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Monday, June 10, 2013
Best places Australia tourism
Sydney
Is the main entry point in Australia for most people, and the city offers many interesting sites to visit such as the Opera House, Darling Harbour with marine aquarium, lots of Shopping malls, museums, and it worth a visit to the other side of the bay including the Zoo and the beach of Mainly. Visiting the downtown tower (Sydney Tower) will have a complete view of the city from the top. The Blue Mountains will provide a beautiful panorama of the valley. The nightlife in Sydney is one of the most active in all Australia.
Tasmania
One of the prettiest places in Australia, and in certain way it reminds some New Zealand landscapes. Nice cities with excellent infra structure to visitors. The nature is the highlight, with spectacular beaches. The mountains and lagoons are well known for their beauty and wild life, and there are many historical places from the time Tasmania was a biggest prison for British convicts.
Ayers Rocks
In the heart of Australia, close to the city of Alice Springs. It is the biggest rock monolith in the world and a sacred place to the Aborigines. All the surroundins are deserts full of special places. Alice Springs is the departure point.
Festivals in Australia
Arts and cultural festivals
Each capital city has a festival. Major festivals are:
Sydney Festival (January)
Each year the Sydney Festival offers a rich and diverse program spanning all art forms including dance, theatre, music, visual arts, film, forums and large scale free outdoor events. For three weeks in January the Festival hosts around 80 events involving upwards of 500 artists from Australia and abroad. In any given year, it makes use of most of the main theatres across the breadth of the city and also has a commitment to the presentation of quality, large-scale outdoor events such as the iconic Domain Series.
National Multicultural Festival, Canberra (February)
The National Multicultural Festival is held over two weeks and features the very best in local, national and international music, dance, food and creative arts. Festival favourites include the Food and Dance Spectacular, the Greek Glendi, Carnivale, the International Concert and the Pacific Islander Showcase. The Festival Fringe complements the mainstream Festival, and provides a full-on week of zany entertainment
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Perth International Arts Festival (February)
Merran Hughes, Artists on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. Image courtesy of Ernabella Arts. (Perth International Arts Festival).
The Perth International Arts Festival is the oldest annual international multi-arts festival in the southern hemisphere and is Western Australia's premier cultural event. The first Perth Festival was in 1953 and it now offers the people of Western Australia some of the best international and contemporary drama, theatre, music, film, visual arts, street arts, literature, comedy and free community events. Some other events on the program include the Contemporary Culture program and the Perth Visual Arts Festival. As well as these, there are other satellite festivals surrounding the main festival which itself offers more than 30 Australian premieres. Part of the Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF), the Western Australian Indigenous Arts Showcase (WAIAS) involved over 90 Indigenous singers and songwriters, musicians, actors and comedians from all over Australia's largest state.
Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts (March)
The Adelaide Festival of Arts has created a strong tradition of innovation since 1960 inspiring celebration and presenting diverse art from across Australia and around the world. Held in the warm South Australian autumn in every 'even' year, this is a large-scale multi-arts event of extraordinary richness and diversity.
Ten Days on the Island, Tasmania (March)
Tasmania 's flagship celebration of island arts and culture, Ten Days on the Island, boasts a multitude of events in 50 locations across the island. Events and activities range across all types of music, dance, visual arts, theatre, literature, food and film. Individual artists and companies come from all corners of the globe, and a number of local artists also take part.
Darwin Festival (August)
Yilila, winners of 2006 NT Indigenous Music Awards. Photograph courtesy of Yilila.
The Darwin Festival is a celebration of the city's uniqueness, celebrating our multicultural community, youthful energy, tropical climate and our great lifestyle. The cultural program provides a feast of local, national and international performances to excite, inspire and entertain. It includes opera, cabaret, dance, music, film, comedy, the visual arts and workshops - incorporating music and dance from Indigenous, Indonesian and Pacific Island communities. There is also a strong visual arts component, with traditional land owners guiding visitors through the many galleries exhibiting Indigenous art.
Brisbane Festival (September)
Brisbane Festival is Brisbane 's foremost international multi-arts festival, offering an outstanding program of theatre, dance, music, opera, multimedia, and free community events for the residents of Brisbane and its visitors. Held every two years, it endeavours to include the entire community in its program of activities by having intellectual rigour, international artistic credibility and an extremely broad grass-roots support base. Consequently, Brisbane Festival is about a lot more than just putting on shows, it encourages engagement and participation from everyone in the greater community across our great city, country and the globe.
Melbourne International Arts Festival (October)
Melbourne International Arts Festival has a reputation for presenting unique international and Australian events in the fields of dance, theatre, music, visual arts, multimedia, free and outdoor events over 17 days each October. First staged in 1986 under the direction of composer Gian Carlo Menotti it became the third in the Spoleto Festival series - joining Spoleto, Italy, and Charleston, United States. Melbourne's Spoleto Festival changed its name to the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts in 1990. In 2003, the Festival was renamed Melbourne International Arts Festival.
