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54321

1 The Top Travel Experiences . . . . . .3

2 The Best Outdoor Adventures . . . .5

3 The Best Places to View

Wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

4 The Best Places to

Experience the Outback . . . . . . . .7

5 The Best Beaches . . . . . . . . . . . .8

6 The Best Affordable Diving

& Snorkeling Sites . . . . . . . . . . . .9

7 The Best Places to

Bushwalk (Hike) . . . . . . . . . . . .10

8 The Best Places to Learn

About Aboriginal Culture . . . . . .11

9 The Best of Small-Town

Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

10 The Best Museums . . . . . . . . . .12

11 The Best Moderately

Priced Accommodations . . . . . . .13

12 The Best Alternative

Accommodations . . . . . . . . . . . .14

13 The Best Places to Stay

on a Shoestring . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

14 The Best Worth-a-Splurge

Restaurants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

15 The Best Dining Bargains . . . . . .16

Planning an Affordable Trip to Australia 18

by Lee Mylne

2

Contents

List of Maps viii

What’s New in Australia 1

1 The Best of Australia 3

1 The Regions in Brief . . . . . . . . .18

2 The $50-a-Day Premise . . . . . . .24

3 Fifty Money-Saving Tips . . . . . . .24

4 Visitor Information . . . . . . . . . . .29

5 Entry Requirements

& Customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

6 Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

The Australian Dollar, the U.S.

Dollar & the British Pound . . . . .34

7 When to Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Australia Calendar of Events . . .37

8 Travel Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . .39

9 Health & Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

10 Specialized Travel Resources . . . .42

11 Planning an Affordable

Trip Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Frommers.com: The

Complete Travel Resource . . . . .48

12 The 21st-Century Traveler . . . . . .48

Online Traveler’s Toolbox . . . . . .50

13 Getting There . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Coping with Jet Lag . . . . . . . . .54

Flying with Film & Video . . . . . .55

14 Packages for the

Independent Traveler . . . . . . . . .56

15 Escorted General-Interest

Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

16 The Active Traveler . . . . . . . . . . .58

17 Getting Around Australia . . . . . .63

18 Tips on Accommodations . . . . . .74

Saving on Your Hotel Room . . . .78

19 Tips on Dining . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Witchetty Grubs, Lilli-Pillies

& Other Good Eats . . . . . . . . . .80

20 Recommended Books & Films . . .81

Fast Facts: Australia . . . . . . . . .81

1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Neighborhoods in Brief . . . . . . .92

2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Fast Facts: Sydney . . . . . . . . . .103

3 Accommodations You Can

Afford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Super Cheap Sleeps . . . . . . . . .113

4 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . .118

What to Know About BYO . . . .118

5 What to See & Do in Sydney . .130

Great Deals on Sightseeing . . .131

A Walk on the Wild Side:

Climbing the Harbour Bridge . . .135

6 Harbor Cruises &

Organized Tours . . . . . . . . . . .148

7 Staying Active . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

8 Spectator Sports . . . . . . . . . . .153

9 Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153

10 Sydney After Dark . . . . . . . . . .161

New South Wales 167

by Marc Llewellyn

4

1 The Blue Mountains . . . . . . . . .168

2 The Hunter Valley:

Wine Tasting & More . . . . . . . .178

Bunking Down in a

Caravan, Man . . . . . . . . . . . . .183

Something Special: A Cattle

Station in the Upper Hunter . . .184

3 Port Stephens: Dolphin-

& Whale-Watching . . . . . . . . .185

4 North of Sydney Along

the Pacific Highway:

