Newsletter - Issue 12 - August 2002
Newsletter - Issue 12 - August 2002
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Introduction |
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Proud Australia Nature Cruise |
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Moreton Bay Whalewatching |
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The Best of the Gold Coast |
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Portee Station - The ultimate Outback experience |
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Fishing Report |
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Special Offers & Discounts |
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What happened on Aussie World during these last few months?
Recently I also gave the opportunity to the AHRC members to participate to the Post-A-Card and Background services. The members have now the possibility to upload images that can be added to the Aussie World collection. A major change that will occur in the next few months will be the move of the 'database and dynamic' parts of Aussie World to a new platform. All the databases and dynamic scripts are currently handled by Cold Fusion interacting with an access database (on a Windows platform). In the future this will be handled by a configuration composed using a MySQL database, PHP and Apache server running on Linux. Some new personal pages have been added in the Northern Territory section and I am currently working on some new pages for the North Queensland region. The Search Section of Aussie World has also been upgraded. Three different search tools are now available. The classic AHRC search tool locally based on Aussie World, the Australian Travel Marketing for accommodation, tour and itineraries search and booking within Australia and the Accommodation Online tool for accommodation reservation within Australia but also in many other locations all over the world.
(more details on the Aussie World search page) |
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PROUD AUSTRALIA NATURE CRUSIES CELEBRATED Its 20TH ANNIVERSARY |
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Built to reflect the style of the old Mississippi paddle steamers, the boutique style passenger vessel, accommodating up to 40 passengers in 18 river view cabins, provides an intimate atmosphere with personalised service. In 1987 Proud Australia Nature Cruises, which operates 2, 3 & 5 night cruises, dramatically changed the focus of it’s itineraries to meet the needs of the traveler who wanted to learn and experience more about Australia’s wildlife. Unique to a Proud Australia Nature Cruise, our qualified onboard ecologist highlights the wildlife, history and ecology on the Murray River. 
What is Eco-Cruising? It is about understanding the nature, wildlife, culture and habitat through which you cruise and in particular paying attention to the preservation of our wonderful natural environment. All cruises focus on magnificent onshore excursions, enabling passengers to appreciate much more of the natural wonders of Australia, the Outback - and the Murray River. Cruise highlights include punt boat rides through small lagoons to view birdlife and wildlife. Nocturnal tours, where the spotlight allows passengers to glance at kangaroos and wombats in their natural habitat, and what cruise wouldn’t be complete without a traditional outdoor Aussie barbeque. (Photos from Proud Mary web site) |
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For more information, please contact
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Of all the great whales, the
'humpback' is the most surface active displaying a ton of energy. There quite clearly is no better place to see them than in Moreton Bay, one reason being we don't have to stand off from observing a pod for 18 other boats. The Whalewatching season in Moreton Bay runs from mid June through to the beginning of November. Throughout the day you are
supplied with a fresh sumptuous morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea all
prepared daily. |
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Moreton Bay Whalewatching has
been operating from the Redcliffe Peninsula (30 mins from the Brisbane
CBD) for seven years. Book now, for this memory of a lifetime.
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You've arrived !!! |
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As you settle into your chosen accommodation, your holiday excitement is building. Aside from visiting the theme parks and beaches, what else is there to do? Where do you find this information to assist in planing the rest of your stay on the Gold Coast? The reception at your accommodation is a good place to start. There you will find the Best of the Gold Coast Magazine; a free magazine style reference guide with the best of everything the Gold Coast has to offer. It is also available in a Japanese version as well. Published quarterly, Best of the Gold Coast Magazine is a cheerful and unashamedly colourful publication blending with the bright and breezy holiday atmosphere of the visitor. The contents page for example, is considerately colour co-ordinated with each section of the magazine for straightforward and uncomplicated use. It offers you the visitor, a current, comprehensive and easy to use guide covering a broad spectrum of fun activities and useful information. Within the magazine you will find specialised sections on; attractions, tours & water activities, adrenalin activities, amusements, entertainment, health & beauty, markets, real estate, restaurants & cafes, shopping, surf & street wear, tours & water activities, car rentals & transport. Whether you are an adventure junkie or prefer the quieter, more relaxed holiday, Best of the Gold Coast Magazine has something for everyone. For the thrill seekers; imagine yourself soaring over ocean waves at high speed, skydiving for the ultimate rush of 200kph pure adrenalin or experience 4 hot laps with a professional instructor in a V8 SS Holden Commodore. If you are a lover of nature and all it has to offer, then you will find various places in the magazine to visit that are sure to enhance your nature knowledge. For the water enthusiast, cruises, fishing charters and tours are all awaiting keen participants wanting to boost their Gold Coast holiday experience. As major shopping centres are scattered along the length and breadth of the Coast, shopping is another favourite pastime of holidaymakers. With so much more to be explored in the magazine, there are distinct advantages in being able to choose what you want to see and do to get the best out of your holiday by having a copy of your own. There is also a special section featuring tourist information for newcomers to the Coast that is well worth a read. For all visitors, What’s on this Week section is a must for information on the latest happenings. Need to know where to go on the Gold Coast? The easy to read map sections located at the end of the magazine are the best available and list accommodation and facilities for ease of planning when structuring your stay. A highlight of the magazine from a visitor point of view is the Best Discount Coupon section. It offers visitors approximately five pages of special discount coupons that can be used at a large variety of selected businesses advertised throughout the magazine. When you arrive on the Gold Coast, there should be a copy of the magazine at your accommodation. If not, please phone the Best of the Gold Coast Magazine office on 07-5575 1599. Alternatively, email them at info@pointout.com.au before your departure. Give them your postal details and approximate date of arrival and they will happily forward a copy of the magazine to you to assist with planning your stay. For additional information, you can also visit the website at: www.bestofthegoldcoast.com.au or www.pointout.com.au. The Best of the Gold
Coast Magazine is a guide that no visitor to the Gold Coast, both new
and returning should be without and the best news is, it’s free.