Independent festivals
Major independent national festivals include:
Chinese New Year (February)
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The new year begins on the first day of the Chinese calendar, which usually falls in February, and the festivities continue for 15 days. During Chinese New Year celebrations, people wear red clothes, give children 'lucky money' in red envelopes and set off firecrackers. Chinese New Year ends with the lantern festival, where people hang decorated lanterns in temples and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon. The highlight of the lantern festival is often the dragon dance. The dragon can stretch over 30 metres long and is typically made of silk, paper and bamboo. In Sydney, more than 500,000 people crowd the streets to celebrate the Lunar New Year and all things Chinese.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (February)
From a protest rally to one of the world's largest gay and lesbian festivals, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has come a long way. In 1978, a group of 1,000 people marched down Oxford Street to mark International Gay Solidarity Day. The one-off event resulted in violent clashes with police and a determination to do it all again the following year and Mardi Gras was born. The event has continued to transform, adding an arts festival in 1983, and grown to attract an audience of hundreds of thousands of participants from all over the world. The Festival forms a huge celebration and reflection on gay and lesbian life.
Over three days, WOMADelaide runs six outdoor stages featuring performances and intimate workshops by around 35 groups from over 20 countries. It also presents a KidZone, visual arts and street theatre programs, and an amazing Global Village of 100 arts, crafts, international cuisine and educational display stalls and three bars. The magical ambience of WOMADelaide is indescribably lush; thousands of people of all ages bliss out as they enjoy the sounds of the planet while catching up with friends in the sunshine, lazing under the trees, shopping, eating, drinking and having fun with their family.
Held over the Easter weekend in Canberra every year, the National Folk Festival draws together people from all around Australia and the world. They come to share in the songs, dances, tunes and verse that have flowed through the ages from many communities into Australian folk culture. The festival includes over 100 concerts, poetry and storytelling sessions, various dance classes running all day, a kids program and of course lots of different food options. Camping is available and many people spend the whole five days and nights at the festival.
Dreaming Festival, Woodford (June)
The Dreamingis a vibrant, exciting and a valuable destination where local, national and international audiences look forward to their annual ceremony time along with the most comprehensive showcase of Indigenous arts from across the country and around the world. This three day and four night festival will have performing arts venues, bars, Ceremony grounds, traditional healing, galleries, rituals, campfire story circles and a mass of stalls, workshop avenueand food outlets. Presented by the Queensland Folk Federation, the program features film and literature components, performing arts, new media and digital technologies, food and wine fare, comedy, ceremony, exhibitions, performance artists, physical theatre, visual arts, craft workshops, music program, street performers, musicals and a youth program.Revelation Perth International Film Festival (July)
The Revelation Perth International Film Festival has always maintained a high focus on documentary. The festival's history has seen the screening of a wide array of contemporary and archival documentaries including Oscar nominated pieces, progressive works from the international scene and works from the international underground are represented in the Festival.Woodford Folk Festival (December)
The Woodford Folk Festival is an event of international standing. Held over six days and six nights it presents more than 2000 performers and 400 events with concerts, dances, workshops, forums, street theatre, writers' panels, film festival, comedy sessions, acoustic jams, social dialogue and debate, an entire children's festival, art and craft workshops, late night cabarets and special events including a spectacular fire event. The Festival features the cream of Australian performers and a gathering of special international guests.Popular Foods in Australia
A look at the Australian cuisine introduces one to a wide variety of interesting and delectable food items. So which are the ones commonly relished by people here? Let's find out with this article.
Australia is a land that has a wide variety of cuisines to offer to those who are complete foodies at heart! The cuisine finds its base in the traditional style of British cooking. A wide variety of seafood is also enjoyed here. The varied types of delicacies only reveal the diversity of this land. Certain items, ranging from appetizers to desserts, have come to be associated with the identity of this country. Find out more with the list below.
Vegemite is an extremely well-known product in this country, to the extent that it is considered a national food item today. It is actually a black-colored paste which is used as a spread on sandwiches as well as crackers. At times, vegemite is also used as a filling for pastries. It is known to be a rich source of Vitamin B and is basically made from a byproduct of beer brewing, yeast extract. Food technologist, Cyril P. Callister, first created the vegemite. It has a smooth but sticky texture and is slightly bitter to taste. For someone who is trying vegemite for the first time, the taste may be too strong. However, it is said that the flavor grows on you eventually.
Australia is a land that has a wide variety of cuisines to offer to those who are complete foodies at heart! The cuisine finds its base in the traditional style of British cooking. A wide variety of seafood is also enjoyed here. The varied types of delicacies only reveal the diversity of this land. Certain items, ranging from appetizers to desserts, have come to be associated with the identity of this country. Find out more with the list below.
