CAPITAL TERRITORY

Canberra is located in the Australian Capital Territory on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, and was conceived in the early 1900s in order to create a capital city in a federal State separate from any of the uniting States. Spectacular green countryside is ringed by mountains nearly 600m (2000ft) above sea level. Lake Burley-Griffin, an artificial lake, is the main feature of this constantly expanding modern capital. Hills, trees and greenery remain prominent among the architecture of a city that is attractive, tidy, spacious and efficient as befits the national capital city.

Canberra

Canberra is an elegant city of wide streets, gardens and parkland. The Old Parliament House is impressive and complemented by its replacement, a grand modern edifice completed in 1988, Australia’s bicentennial year. There are guided tours around Old Parliament House (home to the National Portrait Gallery) and the new Parliament House, where visitors can view both the Senate and House of Representatives. Parliament House also offers free guided tours daily where visitors can learn about the role and function of the Federal Parliament.

The Australian War Memorial is deservedly one of the city’s most popular attractions, and is the scene of the annual ANZAC Parade; it contains archives, galleries displaying relics, photographs and art. Lake Burley Griffin, a vast manmade waterway named after Canberra’s architect, features prominently throughout the city area. Cruises and boating are popular. Blundell’s Cottage (built 1858-60), which predates the lake, is a stone-slab construction calling to mind the location’s earlier incarnation as a sheep station. The new, architecturally radical National Museum of Australia (located on the shores of the lake) displays a vast range of exhibits, chronicling Australian life from the first indigenous peoples through to modern times.

It is a further cultural addition to the present National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia and National Science and Technology Centre (Questacon). The Australian Institute of Sport offers guided tours by elite athletes and the interactive Sportex Centre with facilities for virtual rowing and virtual golfing. Some of Australia’s deadliest and most colourful reptiles can be seen at Canberra’s Australian Reptile Centre. The centre is open daily and, apart from the permanent displays, features special exhibitions. The National Archives of Australia hold archive material and Commonwealth records from Federation Day to the present. The Archives also feature special exhibitions and are open daily.

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NEW SOUTH WALES

The landscape ranges from the subtropical north to the Snowy Mountains in the south, which contain Australia’s highest point, Mount Kosciuscko. There are over 1300km (800 miles) of coastline with golden beaches, and picturesque waterways and rivers include the 1900-km (1200-mile) Murray River.

Sydney

The State capital is perhaps best known abroad for the Sydney Opera House on Bennelong Point, a building whose distinctive shape is echoed by the sails of the boats in the almost equally famous harbour. Tours of the Opera House are available daily (0830-1700), except Christmas Day and Good Friday. The Opera House hosts many of Australia’s opera, ballet and theatre companies and symphony orchestras. Sydney is also a major commercial and business centre with first-class conference and exhibition facilities. The city-centre skyline rivals that of Manhattan, with the added attraction that Sydney is far more likely to be seen under a clear blue sky. There is a spectacular view of the city and its surroundings from the 305m-high (1000ft) AMP Tower above the Centrepoint Shopping Complex (daily 0900-2145). The city has a great number of concert halls, museums, art galleries and theatres. Among the many other interesting sights Sydney has to offer are the Harbour Bridge (the third-longest single span bridge in the world), Taronga Zoo, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Australian Museum. The Rocks area (the site of Australia’s first European settlement) has been largely restored to its original state and features cobbled streets, gas lamps, craft shops and small restaurants. This district of the city also contains one of Sydney’s oldest buildings, Cadman’s Cottage (1816), as well as the ‘Lord Nelson’ and the ‘Hero of Waterloo’, the city’s oldest pubs.

Tours around Olympic Park – venue of the 2000 Olympic Games – have become a popular visitor attraction, and include a visit to the Olympic Village. Apart from exploring various quarters such as Chinatown, Paddington and Kings Cross on foot, there is Darling Harbour, one of Sydney’s newest precincts, which is a five-minute monorail ride from the city centre. This bustling area contains numerous attractions including the Harbourside Shopping Centre, Gavala Aboriginal and Cultural Education Centre, Panasonic IMAX Theatre, the Chinese Garden, the Powerhouse Museum (design and science), the National Maritime Museum, Cockle Bay Wharf and the Sydney Aquarium. The city can also be enjoyed from the water with harbour cruises departing from Circular Quay. Other ways of seeing the city are from the bright red Sydney Explorer Bus which stops at 26 popular tourist spots on its 36km (22-mile) loop around the city or from the monorail train, or from a scenic flight aboard a seaplane or helicopter.

The city has many beautiful green spaces including Hyde Park, The Domain and Centennial Park as well as the stunning Botanic Gardens with views of the Bridge, Opera House and Harbour. Sydney is also justly famous for its many excellent beaches in and around the city, such as Manly, on the north shore (15 minutes by Jet Cat), or Bondi, Watson’s Bay, Bronte, Clovelly or Coogee to the south. Most beaches are within reach of public transport. For reasons of safety, people should swim in the areas marked with flags only. Botany Bay, the first foothold of British settlers, is still a botanist’s delight with mangrove swamps and native wildlife as well as museums and picturesque walks.

