Buy The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding (Paperback) at Amazon

If there were ever one area of a country that ignited a passion and fierce pride in the majority of that country’s citizens, no matter where they live, it is the Outback of Australia. Arid and unforgiving, it speaks to people like no other place on earth.

The Outback is a land unto itself…wild and rugged. It is an environment where the saying “only the strong survive” holds true. To say that the land is barren is not really true. It is woven deeply in the tapestry of Maori history and that of the country as a whole. The treasures that it holds are, aside from gods and opals, in its landscapes and the adaptable creatures, human and animal alike, that inhabit it.

Dramatic, uncompromising rock faces rise from the ground to meet the sky; feral camels and donkeys roam the vast tracts of desolate land; fossils from long ago Ages; and people that have carved out their lives in this area all ignite the imagination of visitors. Places like Ayers Rock (Uluru), Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, and Katherine Gorge attract visitors like iron filings to a magnet. The draw is irresistible.

Uluru holds deep spiritual meaning to the Maori and is a place of reverence. The red stone sandstone outcropping rising majestically from the earth is one of Australia’s most recognizable landmarks. Many know it as the site where, in 1980, a 9-week-old baby was taken by dingoes. Authorities were convinced that the mother, Lindy Chamberlain, had killed the child. Subsequently she was incarcerated until experts testified that there was indeed evidence that dingoes did snatch the child.

Coober Pedy and Alice Springs are just two of the unique settlements that are scattered throughout the Outback. Both attract a large number of visitors each year. Coober Pedy is an opal-mining town with the distinction of being largely below ground as an adaptive measure to help residents beat the extreme heat. Historic Alice Springs, the second largest city in the Northern Territory, offers visitors a widely diverse range of attractions and activities from the usually dry regatta on the Todd River and the desert gardens to hiking in the stunning MacDonnell mountain range.

There are so many places in the Outback that are intriguing that it is difficult to pick just a few to highlight. The national parks and Heritage Sites are beautiful and time should be spent exploring them. Weather within the Outback runs the gauntlet from arid to flooding rains and extreme heat in the day to cold nights. There are only a few that can living in this punishing environment.

You could spend weeks in the Outback and not see everything that appeals to you so, when you plan your trip, set your itinerary in advance to maximize your time there. This wonderful area of Australia will call you back time after time.

Buy The Rough Guide to East Coast Australia 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback) at Amazon

Just 12 minutes across the Sydney Harbour from Circular Quay is the Sydney’s amazing Taronga Zoo. Open every day throughout the year, this is a must see attraction for visitors to Sydney. For those that choose to drive, the parking lot is off of Bradleys Head Road and costs $15 AUD.

One of the largest zoos of its type in the world, the Sydney Taronga Zoo has more than 2600 animals representing over 340 species. This spectacular city zoo was established in 1916 and is spread out over 21 ha on the Sydney Harbour shore. When you enter the zoo, you step into an amazing world of animals.

The Turonga Zoo has amazing creature encounter programs that allow you to interact with a variety of creatures like koalas, seals, giraffes, and more. Each animal encounter has a fee and its specific rules and limitations. To avoid disappointment, make sure that your group will meet the rules in place before you promise the kids they will have a specific encounter as you are planning your visit.

Like the Taronga Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo, the Taronga Zoo in Sydney has a Roar & Snore program. You get to camp out in the park overlooking the incredible Sydney Harbour. The fee for this program includes a delectable supper, animal encounters, a night safari, and a behind the scenes morning walk after breakfast. Where else can you see the city spread out below on one side of you and hear the roar of big cats on the other?

This jewel of a zoo celebrates the aboriginal heritage through its programs, including putting a priority on hiring aboriginal students. The programs include a journey through about 8,000 years of ancient Australia and its aboriginal people and an exploration of the Cammeraigal peoples. Through the aboriginal programs, the zoo celebrates the contribution that aboriginals have made in the conservation of the Australian wildlife.

