Things to do in Pacific
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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…
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Old Mill Cottage
Housed (as the name suggests) in a gracious old timber cottage, this Suva institution is the city's best spot for adventurous gastronomes to dabble in authentic Fijian fare. Exotic dishes including palusami (meat, onion and lolo wrapped in dalo leaves and baked in a lovo), curried shellfish, and seaweed or fish stewed in lolo assemble themselves underneath the front counter alongside Indian curries and vegetarian dishes. You can also dig into a traditional roast.
Addicted office workers cram into the joint for lunch, parking themselves at tables on the front veranda or at the large booth seating inside. The spacious interior is filled with a pleasant cross-breeze (which…
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Sydney and Bondi Hop-on Hop-off Tour
24 or 48 hours (Departs Sydney, Australia)
by Viator
Explore Sydney and Bondi with this 24 or 48 hour ticket aboard an open-top double-decker bus. See all the main sights as you hop on and hop off 34 conveniently…Not LP reviewed
from USD$41.71 -
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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Vue de Monde
Melbourne's favoured spot for occasion dining has relocated to the old 'observation deck' of the Rialto, so its view will finally match its name. Expect the usual fantastic French cuisine thanks to visionary Shannon Bennett. Book ahead. Remaining at the old barrister's chambers will be Bistro Vue and Café Vue.
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Raintree Café
This suave number run by a group of ladies boasts one of the most agreeable settings in Honiara. Picture a lovely waterfront location and soul-stirring views of Savo. The tropical décor is easy on the eye, with wooden furnishings, thatched roof and candlelit tables - alfresco dining doesn't come any better than this (it's BYO).
Choose between copious breakfasts, a parade of bountiful pizzas (served from 16:00), omelettes, daily specials chalked up on the blackboard, and melt-in-your-mouth homemade cakes. And don't get us started on the fruit salad with honey and yoghurt. Vegetarians should enjoy the crunchy 'garden salad' served in a traditional wooden bowl. It's such a…
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The Grotto
Among dive heads, Saipan is famous for this unique diving spot, a collapsed limestone cavern with a pool of cobalt-blue seawater filled by three underwater passageways. Sometimes the Grotto is calm and at other times powerful surges of water come whooshing in and out.
Once, locals who wanted to swim in the Grotto had to shimmy down a rope, but there are now steep concrete stairs down to the water. Tiny stalactites drip from above and massive spider webs hanging overhead make interesting photographs if caught in the right light. The glowing blue light at the bottom of the rock wall comes from the tunnels that lead to the open sea. There's a viewpoint looking down into the…
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Diving
Oh to have a few more hours in the day to squeeze in more dives! Marovo Lagoon provides superb dives for both experts and novices. Channels, caves, drop-offs, coral gardens, bommies and clouds of technicolour fish (and yes, sharks are part of the package) - what more could a diver hope for?
Marovo Lagoon has two state-of-the-art dive centres. One is based at Uepi Point (North Marovo Lagoon), the other is located in Peava (South Marovo Lagoon). It pays off to dive with each dive shop to maximise your diving experience during your stay in Marovo.
The live-aboard dive vessels MV Bilikiki and the MV Spirit of Solomons usually include the South Marovo Lagoon into their nine-…
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Glowworm Cave
The guided tour of the Glowworm Cave, which is behind the visitor centre, leads past impressive stalactites and stalagmites into a large cavern known as the Cathedral. The acoustics are so good that Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the Vienna Boys Choir have given concerts here. The highlight comes at the tour’s end when you board a boat and swing off onto the river. As your eyes grow accustomed to the dark you’ll see a Milky Way of little lights surrounding you – these are the glowworms. Conditions for their growth are just about perfect here so there are a remarkable number of them. Book your tour at the visitor centre.
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National Botanic Gardens
At the northern end of Waigani Dr, just beyond the University of Papua New Guinea, the National Botanic Gardens are an island of calm and beauty in the midst of an otherwise lacklustre city. Don't miss them! There is more than 2km of boardwalk threading under and through the jungle canopy; well-maintained lawns and gardens displaying both local and exotic plant species, and probably the best collection of native and hybrid orchids in PNG.
There are also some excellent wildlife displays, such as tree kangaroos, hornbills, cassowaries, a giant python, and a large aviary that houses parrots and birds of paradise (the only chance most visitors get to see them).
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O'Reillys
- Suva, Fiji
- Entertainment › Pub
O'Reillys kicks the evening off in relatively subdued fashion - relaxed punters playing pool or watching sport on the numerous TVs. But it brews quite a party as the hours tick by and come 11ish the place is generally throbbing with a gleeful crowd of locals and travellers. There's no distinct age code, and backpackers, foreign contractors, locals and expats fill the dance floor, shaking their bits to Europop, soft metal, techno, peppy country and western…basically anything that keeps the crowd moving.
