When my husband and I adopted our two large, slobbery Labrador retrievers (Molly and Jack), everyone told us that would be the end of our carefree travel days. Each one of them weighs 80 lbs, loves to run around, and has more chew toys than your average teething infant.

Last summer, we brought them to Madrid with us. They flew on Iberia Air, stayed with us in our apartment, and got to know the locals very well (“Que Bonitas!” the locals would say). We learned that traveling with your pets, no matter how big they are, is completely possible. All it takes is a little planning, patience, and jumping through the right hoops. With a microchip and vet certificate, we were clear to travel to most places in the world.

Read full article: How to Travel with Your Dog

Thinking of taking your dog on holiday with you in Australia then take a look at some of our dog or Pet Friendly accommodation on our website. There are also a number of other good websites like Travel Dogs Australia that offer allot of good information about travelling with pets.

Uluru otherwise know as “Ayers Rock” can be found in the centre of Australia. It is one of Australia’s most recognisable natural landmarks. The rock  is a large sandstone rock formation standing about 348 m high and with a circumference of 9.4 km. The rock and the Australian outback is a magical place to visit. If you are visiting Australia and want more than just the city site of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Look at taking a tour out into the Australian Outback. See what some other have to say.

The vast, flat desert lands stretching out before us, have become our backyard. The short green desert shrubs offer a stark contrast to rich redness of the soil which stains our clothing, our tent and our feet.

This is it.

This is what we’ve been waiting for.

My memories drift back to the pictures in Primary School. That day, when the teacher returned from his trip to “Ayers Rock” (back then it wasn’t really referred to as Uluru, white man’s name was still more popular). He held up 4×6 photographs, one by one, flicking through to reveal a golden sunset cascading across the grand red rock. There I was, a child, sitting hundreds of Kilometres away from central Australia, in a tiny school of 60 children in the middle of the drought ravaged bush of NSW. There I sat, in awe, wondering if I would ever get the chance to take photos like that myself.

That’s the power of the rock. Uluru. The grand heart of Australia. It draws you in. Calls you to it.

…More at A Journey to the Heartland

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• Climbed Uluru and LOVED it!!
• The best way to do the big Red Centre three

The Queensland Gold Coast begins in Coolangatta, just across the border from Tweed Heads in New South Wales. Many first time visitors to the Gold Coast overlook Coolangatta because the Gold Coast Highway shoots straight past it. However, Australian families and surfers often make Coolangatta their only Gold Coast destination because everything a beach lover could want is right there in front of them.

Look on a map and you’ll see that a peninsula divides Coolangatta from its nearest New South Wales beach. Right on the tip of that peninsula is the aptly named Snapper Rocks. "Snapper" is one of Australian surfers’ most coveted surfing spots. For experts only, entrance to the break is risky. You have to time your entrance well or you could find yourself getting "snapped up" by the rocks at the point.

While Snapper Rocks may not qualify as an ideal family spot, the break continues up the beach to Rainbow Bay. Rainbow Bay is perfect for everyone, with shallow sheltered waters close to the shore, easier waves for the "grommets" (young surfers) within eyesight of the lifeguards on the beach and toilets, showers and amenities for everyone within easy walking distance.

At the height of the surfing and sunbathing season, Coolangatta can get too crowded for spoiled Queenslanders who often have it all to themselves. That’s when they head a little further north to Currumbin. Like Coolangatta, Currumbin has it all: world class surfing waves, calm and shallow waters for the little ones, fish and chips shops for family meals and gourmet restaurants with ocean views to die for. All that Currumbin lacks is the crowds that gather on the better known Queensland Gold Coast beaches.

Just north of Currumbin is the long, straight stretch of the Gold Coast Oceanway, which is the official name of the cycle and pedestrian path in front of Surfers Paradise. To the untrained eye, this long, straight beach is all part of Surfers Paradise, but to the locals, it includes three distinctly different suburbs. If the highrises and crowds of Surfers Paradise are too much for you, but you still want to be close to the action, choose a Queensland Gold Coast accommodation in Mermaid Beach or Broad Beach. Although this part of the Gold Coast is nicknamed "Millionaire’s Row," there are accommodations for all budgets to be found here. From a cosy family motel to an executive penthouse, it’s all there for you on the Queensland Gold Coast.

