ROTTNEST ISLAND

Rottnest Island, 18 kilometres west of Freemantle, is Perth's favourite holiday destination. First settled in 1830, the island has had an interesting history, first as a prison, then for coastal defence and later as a holiday residence for the state Governors. Rottnest Island offers endless possibilities! An ‘A’ Class Nature Reserve and widely regarded as one of Western Australia’s “best kept secrets”, it is home to some of the most spectacular white sandy beaches, secluded bays, unique wildlife including the world famous Quokka and a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals, ship wrecks and a fascinating and colourful history. Rottnest Island has something for everyone!

Website: Rottnest Island

 Rottnest Ferry, Western Australia

Rottnest Express is Rottnest Island’s largest and most experienced cruise company, operating daily year-round ferry services from Perth and Fremantle. The crossing from Fremantle to Rottnest is renowned for being one of the roughest in the southern hemisphere. Today Rottnest Express is known for its smooth, fast and safe crossings in any conditions. 

FRASER ISLAND

Situated off the Queensland coast near Maryborough, Fraser Island World Heritage area is the largest sand island in the world. It is a place of exceptional beauty, with its long uninterrupted white beaches flanked by strikingly coloured sand cliffs, and over 100 freshwater lakes, some tea-coloured and others clear and blue all ringed by white sandy beaches. Ancient rainforests grow in sand along the banks of fast-flowing, crystal-clear creeks. 

Fraser Island, Queensland, is the world's largest sand island, a spectacular natural wonderland and a World Heritage Area. Left to right: Wanggoolba Creek running through rainforest to the sea; Lake McKenzie; pristine sand dunes and deep blue ocean. Inset: Dingo.

Fraser Island stretches over 123 kilometres in length and 22 kilometres at its widest point. With an area of 184 000 hectares it is the largest sand island in the world. Dunes weathered into unusual towering formations fringe ancient rainforest, crystal creeks and lakes of blue, green and brown.

Lake McKenzie The beautiful clear waters here are surrounded by white sands and blackbutt trees.

DAINTREE

In Far North Queensland, just north of Port Douglas, the Daintree Rainforest is a dense jungle area part of the Australian Wet Tropics environment protected by World Heritage Listing, United Nations since 1988). The Daintree Rainforest consists of the Daintree village, the Mossman Gorge and Cape Tribulation. It is amongst the most ancient ecosystems on earth, over 110 million years old. More than 18,000 known plant species exist. Some trees are more than 2,500 years old.

 

 

Daintree National Park, with Cape Tribulation top left

In the Daintree National Park, the Mossman Gorge is home to some of Queensland's most beautiful tropical forest. Rare birds shelter in the overhanging green trees and fish inhabit the cool, shady pools. Cape Tribulation is in the heart of the Daintree Rainforest, home to some of the oldest rainforest on the planet, and this Word Heritage listed rainforest is adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef.

BRISBANE

Brisbane is Australia's third largest city, with 1.2 million residents living beside the Brisbane River as it flows into Moreton Bay. It is a busy and optimistic place. It is hard to believe that it was once regarded as little more than a dull, provincial backwater. The city's quintessential architecture, designed for the heat of the tropics, sees many of the houses elevated on stilts to take advantage of cooling breezes. Brisbane is Queensland's cosmopolitan capital, sparkling in sunshine by day and with myriad lights reflecting on the river by night.

 

Brisbane, capital of Queensland. Left to right: The beach at inner city South Bank Parklands; the city on the Town Reach of the Brisbane River; Brisbane City Hall.

 

Completed in 1930, the Neo-Classical City Hall is home to Brisbane City Council, the largest council in Australia, and the Museum of Brisbane. City Hall’s 92-m Italian Renaissance-style tower gives a panoramic view of the city from a platform at its top.

Visit Brisbane

Received from Penny

 

STREAKY BAY

Streaky Bay is a picturesque coastal town and the hub of the rural and fishing community. It is situated on Flinders Highway on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia and, with 366.15 kilometres of the most spectacular coastline on the Great Australian Bight.

The small town of Streaky Bay proclaimed in 1872 is 727 kilometres north-west of Adelaide on the western coastline of Eyre Peninsula. The town is on a stretch of fascinating coastline changing between long pristine sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. Streaky Bay was originally named Flinders, but in 1940, after continued local usage, the name of the town was offcially changed to Streaky Bay.

Streaky Bay and districts offers three breathtaking scenic drives on the Great Australian Bight: Westall Way Loop; Cape Bauer Loop and, the Point Labatt Conservation Park/Murphy’s Haystacks Scenic Drives.

ADELAIDE

 The South Australian capital of Adelaide is a most attractive city, and unusual in that it was carefully planned from its beginning in 1836. Surrounded by parkland, bisected by the River Torrens, and with an orderly grid of central city streets, Adelaide was the vision of surveyor Colonel William Light. The city's one million residents enjoy a Mediterranean-style climate and a relatively peaceful lifestyle. The inner city of Adelaide is best explored on foot; it is compact, well laid out and flat. The balmy climate and excellent local food and wine have given rise to an abundance of streetside restaurants and cafés.

