Travelrific® Travel Journal
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Kayak Race in Australia Ends the Year
By Linda Tancs
Along Australia’s mighty Murray River from Yarrawonga to Swan Hill comes the Murray Marathon. One of the world’s largest annual kayak races, the event is a 404 km, five day flat-water race along the Murray River, which borders Victoria and New South Wales. The YMCA Victoria fundraiser begins on 27 December and heads downstream through Tocumwal, Picnic Point, Echuca, Torrumbarry and Murrabit before finishing in Swan Hill on New Year’s Eve. Just in time for a festive rendering of Auld Lang Syne.
A Centenary of Tourism
By Linda Tancs
Australia’s Rottnest Island, directly off the Perth coast, has a rich military, marine and cultural history that’s been engaging tourists these past 100 years. With the start of World War I the Department of Defence commandeered the Island for use as an internment and prisoner of war camp from 1914 to the end of 1915. In preparation for World War II a defense program became known as the Rottnest Island Fortress, consisting of the Oliver Hill fort, Bickley Point fort with two six-inch guns and quarters at Bickley and Army barracks at Kingstown that serve as an environmental education center today. The island also offers four heritage trails to highlight its cultural and marine history: Bickley Battery Heritage Trail, Rottnest Ship Wrecks Heritage Trail – Land and Water, Vincent Way Heritage Trail and a self-guided Historic Buildings Trail. Only 25 minutes away by ferry, you’ll have no excuse to miss the annual Swim Thru Rottnest in the crystal clear waters off Rotto on 3 December.
The Power of Words in Adelaide
By Linda Tancs
Sustainable word energy. That’s the new buzz phrase at the Fringe Festival in Adelaide, Australia, now through 13 March. In the fabulous X-Space of the Adelaide College of the Arts, the free spoken word event allows visitors to get into slams, workshops, and improvs to, as they put it, spout, tout or simply shout! Go on, get a word in.
The Fourth Test in Melbourne
By Linda Tancs
Playwright George Bernard Shaw once remarked that baseball has the great advantage over cricket of being sooner ended. No doubt it can’t end soon enough for the Aussies, currently entrenched in a two-month battle with the English known as The Ashes. The annual cricket match between England and Australia is playing out the fourth of five Tests in Melbourne this year until 30 December. The next and final Test is scheduled for 3 to 7 January in Sydney. Will the championship urn return Down Under?
Man’s Best Friend Unleashed at Sydney Film Festival
By Linda Tancs
Sydney’s film festival has gone to the dogs, as 2010′s theme, Unleashed, suggests. On the festival’s home page you’ll find a pageant of pooches, including Derek the stuntman (or stunt pooch). Well, they do say the festival is open to everyone. Now in its 57th year, it’s one of the longest running festivals. From 2 June to 14 June, you can experience a good share of thrills, chills, passion, humor, action and traction in a variety of venues at the heart of Sydney’s business district and along the harbor. In fact, 150 feature-length films from around 45 countries, including features, documentaries, short films, retrospectives, a silent film presentation, and films for families await you. And with fares at historic lows, you have no reason to bow out of this one.
DISCLOSURE OF NO MATERIAL CONNECTION
The author has not received any compensation for writing this content and has no material connection to the brands, topics, products and/or services that are mentioned herein.
Outback Railway 80 Years On
By Linda Tancs
Named for the Afghan camel drivers who once explored its unchartered territory, Australia’s famed railway, The Ghan, celebrates 80 years of service this year. Led by its fire engine red locomotive, the train traverses the breaktaking landscape framing Australia’s Outback. Originally routed for Adelaide to Alice Springs, the journey now includes a Darwin extension. City slickers need not worry. Connections to the legendary railway are available on Indian Pacific and The Overland for guests travelling to or from Sydney and Melbourne. All aboard!
When Pigs Fly
By Linda Tancs
Victoria’s largest public event is taking place now through 27 September at the Royal Melbourne Show in Australia. Like a county fair, the show includes livestock, rides, exhibitions, food and competitions. Perhaps the most engaging contest of all is the pig racing and diving show. Held five times a day during the entire fair to accommodate its loyal followers, the show features flying pigs aiming for a perfect score of 10 as they dive in the water. And the crowd goes hog wild, as they say.
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Where the Kangaroos Roam
By Linda Tancs
Kangaroos are everywhere in Australia–no less so at Kangaroo Island. But that’s not the only form of abundance waiting for you in this 1700-square-mile piece of paradise just 30 minutes from Adelaide. The place is teeming with wildlife, but what else would you expect on an island that is about one third protected national park land? No worries, there’s more than kangaroos and koalas to see. From spa treatments to sand dunes and cavings to Clifford’s Honey Farm, there’s something for everyone. As English playwright Douglas Jerrold once observed about Australia, “just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.”
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Eight Hours Rule
By Linda Tancs
The overnight winter storm along the northeastern U.S. has resulted in a day’s rest for labor along the seaboard and beyond. So, too, down under (minus the snow) where today marks Labor Day in Western Australia. Marking the eight-hour working day resulting from a decades-long struggle toward equitable working hours and conditions, this public holiday is celebrated in other territories on the second Monday in March, the first Monday in October and the first Monday in May.
Answer to the trivia question of 26 February: Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz GmbH seit 1709.
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The Best Job Ever
By Linda Tancs
Wanted: island caretaker.
Duties: swim, snorkel and sail; feed fish; collect mail. 12 hours per month.
Salary: AUD $150,000 for six months
Qualifications: none
Sound good? Apparently, 9000 applicants (and counting) thought so. Between now and 22 February, those interested can apply for the position of caretaker on Hamilton Island in Australia, sponsored by Tourism Queensland. Tourism officials will pare down the list in May, and the winner will start on 1 July.
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