Let’s start with food. Tasmania produces much of the best produce that Australia has to offer. Bruny Island’s fertile soil produces some of the best produce in Tasmania. The island’s cattle graze on grass that grows on this fertile soil and produce rich milk that is turned into some of the best cheese in Australia. The waters off Tasmania’s shores are rich with some of the best seafoods in the world, including oysters, which are harvested in abundance off Bruny Island.

When you take all of this delicious food and combine it with a bottle of Bruny Island wine, you end up with a superb meal worthy of presentation in a 5 star restaurant. On Bruny Island, though, you can get a meal like this in a quaint hotel pub or village café.

If you are looking for the Tasmanian wilderness experience, then Bruny Island is what you’re looking for. With roughly half the island devoted to protected park, you can have the best of both worlds. Stay in Adventure Bay on the northern end of the island and have all the creature comforts you could ever want (including delicious hand made chocolates and fresh-shucked oysters) and in no time at all you can be in the middle of South Bruny National Park or aboard a chartered boat, exploring the waters around the island.

You can enjoy South Bruny National Park no matter what your level of fitness or time restraints may be. For example, the Truganini Lookout commands a breathtaking 360 degree view, but the entire walk up the boardwalk to the lookout and back again takes only 15 minutes. If you feel like dipping a little further into the Park, you can take the easy coastal Grass Point walk, which is suitable for the whole family.

If cruising is more to your liking, then the breathtaking Bruny Island Cruise is for you. This is the best way to see the magnificent coastline of the island in comfort and safety. You will also have the opportunity to view some of the amazing island wildlife while you’re on the cruise, without disturbing its natural habitat.

Your Bruny Island adventures will be complemented by your Bruny Island accommodation. You can be living in the lap of luxury at the edge of the world in your fully self-contained cabin or bungalow. If you are a family traveling on a budget, you will be amazed by how sumptuously appointed a Bruny Island caravan park can be. Enjoy the good life on Bruny Island.

Find a range of Bruny Island and other accommodation Tasmania on our website.

Sidney Morgan on Google Plus

Canberra‘s Birthday Celebration

On the 12th of March, 2012, Canberra will be celebrating its 99th birthday. This will be one event you won’t want to miss if you’re in Australia in 2012 and will probably be worth planning a special trip for in 2013, when Canberra’s 100th birthday celebration rolls around. Expect to see spectacular fireworks over Lake Burley Griffin from Regatta Park, but that’s only the beginning, because Celebrate in the Park only marks the beginning of the annual Canberra Festival.

ANZAC Memorial Services

ANZAC is the acronym for the Australia New Zealand Army Corps that fought together in WWI. ANZAC Day is commemorated in their honour and in honour of all the soldiers who have fought in foreign wars throughout Australia’s history. Every April 25, the ANZAC Day Dawn Service is held at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to commemorate the first ANZAC military action of WWI. It is an ideal day to visit, pay your respects by placing a poppy at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and afterwards visit the fascinating exhibits in the War Memorial Museum. Services begin at 5.30am, followed by a Returned Servicemen’s League (RSL) march at 10.15am.

Canberra International Film Festival

If you’re coming to Australia in late October or early November, check out the Canberra International Film Festival. The 16th annual festival is slated for October 31 – November 11, 2012 and is expected to be the biggest yet. In 2011, 58 films from 26 countries were shown at Dendy Cinemas in Canberra. Aside from films, other events of interest to film buffs include workshops, question and answer sessions and other opportunities to meet actors, directors and film producers in person and learn about the filmmaking process from those who know it best.

Wine, Roses and All That Jazz

If the Canberra International Film Festival isn’t quite enough to entice you to come to Canberra in early November, there’s another concurrent event that will surely tip the scales in Canberra’s favour. Wine, Roses and All That Jazz is your opportunity to discover the vineyards around Canberra, enjoy wine tastings, gourmet food and great entertainment all at the same time. There are an amazing 140 vineyards and 33 wineries within a short 30 minute drive of the city. Most of them will be competing for your attention, so expect to be treated like royalty.