Australia’s Holiday Coast . . . . .188

Byron on a Super

Cheap Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . .195

5 South of Sydney

Along the Princes Highway . . . .198

6 The Snowy Mountains:

Australia’s Ski Country . . . . . . .205

7 Outback New South Wales . . . .207

Brisbane 215

by Lee Mylne

5

Sydney 87

by Marc Llewellyn

3

1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

Neighborhoods in Brief . . . . . .219

2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . .220

Fast Facts: Brisbane . . . . . . . . .224

3 Accommodations You

Can Afford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225

4 Great Deals on Dining . . . . . . .229

Family-Friendly Restaurants . . .231

5 Exploring Brisbane . . . . . . . . . .232

Cheap Thrills: What to

See & Do for Free (or Almost)

in Brisbane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234

6 River Cruises &

Other Organized Tours . . . . . . .236

7 Outdoor Pursuits in Brisbane . .238

8 The Shopping Scene . . . . . . . .239

9 Brisbane After Dark . . . . . . . . .240

Brisbane’s Historic Pubs . . . . . .242

10 Moreton Bay & Islands . . . . . . .243

iv CONTENTS

Cheap Thrills: What to

See & Do for Free (or

Almost) in Queensland . . . . . . .252

Follow the Heritage Trails . . . .253

1 Exploring the Great

Barrier Reef . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254

Budget Snorkeling & Diving . . .261

2 Cairns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265

Where’s the Beach? . . . . . . . .276

3 Port Douglas, Daintree &

the Cape Tribulation Area . . . . .285

4 The North Coast: Mission

Beach, Townsville &

the Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295

5 The Whitsunday Coast

& Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307

Come Sail with Me . . . . . . . . .312

6 The Capricorn Coast &

the Southern Reef Islands . . . .322

Up Close & Personal

with a Turtle . . . . . . . . . . . . . .330

7 Fraser Island: Eco–Adventures

& 4WD Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332

8 The Sunshine Coast . . . . . . . . .336

9 The Gold Coast . . . . . . . . . . . .344

10 The Gold Coast Hinterland:

Back to Nature . . . . . . . . . . . .356

11 Outback Queensland . . . . . . . .361

On the Dinosaur Trail . . . . . . . .364

The Red Centre 368

by Marc Llewellyn

7

1 Exploring the Red Centre . . . . .368

2 Alice Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371

Earning a Degree from

Didgeridoo University . . . . . . . .375

3 Road Trips from Alice Springs . . .382

Road-Trip Tips for the

East & West Macs . . . . . . . . . .383

4 Kings Canyon . . . . . . . . . . . . .385

5 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

(Ayers Rock/The Olgas) . . . . . .387

Dinner in the Desert . . . . . . . .391

When You See the Southern

Cross for the First Time . . . . . .393

Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef 248

by Lee Mylne

6

The Top End 395

by Lee Mylne

8

Croc Alert! (& Other

Safety Tips) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .398

1 Darwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .398

Cheap Eats & More! . . . . . . . .406

2 Kakadu National Park . . . . . . .409

Never Smile at a

You-Know-What . . . . . . . . . . .411

3 Katherine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416

CONTENTS v

Tip-Toeing Through the

Wildflowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424

1 Perth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425

Neighborhoods in Brief . . . . . .428

Fast Facts: Perth . . . . . . . . . . .430

2 Side Trips from Perth . . . . . . . .448

3 Margaret River & the

Southwest: Wine Tasting

& Underground Wonders . . . . .455

4 The Goldfields . . . . . . . . . . . . .461

5 The Midwest & the

Northwest: Where the

Outback Meets the Sea . . . . . .464

6 The Kimberley:

A Far-Flung Wilderness . . . . . .471

Adelaide & South Australia 486

by Marc Llewellyn

10

1 Adelaide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .488

The Adelaide &

Womadelaide Festivals . . . . . .490

Fast Facts: Adelaide . . . . . . . . .493

2 Side Trips from Adelaide . . . . . .504

So Much Wine,

So Little Time . . . . . . . . . . . . .505

3 Kangaroo Island . . . . . . . . . . .511

Culling Koalas—

A National Dilemma . . . . . . . .516

4 Outback South Australia . . . . .519

A Fabulous Four-Wheel￾Drive Adventure . . . . . . . . . . .523

