Lucy loves Australia

Want to leave footprints like this? Run Uluru!

Firstly, I have to point out this is not a plea for sponsorship! Much as I do go out for a ‘run’ (jog!) once or twice a week, a marathon runner I am not Even Mr Loves Australia who happily sprints off for a 12km run like it’s a stroll in the park hasn’t competed in a Marathon.

BUT if you’re a long distance runner, and are happiest with a 26-mile stretch in front of you, then this has my vote! Here’s more about the Outback Marathon which is taking place this weekend (31st July)…

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Baby on seaplane flight over Heart Reef. Start that GBR experience early, I say!

I’ve seen the Great Barrier Reef in lots of different ways – from the air (in a seaplane), from a boat, from an island, on foot (yes!), snorkelling, in a semi-submersible, and of course if I was a little more accomplished I could have also seen it from a dive.

There are lots of ways and places to access the Great Barrier Reef – but here are my tips for getting there with babies and children.

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Small person in a big rainforest

When you think Rainforest then you might immediately conjure up an image that’s more ‘jungle’ than what’s sometimes the case. Now of course parts of the Rainforest in Australia are in the Tropics in Queensland, and it can definitely get quite hot and steamy in there, but you still don’t need to be an intrepid explorer to enjoy them.

Here’s my mini guide to how you can ‘rein in’ the rainforest – and when I say ‘easy’ ways to explore the rainforest I mean ’so easy you can take your baby and small children with you easy’…

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Intrepid me snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, from the beach of Green Island

So I’m back. Back from the land Down Under. Returned from Australia fair. No longer chucking shrimps on the barbie and swimming in the stinger net. Sob sob.

First off – yes I realise it’s taken me a few days to write but there’s this thing called jet lag you know… not to mention the unpacking. Why oh why did we take so much stuff? I do know the answer to that actually and it’s called ‘children’

So what did I love the most, what did I forget was fab, what did I wish I could do every day…? Let me tell you:

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Small person at helm of Sailaway – Low Isles cruise, Great Barrier Reef

Answer: Port Douglas

An old joke the Douglas (dug-less) one, and probably more funny if you’ve had a nice glass of wine (which I’d had when I wrote that).

I want to do a ‘while I am here’ post about lovely Port Douglas in Tropical North Queensland.

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My ideal diet: prawns & bubbles!

I got asked a question this week (thanks Frank!) that I actually get asked all the time… why am I not living in Australia? (given that I am clearly quite taken with the place!). Well the answer is…

… actually there are a few parts to this answer, and in explaining it I’ll showcase exactly why I love Australia.

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I’ve updated the ‘Planning Your Trip’ part of the site with my links for flights, round the world stops, holiday ideas, internal flight info and accommodation suggestions.

I’ve also found some cheap flights for Easter and Christmas 2010.

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Heart Reef in the Whitsundays

As my one concession to it being Valentines Day thought I would have a romantic 5 minutes and share places in Australia that I love, are special and hey – one of them is even heart-shaped!

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The Harbour Bridge and Opera House in Sydney

Read a really good guide to Sydney over the weekend in the Sunday Times.

Clearly written by a local ‘Sydneysider’ it had some great tips for:

• beaches
• restaurants
• cafes
• things to see
• suburbs to explore
• shopping
• countryside

Well worth a read if you’re heading to the lovely harbour city any time soon…

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Skiing the Snowy Mountains [image from visitnsw.com]

Now I realise that the first image you’re likely to conjure up of Australia does not include snowy peaked mountains, and at this time of year it will be very unlikely you’ll find any snow at all in Australia, it’s true. That said, it is possible to build a snowman in Australia…

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Sydney’s bridge climb is open on Christmas Day

I had a great question sent to me about what there is (and isn’t) ‘to do’ over the Christmas holidays in Australia.

Got me thinking (and googling) what you can and can’t do over Christmas if you’re visiting Australia. The question I was asked specifically related to Sydney, so here’s what I found out for there first…

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Tourism Australia have launched a virtual gap year app on Facebook

Thought this looked a little bit interesting if you’re planning (or at least dreaming about!) a gap year, working holiday, or any holiday to Australia.

Tourism Australia has launched a Facebook page featuring an app that allows you to create a “virtual gap year”.

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Mini in the outback – Mark Bramley

I read a really great article this week written by Gavin Green who drove a mini across the red centre of Australia from Sydney to Perth in honour of his father, who had made the same trip (and for the first time in a mini in 1966).

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Just a quick note to let you know: if you’re thinking of heading to Australia this summer, you can for only £469 return!

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Frankie (after Sinatra!) the World’s only blue-eyed koala at Dreamworld, Queensland (picture by Dreamworld)

Got an interesting Tweet this morning about 100 things you can only do in Australia (yes, I am on Twitter – follow me now for up-to-date travel news and ideas!).

I traced the Tweet link back to the original article here in Australian Traveller magazine, which has 100 great ideas for things to see and places to visit on your trip Down Under that are truly and uniquely Australian (and no, it’s not a list of “1. Drink beer by the Sydney Opera House, 2. Drink beer by Ayers Rock, etc …” – not that these are bad things to do, mind!).

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Something new for my wish list on my next visit to Sydney — a trip to Cockatoo Island.

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Not for the vertigo sufferers among you, but if you’re visiting Melbourne and would like a bird’s eye view of things, then the new Southern Star is for you.

The Southern Star puts you high over the Melbourne skyline — image by Jeffery Yates from the Southern Star website

Modelled on the London Eye, the Southern Star is a gigantic ‘Ferris wheel’ with observation ‘pods’ on it to give you a show of the city skyline.

Tickets are priced at AUD$29 for adults and AUD$17 for children. There is no online booking at the moment, so if you’re in Melbourne and in a hurry you can pay AUD$58 for ‘Premium Access’ (AUD$£34 children), which allows you to get right on at the front of the queue.

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OK, so still no review yet from me on the film, which has been showing for 4 days now (not that I am counting!). There have been lots of festive germs afoot in the LucyLovesAustralia household, so no cinema trips have been possible

Still, the good news is all the press have been doing this job for me, and the reviews I’ve read say that the film is great, and while it is a little cheesy (according to some), it certainly has something for everyone. For me, the combination of Hugh Jackman looking rugged and some no-doubt equally rugged and beautiful Northern Territory scenery (even though I know some of it was filmed in Queensland!) and Western Australia landscape is enough to get me to eat popcorn for 163 minutes.

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At the weekend there was a great article in the Guardian about Aboriginal tours in Australia. These are not a ‘new’ idea, as for many years there have been ‘cultural centres’ and ‘Aboriginal tours’, but in some cases these have not been as authentic or run by/for the communities they are promoting. But that is increasingly changing, and this article lists a great range of options where you get to experience some ‘original’ Australian culture. To see the outback is always amazing, but to understand it even a little bit is incredible.

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A bumper weekend in the papers for Australian holiday ideas…

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