Floriade, Australia

“Floriade” is derived from the Latin word “floriat” which means “to design with flowers.”  To Australia,  Floriade is the biggest flower festival. Held annually in Canberra’s Commonwealth Park,  it is a spring celebration which was initially held in 1988 to celebrate Australia’s bicentennial and Canberra’s 75th birthday.  Due to the success of the first event, it became an annual celebration of spring ever since.
From the middle of September, the center of city will be transformed into garden beds filled with millions of bulb, especially Tulips.  A theme for each year chosen by Australia Capital Tourism,  this year it will be “Mind, Body and Soul”.  Arrangements of millions of blossom will be used to symbolize the three major elements of balanced life- improving your mind, looking after your body, and nurturing your soul and the park will be decorated with flowers in different designs inspired by the theme.

Garden beds, Floriade in Australia

There are many events held during the 30 days including cultural celebrations, artistic displays, entertainment and recreational activities and a range of food and beverage options.  Daytime entry for the Floriade is free, Floriade Night Fest will be held from 6:30pm until 10:30pm between Wednesday 23 September and Sunday 27 September 2009. Get involved! There are numerous competitions including; Showcase Gardens and Passion for Fashion in which entrants create a gown featuring plant materials and flowers. Volunteers are a vital part of the success of the festival and enjoy it no less than anyone else. Street performers are encouraged to apply to attend to the organizers.
Floriade is a month-long festival, open seven days a week.  You can get to the floriade by bus, cruise, bike, taxi or walk- it is only five-minute walk from Canberra’s city centre.

Opening Hours
9am–5pm Monday to Friday
8am–5pm weekends and public holidays
Last entry to the event is 30 minutes before closing.

Darwin Festival

Fast forward to 2009, from humble beginnings, 33 years ago “The Darwin Festival” has become well known across Australia and around the world as the premier festival for Australia’s ‘Top End‘. The festival also enjoys some importance in the entire Asia Pacific region.
For 18 days in August Darwin hosts an amazing variety of performances and events for near and far. From dance, music, comedy and cabaret to theatre, film, visual arts even workshops and outdoor concerts.
Darwin is a cosmopolitan town and it is vibrant in indigenous cultures.  It is a young city lived over 100 nationalities. The town is beautiful with good climate, clear blue skies, cool nights and warm days. Best timing is a dry season, which runs from May to September.  Accommodation ranges from backpacker lodges to resorts and five star hotels and standard facilities.  Visitors are free to choose to spend their holidays as they wish.

Woodford Folk Festival

From humble beginnings in 1987, when the event attracted only about 900 people, to the Maleny showgrounds, the annual event quickly outgrew its original venue. Just eight years after the inauspicious beginnings a new site was secured for the 120,000 plus revelers. A 360 acre plot of parklands surrounded by the natural beauty of the Bellthorpe National Park became the new, permanent home for the festival.
The stunning out-of-town venue alone makes this festival almost unique among so many others which are held in more urban locations. The daily program runs from 8 am until late with the highlight being the last night, New Year’s Eve.  Tickets are available for adults and children, daily and season tickets may be purchased online and at the festival gate.  Camp facilities are available to those willing to rough-it as are shuttle busses for those who are not.  Performances are held at the amphitheater, indoor and outdoor stages and even just about anywhere a performer feels like it.
Although the variety of entertainment and activities is vast it is the people of the crowd who have truly made the Woodford Folk Festival the runaway success it is today.

Canberra Festival Balloon Spectacular

The fun doesn’t stop there! During the day are concerts performed by local bands and the “Canberra Times Outdoor Show”.

As Ballooning totally depends on weather, date and program is approximate. Next Canberra festival will be held on 6-14 March 2010 and in the year 2013 will be the centenary celebration.

Whitehaven Beach, Queensland, Australia

Whitehaven Beach, Queensland
Along the coast of Queensland, Australia, lies Whitsunday Island where arguably the most beautiful beach in Southeast Asia is located.  Just as the name suggests, Whitehaven Beach is a paradise waiting for beach lovers to experience an untouched beauty of pure white sands and crystal clear waters.  A single step onto the beach is enough to fill you with wonder and awe of the beauty of nature, in this place.
For some the white sands are a wonder, but they are easily explained. Over millions of years as the coral reefs grow and die the forces of nature; the wind, the tides and the waves have continually ground the refuse to a fine white powder which has washed up on the shores to leave the fine white sands that we find so beautiful.
Leave the chaos of the modern world behind. Let nature heal your soul. Get a taste of rest and relaxation you will find nowhere, other than on this beach.  If you ever bore of pure lazy hedonistic pleasure and relaxation, you have many distractions to choose from; sailing in the crystal blue water, snorkeling and scuba diving, water skiing or swimming of course.  If you are into something adventurous, try: rainforest trekking, horse riding, sea-kayaking, ocean rafting or a jet boat trip to another island. View paradise from above! Charter a seaplane or helicopter for the ultimate sight-seeing adventure.
Hyams Beach at Jervis, New South Wales
Renowned worldwide as the number one tourist destination in the state of New South Wales,  Hyams Beach at Jervis Bay is just two and a half hours from Sydney and a few hours  from Canberra.  Like no other beach, Hyams offers the unique experience of kangaroo spotting in the morning on the beach and dolphin watching during the day. There are a wide variety of facilities and activities including; jet-skiing, sailing, swimming, fishing, exploring up and down the beach, tours, relaxing in the sun, diving and even paragliding. Jervis Bay is a National Park where a magnificent diversity of plants and animals flourishes.   Apart from water-based activities, you can spend time peacefully in the forest bird watching or bush walking.