5 The Coorong . . . . . . . . . . . . . .524

Melbourne 526

by Marc Llewellyn

11

Perth & Western Australia 421

by Lee Mylne

9

1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .526

Neighborhoods in Brief . . . . . .529

2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . .531

Fast Facts: Melbourne . . . . . . .532

3 Accommodations You

Can Afford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .533

4 Great Deals on Dining . . . . . . .538

5 Seeing the Sights . . . . . . . . . . .544

6 Enjoying the Great

Outdoors or Catching an

Aussie Rules Football Match . . .549

7 Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .551

Death by Chocolate . . . . . . . . .553

8 Melbourne After Dark . . . . . . .554

9 Side Trips from Melbourne . . . .559

Victoria 567

by Marc Llewellyn

12

1 Ballarat: Gold-Rush City . . . . . .567

2 The Great Ocean Road:

One of the World’s Most

Scenic Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . .572

3 The Murray River . . . . . . . . . . .575

4 The Southeast Coast . . . . . . . .579

5 The High Country . . . . . . . . . .580

6 The Northwest:

Grampians National Park . . . . .585

vi CONTENTS

1 Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .588

2 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . . .591

Fast Facts: Canberra . . . . . . . .592

3 Accommodations You

Can Afford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .593

4 Where to Dine . . . . . . . . . . . .595

5 Seeing the Sights . . . . . . . . . . .596

Up, Up & Away . . . . . . . . . . . .597

6 Outdoor Pursuits . . . . . . . . . . .600

7 Canberra After Dark . . . . . . . . .600

Tasmania 602

by Marc Llewellyn

14

1 Hobart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .606

2 Port Arthur: Discovering

Tasmania’s Convict Heritage . . .617

3 Freycinet National Park . . . . . .619

4 Launceston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .621

The Plight of Taz . . . . . . . . . . .622

5 Cradle Mountain & Lake

St. Clair National Park . . . . . . .626

Hiking the Overland Track . . . .628

6 The West Coast . . . . . . . . . . . .629

Appendix: Australia in Depth 633

by Marc Llewellyn

Canberra 588

by Marc Llewellyn

13

1 Australia’s Natural World . . . . .633

2 The People of Oz . . . . . . . . . . .635

3 Australian History 101 . . . . . . .637

Dateline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .637

4 Aussie Eats & Drinks . . . . . . . .640

Index 642

CONTENTS vii

Australia 20

Greater Sydney Region 89

Sydney at a Glance 94

Sydney Transportation Systems 98

Central Sydney Accommodations

108

Central Sydney Dining 120

Central Sydney Attractions 132

New South Wales 169

The Blue Mountains 171

The Hunter Valley 179

Greater Brisbane 217

Brisbane 222

Moreton Bay & Islands 245

Queensland 250

The Great Barrier Reef 255

Cairns 267

Port Douglas, Daintree &

Cape Tribulation 287

The Whitsunday Islands 309

The Sunshine Coast 337

The Gold Coast 345

The Red Centre 369

Alice Springs 373

The Northern Territory 397

Darwin 399

Western Australia 423

Perth 427

The Kimberley Region 473

South Australia 487

Adelaide 489

Adelaide Hills 509

Kangaroo Island 512

Greater Melbourne 527

Melbourne Accommodations 535

Melbourne Dining 539

Melbourne Attractions 545

Side Trips from Melbourne 561

Victoria 569

Canberra 589

Tasmania 603

Hobart 607

List of Maps

An Invitation to the Reader

In researching this book, we discovered many wonderful places—hotels, restaurants,

shops, and more. We’re sure you’ll find others. Please tell us about them, so we can share

the information with your fellow travelers in upcoming editions. If you were disappointed

with a recommendation, we’d love to know that, too. Please write to:

Frommer’s Australia from $50 a Day, 13th Edition

Wiley Publishing, Inc. • 111 River St. • Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

An Additional Note

Please be advised that travel information is subject to change at any time—and this is

especially true of prices. We therefore suggest that you write or call ahead for confirma￾tion when making your travel plans. The authors, editors, and publisher cannot be held

responsible for the experiences of readers while traveling. Your safety is important to us,

however, so we encourage you to stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. Keep a

close eye on cameras, purses, and wallets, all favorite targets of thieves and pickpockets.

