Featured Country: Australia No longer hibernating, the Australaisa Newsletter is back! For those of you who don't remember, each regional newsletter focuses on a different country. As the biggest kid on the block, err... in the region, Australia demands the spotlight this time around. Australia is the massive continent between the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. Although it's about the same size of the continental United States, it has only 1/15 of the population, approximately 20 million people. Australia is comprised of six states and two territories. The two largest cities are Sydney and Melbourne, both of which are state capitals and located on the East Coast. The nation's capital is Canberra, which sits between those two cities. Perth, the capital of Western Australia, has the distinction of being the most remote capital in the world. Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901 and monetary transactions require the Australian Dollar. The standard greeting in Australia is G'day, with English being the official language. Aussie accents are a cross between those in the U.S. and England. Australian strine, or slang, borrows heavily from that in the U.K. Well, those are a few nuts and bolts. Keep reading for more info on Australia, as well as other travelers' experiences there. What's in this issue? Featured Content What our Insiders Say Airfare Deals Accommodation Info From the Bookshelf Oz TravelBlogs Links & Resources Write an Article and Tell a Friend FEATURED CONTENT Learning in Byron - Thousands of surfers flock to Australia's massive coastline every day. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds writes about what happens when a tourist tries to join the mix? Culture by way of Sports - Sports are a large part of Australia's social culture. To learn more about the confusing (and ever popular) Aussie Rules football, check out Drew Grewal's article. Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting - In Australia, those with work visas (and some without) head to the bars to get to know the locals and a little extra cash. Check out what George Dunn had to say about working Down Under. If you would like to submit an article on your travel experiences, check out our Writer's Guidelines, then send it along. Back to top WHAT OUR INSIDERS SAY Those who know what the guidebooks don't give you their tips on traveling in Oz. Cobi Smith, Adelaide Fruits of the Sea For the cheapest and best food and wine in Australia, SA is the place to go. In Adelaide, make sure you go to beachside Glenelg, particularly in summer at night. Enjoy the sunset at any of the lounges or restaurants on the foreshore. Go to the Oyster Bar at Holdfast Shores (a 5 minute walk from Jetty Rd, Glenelg) on Wednesday night for cheap oysters, about $15 for a dozen oysters and a bottle of Beck's. Rob Wilson, Weather on the Overland Track If you are going to walk the wonderful Overland Track in Tasmania, please be fully prepared for extreme weather. The weather can present a significant and highly dangerous obstacle, especially to inexperienced trekkers. Happy trails. Mark "The Pozzum" Tate, West to East Travel If you are an international student or an international backpacker, travel from Perth to Sydney via the Indian Pacific Train is a great way to see the country. One way via Red Kangaroo Class is only A$220.00. Amity Bungalows, North Stradbroke Island Fun North Stradbroke Island is the second largest sand island in the world, stretching 37kms in length and 11kms wide it has miles of unspoiled beaches and there are bitumen roads that link the 3 townships. There are plenty of fish species and you can see the dolphins from the jetty by day and at night under the spotlight. Back to top AIRFARE DEALS The BootsnAll TripPlanner can book your around-the-world flights. Plan and book your international trip here! When searching for multi-destination air tickets, the BootsnAll TripPlanner is tops. After using the TripPlanner to get an idea of the itinerary you want, be sure to submit it to us and talk to our counselors about fine-tuning your trip. We found some good R-T-W deals that stopped in Australia: $2170 US Chicago - London - Bombay Mumbai - Bangkok - Sydney - Singapore - Bangkok - Chicago $2502 US New York - Beijing - Shanghai - Tokyo - Bangkok - Sydney - Singapore - Bangkok - Los Angeles If you are looking for single destination tickets, head to the International Airfare Center. You can search via destination or departure city. Here are some examples of what we found: $1140 US Los Angeles - Sydney $1340 US Atlanta - Melbourne Now, log on to the TripPlanner or International Airfares and put together an itinerary! More Specials & Deals The only thing better than flying to Australia, is getting a bloody good deal on the ticket. We work with other companies to bring you low, hard-to-beat round-trip fares, to help you fly not only to Australia, but to wherever you want to go: Cheap Ticket Links Back to top AUSTRALIA HOSTELS Hostels are a great way to stay when you're traveling in Australia. Staying in hostels when you travel not only helps your budget, it is a unique way to enhance your trip. Meet new people, have new experiences; with our Hostels section you can learn about hostels and book your bed online. Australia Hostels Sydney Hostels Visit the Hostel Section Back to top FROM THE BOOKSHELF | Australia Read up before you go! Here is a list of the most popular guidebooks and literature/non-traditional guidebooks. For your convenience, the books are available on BootsnAll through Amazon.com. Traditional Guidebooks: Let's Go 2004: Australia, by Let's Go, Inc. Lonely Planet Australia, 12th Edition, by Paul Smitz, Susie Ashworth, Carolyn Bain, et al Fodor's Australia 2004, by Fodor's Travel Literature/Non-Traditional Guidebooks: In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson Australia: True Stories of Life Down Under (Travelers' Tales), Edited by Larry Habegger The Explorers: Stories of Discovery and Adventure from the Australian Frontier, Edited by Tim F. Flannery Back to top OZ TRAVELBLOGS We have a bunch of BootsnAll authors currently traveling in Australia and sharing their experiences via BootsnAll travelblogs. Check them out here: Australia Blog ClaudiAntics Lu-Blog Now or Never Get your own Travel Blog Back to top LINKS & RESOURCES Use the following sites to learn more about Australia, what it offers to travelers, and how to plan your trip. Australian Department of Cultural and Indigenous Affairs The be all and end all of what you need to know about coming to Australia, no matter how long your stay. Put up by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs of the Australian government. Australia Tourism Board The tourism board gets their say. Look at pictures, check out maps and figure out where you want to go. Oz History If you care to more about Oz history than just the dates. Australia Pics Lots of people take pictures of Australia. This guy just does it better. Web Wombat Can't find what you're looking for on any of these sites? Search .com.au sites. Back to top WRITE AN ARTICLE If you have a story of your own that you would like to submit on Australia, have a look at BootsnAll's Writer's Guidelines: http://writers.BootsnAll.com And then send it along. We're always looking for new content and new perspectives, and we hope to get yours soon. TELL A FRIEND If you feel that BootsnAll.com is a valuable resource, or that others might think so, please tell your friends about us. As many of you know, we respond personally to every email we receive in an ongoing effort to build a true traveller's community. Many have responded positively. If you have comments both positive and constructive, we would love to hear them. Tell us what we have done well and how we can improve. We would appreciate it greatly. Back to top