 

 Adelaide O'bahn. This card shows 'O'Bahn' track that buses go on and off of to travel faster

 

The South Australian capital was founded by free settlers and Adelaide prides  itself on its convict-less history. Surrounded by the gentle Adelaide Hills and the gulf, this is perhaps the nation's most attractive capital. Adelaide has a multicultural population of of just over a million and the city has gained a reputation as an important centre for the arts.

Read more: City of Adelaide

 

 

Received from Rosemaree

 

KANGAROO ISLAND

Located off the coast of South Australia, Kangaroo Island, the nation's second-largest island (145 km long and 60 km wide) is very aptly named. Named by explorer Matthew Finders in 1802 for its great abundance of kangaroos, Kangaroo Island is home to to a unique subspecies of its namesake.

Kangaroo Island features dramatic granite cliffs, strangely shaped rocks and limestone caves, and it is also historically significant; the town of Kingscote was South Australia's first official settlement.

Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island, Flinders Chase National Park, South Australia

The island is famous for its rugged scenery, which includes windswept heathland, beaches, coves and craggy cliffs. Located in Flinders Chase National Park at the island's western end, the Remarkable Rocks are a group of huge granite boulders that have been sculpted by wind and rain into curiously smooth shapes.

South Australian's Kangaroo Island is renowned for its  rugged coastline and weathered granite, which takes on a particularly smooth appearance at Remarkable Rocks on the wind-battered south coast.

Received from Rosemaree

BLUE MOUNTAINS

The Blue Mountains is a national Park and a World Heritage Site. The rugged Blue Mountains, so called because the air in the region often appears to be a bluish colour (a phenomen caused by the evaporation of eucalyptus oil from the gum tree forests). This wilderness is popular with bushwalkers, and the area is home to swamp  wallabies, possums, wombats and an incredible range of colourful birdlife. Distinguished by escarpments, forested valleys and spectacular rock features like this at Hanging Rock, which frustrated many early explorers in their search for a route over the mountains. Many species of flora and fauna that are unique to Australia can be easily seen in the Blue Mountains. In 1959, the Blue Mountains National Park was gazetted, ensuring the preservation of the large tracts of remaining wilderness.

The Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, were carved from sandstone by rivers rushing to the ocean. There, spectacular scenery and wild places can be found, such as Hanging Rock jutting out of the golden sandstone walls of the Grose Valley.

Received from Don

TASMANIA

 Tasmania has certainly won many more hearts than it can claim square kilometres. It has only 68,000 of the latter, but it crams into them its rugged west, a central plateau broken by steep mountains and narrow river valley, and an eastern coastal region offering a soft 'English' pastoral beauty. Its diverse charms have made it a popular tourist attraction. 

The Nut, Historic Stanley Tasmania. The township of Stanley nestles under the massive headland called the Nut. Many old historic sights can be seen, including Joe Lyons' Cottage, Poets' Cottage, Plough Inn and the original Bluestone Grain Store - each with its own unique history.

First sighted by Abel Tasman in 1624, it was later claimed by Capitain Cook for the English and was first settled in 1803. Tasmania was first called Van Diemen's Land; these days it is known as the'heritage island', 'treasure island' or the 'apple isle'. Its economy is basically agricultural, but secondary industries such as tourism and minining are gradually taking over.

TABLE CAPE NORTH WEST TASMANIA Tasmania has some of the most spectacular rural scenery in the world and this region contains features of astonishing beauty

TASMANIAN DEVIL

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is noisy, fierce, potentially vicious and one of only three marsupial carnivores that inhabit the island. Now exclusive to the island state of Tasmania. These animals are adept at climbing, sleeping by day in well hidden dens and emerging at night as efficient scavengers and hunters.

SYDNEY

The gateway to Australia

Sydney is Australia's largest and most cosmopolitan city. It is the capital of the state of New South Wales. Although the majority of the 'sydneysiders' are of British and Irish descent, there are substantial minorities of immigrants from Italy, Greece and Asia. Sydney is a sprawling city, and, though the centre contains many tall buildings, most of its inhabitants live in one or two  storey houses in the suburbs and travel into the centre to work.

Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens complement city highrise

Sydney is the biggest port in Australia, with a huge natural harbour spanned by the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. On 31st December, Sydney Harbour hosts the spectacular New Year's Eve firework display. It is also a major cultural centre, with one of the world's most imaginative and best-known opera houses.

Sydney's famous harbour is flanked by the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge

Australians are famous for their ability to relax and enjoy life. In Sydney they can sail, go to one of the many sandy beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach (a paradise for surfers and swimmers), or simply cook up an fresco meal on the barbecue in the garden.