Beyond Sydney

New South Wales caters for all kinds of holiday, whatever the time of year. Visits to the Hunter Valley wine district and the Blue Mountains (a World Heritage Listed National Park), to the west of Sydney, are highly recommended. Home to famous wine makers such as Wyndham Estate, Rosemount and McGuigans, the Hunter Valley has over 80 wineries and many restaurants. Nearby Port Stephens is a great spot for water sports and dolphin and whale watching. Lightning Ridge, to the northwest, is a frontier town where the world’s only source of black opal is to be found. The region of the Snowy Mountains in the southeast of the State, including Mount Kosciuzsko, Australia’s highest peak, is popular during the skiing season (June-October) as well as in summer for bushwalking.

Resorts in the Snowy Mountain region include Thredbo and Perisher Blue, the latter incorporating Guthega, Perisher Valley, Blue Cow and Smiggins. Uncommercialised and unpretentious, Broken Hill and the surrounding national parks of the New South Wales outback offer a taste of the original Australian wilderness. Featuring ancient landscapes, aboriginal culture and unusual flora and fauna, they are among the highlights of the region. The Menindee Lakes, 113km (70 miles) from the town by a good road, cover an area of water eight times the size of Sydney Harbour with an abundance of birdlife and provide a major attraction for motor boat and sailing craft owners.

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QUEENSLAND

Two-and-a-half times the size of Texas or seven times the size of the United Kingdom, Queensland, more than half of which lies above the Tropic of Capricorn, is known as the ‘Sunshine State’. Within its borders are the Great Barrier Reef, numerous resort islands, kilometres of golden sandy beaches, national park forests, vast plains, lush rainforests, forested mountains and extensive wilderness areas.

Brisbane

Brisbane is the economic hub and State capital of Queensland, with a year-round warm subtropical climate. Australia’s fastest growing city, it is the gateway to many coastal resorts and itself offers many attractions. Probably the most famous of these is the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which can be reached via a river cruise. The Botanic Gardens is a splendid shady reserve at the south end of the city centre, accessible by a new footbridge. City Hall in King George Square houses an art gallery, museum and clock tower observation deck. Other buildings of note include the State Parliament House with its glittering copper roof, St John’s Cathedral, The Mansions and the Old Windmill, the city’s oldest surviving building and once a treadmill worked by convicts.

The Queensland Cultural Centre at South Bank contains the Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Museum and Performing Arts Centre. The South Bank Parklands, on the site of the 1988 World Expo, boasts an interesting Maritime Museum and an enormous artificial swimming beach. The Brisbane Powerhouse is a lively alternative arts venue, and the looming Art Deco Castlemaine Brewery offers enjoyable daily tours with samples of its famous product. Festivals such as the biennial Brisbane Festival, Ekka (Royal National Exhibition) and Livid (rock music and arts) are other major attractions.

Beyond Brisbane

Probably the best beach area in the country, the Gold Coast region 80km (50 miles) south of Brisbane comprises 42km (25 miles) of white surfing beaches, theme parks (Sea World, Movie World and Dreamworld), a casino, hotels and restaurants. It has year-round sunshine and lively tourist facilities. The partying never stops at Surfers Paradise, a Miami-style high-rise strip overlooking a crowded beach. Inland are lush green mountains, rainforests, walking trails and scenic villages. Nature lovers will also appreciate the Lamington National Park in the McPherson Mountains, and the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary.

An hour’s drive north from Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast offers miles of untouched wilderness, lakes, mountains and unspoilt beaches with surf ranging in condition from mild to wild. Arts and crafts trails, nature walks and awe-inspiring views can be found in the hinterland, where the Glasshouse Mountains can be found. Cairns is the major gateway to the far north. As well as the Barrier Reef, there are rainforests in the Atherton Tableland to the west, and to the south is Mission Beach with 14km (9 miles) of white sandy beaches, looking out to Dunk Island. To the north, there is the charming old town of Port Douglas attracting many visitors, as well as Daintree, which has services to Cape Tribulation National Park, and Cooktown, close to Endeavour National Park where excellent examples of Aboriginal rock art can be found. Beyond this lies the wilderness of Cape York Peninsula.

Townsville is North Queensland’s largest city, boasting an international airport and a casino. Cruises are available to nearby islands, as are trips to the Barrier Reef for diving, walking or white-water rafting. This pleasant city, its streets lined with palm trees and tropical flora, has a number of interesting attractions on offer, such as ReefHQ, the largest coral aquarium in the world, with a transparent walk-in tunnel, and Magnetic Island, a resort island with superb beaches, diving opportunities, bushwalking tracks and a koala sanctuary, only 8km (5 miles) offshore and a 25-minute ferry ride from the city centre.

