Beaches - Travel to Australia’s east coast: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
If you’re looking to experience Australia, the east coast is home to three of Australia’s major city centres and always full of fun things to see and do. Whether you’re in a large group or a family, looking for budget travel or luxury resort accommodation, there’s options to delight everyone. Sydney: the city for all seasons From famous Bondi Beach to the tranquil Blue Mountains, to glittering Sydney Harbour and the thriving city centre, Sydney has it all. Transport: getting there and getting around: You can fly direct to Sydney from major international airports. There are 40 airlines servicing Sydney airport including all the major carriers such as Qantas, Virgin and British Airways. Sydney has a well established rail and bus system which can take you all over the city and out to regional areas and interstate. The road system is modern and easy to navigate and car hire is available at reasonable rates. Climate: Sydney weather and seasonal variations Sydney enjoys mild weather all year round. Australian seasons are the opposite of those in the northern hemisphere. It’s the perfect escape from a cold northern hemisphere winter! Spring is from September to November. Summer is from December to February. Autumn is from March to May. Winter is from June to August. , so it can provide a great escape from a cold winter! Accommodation: from cheap stays to luxury resorts Booking accommodation is easy with a huge range available. Check on the internet for the range, location and cost of Sydney Hotels. Events: there’s always something on in Sydney • Variety Club Annual Road Bash starts from Garden Island on August 5 2007 on its way to the Northern Territory • Priscilla the Queen of the Desert - the iconic Australian Musical is on at the Lyric Theatre Star City Darling Harbour • Sydney Opera House has started its Winter Season ??” for details of what is on visit www.sydneyoperahouse.com • For the family, El Caballo Blanco is on at the Horseworld Stadium on Saturday and Sunday nights ??” it is a show with amazingly trained choreographed horses • Melbourne: shopping, restaurants and entertainment Melbourne is known as the cultural centre of Australia. It is renowned for its beautiful restaurants, bars, shopping, art galleries, sport, live entertainment, the Melbourne Grand Prix and of course the world famous Melbourne Cup horse racing event ??” ‘the race that stops a nation’. You can fly direct to Melbourne’s international airport from major international airports. Bus, taxi and rental cars are all readily available from the airport and the road network is simple to navigate. Melbourne’s trams ??” the only remaining tram network in Australia ??” are one of its major attractions and a unique and easy way to get around town. Accommodation is plentiful with hundreds of Melbourne Hotels catering for all tastes and every budget. Be sure to stop by the Travellers Information Desk located in the International Arrivals terminal to pick up all the information you need to have a great holiday. Set on the Yarra River, Melbourne is a wonderful place to explore. There are distinct enclaves to tour around whatever your interests are. If you want to go further afield, the Victorian Alps are only a few hours away by car and offer good skiing in winter. Brisbane: beautiful one day, perfect the next If you’re looking for superb sub-tropical weather, friendly relaxed people and some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, Brisbane is the place to be any time of the year. It offers long hot summers and wonderfully mild winters. Brisbane’s international and domestic airports are easily accessible by train, taxi and car and shuttle buses also depart regularly. Situated on the Brisbane River, the city boasts a well resourced ferry system to let you tour the city sites in ease. Brisbane hotels are available to suit any budget, and accommodation is also plentiful in surrounding areas. The pristine coastline and beaches both north and south of Brisbane are popular holiday destinations with many attractions and islands to explore. Last but not least, from Brisbane you can visit many of Australia’s biggest theme parks including Dreamworld, Movieworld, Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo, Sea World, Wet ‘n’ Wild and more. Shuttle buses are a quick and easy way to get there.
Tim Barnett writes for Cheaperthanhotels wich has established working arrangements with leading hotel chains and thousands of hotels across the globe through, to meet the accommodation needs of travellers at the most competitive rates and the highest ethical standards. More Info…
Langkawi situated just off the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia comprises a group of 104 tropical islands during the low tides and 99 Island during the high tides. The main island Langkawi, is 47. 848 Hectare followed by Pulau Dayang Bunting and Pulau Tuba while some of the others appear to be mere dots in the emerald green ocean when viewed from the air.
