Free things to do in Melbourne
Melbourne is a great city with all sorts of things available to keep visitors busy. Melbourne can satisfy most general interests and even offer specific subjects such as immigration history and digital culture. Here are the top things to do in Melbourne that are completely free. Admire Melbourne architecture Melbourne prides itself on being the artistic and cultural capital of Australia. Nowhere is this more evident than in the blending of old and new architecture across the city. Striking juxtapositions present themselves such as 19th century St Paul’s Cathedral and the very modern-looking Australian Centre for the Moving Image just across Flinders Street. Flinders Street Station (pictured above) was also…
Top Shark Diving Destinations
Diving with sharks is the ultimate dream for most scuba divers. As the apex predator of the oceans, sharks command a lot of respect and getting up close and personal with them is a truly incredible experience. Shark-diving in the Bahamas Divers are spoilt for shark encounters in the Bahamas. Caribbean Reef Sharks are everywhere (some of them surprisingly large) but there is also a host of other shark species that are fairly common around the islands including hammerheads, nurse sharks, lemon sharks, tiger sharks and silky sharks. Whale sharks in Australia There are a few locations that boast regular visits from Whale Sharks but nowhere seems as reliable as…
The things I love about Australia, and the things I don’t
Australia is a great place to live and work. Australia offers a great standard of living and is so vast there is a climate to suit everyone. As with everywhere however, some bits are less great. Here are the things I love about Australia and the things I don’t. Things I love about Australia ‘Fair go’ thinking Australia is a country of immigrants. Aside from the native aboriginals everyone else has come here from somewhere else and this makes Australians a diverse bunch. Australian society, as a result, is multicultural and lives by the principle of giving everyone a fair go. If you say you are capable of something you…
Cycling Adventure on Rottnest Island
Never was I more grateful for being taught how to ride a bicycle than when I arrived on Rottnest Island and realised there were no private vehicles (and few public transport options). My friend said we’d take bicycles and explore the tiny island on two wheels. It sounded good. I am easily lured to places that offer an encounter with an interesting animal, especially one that is new to me and furry. Rottnest is famous as one of the few remaining places quokkas thrive, due to a lack of predators. These little marsupials look like a big-bottomed rat and I was keen to see them. As we wheeled our bikes…
Take a Working Holiday in Australia
Australia offers travellers the chance to work casually to support extended visits to the country. This presents a fantastic opportunity to take some time to explore the vast continent and experience life downunder. It is one that many visitors take and end up having the time of their lives. According to the Australian Government department of citizenship website Australia offers the visas ‘to encourage cultural exchange and closer ties between the arrangement countries’. I think it is great that Australia enables people to live and work in the country temporarily. I have had several different and interesting job opportunities working in roles varying from journalism and recruitment to the mining…
Great Barrier Reef Birthday on Lady Musgrave Island
It is my belief that to come to Australia, let alone live in Australia for any length of time, and fail to visit the Great Barrier Reef would be unthinkable. Moving from Queensland to Western Australia limited opportunities significantly, so imagine my delight when the opportunity to spend my birthday on Lady Musgrave Island presented itself. Located on the outer southern Great Barrier Reef, Lady Musgrave Island is the highest point of a coral cay. The rest of the cay forms a ring around the island providing a natural lagoon filled with fish and, because the water is so sheltered, some magnificent coral. Obviously we had come to dive. SCUBA…
LARCing around in 1770, Queensland
The Queensland town of 1770 has a unique environment to explore. With creeks meeting the sea along this coastline a variety of ecosystems exist. Doing them all justice as you explore could be tricky unless you go on a LARC. “A what?” you say? Read on; I will explain. The Town of 1770 sees large differences in high and low tide levels so Lighter Amphibious Resupply Vessels (LARC) provide a simple solution as they can be operated both on land and through water. Originally used as military transport in coastal areas (not painted neon pink presumably) the LARCs of 1770 Environmental Tours now devote their days to showing visitors the…
Australia – Two Years on
I realised last week that I have now been in Australia for just over two years. When I can so clearly remember the chaos of leaving London and the wave of fatigue that hit me when I arrived in Brisbane it seems incredible that two entire years have passed. Read on for an idea of what two years in Australia feels like. The Plan and the reality When I came to Australia the plan was to spend a year here and travel around the country. Rather unexpectedly, due to a job opportunity, I ended up in rural Western Australia, just about as far away from family and friends as possible…
Secret Western Australia
Western Australia, covering almost a third of Australia’s landmass, is the largest state in Australia. Here are some of the lesser known highlights. There are some obvious reasons to visit this impressively varied state. The whalesharks that visit Exmouth each year are a huge draw as are the whale-watching opportunities in Albany, read more about both places here, but this post is about secret WA. Having lived here for two years now I hate to admit it but before coming to WA I had never heard of these places. Now I know them fondly as unique attractions in the local area (which, I should probably point out, is a rather…
Brampton Island, Queensland
If a visit to the Great Barrier Reef is on your agenda and you want to spend some time on one of the islands Brampton is a great choice. It offers a variety of fun activities and spectacular scenery for those more focused on relaxing. Situated in the Whitsunday Island Passage, Brampton Island is near the infamous Whitsundays but is not actually part of them. It is 50 kilometres south of Hamilton Island and 30 kilometres offshore from Mackay. Originally occupied by Aboriginals, the first European settlers arrived on the island in 1916. It has since had a colourful history with the opening of the resort in 1933, the establishment…