Vegemite
Vegemite is an extremely well-known product in this country, to the extent that it is considered a national food item today. It is actually a black-colored paste which is used as a spread on sandwiches as well as crackers. At times, vegemite is also used as a filling for pastries. It is known to be a rich source of Vitamin B and is basically made from a byproduct of beer brewing, yeast extract. Food technologist, Cyril P. Callister, first created the vegemite. It has a smooth but sticky texture and is slightly bitter to taste. For someone who is trying vegemite for the first time, the taste may be too strong. However, it is said that the flavor grows on you eventually.
Australian Meat Pie
The meat pie is a dish that is savored in different forms all over the world. However, the meat pie of Australia has attained the status of a national dish. Hot pies are actually a favorite with all the local people. Such is the fame of the meat pie that an annual Great Aussie Pie contest is celebrated to attract various pie makers. The prize is given to those pie makers who meet the required standards of quality. Typically, an Australian meat pie contains minced meat with some gravy. It is also served with onions, mushroom, and cheese. It is a takeaway snack that is a favorite among people during games.
Pie Floater
The pie floater is unique to areas of South Australia. A pie floater is actually a meat pie that is inverted and placed in a thick green pea soup. It is then covered with tomato sauce and mint sauce, along with salt and pepper to taste. Generally, pie floaters are available late in the evening at caravans parked along the streets. This is mainly seen in areas of Adelaide. The National Trust of Australia gave the pie floater the status of a South Australian Heritage icon in the year 2003. This dish has also been mentioned in the novel The Last Continent, written by Terry Pratchett.
Pavlova
Named after a Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova, pavlova is a notable dessert in Australia. It is a meringue-based dessert that is soft on the inside and has a crispy crust outside. The pavlova is different from meringue as a result of the addition of cornflour, which gives it the crunchy crust on the outside and a soft texture on the inside. This dessert tends to deflate if it is exposed to cold air and thus, is left in the oven until it cools down. Fresh fruits like strawberries, kiwifruit, bananas are used along with whipped cream as topping.
The most popular sport in Australia
It is commonly referred to as Australia's unofficial "national sport". Unlike the winter football codes that are divided in popularity among different states of Australia, Cricket generates far greater public interest throughout all parts of Australia on an international, domestic and local level.
In 2010 Australia had 550 000 registered cricketers and the Australian men's team is ranked as Australia's favourite International sporting team. It is one of the most successful teams in international sport.
On a domestic level, each of the six Australian states has its own team that competes in three separate competitions over summer. Local club cricket is also popular, as well as social cricket that includes variations such as backyard and beach cricket. Indoor cricket also has a strong following in all states of Australia.
Also determined by participation, spectator and television viewer numbers - the most popular winter sport in Australia are the two Rugby football codes. Both games generate public interest on an international, domestic and local level.
There are just under 650 000 registered players of the Rugby codes Australia wide, 500 000 - Rugby League and 150 000 - Rugby (Union). As of 2011, the major Rugby (Union) competition - "Super 14" will increase to 3 international conferences made up of five local based teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and will be known as "Super 15".
Soccer (Association Football) enjoys an extremely high junior participation in numbers across the country, however as players have grown in age they have tended to move to either Rugby League or Australian Rules depending on their location throughout Australia.
Other popular team based sports in Australia include Netball and Hockey. After suffering a significant loss of popularity in the 90s Basketball has also shown a recent increase in participation at a junior level.
Popular non-team based sports in Australia include Swimming, Golf, Tennis, Surfing and Horse Racing. Recently Australia's fastest growing sport has been Motorsport, in particular - V8 Supercars.
The Australian Government
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Australia's formal name is the Commonwealth of Australia. The form of government used in Australia is a constitutional monarchy – constitutional' because the powers and procedures of the Australian Government are defined by a written constitution, and monarchy' because Australia's head of state is Queen Elizabeth II.
There are three arms' of the Australian Government:
- the legislature (or parliament) is responsible for debating and voting on new laws to be introduced under the power of section 51.
- the executive is responsible for enacting and upholding the laws established by the legislature. Certain members of the legislature (called ministers) are also members of the executive, with special responsibilities for certain areas of the law.
- the judiciary is the legal arm of the Australian Government. It is independent of the other two arms, and is responsible for enforcing the laws and deciding whether the other two arms are acting within their powers.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Australia's Beaches
Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road skirts the Victorian coastline from Geelong, west to Nelson on the South Australian border and is without question one of the great scenic drives anywhere in Australia. It is also a tribute to the determination of soldiers who returned from World War I and used picks and shovels to build the road to commemorate their comrades who died in the war.
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach Australia is located along the shores of Sydney, Australia. One of the more famous and popular beaches in Australia, Bondi offers an array of fun activities, suitable for every budget and every age. From the ancient days of Aboriginal fishing, people have been flocking to Bondi Beach Australia for its warm waters and clean, sandy beaches. Transportation to the beach is convenient and frequent, and tourists will find this to be an excellent beach in Australia
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