Australia Travel Guide
- Official name: Commonwealth of Australia
- Capital: Canberra
- Language: English
- Religion: Most of the population, about 70.28%, declare themselves Christian.
- Currency : Australian dollar (AUD)
- Visa: Except for citizens from New Zealand everyone needs a visa. For travellers from most European countries it is possible to apply for a 3-month visa online. For an extended visa of 6 months one has to go straight to an Australian embassy.
Australia Sights and Museums
- Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney , New South Wales . It is one of the most distinctive and famous 20th century buildings, and one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world. It is the most recognised symbol of Sydney the most recognised symbol of Sydney .
- The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of roughly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands that stretch for 2,600 kilometers . The reef is located in the Coral Sea , off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia .
- Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia , in the Northern Territory . It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjur a National Park , 440 km southwest of Alice Springs. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area. It is one of the most well known tourist sites in Australia .
- Kakadu National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km east of Darwin . The attractions include the opportunity to learn about the people, geology, plants and animals which make Kakadu a unique and precious resource, not only for Australians but for all the people in the world.
- Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria . Often referred to as both the "cultural capital of Australia " and the "sporting capital of Australia ", the city has a rich history and is home to many of Australia 's major annual sporting and cultural events.
Australia Entertainment
- January: Big Day Out, a day-long showcase of local and international bands, which comes to the major cities in late January
Sydney Festival, which takes up most of January with events from open air concerts, to street theatre and fireworks.
Midsumma Gay Festival in Melbourne
- February/March: Sydney 's massive, outlandish Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras
- March: The Adelaide Festival of Arts takes place at the beginning of March in even-numbered years.
In the second week of March in odd-numbered years there's Womadelaide, Adelaide 's outdoor festival of world music and dance.
- April: International Comedy Festival in Melbourne
- July: Darwin 's Beer Can Regatta in mid-July, when a series of boat races are held for craft constructed entirely of beer cans
- August: the world's biggest Writers' Festival takes place in Melbourne
- September/October: he Stompen Ground Festival, which is held in Broome and celebrates Aboriginal arts
- October: Melbourne International Arts Festival
Australia Transports
How to get there by plane: Approximately half of all international travellers arrive first in Australia in Sydney , the largest city, via Kingsford-Smith International Airport . After Sydney , significant numbers of travellers also arrive first in Australia in Melbourne ( Tullamarine Airport ), Brisbane and Perth . Much smaller numbers arrive at international airports in Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin, the Gold Coast (Coolangatta), Norfolk Island, Newcastle and Broome.
Australia has a very strict customs requirement when it comes to animal and vegetable imports including wood, and other prohibited goods. This is because Australia is a large and isolated island, and thus far free of many diseases and insect pests found in other countries. All incoming visitors must pass a customs check for these items. No fruits, vegetables, meat or other food products are allowed in unless they are factory-made and on the approved list of imports (eg, chocolate is o.k.)
Railway:
Australian Government land transport funding is focused on the National Network, including the following rail corridors, connecting at one or both ends to State Capital Cities:
- Sydney to Melbourne
- Sydney to Brisbane - the North Coast railway line
- Sydney to Adelaide , via Cootamundra, Parkes, Broken Hill and Crystal Brook
- Melbourne to Adelaide via Geelong
- Adelaide to Perth - Trans-Australian Railway
- Adelaide to Darwin - Port Augusta-Darwin line
- Brisbane to Townsville - the North Coast railway line in Qld
- Townsville to Mount Isa
- Hobart to Burnie, including link to Bell Bay , Tasmania
- Melbourne to Mildura via Geelong
- Sydney to Dubbo via Bathurst and Parkes
- Some urban links in Sydney , Melbourne , Brisbane , Perth and Adelaide , connecting the long distance links to each other and to ports and airports
- Hunter Valley rail links to Dubbo to Merrygoen, Werris Creek Muswellbrook and Port of Newcastle and Merrygoen to Muswellbrook via Ulan
The Australian Highway System is broken up into 3 different categories for rural Australia :
- Federal Highways
- State Highways
- Local Roads
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