My Aussie Top 10

As a travel journalist I often get asked to list the best things to do. here’s some my list about Australia.

1.The traditional jumping off point for those looking to snorkel and dive the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is a favoured point to catch a day cruise to the reef. There are heaps of operators that offer a wide variety of different kinds of cruises out to the reef. You can choose between day-trips or overnight cruises, which vary greatly in price, anywhere from to 0.If you aren’t yet qualified to scuba dive, but can’t possibly go on a cruise to the Great Barrier Reef without doing so, just about all trips will give you the chance to do an introductory dive, with no certification necessary. Almost all boats now days have an green tourism certification, which means you don’t have to worry about damaging all the beautiful underwater scenery while you are diving.

2.Held every February, the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is now the biggest of its kind in the world. A million people line Darlinghurst’s streets to see floats so colourful, and outfits so outlandish that Brazilian carnevalists would be envious. Streets are closed off, pubs along the way are crowded, and the gay and lesbian community party for days. It’s their Christmas. Hetro folk are allowed along for the celebratory ride but this is a celebration of queer culture. The event began in 1979 with a parade of 800 people celebrating World Gay Solidarity Day. These were much less open times and there were fights with the law that led to arrests for ‘lewd behaviour’. These days gay and lesbian police march openly – in uniform – in the parade. The whole thing involves thousands of performers. Religious types are ever resentful of the wanton sexuality but are generally seen as part of the lunatic fringe during this miasma of colour. It’s an unforgetable party and can’t be missed.

3.Located south of Cairns<, Mission Beach is the closest mainland point to the Great Barrier Reef. The beach is a 13km long, white sandy beach, with awesome views of Bedarra and a couple of other islands just off the beach. There is a tiny village here, where you can learn more about activities like sea kayaking or scuba diving, though some would be perfectly happy soaking up the sunshine and taking in the beautiful views.You can stay in local accommodation, though most will be on a day trip from Cairns. If you did not hire a car or RV for your [holiday|vacation|trip}, there is a company that offers a coach transfer service named Mission Beach Dunk Island Connections, which takes the scenic road between Port Douglas, Cairns, and the Cassowary coast.

4.Tropfest is the world’s largest short film festival and is held early in February each year in Sydney. Tropfest also screens live on television. The aim is to ‘showcase the work of young filmmakers and to give them the opportunity to screen their movies for their peers in a festive environment’. For everyone else it’s a chance to watch free films while drinking vino on a warm summer’s evening. Each film must contain a ‘signature item’, something inanimate the organisers decided months previously to ensure the film was made for Tropfest. The event began in 1993 when a local actor/director John Polson screened one of his own short films at the Tropicana Café in Darlinghurst. 200 people crammed the café. The next year 2000 showed up and chaos reigned on the café strip. Last year it’s estimated 100,000 watched the festival in The Domain, while millions more filled the other venues.

5.Try to play Didgeridoo and learn something about Indigenous Culture. You will find out that blowing into the carved tree is not as easy as it may seem (but you may have lot of fun, you and the one teaching you). Cultural centres of aborginal art and history are spread all around the land. You will learn stories about the Dreamtime and learn a lot of how people lived in the old days and their culture. It may change your perception of the locals you may meet at some places.

6.Dubbed ‘The race that stops a nation’, The Melbourne Cup does just that. At 3.00pm on the first Tuesday in November, everyone downs pencils and tunes in. People that have no interest in horse racing watch. School children are allowed home early to watch it on TV. The entire state of Victoria has a holiday. Flemington, where the race is held, is a heaving miasma of people. At least 150,000 people get to the track, and the same happens at every suburban and metropolitan race track in the whole country. Australians go mad for ‘The Cup’, everyone becomes an expert and sweeps are held in pubs and classrooms around the country. As a way of seeing how Australians tick, getting to Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day can’t be beaten.

7.The largest continuous area of rainforest in Australia, the Daintree National Park is a protected area of lush rainforest 100km’s north of Cairns. The Daintree, which encompasses around 1200 square kilometers, is not only a World Heritage site, but is also home to a large variety of plant and animal life—including marsupials, frogs, birds and more. Considered the oldest rainforest in the world, the Daintree forest is over 138 million years old and has more than 450 different species of bird, including 25 species found only there. There are some day hikes that allow tourists to experience parts of this giant rainforest by themselves, as well as guided tours that can help teach you about the ecology on your way.

8.The coastline of Australia’s southern coast is absolutely stunning. The Great Ocean Road runs right along the Southern Ocean where it kind of blew my mind that the next piece of land south is Antarctica. There are amazing sites to see like the weathered rock formations of the Twelve Apostles, volcanic craters that became lakes, waterfalls, and beaches. And there’s nothing like experiencing the lifestyle and culture of the quaint, coastal towns that have the privilege of being situated on this brilliant coast.

9.Attend a surf school and experience the surfing lifestyle. Ever dreamed of riding the ocean swell? Well, now is your chance. Surfing is big down under. Not just as recreation, but also as a lifestyle. There is something special about the people that live and breath surfing. They have a natural ease and calm for lifelust for life, that is hard to find elsewhere. And it’s almost impossible to understand it until you actually try it. The two seconds of glory while you stand on the board for the first time, with knees shaking like drumsticks will stay with you forever. At least long enough to recover from the wave that will Watch the amazing view of the Sydney Opera House with the fantastic Harbour bridge in the foreground .The Sydney Opera House is widely recognized as the symbol of Australia, as well as being one of the most well known performing arts centres anywhere. The main attraction is off course the unique design. On major celebrations in Sydney history, like New Years Eve and the Sydney Olympic games, the bridge has always been the focal point. For the adventurous, it’s also possible to climb the bridge.

10.Coober Pedy is most famous for the strange living quarters of a large part of it’s local inhabitants who live in converted mines. This practice came about when local resident sought escape from the intense heat before the days of modern air conditioning. Also famous as the the Opal Capital of the World, Coober Pedy was first established as an opal mine in 1915. Today tourists can visit the old opal mines, visit underground churches, and sleep underground in a hotel. The local golf course, with sand instead of grass, is played at night with glow in the dark golf balls. The area served as the backdrop for the post-nuclear apocalypse film titled Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome starring Australian son Mel Gibson. Find a Underground hotel and experience this must see highlight.

I trust these help any future travellers to Australia.