This is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem. It is one of the top travel destinations in Australia. You can see it from the outer space and it is the world’s largest single structure, which is made of living organisms.

The reef supports 10,000 species which consists of 1500 types of fishes and 200 kinds of birds. This beauty inspires many of the travelers to visit the place.
source: www.tutztutz.com/2008/06/25-wonderful-places-to-visit-in-your-lifetime/

The city centre, especially around East End and Central Market, is covered with shopping centres and restaurant and cafés. Finding a way to spend your day won’t be a problem, because Adelaide has plentiful options for travellers. Make sure that you leave some energy after visiting one of the many museums and seeing the famous statues and memorials. The sparkling nightlife, with an overload of bars, clubs and discos, most certainly deserves some of your attention.

Adelaide is renowned for its range of quality cafes and restaurants offering an affordable and delicious range of cuisine including Italian, Greek, Thai, Malaysian, Chinese, Argentinian, Mexican and so many more. The quality of the food is superb. Seafood such as prawns, crayfish, scallops, calamari and King George whiting is fresh and abundant. A perfect place for an indulgence weekend.

Adelaide hosts many festivals and events which attract local, Australian and overseas visitors. These include  arts, food and wine, multicultural and sporting events events such as the Festival of Arts, Fringe Festival, Comedy Festival, WOMADelaide, Glendi (Greek), Schuetzenfest (German traditions), Bay to Birdwood (vintage vehicles) Clipsal 500 (car race) and more.

Thirsting for something else? Explore the famous wine regions in the city’s vicinity or go to the Park Lands. The latter is an extended area surrounding Adelaide and consists of several parks and lakes where you can relax and enjoy a fabulous picnic (don’t forget to bring the Australian wine!)  The North Terrace Boulevarde is home to many cultural and educational organisations and is well worth a walking tour.

Enjoy the many elegant , heritage public buildings and cultural institutions such as the Art Gallery, Library, Museum, Migration Museum and Adelaide University. Finish off at the Botanic Gardens and adjacent Bicentennial Conservatory.

South Australia is renowned for its clean, sandy beaches and wine regions. The winegrowng districts of McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley wine districts are within easy reach of Adelaide for day tours and the Coonawarra can be visited on the way to the South East or Melbourne in adjacent Victoria. South Australian wine is of world class.

For those who have not explored the outdoors yet, the Adelaide Hill Wildlife Parks might be a nice introduction to Australia’s wildlife. Still don’t know what to do yet? Take the tram to Glenelg beach and think it over on the long sandy beach.

South Molle Island is located in the heart of the Whitsundays. South Molle Island is the largest of the North, Mid and South Molle Island Group and the only one with a resort.

South Molle is a hilly island with grasslands, lush pockets of rainforest, secluded bays and fringing reefs. The Molle Islands are virtually joined along a causeway so you can walk across to Mid Molle almost anytime.

South Molle has extensive birdlife that includes dozens of colourful lorikeets, currawongs and the endangered stone curlews.

The Koala Adveture Island Whitsundays Resort is an all-inclusive resort. There are also camping grounds located at Sandy Bay in the south of the island and Paddle Bay near the resort.

Access to the island can be arranged from Abel Point marina at Airlie Beach, and transfers from Hamilton Island.

Set amidst pristine surroundings, Hamilton Island offers a multitude of activities and luxurious accommodation options to suit the most discerning traveller. You’ll be spoilt for choice with sea-kayaking, game fishing, scenic helicopter flights and ‘Breakfast with the Koalas’ at the Koala Gallery.

Of course, you might simply want to concentrate on doing nothing at all, and lay around one of the pools or simply relax on the beach. Hamilton Island is also a gateway to other gems in the Whitsundays including Heart Reef, Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach.

Every taste and budget is accounted for on Hamilton Island. From the luxurious and intimate beachfront setting of the Beach Club to the sweeping views of the Coral Sea at The Reef View Hotel. If it’s a little more independence you’re after, you can choose from the Polynesian style Palm Bungalows or the Palm Terraces which are both ideal for families. All accommodation has easy access to the beach, restaurants and resort centre.

Hamilton Island is easily accessible with direct flights from Sydney (two hours), Melbourne (three hours), Brisbane and Cairns (one hour) with easy connecting flights from all other capital cities, makes getting there a breeze.

Melbourne has little in common with some of Australia’s other major cities, which started as prison settlements. A group of European settlers formed Melbourne when they broke away form New South Wales to start their own city.

