Gold Coast

One of the best tourist destinations in the world with eye catching beaches is the Gold Coast city located near the Queensland state capital Brisbane, Australia. Ample entertainment can be seen here via surfing, night life, theme parks, sandy beaches etc. Owing to the subtropical climate of the area also more and more tourists are attracted as well as its ever growing population.

Thanks to 57km long coast line is well rich in surfing opportunities including South Stradbroke Island, The Spit, Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Burleigh Beach, Burleigh Heads, Tallebudgera Beach, Palm Beach, Currumbin Beach etc. Gold Coast is supposed to own one of the world's best surfing beaches such as Duranbah Beach. 

As mentioned earlier tourism plays an important role in the lives if Gold Coast people. Since early times as 1980s Gold Coast was able to attract tourists which now exceeds 10 million per year. Basically it is the 5th most  visited destination in Australia. Dreamworld, Sea World, Wet'n'Wild Water World, Warner Bros. Movie World, WhiteWater World, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, David Fleay Wildlife Park, Australian Outback Spectacular and Paradise Country are the theme parks found in Gold Coast. Another fascination most of the visitors tend to visit is the Q1 Building; world's highest residential tower which was opened in 2005.

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Moeraki Boulders

I have to admit that even the weirdest things on this earth can be fascinating sometimes. So in a weird way, even rocks on earth can be fascinating sometimes because of their weirdness. Moeraki Boulders are such that deserves a visit of anyone interested in them. They are found in Koekohe Beach between Moeraki and Hampden of Otago coast, New Zealand. These boulders are large in size and spherical in shape with diameters varying from 0.5m to 1m like and looks like large bean bags lying on the beach. 

Moeraki Boulders which are grey-colored septarian concretions can occur as either isolated or clusters of boulders. Wave action like bedrock and landslides, exposure make mudstone erode naturally. Although the striking feature of Moeraki Boulders is their spherical shape and large size, they cannot be considered entirely one of a kind because of other boulders found around the world like from North Dakota, Kansas and Ontario. These Ontario spherical concretions are smaller in size and known as "kettles".

  

The boulders have been experimented under various scientists to identify their composition using optical mineralogy, X-ray crystallography, and electron microprobe and there has been found that the boulders consist of mud, fine silt and clay, cemented by calcite. Also the cementation varies from relatively weak in inside to harder outside. Boulders are very often cracked with large cracks which are known as "septaria". These formation of "septaria" remains an unsolved mystery for many although there are possible theories explained. However it is calculated that larger boulders with diameters at least of 2m must have taken 4 to 5.5 million years to grow. Once they are formed septaria cracks form and get filled with brown calcite, yellow calcite, and small amounts of dolomite and quartz.

Naturally, Moeraki Boulders are bonded with many legends. They say as in Māori legends, these are what is left of eel baskets, calabashes, and kumara that got to the shore from wreck of an Arai-te-uru. Because of the significant difference from usual rocks we see, Moeraki Boulders attract many tourists in large numbers every year.

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Tasmania Island

Have you ever wondered what is the small island hanging down at the right corner of Australia? Well that small island is the Tasmania which is also the 26th among the largest of islands in the world and a state of Australia. 68,401 square kilometers in area, Tasmania is 364km long North/South wise and 306km broad East/ West wise. Hobart is the capital city. Abel Tasman a Dutchman is the discoverer of this beautiful lone island. That was in November 1642.  Geologists believe that once this island was a part of Australia even though now it is separated by the Bass Strait from mainland. Another geologically interesting fact is that Tasmania is the place that has the world's largest areas of dolerite. Amazing, huh???

Most famous destinations one can find in Tasmania are Hobart, Cradle Mountains, Launceston, Strahan, Port Arthur, Freycinet and Wineglass Bay, Bruny Island etc. The highest peak of Tasmania is the Mount Ossa which is 1,617 metres found in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. There are many famous rivers flowing through out the island. Some of them are Derwent River, Tamar River, Mersey River, Franklin and Gordon Rivers, South Esk River; longest river in Tasmania. 

One of the few advantages of being an isolated island is that you get lots of genetically unique flora and fauna. With less population and more land for natural vegetation, Tasmania has extremely diverse vegetation with alpine heathlands, dry Midlands, tall evergreen eucalypt forest, temperate rainforests and moorlands. Tasmania is also home for the Thylacine aka the Tasmanian Tiger and the Tasmanian devil. Tasmanians faces four distinct seasons with cool temperature. 

Apart from the natural liabilities, there are many cultural experiences one can have when visiting Tasmania. Such events include the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Taste of Tasmania food and wine festival, road rally Targa Tasmania, Agfest; a three-day agricultural show, Royal Hobart Show and Royal Launceston Show, Falls Festival at Marion Bay and Southern Roots Festival. 