In Langkawi a nature adventure had a true-blue naturalist as their guide. The guide’s name is Irshad Mobarak. Dubbed the Jungle-wallah (Jungle-fellow) of Langkawi (http://www.junglewallah.com), he is perfect for the job as he possesses vast knowledge about Langkawi’s wildlife, gleaned from years of trekking and observation of its jungles, mangroves and wildlife.
Some people think the beauty of Langkawi lies in its pristine beaches. Others like the duty-free shopping. But Irshad and his team of naturalists at Natural History Tours (http://www.wildlangkawi.com) reckon that the edge Langkawi has over places like Bali and Phuket is its jungle and wildlife.
As such Irshad and his team have been actively involved in preserving Langkawi’s natural environment. His social-responsible company provides real ecotourism experiences such as nature walks, birdwatching, jungle-trekking and mangrove tours in kayaks or motorized boats without the “gimmicks” activities involve.
His pet peeve is the eagle-feeding sessions at the mangrove swamps of the Kilim River. While it is quite a sight to see dozens of white-bellied sea eagles and brahminy kites circling in the sky and swooping down on their food, Irshad feels it’s bad for the birds.
“What you’re doing is habituating the eagles to take food from humans when they usually feed on fish. Now they are given chicken guts, and these are from farm-bred chickens fed with antibiotics and hormones, making it unhealthy. It may affect their bone development and the integrity of the shells of their eggs.” Irshad said contaminated feed could kill a lot of birds, as each feeding attracts between 50 to 100 birds.
Not only is Irshad fully acquainted with information on the wildlife in Langkawi, he is also great at handling children. His “young explorer club” is a hit for student’s summer program in Malaysia and tourists traveling with their children. “The trick is not to bore them to death. You can be much more informative with adults, but with children, you need to make it more experiential. They need to touch and smell and conduct experiments.”
Irshad, who’s especially love birds, said Langkawi has recorded 190 species of birds, including brown winged kingfisher, black hooded oriole and mountain hawk eagle. The mountain hawk eagle which can be identified by its very pronounced crest with two feathers can only be found in Langkawi and Irshad has recorded 3 different individual here.
The relatively small and cut-off habitat of an island like Langkawi allows for many of its flora and fauna to evolve into unique species over thousands of years. But it also possessed a danger of Habitat-fragmentations. One of Irshad ongoing project is planting figs trees closer to the road so the canopy on either side of the road will meet and become close enough for animals to cross over. “This is one way to counter the negative effects of habitat fragmentations and we hope to see the results in 10 years,” Irshad said. Visitor can also get involve in this program by purchasing trees and plant it during their visit to Langkawi (http://www.treesfornature.com)
Who is the Jungle-Wallah of Langkawi?
In the 80s, the Negri Sembilan-born Irshad was a decathlete and rugby player employed by a major bank institution. He worked for five years with the bank in Kuala Lumpur, only to discover the corporate world was simply not his cup of tea.
The turning point in his life came during a vacation in Tioman Island between 1981 and 1982. He realized that what he really wanted was to be closer to nature.
“So I quit my job, traveled and bummed around for a couple of years,” said Irshad, and then he found Langkawi. The island’s beauty and mystique inspired him to embark on his own study of its ecosystems.
“I saw the potential for nature-related work. I got a job as recreation manager at Datai and at the same time was involved in conservation work,” he said. Soon, a new position was created for him, that of a Resident-naturalist. And today, after 19 years, he is so well-versed in the subject, he is considered an expert. He has trained many individual who is now employed by other hotels as their own Resident-naturalist and some of them work as independent nature guides.
Irshad considered himself very lucky because his work, his hobby and his passion are all fused into one. He also believes that taking care of the natural environment is an integral part of being a steward of the Earth. He is recently won DiGi Amazing Malaysians Award 2007, an award for Malaysians who were nominated by the public for their passion and dedication in heritage conservation.
Khairul Syahir writes for commercial, informational and educational purposes and has written articles on various topics.
http://www.treesfornature.com
http://www.wildlangkawi.com
http://www.junglewallah.com
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