Sights in Pacific
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Fawkner Park
This huge expanse of green is loved and used by the area’s sport folk and lapdogs alike. Walkways lined with elms, oaks and Moreton Bay fig trees provide structure to the otherwise open fields. Barbecues and charming little pavilions are available for public use.
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Lake Birrabeen
Lake Birrabeen is a stunning 'perched' lake, formed by water accumulating on top of a thin impermeable layer of decaying twigs and leaves. A lovely option when Lake McKenzie is too crowded.
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Zebra Rock Gallery
Zebra Rock Gallery, on the Ord River about 15km from Kununurra, produces jewellery and sculptures from the unique zebra rock found around Argyle Downs Station.
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Sacré Coeur Cathedral
Standing proud on the main street of the French Quarter is modernistic Roman Catholic Sacré Coeur Cathedral.
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Nambawan Market & Café
Wholesome snacks, wireless internet access, ice creams, fresh-squeezed juices and a large range of handicrafts.
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Hokianga Art Gallery
Sells interesting contemporary art with a local focus.
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Neudorf
Moss-covered barnlike complex; gorgeous pinot noir and some of the country’s finest chardonnay.
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The Pinnacles
These coloured sand cliffs are a photographer's delight.
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Baie des Citrons
A popular tourist beach, more sheltered than Anse Vata.
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St Kilda Foreshore
There are palm-fringed promenades, a parkland strand and a long stretch of sand. Still, don't expect Bondi or Noosa. St Kilda's seaside appeal is more Brighton, England than Baywatch, despite 20-odd years of glitzy development. And that's the way Melburnians like it; a certain depth of character and an all-weather charm, with wild days on the bay providing for spectacular cloudscapes and terse little waves, as well as the more predictable sparkling blue of summer.
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Collins Street
The top end of Collins St (aka the 'Paris end') is lined with plane trees, grand buildings and luxe boutiques, giving it its moniker. The Block Arcade, which runs between Collins and Elizabeth Sts, was built in 1891 and features etched-glass ceilings and mosaic floors. Doing 'the Block' (walking around the block) was a popular pastime in 19th-century Melbourne, as it was the place to shop and be seen.
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Botany Bay National Park
The 458-hectare national park straddles the heads of Botany Bay, 15km south of Sydney Harbour. Captain Cook landed here in 1770, naming the bay after the botanical specimens his naturalist Joseph Banks found here. Banks suggested it would be a good place to incarcerate a few crims, but when the First Fleet arrived in summer 18 years later, they weren’t inclined to agree; the scorched vegetation and limited water supplies were a far cry from Banks’ wintry paradise. They soon relocated to Sydney Harbour. Cook’s monument-marked landing place is on the southern side of the park in trailer-trashy Kurnell. The Discovery Centre conveys the impact of European arrival, and…
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Mwâ Ka
This magnificent 12m totem pole, topped by a grande case (chief's hut) complete with flèche faîtière, stands in a landscaped square opposite Musée de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Mwâ Ka means the house of mankind - in other words, a house where discussions are held. Its carvings are divided into eight cylindrical sections representing the eight customary regions of New Caledonia. Mounted on a concrete double-hulled pirogue, the Mwâ Ka symbolises the mast but also the central post of a case.
At the back of the pirogue a wooden helmsman steers the Mwâ Ka ever forwards. The square's flowerbed arrangements depicting stars and moons are symbolic of navigation.
The Mwâ Ka was…
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Rotorua Museum
This outstanding museum occupies a grand Tudor-style edifice. It was originally an elegant spa retreat called the Bath House (1908): displays in the former shower rooms give a fascinating insight into some of the eccentric therapies once practised here, including 'electric baths' and the Bergonie Chair.
A gripping 20-minute film on the history of Rotorua, including the Tarawera eruption, runs every 20 minutes from 9am (not for small kids – the seats vibrate and the eruption noises are authentic!). The fabulous new Don Stafford Wing houses eight object-rich galleries dedicated to Rotorua's Te Arawa people, featuring woodcarving, flax weaving, jade, interactive audiovisual…
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Uluru (Ayers Rock)
Nothing in Australia is as readily identifiable as Uluru. No matter how many times you've seen it in postcards, nothing prepares you for the hulk on the horizon - so solitary and prodigious. Uluru is 3.6km long and rises a towering 348m from the surrounding sandy scrubland (867m above sea level). If that's not impressive enough, it's believed that two-thirds of the rock lies beneath the sand.
Sacred sites are located around the base of Uluru; entry to and knowledge of the particular significance of these areas is restricted by Anangu law. The landscape of Uluru changes dramatically with the shifting light and seasons. If your first sight of Uluru is during the afternoon,…
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Parc Zoologique et Forestier
A great spot to spend a morning or afternoon with the kids. You'll be able to see native species such as the cagou, roussette (fruit bat), notou and various parakeets. Nonnative species include birds, monkeys and baboons. Peacocks strut around the grounds showing off their beautiful feathers. Small children can pet tame donkeys, goats and deer, or feed the ducks and geese. There's a children's playground and lawns where you can picnic or a café at the entrance that does lunch and snacks.
A geological museum is housed in the building by the entrance.