About the Authors

Sydney resident Marc Llewellyn is one of Australia’s premier travel writers and the win￾ner of several travel writing awards, including the Australian Society of Travel Writer’s

Travel Writer of the Year award 2001/2002. His latest travelogue, Riders to the Midnight

Sun, tells of his cycle journey from the Ukrainian Black Sea to Arctic Russia—in a bid to

escape the Australian heat.

Lee Mylne is a Brisbane-based travel writer who writes for a range of publications, includ￾ing the national travel trade magazine, Travel Week Australia. Born and raised in New

Zealand, she traveled widely before finally figuring out she could make a living out of it.

She has lived in Australia for the past 16 years and is currently president of the Australian

Society of Travel Writers. She is also a co-author of Frommer’s Australia 2004, and From￾mer’s Portable Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Other Great Guides for Your Trip:

Frommer’s Australia

Frommer’s Portable Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

Frommer’s Adventure Guides: Australia & New Zealand

The Unofficial Guide to the World’s Best Diving Vacations

Frommer’s Star Ratings, Icons & Abbreviations

Every hotel, restaurant, and attraction listing in this guide has been ranked for quality,

value, service, amenities, and special features using a star-rating system. In country, state,

and regional guides, we also rate towns and regions to help you narrow down your choices

and budget your time accordingly. Hotels and restaurants are rated on a scale of zero (rec￾ommended) to three stars (exceptional). Attractions, shopping, nightlife, towns, and

regions are rated according to the following scale: zero stars (recommended), one star

(highly recommended), two stars (very highly recommended), and three stars (must-see).

In addition to the star-rating system, we also use seven feature icons that point you

to the great deals, in-the-know advice, and unique experiences that separate travelers from

tourists. Throughout the book, look for:

Special finds—those places only insiders know about

Fun facts—details that make travelers more informed and their trips

more fun

Best bets for kids, and advice for the whole family

Special moments—those experiences that memories are made of

Places or experiences not worth your time or money

Insider tips—great ways to save time and money

Great values—where to get the best deals

The following abbreviations are used for credit cards:

AE American Express DISC Discover V Visa

DC Diners Club MC MasterCard

Frommers.com

Now that you have the guidebook to a great trip, visit our website at www.frommers.com

for travel information on more than 3,000 destinations. With features updated regularly,

we give you instant access to the most current trip-planning information available. At

Frommers.com, you’ll also find the best prices on airfares, accommodations, and car

rentals—and you can even book travel online through our travel booking partners. At

Frommers.com, you’ll also find the following:

• Online updates to our most popular guidebooks

• Vacation sweepstakes and contest giveaways

• Newsletter highlighting the hottest travel trends

• Online travel message boards with featured travel discussions

Value

Tips

Overrated

Moments

Kids

Fun Fact

Finds

What’s New in Australia

Since our last edition, getting to and

around the land Down Under has

changed once again; when you get

here, there are facelifts and updates to

old favorites, and a couple of new

museums you might wish to check

out. Here’s a brief summary, with

more detail in each of the regional

chapters.

PLANNING YOUR TRIP The

Australian skies have seen many

changes in recent years, the most

notable being the growth of no-frills

carrier Virgin Blue (& 07/3295

2296). Rapidly expanding routes now

see Virgin Blue servicing all capital

cities as well as an ever-growing list of

smaller centers such as Maroochydore

on the Sunshine Coast, Cairns,

Townsville, Mackay, the Whitsunday

Coast, Rockhampton and Gold Coast

in Queensland, Coffs Harbour in

New South Wales, Hobart and

Launceston in Tasmania, Alice Springs

in the Red Centre, and Broome in

Western Australia. Stay tuned; this is a

moveable feast.