Rather then the hackneyed trails slashed through the brush, as in Sydney, the city of Melbourne Australia was carefully planned from the beginning. Travelers will find the Melbourne of today well organized, with plenty of room for parks and aptly named roads.

In fact, the original grid for the city was laid out in 1837, and, while Melbourne has certainly expanded since that time, the general blueprint remains consistent.

Melbourne is a fully modern city, with plenty to see and do. Melbourne tourist attractions include scores of both quaint and classy bars, as well as tasty restaurants with cuisine from around the world. One of the most popular places to visit in Melbourne is Melbourne Central. Melbourne Central is an expansive group of over 200 shops and cafes, with restaurants and great shopping.

This is an ideal place to pick up souvenir, or even do some personal shopping, and is certainly the premier shopping center in Melbourne and one of the top Melbourne tourist attractions. If you plan to shop and eat, you’ll likely need some form of transportation.

As a city, Melbourne Australia is currently working to move toward relying more heavily on public transportation, as well as biking, and encourages local citizens as well as tourists to use a bus or a train whenever possible.Commuter trains, rental bikes, and bus service is available throughout the city and is often more convenient then a car, especially as a tourist.

Traveling through Melbourne, a walking or bus tour is also a great idea. Melbourne is home to quite a range of historical Victorian architecture, as well as the St James Old Cathedral, which is a popular Melbourne tourist attractions worth touring if you are in the area.

Another of the popular places to visit in Melbourne is the Melbourne International Film Festival, held each year between July and August, during the Australian winter. Touted as one of the most comprehensive international film festivals in the world, the Melbourne Film Festival brings in a diverse group of international films each year. Passes to the film festival can be purchased for a single day, or a week of movie viewing.

One of the most famous places to visit in Melbourne is the Melbourne Cricket Ground, home to cricket matches and Australian Rules Football. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is a great place to see your favorite sports live, or possibly experience Australian Rules Football for the first time.

In 2006, the Melbourne Cricket Ground hosted the Commonwealth Games, much to the pride of Melbourne inhabitants. Sometimes referred to as the, “G”, the Melbourne Cricket Ground also holds the world record for the world’s tallest light towers. No matter how much time you have to spend in Melbourne Australia, the city is one of Australia’s finest, and offers a great chance to tour, relax, or take in some great entertainment.

The Solomon islands are not that Pacific Paradise: since 2000 a sort of civil war broke out on Guadalcanal and Malaita, and although in october 2000 a peace agreement was reached, there are still a few hotspots on the islands where you might run into “armed groups”.

When things settle down a bit further visitors to the islands are in for a treat. The Solomons are extremely rich in cultural diversity. Melanesians, Polynesians, Asians, Micronesians and the odd Westerner all call the Solomons home. This exciting mix of cultures makes a visit very interesting.

Getting to the Solomons is the hard part. The islands have a well-deserved reputation as possibly the world’s best destination for scuba divers, snorkellers and fishing freaks. Despite its long, often bloody history, most historical interest in the Solomons surrounds its pivotal role as a strategic site in the Pacific in WWII. The waters of Iron Bottom Sound (so called because of all the sunken world War II vessels there). Harrington sound are testament to the ferocity and destructive power of battle.

In July 2003, 2500 Police and troops arrived from Australian, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and other Pacific Nations. Known as RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands) they quickly re-established law and order. Solomon islands is now as safe as any other Pacific country to visit. It is well worth a visit too.

Although tourist “resorts” are none existent and accommodation is basic the whole experience of getting there and finding somewhere to stay is part and parcel of the uniqueness of Solomon Islands.

The outback has become a very popular and much frequented spot amongst the tourists who visit this place to get the experience of nature at its wildest. This place provides travelers with the opportunity to witness incredible and stunning beauty in the form of landscaped sceneries, magnificent rock formations, unique, local flora and fauna and a chance to get away from the busy hustle and bustle of their daily lives in the cities. They get the opportunity to connect with nature in its purest form. These deserts found in Australia are truly unique in their own sense. The Outback is primarily formed due to its position and location and therefore finding something similar to them in any other part of the globe is a difficult job.

Tourist Locations:

This outback destination is a great place to live your hiking fantasies. A good pair of binoculars would come handy for sure. Like any other desert, here also one gets the opportunity to witness incredible sunrises and sunsets. These simple views never looked so beautiful as when seen from these calm and serene locations.

With beautiful long, patterned sand dunes stretching on for miles the Simpson’s desert also is worth paying a visit. The Ayer’s Rock is what actually stands out to be the real  Australian Outback icon. Located in the Red Centre which is also referred as the “Capital of the Outback” this symbolic monolith is simply incredible. Nearby to the Ayer’s Rock is the town of Alice Springs which by all standards is a modern town dissipating all the needed facilities to tourists visiting this area.

