Australia Things to Do Tips by balhannah Top 5 Page for this destination

NED KELLY TOURIST DRIVE

NED KELLY, He is Australias best known Bushranger.
In just two short years between 1878 and 1880, his short and violent life has been an inspiration for poets, writers, artists and filmmakers.
Ned Kelly was a common criminal. He was a hero to Irish immigrants who were persecuted by the establishment. He was a bushranger who held up a whole town, not just banks. He was intensely protective of his family. He killed police officers, was outlawed and could be shot on sight by anyone. Yet when he was sentenced to hang, more than 30,000 people signed a petition asking for a reprieve.

For some reason, Australians love Ned Kelly. Why, probably many reasons. We know he was a larrikin, and ordinary person, some-one who was loyal to his family, he was fearless and perhaps represents some of the struggling working class. Ned Kelly is folklore and is remembered as a hero and villain.
An Aussie saying.... "as game as Ned Kelly," is regarded as an admirable trait - courageous, will attempt anything.

The Ned Kelly Touring Route goes back to its Irish beginnings , starting at Kelly family's birthplace in County Tipperary, Ireland.

The Touring Route has story boards installed at the sites where the historic events occurred ,Old Melbourne Gaol, Avenel, Euroa, Stringybark Creek, Glenrowan, Beechworth, Benalla and Jerilderie.. A storyboard is at the Kelly family home in Moyglass, County Tipperary, where Ned Kelly's father 'Red Kelly' lived, before being transported to Australia in 1841.

There is a map to follow and it should be quite interesting to follow. I have been to most of the places, Benalla, Victoria is excellent. There is a good Museum and a "BIG" Ned Kelly to take a photo of.

Website: http://www.nedkellytouringroute.com.au/home/

ENJOY A BBQ

BBQ's and Australian's go hand in hand.
You most probably have heard the saying "Throw another Shrimp on the Barbie."

You don't have to restrict BBQ's to when you are home. Parks in Australia most often have BBQ's, National Parks maybe wood fired ones. These are often in nice scenic places.

BBQ's in parks are often FREE, if not, just put 20cents in the slot
Press the button and the BBQ will heat for a certain amount of time, enough usually to cook your meal. If not, press the button again if for free, or put another 20cents in. Please clean the BBQ after use ready for the next person.
An easy way is to use a product called 'BBQ-EZY," made out of a heavy duty woven fibreglass cloth and coated with a non stick surface. You can use BBQ-EZY thousands of times, it won't break down.
Just wipe the Barbie clean with a paper towel.

If on holiday and haven't anything with you, buy meat from the local Butcher, Bread, paper plates, sauce, salad from the supermarket, and hey presto! you will soon be enjoying an aussie bbq with the Birds. Watch out for Kookaburra's if they are nearby, they love meat and are pretty cheeky if they have been fed before!

DRIVE FROM BRISBANE TO CAIRNS

Brisbane to Cairns is a road trip of approx 1700 kms if you drive straight there. It doesn't allow for side trips.

An idea for an 8 day trip, would be to go from ....

Brisbane to the Sunshine coast, a short day of 150km, before moving onto Hervey Bay. You could cut Hervey Bay out, but if it is Whale watching season, which runs between July and November, it is a good place to see the large Humpback Whales.
From the Sunshine coast to Rockhampton is 394kms, and if you include Hervey Bay, make this Days 3/4.

The next two days are moving on from Rockhampton to Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays, a distance of 481 km. This is a lovely part of Australia, and you will probably want to have a that amount of time.

The next day, we travel 287kms to Townsville, before travelling onto Cairns, a distance of 349km.

This trip can be done in either 7 or 8 days, allowing for time to sight see along the way.

Address: Brisbane to Cairns along the coast

OUTBACK CHURCHES

Travelling the Outback of Australia, even in the smallest of towns, you will find a Church.

Keep an eye out for them, as they are not always in the town, sometimes they are quite a way out, sometimes even sitting in the middle of a paddock.
You may notice the "Outback loo," sitting alone a distance from the Church, or even a small cemetery.

The doors will be shut, never mind, the Church may be the best building to take a photo of to keep as memory of the town.

