Where do I begin?

With boundless desert plains, tropical rainforests and 2,585km of the world's most inviting coastline packed into an area seven times as big as the UK, Australia's second-largest state (after Western Australia) has much to offer. Besides the chance to explore the Great Barrier Reef, you can satisfy a thirst for adventure with opportunities to go deep-sea fishing in the Pacific, white-water rafting on the Tully River, or track the rare flightless ( Read more... )
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Southern Ocean Lodge, South Australia

This "lodge" comprises 21 luxury suites perched atop the cliffs of Kangaroo Island, Australia's third-largest island. Much of this unspoilt wilderness is protected as a conservation area or national park, home to kangaroos, koalas and seals. The lodge's contemporary suites overlook the pounding surf of the Southern Ocean. They feature glass-walled bathrooms and private outdoor terraces.

Southern Ocean Lodge, Hanson ( Read more... )
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It wasn't any old pearl that turbo-charged Broome's economy, but a meaty mollusc called the Pinctada maxima that flourished in the waters off the coast here. The Pinctada Maxima was a cost-efficient crop, producing not only large, stunning pearls but also hefty steaks, both of which Victorian-era settlers ravenously devoured. Those weatherworn signs were aimed at the divers drawn here by the high wages paid to anyone prepared to harvest the pearls from the ocean floor: of course, there were ( Read more... )
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After being decommissioned in 1996, the Destroyer Escort HMAS Swan became the first Australian Navy ship to be scuttled in order to form an artificial reef and dive site. The advantage of engineering your own shipwreck is that most "natural" wrecks occur in waters hazardous to ships and divers. In contrast, the Swan, which sits on the seabed 100ft below the surface near Cape Naturaliste, offers comfortable diving conditions almost all year round.

Our dive group of four ( Read more... )
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Most sky dives, bungee jumps, or jet boat adventures pass off without incident. But things can go wrong and when they do, some of the biggest problems are when people did not realise their insurance didn't cover them for the activity concerned. If you're seriously injured, getting back to the UK without insurance can be ruinously expensive.

Each year, around 280,000 Brits travel to New Zealand. Being half a world away, most British travellers put plenty of thought into ( Read more... )
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Rotorua

Offering high-spec luxury on a small peninsula that juts out into Lake Tarawera, Solitaire Lodge belies its name. Rather than one lonely building, it's a collection of suites set in manicured grounds. The dining area overlooks the nearby lagoon and there's also a sauna and therapy room. The lodge has its own private jetty and helipad, and can arrange twilight helicopter tours over Mount Tarawera, an active volcano.

Solitaire Lodge, 16 Ronald ( Read more... )
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To the bitter end of the world. Why?

To discover a part of the planet reduced to its raw elements. "The Antarctic is to the rest of the world as the Abode of the Gods was to the ancient Chaldees," wrote Apsley Cherry-Garrard: "A precipitous and mammoth land lying far beyond the seas." That description is taken from his book The Worst Journey In The World, which chronicles Robert Falcon Scott's heroic failure to be first to reach the world's southernmost point. ( Read more... )
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AMERICA-ON-SEA?

Politically, this isolated archipelago is as much part of the US as Texas or Tennessee. But physically and psychologically, the "Aloha State" is a long way from the mainland US - its rich Polynesian heritage makes it seem like a different country. Well, that and the palm-fringed lagoons, gorgeous beaches, rainforests, spectacular waterfalls, wild rivers and snow-capped volcanoes. Film-makers looking for lush scenery came to Kauai and Molokai to shoot parts of Raiders ( Read more... )
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The bedroom

Very important people like us demand our comforts. We don't want minimalist chic, we want marble, lots of it, from the lobby floor to our bathroom walls. We want handwoven carpets underfoot and plush sofas to sink into. We want curtains that open at the flick of a switch. We want to snuggle under the finest Egyptian cotton and rest our heads on pillows as soft as clouds. We want flatscreen TVs, and a courtesy laptop with fast internet access. We want to be surrounded ( Read more... )
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Dubai's reinvention as a global aviation hub continues apace, while Hong Kong has always promoted itself as a destination in its own right, and Singapore is looking to do the same. Added to those, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Bangkok are all seeking to increase their share of the lucrative market of Australia-bound passengers. Air fares now reflect this trend, with flights costs rarely changing whether you simply fly straight through or linger for several days. This guide tells you ( Read more... )
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The maximum length, in metres, of one of the most feared of Australia's many deadly forms of wildlife: the saltwater crocodile. For an up-close but safe experience with these fearsome creatures, as well as many other animals, visit Crocodylus Park in the Northern Territory capital, Darwin (00 61 8922 4500; crocodyluspark.com); admission is A$27.50 (£13).

