city.

The population of NSW is approximately 7.1 million.and is Australia's most heavily populated state. The land area is 809,444 square kilometers. Australia's 5th biggest state in physical size..

Sharing the east coast with Victoria and Queensland, NSW has a magnificent coastline of sheer rock cliffs, sandy beaches and breathtaking views that seem to go on forever.

Picturesque little villages and towns are established all the way along the coast with so much to see and do it would be hard to list it all.

For more details about New South Wales : New South Wales

Queensland is north of NSW and shares the south Australian border with NSW, South Australia and the Northern territory and is a very large state, bigger than many countries at 1,852,642 square kilometers.

It is second in size only to Western Australia. The Population is 4.1 million making it the 3rd most populace state.

The capital city of Queensland is Brisbane. It is the third most populace city in Australia with 2 million people.

Queensland is our tropical wonderland. with all the big entertainment like Sea World focused around Surfers Paradise

For more details about Queensland : Queensland

South Australia is Next to Victoria sharing a border with every state but Tasmania.It is our fourth largest state with a land area of 1,043,514 square kilometers.

The capital city is Adelaide our fifth largest city in Australia and is beautifully situated on the Torrens river with a population of 1.1 million people. Adelaide is home to the Kauma tribe of aboriginal Australians and is a major cultural hub.

The South Australian coastline is diverse, ranging from huge cliffs that drop hundreds of meters to the sea, to flat near sea level coastline with amazing beaches stretching along the coast as well.

Some of the best restaurants and wineries in the country are situated in the Adelaide area. The city is compact and beautiful, with the major University set on the river front, and the city surrounded by wonderful beaches and warm water, it is a delightful place to holiday.

For those who are crazy about wild flowers, this state has them in abundance.

For more details about South Australia : South Australia

Western Australia is by far our largest state, occupying a massive 2,645,615 square kilometers of land with 12,890 kilometers of coastline and a population of only 2.2 million people.

The capital city is Perth with a population of 1.65 million people.

This amazing state is the second largest sub-national entity in the world and takes up the whole Western third of Australia with a climate that varies from temperate in the south west (Perth) to very hot and tropical in Wyndham WA at the top of Australia and is a perfect vacation base .

About four fifths of Western Australia is desert and/or semi arid. This area has many ore deposits of enormous richness and mines are scattered throughout the desert.

For more details about Western Australia : Western Australia

The Northern Territory is a Federal Territory not a state.

Occupying 1,349,129 square kilometers of land it is our 3rd largest state or territory by size, but has a total population of only 221,100 people it is the least populated of all the Australian states and territories.Many places in the territory are little known because of the vast distances between cities, but you can hire aircraft to take you anywhere in the territory..

The capital city of the Northern Territory is Darwin with a population of only 120,659 people.

There is a Casino right on the beach these days, but you can get as isolated as you want up here, there is so much beach!

The Northern territory is a harsh land, as are all the top end states, with huge tide rises, flat land, very heavy rain, hurricanes, crocodiles and dangerous plants, you need to know what you are doing up north if you leave the tourist zones!

For more details about the Northern Territory : The Northern Territory

Tasmania is our magnificent Island state, the 26th largest Island state in the world and is situated 240 kilometers across the Bass Strait south of Melbourne

The mountainous regions of Tasmania is lush and dense with pure water filled streams with the natural minerals from the terraine, it tastes marvelous!

The capital city of Tasmania is Hobart the second oldest city in Australia founded in 1803 as a penal colony.

Tasmania abounds with world heritage old growth forest and pristine mountains and rivers.

Tasmania has seen several environmental protests that have involved the rest of the world to save it's flora and fauna by protecting the forests and natural landscape from logging and other heavy industry.

House and property prices are quite reasonable compared with mainland equivalents.

For more details about : Tasmania.

The Australian Capital Territory is the home of the Australian Federal Government, and was selected as a compromise between Melbourne and Sydney, it is situated inland between the two big cities, and closer to Sydney than Melbourne and is outside the Victorian border.

Canberra in the ACT is the capital of Australia with a population of only 345.000 and is our 8th largest city.

Canberra is a wonder to see, with it's new freeways and modern government house with the old one preserved as a museum behind it.

Canberra is an very interesting place to visit for many reasons with modern Galleries and contemporary architecture with a big country town feel.

The War Museum is the best place to view pieces of Australian war history , and covers all the wars our soldiers have died in.

For more details about the: Australian Capital Territory

In this guide we have given a brief overview of Tourism in Australia.

Listed below are the individual tourist places you may wish to know more details about.