Newsletter - Issue 13 - October 2003

* Introduction
* The Aussie Pictures Show
* The Expert Corner
* On-Line Printable Gift Vouchers
* New Backgrounds
* Australia, under your own steam?
* Whales Watching ... Out of the crowd!
* Special Offers & Discounts


Introduction

Few months already that you did not hear about Aussie World and the AHRC Newsletter. Well, back from a five weeks trip in Queensland I have again some new experiences to share with you.

Recently posted pages:

Cooktown - Still remote, but for how long? - Cooktown is a place I discovered this year and I loved it!
Brisbane - Roma Street Park Land - Relatively new in Brisbane, at walking distance from the city heart, 16 hectares, one of the world's largest subtropical garden located in a city centre

This newsletter is also the opportunity to inform you about some of the new features introduced on Aussie World during the past few months.

The Aussie Pictures Show

The Aussie Pictures Show is a place where Aussie Travelers can share their photos.
Once registered (it is free) you are able to submit your photos. The photos are displayed as thumbnails, with a possible selection on type and region. Selecting the photo will displayed it full size together with the comments you introduced.
On Aussie World home page, the most recently posted and the most viewed photos are permanently displayed.
The Aussie Pictures Show section is also directly linked to the Post-a-Card service. The posted photos can directly be used as E-Cards.
Each member can access his own account and manage it (modifying or suppressing information or photos).

If you are interested to know more about the service, just visit the related pages.
Aussie Picture Show
Aussie Picture Show Registration page
Post-a-Card Service

The Expert Corner

The Expert Corner is there to help you. If you are preparing your trip Down Under and if you are a little bit lost just post your questions.
Assisted by the AHRC members who have accepted to participate, I will do my best to guide you and provide, I hope, useful information. This service is free.

On-Line Printable Gift Vouchers

Thanks to the support of the AHRC (Australia Holiday Resources Centre) members, we are now able to propose on-line Discount or Gift Vouchers. These vouchers can used on-line, by contacting the AHRC member via email or can be printed for later use during your trip. Validity period and conditions of use should always be part of the voucher. In case of any doubt you can always contact the member via email.
Vouchers can offer a significant reduction on normal advertised prices. In some other case, it could be a free bottle of wine waiting you upon your arrival, or ...

To discover the currently available vouchers, simply point your browser to the Notice Board section and watch for the voucher sign. By selecting the company name, the voucher details will be displayed together with the company ones.

New Backgrounds

This year, before my trip Down Under I decided to buy a Digital camera. Not an easy decision to take as I was used to the slides and their quality. I finally decided to buy a not too expensive camera, the Canon PowerShot S30. Well, I know, like any computer, it is already obsolete when you buy it. But anyway, I did not want to invest too much money and working for a long time with Canon, this was my choice. Well, I was positively surprised! The more I am using this camera, the more I am amazed by its capabilities. I found the quality excellent and the 3.2 Mb pixels is sufficient for what I am doing. The only issue I currently have is the 'red eyes' when the flash is used. Difficult to avoid even with the included anti-red eyes feature activated. Anyway nowadays image editing software are quite easily solving this issue.

Together with this camera I also bought a small external and independent hard disk capable to read and store my flash cards content. As a consequence, not being limited by cost and storage, it is more than 1400 photos I took during my five weeks trip. These photos, together with the information collected during the trip will be the base for new pages that I will share with you on Aussie World. It is also an opportunity to post new backgrounds. Six of them are already posted, some others will come soon.

I hope you will enjoy them.

(Aussie World Backgrounds are available in the Free Stuff Section)

 

The next article written by Mike Hofmann reflects quite well my own Down Under travel experience. If your are currently preparing your first trip to Australia, just take few minutes to read this article.

Mike from Australian Red Centre Adventures has over 30 years of experience in Australia's Outback and Deserts. 
He guides all his tours personally and will give you a free quote for an Itinerary that's specifically prepared according to your specifications and preferences. 

Alain

Australia, under your own steam? 

Friends and other past visitors to Australia tell you what marvellous experiences they had during their trip. 
Some say "Do it independently, you can save much money and do exactly what you like". 
Others say "We spend most of our time with a tour operator and got to see so much that we would never have found on our own". 
Both are right, given the right circumstances. 

Independent travel is right for those who want to and can afford the time to do lots of research, have plenty of time for their Australian visit and who have to travel on a very tight budget. 
Better still, it's for those who have been here before and 'found their feet', learned what to do and what not to do and have a good idea of conditions and especially of the huge distances between major attractions and 'Must See' places. 

