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