Discovering Australia’s Natural Wonders
Australia is a treasure trove when it comes to natural gems. For some travelers, deciding what to see and do can be a daunting task to tackle on their own. Likely to appear at the top of most visitors’ ‘to-do’ lists are the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. Both are well-known Australian icons and are seeing increasing numbers of visitors year on year. As a result, accessing the sites from Australia’s key cities is easier than ever before, and even more affordable with the rise in low-cost domestic carriers. Further strengthening their identities as two of Australia’s most famous natural wonders, both Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef have fought off stiff competition recently to sit amongst the 28 finalists for the New7Wonders of Nature campaign, which will be announced on November 11, 2011.
Uluru
Uluru, also known as Ayres Rock, is one of Australia’s best known natural icons. Steeped in history and sacred to the local Aboriginal Pitjantjara people, it has great cultural and natural significance. Standing over 348 meters high, 9.4 kilometers in circumference and extending 6 kilometers below the ground’s surface, the remarkable geological composition of Uluru makes it the largest rock formation in the world and ensures that it will remain a relic of Australia for years to come.
The National Park in which Uluru is located, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, was first inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1987 and has a remarkable geological history dating back to five hundred million years ago, when the entire area was covered by an inland sea. Uluru is in fact an isolated remnant of an original mountain range that has eroded over millions of years. Over many centuries, a spectacular environment of inland lakes and tropical woodland evolved in the area surrounding Uluru, some of which remains today in the so-called ‘Garden of Eden’ on the canyon floor. The area also contains in abundance Cycad ferns that date back to the time of the dinosaurs, along with hundreds of species of other plant life. Park rangers lead a daily Mala Walk around part of Uluru's base but watching this giant icon glow red as the sun sets, illuminating its rich iron deposits, is always the highlight of a visit.
When to go: One of the best times to visit Uluru is during the winter months of June and July when temperatures top around 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit).
How to get there: Fly from Sydney to Ayers Rock Airport with Virgin Blue and Qantas, or opt for the scenic route and drive the five-and-a-half-hour journey from Alice Springs.
The Great Barrier Reef
The scope of the Great Barrier Reef can really only be appreciated from the air. By far the largest coral reef system in the world, it extends over 2,600km off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. Believe it or not, it is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space.
The Great Barrier Reef is an enormous, ancient, living organism, composed of live coral gardens growing on inert coral dating back as much as 20 million years. A UNESCO World Heritage area since 1981, The Great Barrier Reef was listed for being an outstanding example of a reef system which represents the major stages in the earth’s evolutionary history. Many generations of coral have built themselves into great walls of stone covered in a diverse range of living coral, algae and an extraordinary array of thousands of species of plants, sea life and animals. This includes a gathering of more than 400 different kinds of coral, coral sponges, mollusks, rays, dolphins, over 1,500 species of tropical fish, more than 200 types of birds, around 20 types of reptiles including sea turtles and giant clams over 120 years old.
The most popular places for tourists to experience the reef are Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands. These areas make up 7 percent of the Park's area. Both destinations are extremely easy to get to by plane, train and automobile, and many cities along the Queensland coast offer daily boat trips as well.
Popular ways to explore the site include swimming with whales, sleeping under the stars on Lizard Island, sailing aboard a tall ship or diving the warm tropical waters amongst the prolific marine life that call the reef home.
When to Go: June through October, to avoid the wet season's intense humidity.
How to Get There: The key launch pads are Cairns International Airport, Airlie Beach and Proserpine Airport for the Whitsunday Islands.
Kakadu National Park
Australia’s largest national park is the size of Israel, a third the size of Tasmania and nearly half the size of Switzerland, so you’ll need plenty of time to explore it fully. Start at the Window on the Wetlands Visitor Center on Beatrice Hill, approximately 60 kilometers from Darwin. You'll easily see the upswept line of the Visitors Center roof, which reflects the contours of the hills in the area. The Arnhem Highway takes you across five of the eight rivers as you travel between Darwin and Jabiru, the main township in Kakadu and the gateway to the national park.
The name Kakadu comes from the Gagudju Aboriginal people who once lived here. They left a rich heritage which UNESCO has described as ‘a unique archaeological and ethnological reserve’. At more than 50,000 years, this land has one of the longest historical records of any people in the world. There are more than 5,000 recorded rock art sites and ancestral trails known as Dreaming Tracks across the landscape.
Along with its cultural significance, this World-Heritage-listed treasure has a pedigree of impeccable environmental credentials. From Jabiru you could take a scenic flight for a bird’s-eye view; or take a boat trip on the East Alligator River and experience the ever changing palette of nature’s best scenery. Jim Jim and Twin Falls are among the most spectacular natural sights in the top end but you’ll need 4WD to get there and it’s only accessible in the dry season. Native wildlife abounds and birders should be able to tick about one-third of all Australia’s bird species off their list.
If seeing a crocodile in the wild is something that interests you, this is the place to do it. And don’t miss the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Center, built in the shape of the local pig-nosed turtle.
The Mary River region is considered by many to be the most beautiful in the Top End and a day should be set aside to explore it fully. Other areas to visit are Yurmikmik in the wet season or Gunlom in the dry. Ubirr, the most famous of Kakadu’s art sites is not to be missed; while Nourlangie Rock, Kakadu’s second greatest art site, has the image of Namarrgon, the lightning man.
When to Go: The Bininj/Mungguy recognize six different seasons, each revealing its own wonder, from torrential rain to mud-cracking drought. Typically, the floodwater that fills the park with life begins to run in October and lasts until April when the dry seasons commence.
