Top Travel Talk

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Plans to build the world’s longest golf course, across 1,200 km (750 miles) of treeless desert, received a welcome boost on Wednesday when the Australian government offered seed funding for the venture.

The 18-hole course will stretch along the Eyre Highway which crosses the arid Nullarbor Plain in the south of the continent, with one hole placed in each town along the way, and one at a remote sheep farm.

Doughty golfers who tee off in the Western Australian mining town of Kalgoorlie will end their round in the South Australian south coast town of Ceduna, more than 1,200 km to the east. (more…)

The “Euro Cheapo” company is designing a program named “CheapoSearch” which will be the first search engine of the budget living places.

The “CheapoSearch” will help you find and make a reservation in small hotels and rest homes all around Europe and also compare different offers. “CheapoSearch” reviews information from 25000 hotels in 32 countries.

Travellers can make a search on date, and decide between available hotels. “CheapoSearch” helps travellers to get better wise to Europe for less time revising best ones of the cheapest European hotels.”, -says “CheapoSearch” founder Tom Meyers. “We are very glad to offer the first personalized search system, combining good advises with the hotels compare system’s ease of use.”

For example, a recent request for living place in Paris on October, 27 year 2007 has given 228 hotels in the central part of the city, 20 of them available to reserve a number worth less than $100 overnight. In Amsterdam for the same day - 174 hotels, 57 of them available to stay overnight for the cost less than $100.

The effort for non-alcoholic lifestyle of the Australian Red Mountain inhabitants has finished. Despite the indigenous people’s objection to prohibit the tourist sight-seeing the authorities’ determination has won. On September, 14th the law prohibiting drinking alcohol on the area of the famous Uluru Mountain (Erse-Rock) in the north of Australia will come into force. The law has been accepted by the country government as a control of teenage alcoholism, wide spread in aborigines’ living place.

Thousands of tourists, daily walking up the mountain to enjoy the sunrise follow the long ago stated tradition to drink beer or wine while observing such amazing performance of the nature. The sunrise above the holy Erse-Rock, or in aboriginal Uluru is an extraordinary beautiful event, capable to charm even sceptics. The morning show sticks to your memory because of the exceptional colour flow of the rock.

According to new law, bringing alcohol is allowed only through the aboriginal lands but not drinking it in the aboriginal living places. To observe the fairy-tale sunrise is allowed only with a cup of aromatic tea or coffee. Drinking alcohol is allowed only in a cognominal hotel Ayers Rock Resort.

Avocado time - so good this season came again! These tasty juicy creamy fruits are again on market counters, at green dealers and in supermarkets.

Avocado was brought to Australia in 1840 and planted in the Sydney Royal botanical gardens. Since then, these fruits have expanded and now grow in most of Australian states. It’s a great luck that in the hot climate of a great part of Australian regions they grow all year long. However the most productive period is between March and November - my favourite time!

Avocado has the highest concentration of oils and protein among all fruits and replaced the meat and oil in Aztec food. After the Spanish conquistador have won Central and southern America, Avocado was brought to Europe, where it soon became very popular. (more…)

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The rising popularity of booking a last-minute break could see more tourists go abroad without travel insurance, it has been suggested.

In research carried out by Sainsbury’s Bank, an estimated 8.8 million tourists purchased a summer holiday this year with no more than two weeks left before they go away.

However, with an estimated three million people going abroad with travel insurance the company suggested that this level could increase further as last-minute deals become more popular.

Steve Johnson, head of travel insurance for the firm, said: “Greater use of the internet and growing competition in the travel industry means that there are many holiday bargains to be had.

“This is great for holidaymakers, but without appropriate insurance in place a holiday can soon turn into a nightmare if disaster strikes.”

He added that the cost of sorting out problems which arise from lacking travel insurance “could run into hundreds or thousands of pounds, surely cancelling out any money saved on a late deal”.

Last month, Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com, reported that the majority of 18 to 24-year-olds usually do not lend much thought to taking out a travel insurance before going abroad.

What is the best season for a trip in Tasmania, Sydney, La Paz or Antarctic? The new book “Where to Go When: The Best Destinations All Year Round” is going to help you plan your journey. It doesn’t matter whether you are travelling by foot or somehow still, the book will offer a lot of ideas for your trip. In the book you’ll find picturesque colour photos, comments, councils and description.

For every month of the year there are 30 destinations suggested. For example, in October it’s recommended to go to Tasmania and Italy, as in this time of year they reap a crop of grapes and olives there; also various sorts of mushrooms, including expensive truffles, appear in the local menu. A six-day route from Florence to Siena is offered as well.

Sydney, Australia is best suited for the new-year’s eve, May is perfect for La Paz or Bolivia, in Antarctica in February you can watch how the female penguins look after their nests.

By Darrell Giles

BRISBANE could have two under-the-river rail tunnels and a new rail bridge in a bold State Government public transport plan.

There could be major new train stations at Woolloongabba, Gardens Point and the “financial district” at Eagle St, and a redeveloped Exhibition line for year-round use.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Paul Lucas will today unveil details of a $5 million feasibility study to develop options for connecting the rail network north and south of the Brisbane River.

(more…)

The owners of the large cruise companies finally have stopped ignoring the world tendency to the omnipresent smoking prohibition. Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line will impose a ban on smoking in the passenger cabins since 1st January. There will be the same prohibition in the child company Disney Cruises at all the areas of its liners.

According to the representatives of the companies, more and more passengers are complaining that tobacco smoke does not allow them to enjoy maritime air, in addition, the number of smokers around the world has been considerably reduced. On the other hand, the cruise organizers will automatically lose smoker clients.

A third of travellers say the main reason for their break is for an active holiday.

The annual Travellers’ Pulse survey from Lonely Planet finds 32 per cent of people say holiday activities were the main driver of why they travel, up from last year’s figure.

The travel publisher explains the popularity of active holidays showed the “growing trend towards exploring niche experiences rather than simply visiting destinations for sightseeing”. (more…)

Reviewed by Eliza McGraw for Washinton Post
CHASING KANGAROOS A Continent, a Scientist, and A Search For the World’s Most Extraordinary Creature By Tim Flannery | Grove. 258 pp. $24

Newfoundland’s seabirds, lovely as they are, can’t match the exoticism of the euros, quokkas, dingoes, hare wallabies, red-necked wallabies and tree kangaroos that hop through Australia. Or, apparently, their importance.

“The fate of the kangaroos is inextricably bound with the fate of my country,” writes Tim Flannery in Chasing Kangaroos, his paean to the creatures who, he argues, serve as a symbol of Australia’s past and a harbinger of global change. (more…)