Great Barrier Reef

This playground and beauty spot is also one of the world’s great natural wonders. It stretches for 2000km (1200 miles) along the Queensland coast, its width varying from 25km (15 miles) to 50km (30 miles). There is unique plant and animal life to be found, with visibility often as deep as 60m (200ft). Dotted along the coast are 25 island resorts, lying on or between the Barrier Reef and the mainland. Heron and Lady Elliot Islands are coral cays renowned as the best diving spots on the reef. Lizard, Bedarra and Orpheus Islands are quiet, secluded and luxurious hideaways. Hayman Island is an international resort, with 5-star luxury facilities. Long Island, Great Keppel Islands, South Molle, Hamilton and Lindeman Island are all-year-round resorts with facilities for families. Tropical Dunk Island and Brampton Island are popular with honeymooners. Fitzroy and Hinchinbrook Islands offer unspoilt beauty. Camping facilities can be found at Fitzroy, Hook and Keppel Haven on Great Keppel Island. Outside the main reef areas, the islands of Fraser, Moreton, Bribie, North and South Stradbroke offer some of the best unpopulated surfing beaches and national parks in Australia.

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Western Australia covers one third of Australia; it is larger than Western Europe, but has a population only one sixth that of London. It is bordered in the east by South Australia and the Northern Territory and in the west by the Indian Ocean, with the Timor Sea to the north. On the west coast one is nearer to Bali and Indonesia than to Sydney, making Perth a viable stopover destination en route to the rest of Australia. To the south, the nearest land mass is Antarctica, 2600km (1600 miles) away. It has mineral wealth in iron, bauxite, nickel, natural gas, oil, diamonds and gold. There are vast wheatlands, forests and deserts, and several national parks.

A popular resort is Rottnest Island; there are also many excellent mainland beaches, particularly around Perth. Kimberley, in the far north, is one of the oldest geological areas on earth, a region where time and weather have formed deep gorges and impressive mountains, arid red plains and coastal sandstone rich in fossils. In the northwest there are two notable features: Wolf Creek Crater, an immense hole left in the desert by a giant meteorite 50,000 years ago, and the Bungle Bungles, an ancient sandstone massif covering 3000 sq km (1160 sq miles). Southeast of Perth, near Hyden, there is the 2700 million year-old Wave Rock.

Perth

Perth is sunny all year but pleasant owing to temperate breezes. Modern skyscrapers overshadow colonial buildings such as the Town Hall and Perth Mint. The Swan River winds through the city, and a cruise upriver to the vineyards is very popular with tourists. A futuristic tower resembling a giant swan, the Swan Bells houses the old bells from St Martin-in-the-Fields, London and is open daily for viewing. Kings Park, a beautiful park overlooking the town, the Art Gallery of Western Australia in James Street and the historic His Majesty’s Theatre are also worth seeing.

The most popular beach destinations are Sorrento, Cottesloe, City, Scarborough and the nude bathing beach at Swanbourne. Seventeen kilometres (11 miles) north of the city centre, AQWA – The Aquarium of Western Australia at Hillary’s Boat Harbour showcases over 4000 sea creatures in their natural environments. South of Perth is Cable’s Water Ski Park with thrilling water rides and Adventure World, a favourite family entertainment complex on Bibra Lake with thrill rides, native animals, parkland and waterways in beautiful surroundings. Fremantle, 19km (12 miles) from the city, is a port full of historic houses and buildings such as the Court House, all of which have been superbly restored. Freo, as it is known, can be reached either by a one-hour boat trip or a 20-minute drive from Perth. The excellent Western Australian Maritime Museum and Fishing Boat Harbour, with its many outdoor seafood restaurants, are its other attractions.

Beyond Perth

Rottnest Island lies 20km (12.5 miles) offshore. This haven for water sports enthusiasts is connected to Fremantle by ferry services. The marsupial quokka is unique to the car-free island. Well to the east of Perth is the thriving gold-mining town of Kalgoorlie with its Museum of the Goldfields, and towns which were once the centre of Western Australia’s gold rush, such as Coolgardie. Also interesting is Wave Rock, a 2700-million-year-old formation resembling a tidal wave, close to Hyden. The Darling Ranges, behind Perth, are popular with visitors and contain several national parks. The Avon Valley, a 90-minute drive from Perth, is an agricultural area. In this region can be found the town of York where the York Motor Museum and the Residency Museum are worth seeing.

Nanbung National Park, 240km (150 miles) north of Perth, is well known for its amazing limestone pillars, The Pinnacles. At Monkey Mia, on the mid-western coast, there are wild bottlenose dolphins that come into the shallows to greet visitors. Also in the north of the State, The Kimberley, a wild semi-desert region rich in Aboriginal legends, has in recent years become a thriving diamond-mining centre. The city of Broome, on the north coast, is the pearl capital of the world. At the opposite end of the State is Albany, founded in 1827 and the first European settlement in Western Australia; it is noted for its blowholes and winter whale-watching. Augusta, to the west, is also visited by several species of whale.

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