Floriade

Spring in Australia starts in mid-October and Canberra is an ideal place to go if you love springtime and all that it symbolizes. At Floriade, you’ll marvel at the colorful display of over a million bulbs opening at once in Commonwealth Park. An event for the whole family, this yearly event features entertainment, activities for children, wonderful craft and food stalls and much, much more. In 2012, Floriade will be celebrated from the 15th of October through to the 10th of November.

Time it right and you can take in the Canberra Film Festival; Wine, Roses and All That Jazz and Floriade all in the space of a single visit to Canberra. Be sure, though, to book your Canberra accommodation  early, because thousands of others are going to be flocking to the nation’s capital for these events, too.

Sidney Morgan on Google Plus

Ask a Victorian where the oldest settlement in Victoria is located and they will probably take a stab and say "Melbourne." They are close, but still far away. Actually, Sorrento is the site of Victoria’s first settlement. Back in 1803, the first settlers chose Eastern Sister, a point at the southern end of Sorrento’s crescent shaped bay, as their home.

Unlike Melbourne, which once settled grew at a frantic pace, Sorrento was left to mature at a more leisurely rate The first hotels weren’t even built there until the 1870s and the best examples of them, like the wonderful limestone construction of the Continental Hotel, are still standing and still serving patrons today. This and other examples of 19th century architecture are just one of the reasons why a visit to Sorrento is so enjoyable.

A refined and sophisticated community, Sorrento has a traditional charm about it. The Sorrento foreshore is an example of this. Unlike so many beaches that are backed by highrise hotels or rows of houses and shops, the wide Sorrento foreshore is lined with grass and trees. Whether you go there to swim or to stroll, it is a pleasure to while away a day on the beach in Sorrento.

Two good reasons for visiting Sorrento are that not only is it one of the finest suburbs on the Mornington Peninsula, it is the perfect jumping off point for exploring the rest of the peninsula and beyond. Centrally located between all of the peninsula’s charming suburbs, it is also where you can catch the vehicle and passenger ferry and cross over to Queenscliff and the Great Ocean Road.

One of the biggest tourist drawcards in Sorrento is located offshore. Bottlenose dolphins can be found in abundance: view them from shore or take a dolphin viewing excursion. For that matter, you can even dive in the water and play with them if you want to.

Back on land, you can tour the Mornington Peninsula in style from Sorrento. Imagine taking to the road in the sidecar of a vintage Harley Davidson, your tour guide being a local who knows all about the history and attractions of the peninsula.

The Mornington Peninsula becomes very narrow by the time it reaches Sorrento. If you love to be near the sea, this makes Sorrento an ideal place for you to stay. On the bay side is the tranquil Front Beach: perfect for a relaxing day in the sun. Just minutes away, on the opposite side of the peninsula, is Sorrento’s Back Beach. Back Beach is on the wild, windswept Bass Strait coast and is perfect for adventurers and lovers of the outdoors.

Sorrento is close enough to Melbourne that you can make it a short day trip, but that’s not the best way to do it. By the end of the day, you will wish you had booked a Sorrento accommodation. Do yourself a favour and make a reservation before you go. This way, you will be sure to have your accommodation waiting for you when you arrive.

Australian fishermen don’t need to be told about Forster. The region was first settled by fishermen and shipbuilders. After the bridge over Wallis Lake was completed in 1959, the two largest towns, Forster and Tuncurry, were merged into one and are now referred to as Forster-Tuncurry, though most people still just say "Forster." Aside from being an ideal location for fishing and shipbuilding, oysters were one of the original attractions of Wallis Lake and the oyster farming industry is still going strong there. Thanks to that, Forster restaurants have some of the best oyster dishes in Australia.

When surfers say they are going to "Forster," what they really mean is that they are going to one or more of the incredible surfing spots in the region. The beaches in the area are peppered with so many great spots for surfing, nobody who goes on a "surfing safari" to the area just goes to one of them. Some, like One Mile, are easier to get to than others, but surfers looking for uncrowded waves have innumerable secret and semi-secret spots to choose from along the 28 miles (45km) of coastline on the Forster coast.