The park is about 4km northeast of the city centre. There are no public buses to the park but le petit train and Noumea…
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Yasur Volcano
This active volcano is one of the world's most accessible. In fact, 4WD vehicles can get to within 150m of the crater rim. Mt Yasur's ash-laden smoke has smothered the vegetation, reducing the landscape to an alien prehistoric desert, with the gaunt shapes of surviving pandanus palms adding to the surrealistic view.
The level of activity within Yasur fluctuates between dangerous and relatively calm, but when it's hot it's hot. Along the path to the crater rim, there are whiffs of sulphur and whooshing, roaring noises. Ahead is a silhouette of people on the rim, golden fireworks behind them. Then you're looking into a dark central crater where three vents take it in turns…
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Tower Hill Reserve Visitors Centre
Tower Hill, 15km west of Warrnambool, is a vast caldera born in a volcanic eruption 30, 000 years ago. Aboriginal artefacts unearthed in the volcanic ash show that indigenous people lived in the area at the time. It’s jointly administered by the Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Cooperative, which operates the visitors centre with Parks Victoria. There are excellent day walks, including the steep 30-minute Peak Climb with spectacular 360-degree views. There’s a fascinating painting in the Warrnambool Art Gallery by Eugene von Guérard of Tower Hill painted in 1855. After a century of deforestation and environmental degradation, this incredibly detailed painting was used to…
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Sydney Aquarium
This place brings in more paying visitors than any other attraction in Australia – even with its hefty admission charges. Highlights include clownfish (howdy Nemo), platypuses, an intimidating array of sharks, massive rays and swoon-worthy corals. Residents of the penguin enclosure have lawless amounts of fun.
The aquarium's two dugongs were rescued when washed up on Queensland beaches, and attempts to return them to the wild failed; they're some of only a handful of these large marine mammals in captivity worldwide.
Needless to say, kids love this place. Arrive early to beat the crowds. Booking online will save you a few dollars.
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Kelly Tarlton's
In the Underwater World, sharks and stingrays swim around and over you as you're shunted on a conveyor belt through transparent tunnels in what were once stormwater and sewage holding tanks. If you want to get even closer, you can enter the tanks in a shark cage ($79; 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 3pm), and if that doesn't sound terrifying enough, you can dive directly into the tanks ($129; 10am).
In a post Happy Feet world, Kelly Tarlton's biggest attraction is the permanent winter wonderland known as Antarctic Encounter. It includes a walk through a replica of Scott’s 1911 Antarctic hut, and a ride aboard a heated snowcat through a frozen environment where a colony of king…
reviewed
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Musée Gauguin
The Musée Gauguin is definitely worth a visit. Much of the text about Gauguin and his life is in English, and although the museum is dimly lit and there is a conspicuous lack of original works by Gauguin, there’s a lovely natural setting. The museum gardens are home to three superb tiki from Raivavae in the Australs. Tiki do not like to be moved, and there are colourful stories about what happened to the men that moved these tiki here (they apparently died ‘mysteriously’ within weeks of the move). The huge tiki figure beside the walkway stands 2.2m high and weighs 900kg; it’s a baby compared with the figure towards the waterfront, which stands 2.7m high and weighs…
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Brambuk Cultural Centre
Your first stop should be this superb cultural centre, 2.5km south of Halls Gap. The building itself is a striking design that combines timeless Aboriginal motifs with contemporary design and building materials. Run by five Koori communities in conjunction with Parks Victoria, the centre offers insights into local culture and history through Koori stories, art, music, dance, weapons, tools and photographs. The Gariwerd Dreaming Theatre shows hourly films explaining Dreaming stories of Gariwerd and the creation story of Bunjil. Three-hour cultural and rock-art tours can be booked here.
The complex includes the Parks Victoria office, a souvenir shop and Brambuk Bush Tucker…
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Sydney Harbour
Sydney's stunning harbour has melded and shaped the local psyche since the first days of settlement, and today it's both a major working port and the city's sparkling playground. Its waters, beaches, islands and shorefront parks offer all the swimming, sailing, picnicking, walking and real-estate fantasies you could wish for.
The best way to view the harbour is by private yacht (yeah, right). Lacking this, just take a harbour cruise or catch any one of the many ferries that ply its waters. You can also fly above it via a scenic flight. The Manly ferry offers vistas of the harbour east of the bridge, while the Parramatta RiverCats cover the west. You can also visit some of…
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Flagstaff Gardens
These small gardens with an open lawn are popular with workers taking a lunchtime break. First known as Burial Hill, this is where most of the city's early settlers ended up. The hill once provided one of the best views out to the bay, so a signalling station was set up here; when a ship was sighted arriving from Britain, a flag was raised on the flagstaff to notify the settlers (it was also significant for the Wurundjeri for the same useful vista). The gardens contain trees that are well over 100 years old including Moreton Bay fig trees, and a variety of eucalypts, including spotted and sugar gums and river red gums.
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Vila Market
Colourful and busy, Vila Market is open round-the-clock from early Monday through to noon on Saturday. Fruit and vegetables, flowers, firewood, jewellery, woodcarvings and souvenirs are in the care of ni-Van women wearing colourful Mother Hubbard dresses.
Prices are rock bottom: coconuts, pawpaws and huge grapefruit can start at around VT20; a generous slab of laplap is around VT150. Produce is seasonal - look for wild raspberries in September, mangoes in November and passionfruit from March to May. Benches at the back are for diners. The ladies cook interesting meals like herb-coated fish with rice, as you watch.
There's no bargaining. Prices are clearly marked and no…
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