A definite must! |
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The ultimate Outback experience |
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This sheep is presently one of the sires used in our artificial breeding programme to further enhance our annual wool clip, and the genetics of our sheep flock. Visitors to Portee have the opportunity to learn of the management of an Australian sheep station and actually have a hands on encounter with the industry. Our property "Portee" combines a sheep and wool growing business with a tourism product that provides an experience, to discerning travellers, of outback South Australia, The River Murray and a 20,000 ha commercial sheep station. The grazing paddocks and the wetlands of the river provide opportunity to view the southern hairy nosed wombat, kangaroo, emu and some 150 species of bird life. Contact information:
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The strange weather patterns are continuing here in the Tropical North. After one of the best Easter periods ever, the south-east winds returned with a vengeance and blew everything out of the water for almost two weeks. We had some good rainfall at last and the Cape even had some flooding. I hope the barras at least had a chance to spawn, we need those stocks to regenerate each year or we will have depleted gaps in the year cycles – not good for a healthy fishery. Many southerners took advantage of the early break to the wet season and headed to the Gulf waters over Easter to participate in the various river / estuary fishing competitions that have become such a tradition up there. Quality barra, salmon and jacks were landed and some lucky anglers returned with substantial cash prizes and trophies. Rivers & Estuary With such a poor "wet" the rivers did not receive their usually flushing – only time will tell if this has any long term detrimental effect to the fish stocks as many species use these flooding conditions to spawn. This past month I continued my upstream assault with the light spinning tackle and found plenty of willing takers. We switched to small minnow lures in the cooler water (poppers during summer) and found this did the trick landing on average 30 fish per session. Juvenile barra, heaps of sooty grunter (fresh water black bream) jungle perch and mangrove jacks coming from surprisingly shallow waters. On most outings we had to drag the vessel over the rock bars to enable upstream access to the productive pools – in past years it would have been a breeze to zoom up at full throttle. Even though fish sizes are not monstrous, the quality of the natural surroundings, the variety of species and being able to catch plucky fish on matched tackle is just awesome. You don’t need to catch big fish to enjoy the sport – a fact that many trout fisherman have kept "secret" for years. |
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Don’t get me wrong, there are many quality barra, jacks, queenies and trevally to target down in the salt but don’t underestimate the value & pleasure of a trip to the sweet water sections of our rivers. Not all guides are proficient here however, Terry Holman and Kim Andersen being the exceptions and many clients are returning with glowing reports of their efforts. Trinity Inlet too has seen signs of an early season change, pikey bream are schooling up on any large structure while other targets at this time include sickle fish, bat fish, grunter, flathead and estuary cod. Scale down your tackle for these winter species. See you on the water. Regards, Les Marsh
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Current promotions
proposed by the AHRC (Australia Holiday Resources Centre)
members are available via the notice
board. |
The
most important modification performed on Aussie World is a complete redesign
of the web site. All the sections have now a common presentation and menu
interface. This should make the easier navigation through the site. Work
is still ongoing but what is done now is more behind the scene.
This
year celebrates the M.V. Proud Mary’s 20th Anniversary as a
passenger vessel on the mighty Murray River in South Australia. To celebrate
this special occasion, Proud Australia Nature Cruises operated two 10-day
cruise itineraries, from Murray Bridge in South Australia. 
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At
a recent shearing of our embryo transplant rams and ewes a lock of wool
has been taken from the fleece shorn from our merino ram tag no. 0079
and represents a staple length of five months wool growth. After shearing,
measurement of the wool sample determined a fibre diameter of 14.8 microns,
a comfort factor of 100% and other pertinent detail.
Importantly
we provide quality accommodation and fine meals. We entered the tourism
business in 1995, some five years after the collapse of the wool industry
reserve price scheme in 1989, and during the ensuing seven years Portee
has become a packaged destination, for overseas and Australian travellers,
with the great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock, self driving the great ocean
road, Kangaroo Island and the Flinders Ranges. Portee is recognised as
outback country, but only two hours drive from Adelaide making it a special
destination for the year of the Outback.