Lee Mylne - Frommers EasyGuide to Australia 2015

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ISBN 978-1-62887-102-9 (paper), 978-1-62887-103-6 (e-book)

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AN IMPORTANT NOTE

The world is a dynamic place. Hotels change ownership, restaurants hike their prices, museums alter their opening hours, and busses and trains change their routings. And all of this can occur in the several months after our authors have visited, inspected, and written about, these hotels, restaurants, museums and transportation services. Though we have made valiant efforts to keep all our information fresh and up-to-date, some few changes can inevitably occur in the periods before a revised edition of this guidebook is published. So please bear with us if a tiny number of the details in this book have changed. Please also note that we have no responsibility or liability for any inaccuracy or errors or omissions, or for inconvenience, loss, damage, or expenses suffered by anyone as a result of assertions in this guide.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lee Mylne has been a journalist all her working life, specializing in travel writing for the past two decades. Based in Brisbane, she has traveled to every state and territory of Australia by almost every means of transport available. She writes for a range of Australian consumer and trade publications and is a life member and past president of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. Her books include a number of Frommer's travel guides.

ABOUT THE FROMMER TRAVEL GUIDES

For most of the past 50 years, Frommers has been the leading series of travel guides in North America, accounting for as many as 24% of all guidebooks sold. I think I know why.

Though we hope our books are entertaining, we nevertheless deal with travel in a serious fashion. Our guidebooks have never looked on such journeys as a mere recreation, but as a far more important human function, a time of learning and introspection, an essential part of a civilized life. We stress the culture, lifestyle, history and beliefs of the destinations we cover, and urge our readers to seek out people and new ideas as the chief rewards of travel.

We have never shied from controversy. We have, from the beginning, encouraged our authors to be intensely judgmental, criticalboth pro and conin their comments, and wholly independent. Our only clients are our readers, and we have triggered the ire of countless prominent sorts, from a tourist newspaper we called practically worthless (it unsuccessfully sued us) to the many rip-offs weve condemned.

And because we believe that travel should be available to everyone regardless of their incomes, we have always been cost-conscious at every level of expenditure. Though we have broadened our recommendations beyond the budget category, we insist that every lodging we include be sensibly priced. We use every form of media to assist our readers, and are particularly proud of our feisty daily website, the award-winning Frommers.com.

I have high hopes for the future of Frommers. May these guidebooks, in all the years ahead, continue to reflect the joy of travel and the freedom that travel represents. May they always pursue a cost-conscious path, so that people of all incomes can enjoy the rewards of travel. And may they create, for both the traveler and the persons among whom we travel, a community of friends, where all human beings live in harmony and peace.

Arthur Frommer

Whats Great About Australia

A ustralia is like nowhere else youve been. It has truly unique wildlife, some of the worlds best natural scenery, the most brilliant scuba diving and snorkeling, the best beaches, the oldest rainforest (110 million years and counting), the oldest human civilization (some archaeologists say 40,000 years, some say 120,000), the best wines, the best weather, the most innovative East-meets-West-meets-someplace-else cuisineall bathed in sunlight that brings everything up in Technicolor. Prepare yourself for a lifetime of memories.

Scarcely a visitor lands on these shores without having a visit to the Great Barrier Reef at the top of their to-do list. So they should, because it really is a glorious natural masterpiece. Also high on most lists is Uluru, a sacred monolith thatrightlyattracts hundreds of thousands of tourists (including, in 2014, Britains Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge). And its not just The Rock you should see; the vast Australian desert all around it is equally unmissable. The third attraction on most visitors lists is Sydney, Australias glittering harborside city.

Of course, there is much more to Australia than these highlights. Those who have more time will find that South Australia, Western Australia, and the Top End of the Northern Territory have much to offer as well. But you cant do everything or go everywhere, so in this book Ill introduce you to these three iconic attractions, as well as the places that are their gatewaysBrisbane, Cairns, the coastal cities of Queensland that give you access to the Reef, and Alice Springs in the Red Centreas well as Australias other major city, Melbourne, in Victoria. I'll also show you Hobart in Tasmania.

Australias best Authentic Experiences

Seeing the Great Barrier Reef (QLD): Its a glorious 2,000 km-long (1,240-mile) underwater coral fairyland with electric colors and bizarre fish lifeand it comes complete with warm water and year-round sunshine. When youre not scuba diving, calling at tropical towns, lying on deserted island beaches, or snorkeling over coral and giant clams almost as big as you, youll be trying out the sun lounges or enjoying the first-rate food. See p..

Australia

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Exploring the Wet Tropics Rainforest (QLD): Folks who come from such skyscraper cities as New York and London cant get over the moisture-dripping ferns, the neon-blue butterflies, and the primeval peace of this World Heritage rainforest stretching north, south, and west from Cairns. Hike it, four-wheel-drive it, or glide over the treetops in the Skyrail gondola. See p..

Bareboat Sailing (QLD): Bareboat means unskippered. Thats right, even if you think port is an after-dinner drink, you can charter a yacht, pay for a days instruction from a skipper, and then take over the helm yourself and explore the 74 island gems of the Whitsundays. Its easy. Anchor in deserted bays, snorkel over dazzling reefs, fish for coral trout, and feel the wind in your sails. See p..