Home > Our Publications > Travel Australia > January 2007

By Shirley Gilbertson
UK Manager, Travel New Zealand

WELCOME to Travel Australia. The newspaper dedicated to telling you, the reader, about Australia. Nothing more, nothing less.
The first thing you need to get your head round if you are contemplating a holiday to Australia is the size. To give you some real idea of scale, the state of Victoria is about the same size as England.
What does this all tell you? Don't try to "do Australia" in two weeks. You will end up exhausted and probably quite disappointed.
Australia needs to be broken down into hundreds of holidays. With a good deal of planning with the help of an expert in Australian travel it is possible to have some never to be forgotten holidays.
Australia really does have something for everyone. From spectacular outback experiences to ultra modern city living.
You can be skiing one week and scuba diving the next. There are activities to fit all ages, abilities, bank balances and dreams.
While inland Australia is mainly desert or arid plains of stark and minimalist beauty, around the edges of Australia is an unbelievable diversity of landscape.
Northern Territory for magnificent cliff faces with spectacular waterfalls and wet lands. Queensland better known for tropical islands and coral bays can also boast some of the oldest rain forests in the world.
New South Wales and Victoria have both world renown snow fields as well as city life and sun soaked beaches.
South Australia has pretty cultivated valleys such as the Barossa (pictured) as well as the vast dazzling salt pan of Lake Eyre. Tasmania boasts its incredible Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Western Australia covers one third of Australia you would be advised to travel into the outback with a reputable guided tour to get the best experiences and to travel safe.
Alice Springs to Ayres Rock (Uluru), Darwin via Kakadu in Northern Territory are two more ideas for the two-week break.
Where ever you go in Australia you will find there are people ready to help you so do stop, ask, chat and be ready to listen. Don't forget that like anywhere else in the world if you are told don't go there then don't go. Be safe, it is a very big place. Enjoy it and come home ready to plan the next trip.