Cable Beach, Western Australia

Cable Beach, Western Australia
Cable Beach is known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, with a 23km stretch of pristine white sands and the crystal clear aqua waters of the Indian Ocean. Cable Beach takes its name for being the landing point of the telegraph cable link from the colony to England.  Cable Beach provides a stunning atmosphere for idle relaxation. Enjoy swimming and watching sunsets, when the sun reaches the horizon over the Indian Ocean.  Why not rent a four wheel drive and cruise up the beach? Or join a camel ride, just two suggestions among many ways to enjoy this marvelous creation of nature…

Rip Curl Pro Surf, Bells Beach, Australia

Bells Beach, Victoria
The Great Ocean Road begins about 70Km south-west of Melbourne, it winds along the cliffs, dunes and beaches of the coastline, anywhere is a good place to stop, but Bell’s beach is probably the most famous.  For surfers, Bells beach would absolutely be stamped as the number one place to visit. For every Easter since 1961, Bell’s Beach has been host to the international surfing competition known as “The Bell Beach Surf Classic” and “The Rip Curl Pro Surf & Music Festival”.  Bell’s Beach is an amazing gift from nature, surfers can ride any tide due to the reefs below.
Gold Coast, Queensland
Once a beautiful beach deserving of the name “Surfer’s paradise”, The Gold Coast is now a grossly over-commercialized, over-populated, over-hyped, blight on the Australian landscape. However, it still enjoys an undeserved international notoriety. Few people who have heard of Australia have not heard of The Gold Coast.

Melbourne Cup Australia Horse Racing

Not everyone comes for the racing, many people attend just for the carnival atmosphere, which begins in the car park. Another highlight is the high fashion indeed, The Melbourne Cup is arguably, the most important event on the Australian fashion calendar. “Myer Fashions on the Field” was launched by the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) in 1962 and has become the most popular outdoor fashion event in Australia. The purpose of the event is to attract a more women to the race, in that it has been a raging success.  Due to the great success of the event, it has also become a national fashion competition between the states of Australia. Large cash prizes are awarded in many categories including, best dressed man and best dressed woman.

Melbourne Cup Fashions on the Field

Starfish - Great Barrier Reef

If the earth were a gorgeous face of Marilyn Monroe, the beauty mark on her face would be compared to nothing but the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, the incredible creation of marine nature that is visible from the outer space, is labeled as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. As the biggest coral system and being even bigger than the Great Wall in China, the Great Barrier Reef is full of life and abundant with stunning showcases of fishes, eccentric shapes of corals and marine flowers of every shade and hue being woven together and creating a vividly-colored fabric of sea sight.

Just off the east coast of Australia, Great Barrier Reef is an idyllic spot for divers who will feel in love with this very marine fantasy. The natural aquarium is enriched with a kaleidoscope of marine animals as well as endangered species of marine wildlife including; dugongs, 30 species of dolphins, porpoises and whales; six species of sea turtles; 125 species of sharks and stingrays; 5000 species of mollusks; 49 species of pipefish; nine species of seahorses; 17 species of sea snake; 1500 species of fish; and 400 species of corals on the reef. The Great Barrier Reef stretches across 300,000 square kilometers and is scattered around 600 islands; one of which is Heron Island, a coral cay in the southern part that provides a habitat to salt water crocodiles, which dwell in saltmarshes and mangrove forest; 215 species of birds; and 2195 plants species.

Diving in Great Barrier Reef

Heron Island - Great Barrier Reef

Diving in the Great Barrier Reef, you will be observing unspoiled fertility of the underwater resources just like the way ecologists fancy the utmost richness of the Amazon. On each island located in the area of the Great Barrier Reef, many spectacular beach resorts are nestled in the forests where you can retreat from the modern civilization and revitalize your spirit under the golden ray of sunshine, the touch of cool breezes and sight of pristine greenery. Apart from scuba diving for which the Great Barrier Reef is famous, there are various activities to replace your stress with excitement and joyfulness, including beach picnicking; exploring ancient shipwrecks; chilling in crystal clear lagoons; discovering Aboriginal heritage; kayaking and playing many types of water sports. For once in your lifetime, this Queensland-based natural wonder is yet awaiting your discovery.