Australia

Where winters are summer

After Captain Cook discovered the aboriginal way of life that went back for tens of thousands of years, Australia began to develop very quickly. Sydney, now the twenty first century still, almost anyone ever watching would remember Crocodile Dundee, the Opera House and high fashion notable in its cosmopolitan, twenty-first-century metropolis, Sydney. The high quality of living in the country's magnificent and largest city is enhanced by one of the world's great harbors. Melbourne, its big rival, is blessed with a more European ambience. Trams and pavement cafes are as much a part of the experience as the buzzing sports and cultural scene, while Darwin, Perth and Brisbane at the coast offer other worlds to discover.

Away from the cities, Australia's amaz,ngly diverse landscape boasts everything from vast deserts, where kangaroos and emu bound through the waterless surroundings, tropical rainforests, rocky and steep mountains and immaculately clean beaches, such as Bondi, Cable Beach and Whitehaven. Then, of course, there's the epic monolith of Uluru (also called Ayers Rock) and the Great Barrier Reef, where another undiscovered area opens beneath the surf.

One of the worlds best aquatic playgrounds are the Whitsundays. Its calm and protected waters are nothing short of enchanting and offer some of the best diving and sailing places on earth. Take a sailing holiday and tour some of the Whitsundays’ 74 islands. Only eight of these contain holiday resorts offering everything from wilderness to five star luxuries. The rest are uninhabited. Once you’re out in these perfect crystals blue waters try swimming, snorkeling, parasailing or scuba diving. Or just laze around on deck with a book or magazine and a cool drink. If you cruise to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island, You will find a 7km stretch of pure white silica sand. It is also one of the most photographed beaches in the world.

Situated 1400km off the east coast of Australia, Norfolk Island is not part of any State but instead administered by the Australian government. The island is easiest reached by air when starting from Sydney. Its history as a penal colony has left the island leaving some of Australia's finest colonial Georgian architecture behind. Many of the island's small population are directly related to the HMS Bounty who settled in this area. Various options of accommodation is available to the visitors here.

Take a day tour from Melbourne and be guided along this beautiful but dangerous coastline where so many ships met their end or self-drive along the shipwreck coast trail and stop at as many pleasing towns as you wish. To name a few there are Princetown, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Warrnambool and Port Fairy. Once you’re on the road, you will witness one of the most spectacular pieces of coastline in the world. The Great Ocean Road they call it, is not only beautiful, it also offers much to see and do. You can stay several days in this area and take the advantage of many walks with beautiful natural scenery in the region. It is even possible for experienced divers to explore the different wreck sites under water.
Some visitors may like to follow the adventure of the survivors of the Loch Ard, one of the coasts most famous shipwrecks. You can even find the caves they took shelter in.

Port Campbell National Park is without doubt the most beautiful part of this drive, where you can experience 25km of coastline and magnificent sequences of spectacular rock formations at Twelve Apostles. You can take offshore flights over the area and make boat cruises around the Twelve Apostles when calm enough. Still, many people choose the walks. This walk is a 250 meters boardwalk along the cliff top, with an option to go up to Castle Rock. But both walks are easy and have worth the effort with their stunning views. From the main viewing platform here, you may see families of fairy penguins or glimpses of whales if you’re there from June to August.