Travellers Guide

Tasmania is a famous travel destination for honeymoon couples, sightseers and adventure sports. If you are planning to visit Tasmania, main Tasmanian hot spots include Hobart, Cradle Mountain, Port Arthur, Bruny Island, Freycinet and Wineglass Bay, Launceston, Strahan. Accommodation in Tasmania is equipped with 110 Hobart hotels, 4 Cradle Mountain hotels, 58 Launceston hotels, 25 Strahan hotels and Stanley hotels, Freycinet hotels and Port Arthur hotels. Some of the famous ones are,

Cradle Mountain Highlanders Cottages 

3876 Cradle Mountain Road

Country Club Villas 

Casino Rise Prospect Vale

City Park Grand Hotel 

22 Tamar Street

Grand Chancellor Hotel Hobart 

1 Davey Street

Aldermere Estate Luxury Accommodation 

27 Harvey Street

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Sydney Opera House

Perhaps Sydney's most wonderful place is its Opera House. World renowned for its importance as a place of performing arts, Opera House's modern architecture and roofing are few among many that attract visitors to it everyday. Opera House which is located at the Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, is a creation by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon for which he received the Pritzker Prize; the highest honour awarded for an architect. On 20th October, 1973 this master piece was open for public and today it is a world heritage site. The structure rises up to a height of 65m, it is 183m long, 120m wide and it covers an area of 4.4 acres. 

Sydney Opera House falls into the design category Expressionist design and it depicts qualities of late modern architecture. What amazes us most it the distinct roofing with sets of interlocking vaulted shells upon a vast terraced platform and surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses. Towards the western end of the complex is the Concert Hall and in vice versa is the Opera Theatre. There are also the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse, and The Studio which are actually found beneath the Concert Hall. Towards the western part of the Monumental Steps is the Bennelong Restaurant. 

The House has an immense capacity. Its Concert Hall has 2679 seats and is home for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Another importance we find here is the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ which can be recognized as the world's largest mechanical tracker action organ. On the other hand, the Opera Theatre has 1507 seats and houses the Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet. The Drama Theatre has 544 seats, the Playhouse has an end stage with 398 seats and the Studio has a max. capacity of 400. There is also a small multipurpose room named the Utzon Room which can accommodate up to 210. The Forecourt is used as a open air performing space. So in total it has about 5738 seats in the place.

The first ever piano recital was by Romola Costantino in the Concert Hall in 1973. Sergei Prokofiev's War and Peace is the first Opera in the theatre. Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Mackerras performed the first public concert of the Opera House on 28th September, 1973. 

Travellers' Guide

If you are planning to visit the Sydney Opera House, there are various tours arranged by the Opera House. Each tour will last about one hour,  you can select the language guide you want from English, German, French, Japanese etc. The package touring may include dining experiences and accommodation. For more details on tour plans you can visit the official website.

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Uluru

Some may be familiar with Uluru as the Ayers Rock, which is a large sandstone rock formation found in central Australia. It is about 348m high with a circumference of 9.4km. Uluru is regarded as a sacred place for the Aboriginal people. William Gosse in 19 July 1873, named this as Ayers Rock in honour of Sir Henry Ayers who was the chief secretary of South Australia then. The significance of Uluru is the ability to change colour at different times of the day and year. Another in this territory is the Kata Tjuta which is also known as Mount Olga 25km west of Uluru. 

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Great Barrier Reef

For almost 2000km long, Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef eco system in the world. It is roughly parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia and composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and used by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people, and is an important part of local groups' cultures and spirituality. The reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions. Tourism is an important economic activity for the region, generating $1 billion per year. 

The Great Barrier Reef includes the smaller Murray Islands. It reaches from Torres Strait in the north to the unnamed passage between Lady Elliot Island (its southernmost island) and Fraser Island in the south. Lady Elliot Island is located 1,915 km (1,190 mi) southeast of Bramble Cay as the crow flies.

From 20,000 years ago until 6,000 years ago, sea level rose steadily. As it rose, the corals could then grow higher on the hills of the coastal plain. By around 13,000 years ago the sea level was only 60 metres (200 ft) lower than the present day, and corals began to grow around the hills of the coastal plain, which were, by then, continental islands. As the sea level rose further still, most of the continental islands were submerged. The corals could then overgrow the hills, to form the present cays and reefs. Sea level here has not risen significantly in the last 6,000 years. It is estimated that the age of the present, living reef structure at 6–8,000 years old.  The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area has been divided into 70 bioregions, of which 30 are reef bioregions. In the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, ribbon reefs and deltaic reefs have formed; these structures are not found in the rest of the reef system. There are no atolls in the system, and reefs attached to the mainland are rare. Lagoonal reefs are found in the southern Great Barrier Reef, and further north, off the coast of Princess Charlotte Bay. Cresentic reefs are the most common shape of reef in the middle of the system, for example the reefs surrounding Lizard Island. Cresentic reefs are also found in the far north of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and in the Swain Reefs (20–22 degrees south). Reefs are found in the northern and southern parts, near Cape York Peninsula, Princess Charlotte Bay, and Cairns. Most of the islands on the reef are found on planar reefs. 

 Great Barrier Reef is home for large variety of marine life including many vulnerable or endangered species, some of which may be endemic to the reef system. Thirty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef, including the dwarf minke whale, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, and the humpback whale. Large populations of dugongs live there. Six species of sea turtles come to the reef to breed – the green sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, flatback turtle, and the olive ridley. The green sea turtles on the Great Barrier Reef have two genetically distinct populations, one in the northern part of the reef and the other in the southern part. Fifteen species of sea grass in beds attract the dugongs and turtles, and provide fish habitat. The most common genera of sea grasses are Halophila and Halodule.

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