The public brings injured wildlife to the zoo on a daily basis and these animals are cared for by the wildlife hospital. The goal of is to rehabilitate those creatures and return them to the wild if possible. When injuries prevent a successful release, the animal is provided a home at the zoo. If the animal’s temperament is appropriate, it may be integrated into the educational programs.

Exploring the zoo is an experience that you will not soon forget.

Buy Frommer’s Australia 2008 (Frommer’s Complete) (Paperback) at Amazon

Sitting on the edge of Darling Harbour, one of the world’s largest aquariums opened to the public in 1988. With more than 650 species represented in the Sydney Aquarium, this fascinating aquatic world has fast captured the imagination of more than half of the visitors to Sydney. The tunnels of acrylic glass give you the feeling of being below the ocean. Watching the sharks glide by overhead can make you feel vulnerable to these perfect predators even though you know that you are safe.

Through the five habitats of the Sydney Aquarium, you can explore the marine life in the waters of Australia without setting foot outside. From the southern Murray Darling Rivers to the rivers in the north, the northern and southern oceans, and the adorable dugongs; there is no lack of amazing aquatic life to learn about and watch. Almost all of Australia’s vast waterways and marine life is represented.

The Southern Rivers Habitat is home to a recreation of the natural habitat of the Murray cod, the largest freshwater fish in Australia, and the adorable egg laying platypus. The exhibit also houses all manner of fish, reptiles and crustaceans from the Murray Darling River System, a system that drains a seventh of Australia’s land mass.

With its saltwater crocodiles and Asian Bass, or Barramundi, the Northern Rivers Habitat recreates the rivers of the north seasonal habitat. Affected by floods and droughts, the creatures of the northern rivers adapt to the water’s salinity. Salt water penetrates as far as 100km inland during the dry season.

Fairy Penguins, Grey Nurse Sharks, Leafy Sea Dragons, giant jellyfish, and the Pineapple Fish all populate the Southern Oceans Habitat. The amazing diversity of these exhibits is astounding. The Sydney Harbour exhibit is particularly interesting.

Recreation of the vibrant and colorful Great Barrier Reef makes the Northern Oceans Habitat a dazzling display that will hold you in its spell. The Reef Theatre, with its window into the oceanarium, will further captivate you.

Mermaid Lagoon is home to two of the very few captive dugongs in the world, Pig and Wuru. Known as sea cows or mermaids of the sea, the dugong is a strange looking creature that related to the manatee. Their jaw is on the bottom of their head to facilitate their grazing of sea grasses. It is often thought that the dugong is the mermaid of legends.

If you are looking for watery adventures but prefer to stay on dry land, the Sydney Aquarium is the place to go. With its incredible habitats replicating natural environs of each area, you could easily spend a full day enjoying the creatures that live throughout the waters of Australia.

Buy Look What Came from Australia (Paperback) at Amazon

Great surf in the coastal waters around the world attracts surfers like iron filings to a magnet. Each surfer is seeking that perfect wave. That one wave that they can ride forever. The coasts of Australia produce some of the best surf in the world. Many world-class events are held in the surfing meccas scattered along the coast of this spectacular country.

Moviemakers from around the world have been attracted the incredible surf in some of these locales. For instance, Bells Beach was one of the locations selected for the filming of the movie “The Endless Summer”. Home to the long running Rip Curl Pro Surf & Music Festival, Bells Beach has attracted surfers for decades with its incredible surf.

When Bells Beach is flat, competitions are sometimes moved to the small town of Johanna. The surf at Johanna is known for its power and is held in high regard by experienced surfers. Swells that miss Bells Beach are often picked up at Johanna.

Surrounded by water on three sides, the popular seaside resort of Manly provides terrific surf for all levels of surfers. A scant 13 km from Sydney, this beautiful resort town has a stunning 18 beaches in the immediate area. At any time you are likely to see longboarders, shortboarders, boogie boarders, knee boarders and body surfers taking to the water. Surfers from Sydney flock to this beach to fulfill their thirst for great waves.

Lying between Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta sits Queensland’s most southern beach. Burleigh Heads attracts droves of surfers with its powerful surf, sandy bottom, and incredible beach. The windier it is, the more water gets funneled into the bay creating even more powerful waves so experience is a necessity in these waters.