Another newcomer is Regional

Express (& 13 17 13 in Australia;

www.regionalexpress.com.au), which

picked up the pieces from the old

Kendell Airlines. It flies to many

places; of note are Broken Hill, Bal￾lina, and Merimbula (all in NSW)

from Sydney; Melbourne to northern

Tasmania; and Adelaide to Kangaroo

Island and Broken Hill. Virgin Blue

and Regional Express often have good

Internet deals.

On the ground, early 2004 will see

the opening of a long-awaited rail line

linking Alice Springs and Darwin. It

will be serviced by the iconic Ghan,

operating weekly between Adelaide

and Darwin and twice weekly between

Adelaide and Alice Springs. In

Queensland, the new high-speed Bris￾bane-Cairns Tilt Train has knocked

hours off the journey.

On Oz highways, an extension of

the M5 motorway south of Sydney

has cut 45 minutes off the road trip to

Canberra and the Snowy Mountains.

You can now make Canberra in less

than 31

⁄2 hours.

SYDNEY New entrants on the bar

scene in Sydney include the groovy

Cargo Bar & Lounge (& 02/9262

1777) on Kings Street Wharf, on

the city side of Darling Harbour (its

outdoor areas are great on a sultry

evening), and The Establishment

(& 02/9240 3000) on George Street

in the city center.

BRISBANE Brisbane’s pub scene

has taken on new life, with the reno￾vation of several of its historic hotels.

The Heritage-listed Breakfast Creek

Hotel (& 07/3262 5988) on Bris￾bane’s Kingsford Smith Drive has

undergone a A$4-million (US$2.6-

million) renovation and restoration,

and the Regatta Hotel (& 07/3870

7063), on Coronation Drive, has also

had a face-lift and become one of the

trendiest places to be seen. Access to

the Regatta has been helped by the

opening of a new CityCat terminal

practically on its doorstep.

The Queensland Museum (& 07/

3840 7555) is undergoing a major

revamp, with a new entrance and the

incorporation of an interactive Scien￾centre.

The free Museum of Brisbane,

scheduled to open in October 2003, is

housed in the historic City Hall and is

designed to capture the history and

essence of Brisbane. It will include a

small theater showing a short film

about the city and will relate the sto￾ries, events, and ideas that have shaped

the city as well as giving practical

information for visitors.

Brisbane’s new Cultural Industries

Precinct at Kelvin Grove, still under

construction at press time, is the new

home to the innovative La Boite The￾atre (www.laboite.com.au). La Boite

was due to move into a new 400-seat

theater-in-the-round in late 2003.

QUEENSLAND Queensland

Rail’s (& 13 22 32) fast new Tilt

Train links Brisbane and Cairns, cut￾ting the journey by about 7 hours.

The 160kmph (99 mph) “business

class” trip takes 25 hours.

When you get to Cairns, you’ll find

a city transformed by a major redevel￾opment of the Esplanade, which

includes a massive new saltwater

swimming lagoon. Nearby is the new

Reef Fleet Terminal from which the

Great Barrier Reef boats leave.

There are also new artificial lagoons

in Airlie Beach and Townsville, resolv￾ing the problem of where to swim in

stinger season.

Two of a planned six Great Walks

of Queensland will open in June

2004, in the Whitsundays and Fraser

Island. The Queensland Parks and

Wildlife Service (& 07/4946 7022;

www.env.qld.gov.au) is planning

tracks that will highlight some of

Queensland’s most valuable parks and

forests in World Heritage areas.

THE TOP END From early 2004,

the opening of the long-awaited Alice

Springs–Darwin railway line will give

the Top End its first rail link. Great

Southern Railway’s The Ghan (& 13

21 47 in Australia; www.trainways.

com.au) will run one weekly return

journey between the two cities, leav￾ing Alice Springs on Mondays and

arriving in Darwin about 24 hours

later.