How to Get There: From Darwin International Airport it’s around 3-4 hours drive to Jabiru via the Arnhem Highway. Access from the south to Jabiru is via the Kakadu Highway, usually open all year round. You can rent 2WD and 4WD cars in Darwin, with daily distance limits. Campervan rentals often don't have distance limits. A variety Coach and small group tours are also available from Darwin. Some parts of the park are not accessible during the wet season, or are not accessible by 2WD vehicles during the wet season, so check road conditions before setting off.
For more information visit www.australia.com
Australia: Ten Things To Experience in Sydney
By Harold Harbaugh
When I see it on a list of the best cities in the world, I smile and say, “Good on ya, Sydney!” Sydneysiders love to be outdoors and have created for themselves an Eden of glass and steel right near the beaches. Even now, having visited seven times, I find it impossible not to be constantly delighted here.
1. Harbor Bridge, lovingly nicknamed The Old Coathanger, is Sydney’s number one attraction. Its Bridgeclimb has enchanted more than 2 million visitors since first being offered in 1998. Tethered together in groups of 12, participants slowly approach the span’s 440 feet summit where, arms up-thrust, they celebrate one of life’s golden moments. A Depression project completed in 1933, Sydney’s beloved bridge was then known as The Iron Lung because it kept the economy breathing, a stimulus package turned icon. Not especially long at 1,650 feet, its prescient designers made it wide enough for future development—seven car lanes, one bus, two train, and, Sydney being Sydney, a cycle path and a pedestrian lane.
2. The Opera House, the nuns’ scrum, is arguably a tie for first place if global recognition and the wow factor are factored in. At the minimum, visitors should take the frequently given hour long tour of Jørn Utzon’s almost 40 year-young, gull-winged design that he never saw completed. At the maximum, they should see a play in one of two theaters, hear a concert, or thrill to an opera.
3. The Rocks, Australia’s oldest neighborhood. Adjacent to Circular Quay, Sydney’s harbor/hub, The Rocks delights no matter how many times you visit its excellent Visitors’ Centre, shops, restaurants, and historic buildings, like Cadman’s Cottage. There since 1788, The Rocks preservation was assured when the Government bought the entire area in 1900. Clearly, a series of wise civic decisions since then has turned The Rocks into a perfect blend of tourist magnet and real community.
4. Darling Harbor, an entertainment/convention/cultural complex on Cockle Bay contains four of Sydney’s Top Ten Attractions, like The Powerhouse. Said to be Australia’s largest museum, it enchants visitors with 400,000 display objects ranging from a curious, elaborate Strasburg clock to a NASA space station.
5. Sydney Wildlife World, Darling Harbor’s newest large attraction, offers up-close views of Australia’s unusual flora and fauna. If you’re not going to The Outback, this is the next best thing. Featuring nine different, painstakingly recreated habitats like the remote Kimberley, visitors can watch koalas doze and view face-to-face incredibly poisonous snakes and reptiles behind glass. SWW compactly displays “the world’s largest collection of Aussie animals” according to Where Magazine.
6. Next door is Sydney Aquarium with more than 12,000 indigenous aquatic animals including incredibly cute platypuses, which are smaller than anticipated, and a much-feared salt water crocodile, which is, to put it mildly, larger than expected. In fact, on my first visit I ducked down to see more than its eyes poking out of the water and almost lost my balance when I saw its shocking entirety. My favorite Aquarium experience, however, is a real ecosystem, some rocks sporting actual Sydney Harbor seals. The Aquarium was purposefully built around them.
7. On my initial visit to The National Maritime Museum, I appreciated its emphasis on the special relationship that exists between Australia and the United States despite the vast ocean separating us. The NMS’s display of a replica of Captain James Cook’s Endeavour mentions that there were three American colonists on its 1770 voyage to Australia. A Welcome Wall reminded me that this continent-country has accepted immigrants from almost every other country in the world, just like the United States. In fact, between World War II and 1977, more than two million Europeans, mainly Greeks and Italians, arrived. Fascinating facts like this accompany displays celebrating the Australians’ love of water activities. The Spirit of Australia, the world’s reportedly fastest boat, is here. Another interesting display explores the treacherous Sydney to Hobart race held every year on December twenty-sixth, since 1945.
8. On the harbor’s north shore, the city of Manly has its own aquarium (Oceanworld), but that’s not the reason why Manly made my top ten. That would be its one-way Spit Walk, a tough but rewarding 4 to 6 hour hike around coves, along beaches, and up to stunning promontories. A city bus takes walkers back to their starting point, a cold drink, lots of self-congratulation, and fond memories.
9. The Australian Museum is not clustered with other sights, but it’s worth the effort to hike across enormous Hyde Park to explore. Australia’s premier natural history museum, it was established way back in 1827 by forward-looking emigrants who saw the need for and value in preserving Australia’s uniqueness. Now its oldest museum, the Australian does not look its age due to vivid displays and ever-changing exhibits. In 2009, for example, Egyptian Treasures: Art of the Pharaohs from Munich’s Kunsthistorisches Museum thrilled visitors.
10. I didn’t take the RiverCat from Circular Quay to Paramatta until my seventh visit, but it was compelling enough to make the cut at Number Ten. Eleven historic properties and Australia’s oldest public building, Old Government House, are there because this up-river city became Sydney’s farming community shortly after its founding. Paramatta’s Visitors’ Centre has a fine museum with thoughtful permanent and temporary exhibits.
For further information on Australia visit the Tourism Australia at www.tourism.australia.com or www.australia.com