Drive just an hour and a half north of Brisebane and you will find that the beaches along the Noosa National Park coastline provide great opportunities to catch that perfect wave. Beginning at Sunshine Beach and running about 12kms, there are some great breaks. Most suitable for the novice is Noosa Beach with its gentler waves and sand bottom. Experienced surfers often head for the Boiling Pot with its rock-strewn bottom, waves that rise as high as 4 meters if the wind is right, and rides as long as 300 meters.

Literally hundreds of surf spots dot the coast of this island country. Whether you are an expert surfer or a novice, you will find the perfect surf for your experience level along these stunning coasts.

You’re guaranteed to catch a fish at Port Douglas – just as you’re guaranteed to get seasick on a game fishing boat. This is unquestionably one of the best sport and game fishing locations on the planet.
Port Douglas is nestled between the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. It offers hundreds of popular reef and estuary fish species for both sport and table fishing.
The best time of year for game fishing is between October and December. You can expect to see Tuna, Sailfish, Dolphin Fish, Wahoo, Giant Trevally and of course, the formidable Pacific Black Marlin.
Reef fishing is best around June to October. You can expect to catch Coral Trout, Red Emperor, Nannygai (Sea Perch), Cobia, Cod and Mackeral. The charter boats usually go out about 15 – 25 miles off shore for a full day at sea. (Note: some reef areas have fishing restrictions).
River/Estuary fishing has the longest season from October to April. Expect to pull in a barramundi or two (but be warned, there are bag limits). Estuary fishing is calm and relaxed which makes it more suitable for the inexperienced angler and kids.
If you still want more after a long successful day at sea you can fish from the shore. Just follow the locals to their favourite haunts and only use live bait such as prawns, squid and pilchards.

From 1915, when the first opal was discovered, until the present; the tiny Outback town of Cooder Pedy has been famous for its high quality opals and has become a tourist destination. You will be utterly amazed at the amount of interesting things there are to do and see in and around this remote town with its population of under 4000. For a small town, it packs a big wallop.

The distances that this unique town is from major cities will stun you. Roughly halfway between Alice Springs and Adelaide, the term “in the middle of nowhere” is a term that could aptly be applied to Coober Pedy. Known as the opal capital of the world, Coober Pedy is the largest opal-mining town in Australia.

The Australian Outback is renowned for its unforgiving environment and searing temperatures. Cooder Pedy is no exception. With temperatures of over 100F most of the year, except in the winter when the temperature drops to the 90F range, many residents of this small town have adapted their lifestyle to accommodate those grueling mid-afternoon temperatures.

Underground homes are the norm, as opposed to the exception here. Abandoned mines have been converted to subterranean abodes that remain at a fairly constant temperature year round, negating the need for air-conditioning. Other homes have been purpose built in underground for about the same cost as a traditional above ground house. The underground world scenes in the movie “Mad Max – Beyond the Thunderdome” were filmed in one of the best known homes in Coober Pedy, Crocodile Harry’s Underground Nest.

The first church to be built underground in Coober Pedy was the little church of Saint Peter & Paul’s Catholic Church. Starting out as a non-denominational place of worship, this unique church became a reality through the sweat of the community. Other churches have since followed suit providing residents with a comfortable place to worship.

Some shops, art galleries, and hotels incorporated the underground lifestyle into their business. The Desert Cave Hotel, Comfort Inn Coober Pedy Experience Motel, Desert View Motel, Radeka’s Dugout Motel, and The Underground Motel all offer the opportunity of living underground, albeit only for the length of your visit. Radeka’s was originally an opal mine that was converted to a motel in the mid-1980s. If your taste runs to B&Bs, there are dugouts B&Bs as well.

You can stroll to the Temptation Café and have a bite to eat in one of only three underground cafes in the world. Once you leave the delightful café, you can go “noodling”, or searching for opals, in the public area. Who knows, you may find a decent opal to memorialize your visit to this amazing town…others have.