Australia airports reap travel riches

AUSTRALIA'S two largest listed airport funds yesterday unveiled record earnings on the back of soaring passenger traffic. Macquarie Airports increased its interim profit more than fourfold to $953 million as passenger traffic across its asset portfolio rose more than 5 per cent. The impressive rise in the MAP bottom line was enhanced by the sales of the fund's stakes in Rome and Birmingham airports.

Australian travel

Travelers planning to go Down Under in the coming months may want to check out a new Web site launched by the travel company Experience Australia. Trips and packages cover the entire country, from urban outings in Sydney to train excursions across the Outback. The site is www.experience-australia.com. You can also call the company at (800) 661-3830 for an Australian travel catalog.

Tourists urged not avoid Sydney during APEC

Australia's peak accommodation body is pleading with tourists not to avoid Sydney while world leaders visit for next month's APEC summit. Contrary to initial forecasts, the city's hotels will not be booked out during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings and the industry is hoping to avoid a period of low income. "There is a growing perception that visitors from interstate or overseas should avoid Sydney when APEC is on," Australian Hotels Association manager Hamish Arthur said.

Backpackers flock to Australia with working holiday visa

Record numbers of backpackers received an Australian working holiday visa in the past year, according to new figures released by the Department of Immigration. In the nine months to March, 102,966 backpackers successfully applied for the visa. This is up 15 per cent from the same period in the previous year. The Department of Immigration is predicting the new year will also be a record one, with 130,000 visas to be granted, up from a total of 111,973 this year.

Brits bored by Paris but buoyed by Australia

British travellers find Paris' Eiffel Tower and Egypt's pyramids a bore and much prefer to flock to some of Australia's top tourist spots, a survey has found. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Kings Canyon in the Northern Territory and Broome's Cable Beach have all made it into a top 10 list of the best foreign tourist spots for British tourists.
But while the Brits are impressed with what Australia has to offer, they are left yawning by some of the world's most popular attractions.

The best Sydney bar: it's in Melbourne

Take Melbourne, a city not - how do I put it politely - overblessed with natural good looks. To wander Melbourne's fabulous lanes at night is to relish a labyrinth dotted with tiny bars. In Sydney you find similar laneways smelling of chunder and pee. Melbourne has a vibrant CBD that makes it a joy to visit and live in. Sydney has, well, that harbour. I blame the licensing laws. In Melbourne a responsible cafe can get a liquor licence for $567.50, which allows it to serve a glass of wine to a punter who may not be eating

Fears aired over Yorke Peninsula patient travel scheme

Health professionals have expressed concern over a State Government trial of a new patient assisted travel scheme on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula. Patients who need to travel to Adelaide for health care will no longer have access to financial travel subsidies if they live within 200 kilometres from the city.

Mosquito borne disease risk spreads in north of Western Australia

People most likely to be affected are newcomers to affected regions, such as babies, young children, tourists or new employees, but anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek medical advice quickly. Dr Lindsay said the warning particularly applied to people living, visiting or camping near swamp and river systems during the evening and night in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions. However, mosquito breeding in northern WA at this time of year is also often associated with man-made or artificial water bodies such as dams, sewage lagoons, irrigation areas or domestic containers.

Perth City guide

PERTH might be the world's most remote city of its size but don't let that put you off, it's all part of the appeal. Washed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, the sunny city is heaven on earth for anyone who likes a laidback lifestyle. Get a taste of the produce from the local vineyards, sample the eclectic mix of food on offer and get back to nature with a day-trip to Rottnest, the car-free island which is the base for whale-watching excursions up and down the coast. The city skyline is dominated by glittering high-rise office blocks. To get a bird's-eye view of the surroundings, walk up to King's Park then take a ferry down the Swan river to the port town of Fremantle.

Australia Gold Coast Value

You don't necessarily need a car as hotel shuttles and regular bus services go to most of the major attractions. A rental car is handy if you want to go into the Hinterlands behind the Gold Coast. It's often cheaper to get a shuttle to Surfers than rent a car.
Make sure you buy a Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle Freedom Pass before you leave home. The Freedom Pass is reasonably priced at NZ$111 per adult for seven days and includes door to door transfers from Coolangatta to your Gold Coast accommodation as well as unlimited theme park transfers with Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle, and unlimited use of the Surfside Buslines network on the Gold Coast. You can purchase three-, five-, seven, 10- and 14-day passes. Not only do they offer convenience and reliable transportation but they are great value for money.

Where the bloody hell are we?

Australians are known the world over as passionate travellers. It's pretty much impossible to visit any city, town or run-down shack in the middle of nowhere that hasn't already been overrun by our globe-trotting brethren. Every single country in the world is full of Aussie backpackers ... except, that is, Australia. So why do we have this passion for overseas travel? Partly, I'd like to think, because of an innate sense of adventure, but it's also because our homeland doesn't have a great deal to offer us. Tourism Australia, rather than asking where the bloody hell everyone else is, might be better off questioning where the locals keep going.

Record tourists travel to Australia

An increasing number of holidaymakers are heading to Australia, the publication of new figures indicates. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), international tourist levels rose by 4.2 per cent during the first six months of 2007 to account for 2.7 million. Tourism minister Fran Bailey said: "Tourists are finding their way down under in record numbers, keen to discover our fabulous beaches, our great outback and our relaxed way of life."

A delightful visit to Sydney

We spent one morning exploring Homebush Bay, the site of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The architecture and immensity of the complex is overwhelming. The Olympic Park Railway Station will be able to accommodate 50,000 people per hour during the games.A day trip that I highly recommend is a tour of the Blue Mountains, an area of dense forested valleys, canyons with steep cliffs and waterfalls. We took a four-wheel drive adventure along an exciting back road to the Cathedral of Ferns, a pre-historic rain forest, before visiting the famous Three Sisters rock formation. One of the most rewarding stops was at a wildlife park where I had some eyeball encounters with koalas, kangaroos, snakes and emus.

Make Australian Travel Planning Simple

Thinking about Australian travel always conjures up mental pictures of white sandy beaches and blue green waters, outback adventures, shopping in Sydney and Melbourne, and dining on local delights. For this very reason, people the world over dream of visiting Australia and taking in these sights and activities for themselves. Planning your trip can be a lot of fun, but it can also be overwhelming as you try to decide where you would most like to go in this vast country and what you want to do when you get there, as well as where you will stay and also what sort of transportation you will need. Any type of travel involves a lot of details, and this trip will be no different!

Things to do in South Australia

Pend five days touring in and around Mount Gambier in the Limestone Coast for an experience you’ll never forget as Mount Gambier is home to the world famous Blue Lake. You can opt for a self-drive tour or get into a 4WD with Just Cruisin 4WD Tours and take a trip to see the Blue Lake in the crater of an extinct volcano. The company offers a variety of packages includes travelling via the Coonawarra wine region in the Limestone Coast where you can sample local wines en route and visit the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage area.