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Australia's outback covers approximately ( Read more... )
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West is best?

"Our land abounds in nature's gifts of beauty rich and rare," goes Australia's national anthem. Perhaps the two million citizens of the largest state, Western Australia (WA), believe this is where the truth of that line comes true.

WA grew rich on its mineral wealth (especially gold, diamonds, opals and ? around Broome ? pearls), but is now a priceless destination for travellers. It is also a ridiculous size. Were it a country in its own ( Read more... )
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Windy Potatoes was reasonably tall himself, and (I'm sure he won't mind me saying this) had a substantial girth of his own. But as far as age and overall mass was concerned, he was operating on a very human scale, whereas the God of the Forest was subject to far grander natural rhythms. On the other hand, at that particular moment Windy Potatoes and the God of the Forest were probably thinking much the same thing. And I, feeling the first heavy droplets on my face, couldn't ( Read more... )
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We drove as far as the four-wheel drive truck would take us, then trekked on through the dank, dripping rainforest on foot. Along the floor of the gorge in New Zealand's Coromandel peninsula exotic plants shone with slippery humidity, colourful birds chattered overhead and there were unidentified eerie rustlings in the undergrowth. Yet my mind was focused on just one thing: Kiwi Dundee's bare legs.

I, like any sensible city-dweller exploring the jungle, was wearing creepy-crawly-proof ( Read more... )
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Reminders of that history are all over: the bronze statues in the main street; the corrugated iron buildings that once housed Chinese stores and opium dens; the Japanese cemetery, final resting-place of hundreds of divers who drowned or died of the bends; and Streeter's Jetty, protruding deep into mangroves, where the luggers would tie up and unload their precious cargo.

But compact, relaxed Broome is not merely a time capsule. Chinatown is lined with little shops and ( Read more... )
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A decade or two ago, there would have been no vines in view, only sheep, but the arrival of New Zealand wines on the world stage has transformed the district. As we glided above the town, laid out in the shape of a Union Jack by Sir John Martin in Victorian times, we skimmed the roof of the Martinborough Hotel, where we had eaten sumptuously and tasted one fine local wine after another the night before.

"This hotel was nothing but a boozer for sheep shearers not so long ( Read more... )
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I arrived with my wife, Philippa, and our seven-year-old daughter, Emily, and was quickly introduced to the Kiwi way of doing things. The driver booked to collect us wasn't at the airport, as our flight was half an hour late. Rather than wait,he just left, which is somewhat indicativeof New Zealand's laid-back attitude.

The North Island, where I was based, is very Maori and my time there, as a result of the film's story, mirrored this. I play Ian Bennett, a museum curator from London who ( Read more... )
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Unperturbed by our presence, the buff weka examined the Thermos, the mugs, the tea bags and the biscuits. Eventually, realising that it would not be sharing our spread, it wandered nonchalantly back into the bushes.

Fearlessness and inquisitiveness are the characteristics that spelled doom for New Zealand's flightless birds when rats, stoats, rabbits and possums were introduced. The buff weka has been extinct on the mainland for decades. But thanks to predator-free sanctuaries, such as Mou ( Read more... )
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WHY NOW?

Because it's spring south of the Equator - and because air fares are falling fast. Britain's late autumn and early winter comprise the optimum time to visit the largest of Australia's six states, which will soon be in full bloom.

Western Australia (WA) grew rich on its mineral wealth (especially gold, diamonds, opals and - around Broome - pearls), but it also claims over 10,000 species of wild flowers. In the north of the state, flowers can appear as soon as July, ( Read more... )
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