The surfers will frequently criss-cross Booti Booti National Park in search of waves, taking the main road, Lakes Way. Take the drive along Lakes Way and you will discover some beautiful vacation spots that are popular destinations for both young surfers and fishermen and their families.

Boomerang Beach, Elizabeth Beach and Bluey’s Beach are three popular holiday spots in the Forster region. They are all great places for families, fishermen and surfers. With easy access to both Wallis Lake and the Tasman Sea, fishermen can go freshwater fishing one day, rock fishing the next and beach fishing in between. Boomerang is probably the most popular surfing beach, both because of its easy access and quality of waves, but those who are looking for uncrowded waves don’t need to drive far to find them.

Seal Rocks is a quiet, isolated community on the southern end of the Forster/Great Lakes region. To get there from Boomerang Beach takes you on a long, picturesque journey around Smiths Lake. It is still only about a half hour drive away, but when you get there, you feel like you’re in another world. There is a small community at Seal Rocks, but it has a fantastic feeling of isolation. One of the greatest things about the Forster area is that in the course of a single day, you can move from a large town with everything you want for a comfortable vacation to a tranquil village "far from the madding crowd."

Sydneysiders with limited time who want to get away from the big city love Forster. It’s only about 3 hours by car, bus or train from the city, so is ideal for a weekend getaway. If you have the time, though, stay longer, because you won’t want to leave. Forster accommodation ranges from some of the best campgrounds in NSW to luxurious resorts, so you won’t have trouble finding a comfortable place to stay.

There is little logic to why Lennox Head hasn’t grown like Byron Bay. It, too, has a long, wide, beautiful beach at its doorstep and a great surfing point just outside the town center. Like Byron, the atmosphere is "beachy" and relaxed. The biggest difference between the two towns may be that Lennox Head has remained primarily a family community, while Byron Bay, ever since backpackers discovered it after the inaugural Blues Fest, has developed into a major tourism center.

When you visit the far north coast, you may be torn between staying in the heart of the action in Byron Bay and staying in the quieter Lennox Head. It needn’t be a dilemma. They are within a stone’s throw of each other, so you can enjoy them both equally.

Why Stay in a Lennox Head

Getting a Lennox Head accommodation makes sense if you want to spend the majority of your time relaxing at the beach or exploring the entire far north coast. The main beach at Lennox is far less crowded than Byron’s and all the restaurants, shops and amenities you need are all located just opposite the beach. When you feel like exploring by car, there is much less traffic than there is in Byron. Head up the hills to Lismore and the hinterland, explore little known beaches around nearby Ballina or spend the day at one of the beaches tucked away in the National Parks and reserves between Lennox Head and Byron. If you’re on a budget, you’ll find that Lennox Head restaurants and accommodations are generally less expensive than those in Byron.

If you’re a surfer and you stay in Lennox, you have the world class waves of Lennox Head to look forward to, but that’s not all. The friendly local surfers at the surf shops along Pacific Parade will tell you about some fantastic spots in and around nearby Ballina you probably have never heard of before. The waves are arguably better than those you’ll find closer to Byron and definitely less crowded.

Why Stay at a Byron Bay

Byron Bay is the place to stay if you want to be in the heart of the action 24/7. By day, there are the beaches and great shops, galleries and cafes right there at your doorstep. By night, there’s always something to do in Byron Bay. For entertainment you’ve got everything from live bands in the pubs and clubs to the buskers in the streets to keep your feet tapping. Even some of the cheap take out cafes in Byron serve gourmet dishes and if you want something more formal, some of Australia’s most renowned chefs call Byron Bay home.

You can have it all from your Byron Bay accommodation if you stay at one of the guesthouses, B&Bs or resorts on the fringes of Byron Bay. Some are located right on the beach while others are Bali-style enclosures that are oases right in the middle of town. Even some of the cheap backpacker facilities in Byron are ridiculously luxurious, including swimming pools, great restaurants and evening entertainment.

Originally called the Tasmanian Cottage Industry Exhibition and Craft Fair, the inaugural Tasmanian Craft Fair was organised by the local Rotary Club in 1981. That first year, around 3000 attended the event. Considered a success, organisers decided to make it a yearly event. Today, the numbers of visitors has swelled to over 30,000 and is growing exponentially. Between the 4th and the 7th of November 2011, over 240 exhibitors will be displaying their skills and their completed arts and crafts to what is expected to be a record number of visitors from all over Australia and the world.