PERTH & WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The Mining Hall of Fame (& 08/

9026 2700; www.mininghall.com), in

the Outback gold town of Kalgoorlie,

continues to expand, with new attrac￾tions, including a Chinese garden and

more galleries opening in late 2003.

MELBOURNE The new place to

hang out is Federation Square, which

is on target to attract an estimated 6

million visitors a year. The architec￾ture is weird: a kind of post-industrial

cubic look with a wonky square paved

with stones. There are plenty of cafes,

restaurants, and art spaces around.

One eatery to look out for is the

Chocolate Buddha (& 03/9654

5688), a Japanese-inspired noodle

place that’s well worth a visit.

The latest hotel of note is the

Ramada Melbourne (p. 536), a new

four-star hotel opposite Flinders Street

Railway Station. It’s cozy, friendly, and

has great offers—especially on the

weekends.

TASMANIA Long linked by air,

Sydney and Tasmania were brought

together by the start of a high-speed

car ferry link in January 2004. The

Spirit of Tasmania III is operated by

TT-Line, who also run car ferries from

Melbourne to Tasmania. The ferry

departs at 3pm from Sydney on Tues￾day, Friday, and Sunday, and arrives in

Devonport at 11:30am the next day.

Then it loads up and ships out back to

Sydney again. Prices for the 20-hour

journey range from A$230 to A$500

(US$150–US$325) per person one￾way. Cars will be transported free for

45 weeks of the year.

2 WHAT’S NEW

The Best of Australia

Maybe we’re biased, but Australia has a lot of bests. It’s got some of the wildest

natural scenery, the weirdest wildlife, certainly some of the most brilliant scuba

diving, the best beaches (shut up, California), the oldest rainforest (110 million

years and counting), the world’s oldest human civilization (some archaeologists

say 40,000 years, some say 120,000), the best wines (stop browsing the Napa and

come see what we mean), the world’s most laid-back people (when they’re not

from Melbourne and watching Aussie Rules football), the best weather (ignoring

the Wet Season up north), the most innovative East-meets-West-meets-some￾place-else cuisine—all lit by the world’s most pervasive white sunlight.

“Best” means different things to different people, but scarcely a visitor lands

without having the Great Barrier Reef at the top of their “Things to See” list. It

really is the Eighth Wonder of the World. Also high on most folks’ lists is Ayers

Rock. This monolith must have some kind of magnet inside it to attract plane￾loads of tourists. We’re not saying the Rock isn’t special, but we think the Aus￾tralian desert all around it is even more special. The third attraction on most

visitors’ lists is Sydney, the Emerald City that glitters in the Antipodean sunshine

on—another “best”—the best harbor spanned by the best bridge in the world

(sorry, San Francisco).

These “big three” attractions are understandably popular with travelers. What

the TV commercials or the travel agent window displays don’t show, however, is

how much else there is to see. There are the World Heritage wetlands and Abo￾riginal rock art of Kakadu National Park, the second Great Barrier Reef on the

western coast, and the snowy mountain hiking trails of Tasmania. As planes

zoom overhead delivering visitors to the Reef, the Rock, and Sydney, Aussies in

charming country towns, on far-flung beaches, on rustic sheep stations, in vil￾lages, and in mountain lodges shake their heads and say, “They don’t know what

they’re missin’.” You will no doubt find your own “bests” as you travel, as well

as ours below, and we would like to hear about them. In the listing below, NSW

stands for New South Wales, QLD for Queensland, NT for the Northern Ter￾ritory, WA for Western Australia, SA for South Australia, VIC for Victoria, TAS

for Tasmania, and ACT for the Australian Capital Territory.