Forget warm pints of Guinness; the only Irish quality about O'Reillys (aside from the name) is that it's enough fun to knock your socks off.
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State Library of NSW
The estimable State Library holds over five million tomes, including James Cook’s and Joseph Banks’ journals and Captain (later Governor) Bligh’s log from the mutinous HMAV Bounty. The main reading room is an elegant temple of knowledge clad in milky marble.
Also worth checking out are the temporary exhibitions in the galleries, and the elaborately sculpted bronze doors and grand atrium of the neoclassical Mitchell Wing (1910); note the map of Tasman’s journeys in the mosaic floor. Beneath one of the windows on the Macquarie St side of the building is a sculpture of explorer Matthew Flinders with his intrepid cat Trim.
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Kuranda Scenic Railway Day Trip from Cairns
by Viator
Experience the rainforest beauty of Far North Queensland on a scenic day trip from Cairns. Ride the historic Kuranda Scenic Railway and choose from a variety of…Not LP reviewed
from USD$153.30 -
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BridgeClimb
Once only painters and daredevils (including your author!) scaled the Harbour Bridge –now anyone can do it (Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler, Will Smith…). Make your way through the departure lounge and the extensive training session, don your headset, an umbilical safety cord and a dandy grey jumpsuit (Elvis would be so proud) and up you go. Even if you’re afraid of heights, the scariest part is crossing over the grates while under the bridge; on the curved span itself the track is wide enough that you never see straight down. Tours last 3½ hours – go to the toilet before you start the climb.
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Noumea Market
Noumea Market sits beside the marina at Port Moselle in a cluster of round buildings with blue roofs. It has a lively multi-ethnic atmosphere and is an interesting place to wander. It sells a wide range of arts and crafts, and fresh produce including flowers, fruit and vegies, bread, cakes, olives, meat and fish. The fascinating fish market, set apart from the other buildings, sells seafood of all shapes and sizes - fish, lobsters, crabs, prawns and squid.
On Saturday and Sunday a group of local musicians playing ukuleles and other string instruments keeps shoppers entertained. The market is at its busiest early in the morning.
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Footscray Community Arts Centre
Borrow a beach mat from the Big Fish Cafe (09:30-16:00) to lounge on while you eat your veggie wrap or slurp your soup beside the Maribyrnong River, then stroll through Gabriel Gallery (09:30-17:00 Mon-Fri, noon-16:00 Sat & Sun), which profiles artworks by people who've recently arrived in Australia.
Both are housed in the historic former piggery of Mr Henderson, Henderson House. The complex includes the adjoining warehouse, which is a physical training area for the Women's Circus. There are also regular music and theatre programmes promoting the centre's charter of facilitating community arts in multiethnic Footscray.
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Tamarama Beach
Surrounded by high cliffs, Tamarama has a deep tongue of sand with just 80m of shoreline. Diminutive, yes, but ever-present rips make Tamarama the most dangerous patrolled beach in New South Wales; it’s often closed to swimmers.
When it earned its nickname ‘Glamarama’ in the '80s, Tamarama was probably Sydney’s gayest beach. Reflecting increasing acceptance, the gay guys have migrated en masse to North Bondi, leaving the huge waves here to the surfers. It’s hard to picture now, but between 1887 and 1911 a roller coaster looped out over the water as part of an amusement park.
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Royal Exhibition Building
Built for the International Exhibition in 1880, and winning Unesco World Heritage status in 2004, this beautiful Victorian edifice symbolises the glory days of the Industrial Revolution, Empire and 19th-century Melbourne's economic supremacy. Australia's first parliament was held here in 1901; more than a hundred years later everything from trade fairs to designer sales to dance parties take place here. Toursleave from the Melbourne Museum most days at 2pm.
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Fantasea
Offers high-speed catamaran cruises to its Reefworld pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef, where you can snorkel, take a trip in a semisubmersible and check out the underwater viewing chamber (adult/child/family $225/102/589). An overnight 'Reefsleep' costs from $460.
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Skyrail Rainforest Cableway
At 7.5km long, Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is one of the world’s longest gondola cableways and provides a bird’s-eye view over the tropical rainforest. The journey takes about 90 minutes. It includes two stops along the way and features boardwalks that have interpretive panels and passes Barron Falls (which is reduced to a small stream in the Dry). The last departure from Cairns and Kuranda is at 3.45pm; transfers to and from the terminal (15 minutes’ drive north of Cairns) and combination deals (Scenic Railway and Skyrail) are available. As space is limited, only day packs are allowed on board.
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