My photo is of the Church at the town of "NEVRETIRE" in outback New South Wales. The town has a population of 103 people.
It was located out of town.

WATCH FOR BIRDLIFE - RAINBOW LORIKEETS

If you like Bird watching, like I do, then Australia is the place to come to see the beautifully coloured Birds.

There are 328 species of Parrot's in Australia.
One of the prettiest, is the beautiful Rainbow Lorikeet that lives mainly over north-eastern Australia and is normally found in flocks or pairs.

The colours on this Bird are so bright! It's feathers are emerald green, orange, blue, dull blue, ruby red, lemon yellow, purple, violet greenish grey.
They like Trees that have flowers laden with nectar, and when feeding, tend to squabble with each other and are very noisy and active.
Look for them on the Native Eucalypts, Banksia'a, Melaleuca, Callistemons and Grevillea's, just to name a few.

They love anything with nectar......quite a few people feed them with bread that has been soaked in Honey, they love this!
Like most Parrot's, they nest in a tree hollow or knot hole high up. Two white oval eggs are normally laid and take about 26 days to hatch, then both parents help to feed the young which fledge in 50 to 55 days.

If you are quiet, they continue on feeding, whilst you can get that much wanted photo!

THE GREAT INLAND WAY

Australia has a lot of named Tourist Routes that make it easy for anybody to see the country in the best possible way.

One of them is The Great Inland Way, this one is described as taking you through the ochre coloured outback to the crystal clear waters of the Coral Sea.

Not a short drive by any means, 2691kms...... it will take you many days to complete if you stop at the wonderful sights on the way.

It begins in Sydney, taking you through historical Bathurst, a town worth exploring. The area nearby is great for its vineyards and Wineries at Mudgee.

Orange, known for its Apples not Oranges has a wonderful lookout, and further on at Dubbo, is the Open Plains Zoo.

You may want to do a short detour into the Warrumbungles National Park, this is well worth doing.

You get to visit Outback Australia and the town of Lightning Ridge where Black Opal is mined, and the Australia artist, John Murray has his studio, I love his quirky painting and Australian sense of humour!
St. George, you may be lucky to visit when the Cotton harvesting is in full swing, then head to Roma, and the mighty Carnarvon Gorge, one of our most beautiful areas in Australia.

The road leads onto Emerald, the towns around here have names of gemstones and Saphires are found in this area, maybe you might want to stop and try your hand at fossicking, we did, had no luck, so are not Millionaires!

Charters Towers in North Queensland has some nice old buildings, and then you finally arrive in Cairns, and get to see the Great Barrier Reef.

It is rated as a 'must do' drive and it's not hard to see why.

By travelling the Great Inland Way, you get to visit the varied landscape that Australia has. You may love or hate some parts of it, find it a long way between towns in the Outback, but at least you can say that you have seen the diverseness of this great Country.

The whole route is fully sealed and with plenty of choices for accommodation, from FREE CAMPING to the MOST EXPENSIVE.
You will leave the hustle and bustle behind, be able to relax more when driving, as there is not many places with busy traffic along the Great Inland Way.

Visit the website for a lot more information and maps.

ROAD DISTANCE

Major cities are a long way apart when travelling by road.

To give you an idea, here are some travel times.......

THESE ARE FOR NON STOP DRIVING, WHICH YOU CAN'T DO!!

PERTH TO ADELAIDE.....2700KMS 28HOURS

ADELAIDE TO MELBOURNE.....740KMS 8HOURS

MELBOURNE TO SYDNEY.....875KMS 9HOURS

SYDNEY TO BRISBANE......1000KMS 12HOURS

BRISBANE TO WHITSUNDAYS.....1100KMS 13HOURS

WHITSUNDAYS TO CAIRNS.....600KMS 8HOURS

ADELAIDE TO ALICE SPRINGS .....1600KMS 16HOURS

ALICE SPRINGS TO DARWIN ......1500KMS 15HOURS

Remember, you will need breaks, there are speed cameras and Police patrols, and Towns have a 50 - 60km speed limit through them, and you often strike roadworks that have a 40km speed limit, so it is going to take a lot longer than those times.