1

1 The Top Travel Experiences

• Experiencing Sydney (NSW):

Consistently voted one of the best

cities in the world by almost every

major travel publication, Sydney

is more than just the magnificent

Harbour Bridge and Opera

House. No other major city has

beaches in abundance like Sydney,

and few have such a magnificently

scenic harbor. My advice: Get

aboard a ferry, walk across the

bridge, and plan on spending at

least a week, because you’ll need

every minute. See chapter 3.

• Discovering the Great Barrier

Reef (QLD): It is hard to believe

God would create such a glorious

underwater fairyland, a 2,000km

(1,250-mile) coral garden with

electric colors and bizarre fish life,

and have the grace to stick it all

somewhere with warm water and

year-round sunshine. This is what

you came to Australia to see. See

chapter 6.

• Exploring the Wet Tropics

(QLD): City folk can’t get over the

moisture-dripping ferns, the neon

blue butterflies, the primeval peace

of this World Heritage patch of

rainforest stretching north, south,

and west from Cairns. Hike it,

4WD it, or glide over the treetops

in the Skyrail gondola from

Cairns. See chapter 6.

• Bareboat Sailing in the Whit￾sundays (QLD): Bareboat means

unskippered—that’s right, even if

you think port is just an after-din￾ner drink you can charter a yacht,

pay for a day’s instruction from a

skipper, then take over the helm

and explore these 74 island gems.

Anchor in deserted bays, snorkel

over reefs, fish for coral trout from

the deck, and feel the wind in

your sails. See p. 312.

• Exploring the Olgas (Kata

Tjuta) and Ayers Rock (Uluru)

(NT): Just why everyone comes

thousands of kilometers to see the

big red stone of Ayers Rock is a

mystery—that’s probably why

they come, because the Rock is a

mystery. Just 50km (31 miles)

from Ayers Rock are the round

red heads of the Olgas, a second

rock formation more significant

to Aborigines and more intriguing

to many visitors than Uluru. See

p. 387.

• Taking an Aboriginal Culture

Tour (Alice Springs, NT): Eating

female wasps, contemplating a hill

as a giant resting caterpillar, and

seeing in the stars the face of your

grandmother smiling down at you

will give you a new perspective on

your own culture. See what we

mean on a half-day tour from the

Aboriginal Art & Culture Centre

in Alice Springs. See p. 374.

• Listening to the “Sounds of

Silence” (Ayers Rock, NT): Billed

as a “million star restaurant”

because it’s outdoors under the

Milky Way, this culinary treat is a

fabulous way to soak up the

desert. Sip champagne to the

strains of a didgeridoo as the sun

sets, then settle down to a “bush

tucker” feast of emu, kangaroo,

and crocodile at white-clothed

tables in the sand. Then it’s lights

out, the music stops, and everyone

listens to the eerie sound of

silence. See p. 391.

• Exploring Kakadu National Park

(NT): Australia’s biggest national

park is a wild wonderland of lily￾clad wetlands, looming red escarp￾ment, Aboriginal rock art, fern￾fringed waterholes, countless birds,

big barramundi (that’s a fish), and

menacing crocs. Cruise it, hike it,

4WD it, fish it. See “Kakadu

National Park” in chapter 8.

• Cruising the Kimberley (WA):

Australia’s last frontier, the Kim￾berley is a cocktail of giant South

Sea pearls, red soil, crocodiles,

Aboriginal rock art called “Wand￾jina,” and million-acre farms in a

never-ending wilderness. Cross it

by 4WD on the Gibb River Road,

stay at a cattle station (ranch),

base yourself on the beach in

Broome, or cruise its dramatic red

coastline. See chapter 9.

• Rolling in Wildflowers (WA):

Imagine Texas three times over

and covered in wildflowers. That’s

what the state of Western Aus￾tralia looks like every spring from

August to mid-November when

pink, mauve, red, white, yellow,

and blue wildflowers bloom their

hearts out. See chapter 9.

4 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF AUSTRALIA