The Stuart Highway dissects the main continent and the outback and is an excellent stretch of asphalt to drive on. Travelling further north on this Outback will lead you to a completely different terrain. The dry and arid desert landscapes gives way to beautiful gorges and rugged ranges. Here even during peak summers one can get the opportunity to experience and enjoy the cool environs of natural rock pools and waterfalls.

Darwin is the capital of this beautiful and gorgeous Northern territory and is the start point for exploring the incredible marvels hidden in this territory which include the Kakadu National Park and the Katherine Gorge. Travelling further west from this point will take you to witness the amazing Kimberley plateau.

The Australian outback is truly barren miles of emptiness. It serves as the ideal location for all those seeking to get away from time to think in the midst of absolutely nothing. All that is around you is silence and stillness.

Airlie Beach is the epitome of a beach town; you’ll instantly feel the carefree and relaxed attitude emanating from every space. You’ll find it in the Airlie Beach Lagoon, a manmade saltwater swimming area surrounded by sand and grassy knolls, where backpackers and travellers lounge away the day in the sun.

You’ll find it in the beachside parks where afternoon barbeques proliferate and continue into the evening hours. And you’ll find it in the alfresco dining restaurants where fresh seafood overflows from every dish.

But once the sun sets on Airlie Beach, another ambiance embraces the town. You’ll find a thriving energy exuding from the bars and nightclubs where backpackers and travellers party together well into the night. This energy is both contagious and irresistible, and often encourages travellers to stay longer than first expected.

Airlie Beach is surrounded by several small communities: Bowen to the north, Shute Harbour to the west and Abel Point Marina to the east. Bowen is renowned for its impeccable beaches, while Shute Harbour is the departure point for the island ferries and Abel Point Marina is home to many of the cruising yachts.

The drive between the beachfront communities winds along a jagged coastline with breathtaking views to the distant Whitsunday islands. Rent a scooter and take a picnic lunch to enjoy the picturesque scenery and fully appreciate the beauty of this area.

Airlie Beach thrives on community events with several throughout the year, including the annual Whitsunday Fun Race Festival every September. And every Saturday, a market is set up on the Airlie Beach foreshore with fresh food stalls (including local mangoes and bananas) and a variety of arts/crafts.

With all that Airlie Beach has to offer, you’ll soon see why it is one of Australia’s most popular holiday destinations.

Airlie Beach is easily accessible and only a thirty-minute drive from Proserpine Airport, the closest airport in the region.

Add some famous extras to your Sydney outdoor adventure. The Manly to Spit Walk for instance, Sculpture by the Sea on the Bondi to Bronte Coastal Walk or the first swim of the season at an outdoor harbourside pool. Use public transport to get around Sydney. It’s easy and economical to discover the great outdoors by ferry, train or bus.

Essential information for getting around Sydney

Sydney, with a population of almost 4 million, and covering almost 1120 square kilometres (700 square miles), is a remarkably easy city to move around in. An excellent train, bus and ferry service covers all points of the greater metropolitan area.
Roadways, although congested in peak hour times, are generally well planned and driving is not too harrowing an experience.

Unless visitors to Sydney are specifically seeking out friends in outlying areas, most will have no real need to travel too far away from the central city area and the harbour. Most Sydney tourist attractions are either within the central business district, close to the CBD, or at points around the harbour. The exceptions are Bondi and Manly – surf beach suburbs situated south and north of Sydney Heads.

If you’ve only got a week or a few days in Sydney, your time would be best spent by taking a walk around the wider CBD area, visiting The Rocks or spending time on the harbour. The harbour is Sydney and on a warm day, with a clear blue sky, there is no better place on earth.

Taking a City Circle train, the Monorail or walking is the best way of seeing city attractions, while buses and ferries represent the best way to visit points and attractions around the harbour. The government-run Explorer Buses and Sydney Pass service represent an ideal and inexpensive way to see most of the main tourist points around the city and out to Bondi.

Sydney Ferries, which are also government run, provide an inexpensive way of seeing the most beautiful harbour in the world. (See map of ferry cruises around Sydney Harbour.) For excursions around the harbour, private operators offer a myriad of harbour cruises that promise more than a just a simple ferry ride.

Use the Trip Planner to work out a travel plan using CityRail services, or a combination of train, bus and ferry services to get you to your destination, then, for low cost travel for the day, on Buses, Ferries and Trains, buy a Day Tripper.