There couldn’t be a better setting for a crafts exhibition. The countryside around Deloraine is just beautiful and the lifestyle of the town’s inhabitants reflects their creativity and hands-on approach to life.  There is something poetic about the town, which may help explain why its name comes from a poem by Sir Walter Scott, The Lay of the Last Minstrel. First explored in 1823 by Captain Rowland and settled shortly thereafter, Deloraine’s first claim to fame was when it was linked by rail to Launceston in 1873, making it part of Tasmania’s first railway line.

You can encapsulate the Deloraine lifestyle in a single word: healthy. 41 Degrees South is just one example of a local business that manages to make a living from the land without exploiting or damaging the environment. So passionate is this company about the environment, they have found a way to use the wetlands surrounding their property without interfering with the environment. In fact, they love to share their surroundings with visitors, who can take nature tours of the property that include close-up looks at platypus thriving in their natural environment and indigenous frog and bird species living unmolested and unharmed by their commercial activities.

41 Degrees South is just one local business that lives in harmony with its surroundings. Others include two honey farms, a renowned Tasmanian cheese factory and a raspberry farm where you can enjoy fresh raspberries and cream. In fact, in just about any restaurant you go to in Deloraine, you will enjoy fresh food from Deloraine and the surrounding countryside. After your meal, you will be ready for a relaxing stroll around the historic village, stopping now and then to see what’s inside its numerous art galleries, antique, gift and other fascinating shops.

If you want to attend the Tasmanian Craft Fair, book your Deloraine accommodation in advance, to avoid disappointment. Do yourself a favour and give yourself a few extra days to get to know Deloraine after the crowds have left. After the excitement of the fair, you’ll love having some time to get to know the town at your leisure.

When ski season comes around during the Southern Hemisphere winter, ski and snowboard lovers check out the snow conditions at Thredbo first. With over fifty runs, including Australia’s steepest and longest, Thredbo has enough slopes to challenge even the most experienced skiers and snowboarders. The longest descent threads together several shorter runs for a continuous run of 3 miles (6kms). The most challenging run, Funnel Web is for experts only and includes one death-defying near vertical section.

If Thredbo has one thing going against it, it would be the low altitude of the village. Not to be undone by nature, the resort made the Southern Hemisphere’s largest investment in snowmaking equipment. In addition, they developed several lower altitude special purpose slopes, ranging from Wombat World for the kiddies to a park strictly reserved for hardcore skiers and snowboarders.

At the end of the ski season, the action dies down in Thredbo, but as soon as the warm season rolls around, the visitors start coming back. Since mountain biking took off in the early 90s, Thredbo has become world renowned as a great place for mountain biking and has even hosted international mountain bike events that have attracted Olympic level cyclists to the resort.

Downhill runs are the most challenging for cyclists and Thredbo’s Cannonball Run is known as one of the world’s most challenging. Starting at Eagle’s Nest after a ride up the Kosciusko Express Quad lift, you descend over 2000 vertical feet (600 metres) over a distance of 2 miles (4.2km). With drop-offs, switchbacks and challenging single tracks galore, the Cannonball Run is not for the faint hearted mountain biker.

If cross country mountain biking is more to your liking, Thredbo is perfect for you, too. Aside from the many firetrails, there are also many great singletrack rides that take you deep within Kosciusko National Park. One popular way to spend the day on your mountain bike without getting too far from civilisation is to take one of the many trails that link Thredbo with its neighbouring villages.

If you like "bushwalking", as Aussie’s call hiking, you will find one of Australia’s classic one day hikes in Thredbo. You can make it from the base of Mount Kosciusko to its summit and back in just 4 to 6 hours. Most hikers make a day of it and start early, so they can enjoy every beautiful step of the journey.

Thredbo is such a popular destination both in summer and winter, it’s best to book your Thredbo accommodation or Snowy Mountains accommodation well in advance if you want to stay in the heart of the action. With everything from inexpensive backpacker lodges to luxurious lodges to choose from, you can find something to suit your needs to a ‘T’.