An organized tour with an experienced operator on the other hand, even if only for part of their time in Australia is a much better option for travellers who have only limited time for their visit, who's budget is not quite so tight and who want to ensure that they experience the country - guided by an experienced guide who can take them to places, especially Off the Beaten Track and away from the tourist trail. 
It's also a better option for people who would feel more secure being shown the country by an experienced guide. 

Australia is a big country and distances between places, especially in the Outback are always underestimated by first time visitors. Don't be guided by the time tables of Line Buses and Coach Tours. They often drive throughout the night, generally just along the major and sealed roads and you'll never get time to experience our country. 
It's quite common for me to hear travellers expressing their disappointment regards not seeing many of our fauna in their natural habitats. "The only Kangaroos we saw where death ones on the side of the road" is a very common remark.  

Many visitors to Australia come back for at least one, often for several repeat visits and it's only on those subsequent visits that they really start to experience Australia and what it has to offer. From my experience it's usually on their 2nd or 3rd visit when many decide on independent travel, away from the common tourist trails. 

My advice to visitors is: 
Travel independently if you have done your 'home work', have plenty of time to explore areas remote from the tourist trail and if you are on a limited budget. 

Go with an independent operator who is prepared to plan an itinerary with you and for you and who is prepared to include your preferences, if it's your first visit, if you have limited time for your trip and if you don't want to be part of a 40+ bus group. 

 

Which ever way you do it - do it and enjoy. 
Australian Red Centre Adventures 
( http://www.redcentre.com.au/red-centre.html ) 

Contact: Mike Hofmann, 
mike@redcentre.com.au 

Whales Watching ... Out of the crowd!


Each year from June to November it is the whales watching season on the east coast of Australia. From several locations and from several operators you can catch a half or full day trip. One of the principal decision you will have to take is the choice of the operator. The most advertised ones are usually the biggest companies, with several vessels and several options in their catalog. Of course they will probably be also the most crowed ones. Some of them can accept up to 300 people on board.


Ph. kindly provided by P. Lynch
http://www.bluedolphintours.com.au/index.html

Is it bad? I will not say that. These vessels are usually very well equipped for whales detection, they are very fast and allow you to move to several places during your cruise, probably increasing the number of specimens you will be able to see.

Opposite to that, you have some small companies, family businesses, operating a single vessel. It is of course very different and it is the option I chose for my whales watching experience.

The boat: The Blue Dolphin. The owner: Peter Lynch.

For 15 years Peter was working for Seaworld as a marine mammal trainer. With his Blue Dolphin he is now operating from Hervey Bay. More than just being the Captain on board, Peter, thanks to his experience, will share with you his knowledge about the dolphins and whales and will, for sure, transform your day in something unique.

The vessel, the Blue Dolphin, is a catamaran type of boat that can accept a maximum of 30 people on board but for maximum confort of his passengers, Peter fixes the limit to 20 people. So don't worry, it is not the crowd. There is enough space for every body.

Even if the technology on board is not the same as the one you will find on the vessels we talked previously, don't worry. Peter will be in permanent contact with them by radio and information on whales location is shared. As the biggest boats are faster, when the Blue Dolphin arrives on a location where some whales have been spotted, the others boats have already left the area looking for other specimens. This is an opportunity to interact with the whales in respect with the local regulations protecting them. Peter is really taking his time, sailing in a way that everybody on board can see the animals and taking "the" good picture (which is not easy, trust me !!!).
Ph. kindly provided by P. Lynch
http://www.bluedolphintours.com.au/index.html

If you add to all what I said before the fact that you will probably be surprised by the quality of the food served on board it is undoubtedly an experience you would like to take if you have this opportunity.


p.s. Do not forget your tablets if you are subject to the sea sickness -:))

 

Blue Dolphin is also operating a Dolphin Cruise and a Champagne Sunset Cruise. For more information, please do not hesitate to visit their web site at: http://www.bluedolphintours.com.au/
or directly contact Peter

 

Special Offers

Current promotions proposed by the AHRC (Australia Holiday Resources Centre) members are available via the notice board.

If you contact one of AHRC members, even if he does not propose any 'Special Offer' via the notice board (http://www.aussieworld.com/noticeboardframe.htm ), you can always tell him that your are sent by Aussie World.
Who knows?.... :-))