The Melbourne Lanes and Arcades Walking Tour is one of the most popular and includes a three hour walk through the most beautiful lanes and arcades in Melbourne. This tour provides a tour of the Central Business District as well as some wonderful peeks at some of the areas best fashion designers, contemporary galleries, and hole in the wall cafes, and tucked away little bookstores.

You will find that there are a million different things to see and do around Melbourne and another favorite area tour is one of the local Yarra Valley wineries. This tour is an 8 hour tour that covers the Yering Station, Domaine Chandon, and Rochford Wineries. The tour includes lunch and a full range of wine tastings as you get to go throughout the valley and experience the wonderful flavors. This region is also so scenic that you will want to make sure to bring along your camera.

Another possibility is incredible tour Phillip Island Penguin Group Eco Tour. This tour is three hours in duration and is designed to offer visitors a unique look at the creatures in this region. Tour includes up to get up close and personal with koalas and penguins showing you all the attractions of Phillip Island, including a cellar tour, cheese sampling and a trip to the chocolate. An amazing way to see this incredible island is a ride you’ll want to have on your list of things to do.

Melbourne is an exciting city with many things to experience and explore. Taking a tour can be an excellent way to learn more about this region and to allow you to see those out of the way places that you might never come across on your own. Whether you choose an all day tour or just start off with a morning tour and then go exploring on your own either way you will have the benefits of getting some first hand information from those who live in this region and know everything there is to know about stores, foods, sights, and events that will knock your socks off.

Also the varying exhibits throughout the year the Powerhouse Museum as well provides a lot of Permanent Exhibitions too including Cyber Worlds, the Boulton & Watt Steam Engine, the Strasburg Clock, and William Stanley Jevons. There are likewise numerous exhibits that enable visitors to explore the world including information about global warming and a broad range of hands on science experiments for electricity, gravity, and chemistry along with areas about space and transport.

New additions to the museum are always in the works and they will be adding a new Top secret section in December 2010 that will allow kids to explore spy gear and learn more about the technology and ingenuity surrounding being a super sleuth. The Powerhouse will also be adding a Wiggles section to their permanent exhibits in Spring 2011 and this will be a real treat for the younger sect as well as a full Lace Exhibit in July 2011 which will include a variety of artwork and jewelry all lace designed.

This assortment of exhibits aids to get not just grownups but kids in the door and learning more about the world in which they live. Creating a more relevant look at history and how it’s formed the world as well as the people in it along with science as it relates to the world in which we live. It’s a museum that extends a wide range of experiences for those with varying interests who are enthralled in discovering more about the world.

This museum is a one of a kind attraction in Sydney and one that not merely provides the chance to learn and explore but also to get hands on with several of the displays allowing for younger children to explore not just with their eyes and ears but also with their hands because the more senses the children utilize to learn the more they are going to absorb. And regardless of whether the children are into artwork and jewelry or spy gear you are going to find that the powerhouse not only covers the best of culture but also science to extend an assortment of treats for children of all ages.

Now you are probably thinking that you will just settle for renting a compact car since that will help you to save money. While this is true and you will save not only on your rental cost but also on your fuel costs it is important to make sure that you can live with the decision to rent a smaller car. Since these vehicles offer you less passenger and baggage space if you are traveling with adults and suitcases you may just be better off paying a little more and upgrading to a midsized vehicle.

Ask for an upgrade, even if you have not pre-ordered a medium sized car it is usually not a big problem because most car rental companies rent their small vehicles first and usually have some medium size cars available for those with a last-minute change of heart. Sometimes if you book a smaller car you can even get an upgrade for free so it does not hurt to ask, and it can only result in you getting a bigger vehicle, without having to pay more.

Of course, if you really know you should have a larger vehicle it is best to make reservations in advance. Taking your chances of being able to get the vehicle you need is not a good idea. And while these larger vehicles are often more expensive, they usually not only give you more space, but they also tend to have nicer interior and more gadgets then compact vehicles.

Smaller vehicles will definitely save money, but larger vehicles probably will provide more comfort and a superior ride. Making a decision requires that you make careful considerations about not only how many people will travel in the vehicle, but also factors such as the amount of luggage you take with you and how long you will have to sit in the vehicle. Smaller vehicles will always offer the lowest cost, but this is only beneficial if you can live with having a compact vehicle for your whole holiday.

How crazy is that?

 Our gut wrenching adventure was trying to tame North Queensland’s mighty Tully River clinging to flimsy inflatable rafts and battling rapids and rocks on our watery journey from the top of the Great Dividing Range down to the coastal plain.

 Adventure travel is big in Australia but few can match the pulse raising thrills of wrestling a tiny inflatable raft against the power of a raging torrent. I tried it and lived to tell the tale with memories that will last forever.

 Fear and Anticipation.

As our “Raging Thunder” bus towing a trailer loaded with rafts climbed to the top of the Great Dividing Range, the nervous group of men and women shared mixed emotions. Our admiration for the beauty of the pristine rainforest was tempered by the fear of the challenges that lay ahead. 

Our fears turned to terror when we saw and heard our pathway to the bottom of the range. It was like a scene from the movie “Deliverance”. A fearsome white and brown bucking bronco was eagerly waiting for us. 

One nervous backpacker from Tulsa Oklahoma took one look at the white, foaming torrent and said, “I can’t do it!” Tearfully, she retreated to the safety of the bus.

 After some safety drills and instructions from our raft captain our intrepid group was ready to enter the foaming cauldron and tackle our first rapid. It was a twisting beast involving an almost vertical drop. Amazingly we survived, but other rafts weren’t so lucky and overturned.

 Fortunately our captains were highly skilled and had well rehearsed safety drills. The overturned rafts were soon ready, together with their waterlogged crew, to tackle the next rapid. 

The Calm Between the Rapids. 

In between the rapids, there were periods of calm where we were invited to jump out of the rafts and drift down this beautiful river on our backs like a flotilla of human rafts. Our compulsory lifejackets kept us afloat.

 The sheer pleasure of floating in the calm, warm water, listening to bird calls and being surrounded on all sides by dense tropical rainforest, was surreal. Ah what bliss! 

Shared Experiences.

 Lunch was taken at a clearing in the rain forest. It allowed us time to share our adventures (and misadventures) as well as enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of this beautiful pristine wilderness rainforest, miles from anywhere.

 The afternoon journey to the last of the rapids was just as terrifying, but by this stage, we knew what to do and expect. I am sure the guides had sadistic pleasure from watching our reactions and telling about the terrors of the next set of rapids.

 Sadly and suddenly, the adrenaline rush came to an end and over drinks at the end of the day, we laughed as we shared our experiences and ranked it as a “must try before you die” adventure. 

A Less Challenging Option. 

If you think the level ¾ rapids may be a bit too challenging, Raging Thunder has half day rafting adventures on the Barron River, just a short 20 minute drive from Cairns. These rapids, rated 2/3 are simple and less challenging, but still great fun.

 Accommodation. 

The company, Raging Thunder operates from Cairns and stops at the pretty coastal resort of Mission Beach on the way. The town has a wide range of accommodation including a superb Youth Hostel called “Treehouse”. I stayed 3 nights at Treehouse and used it as a base for exploring the area, including Dunk Island, one of a string of island paradises along the North Queensland coast.

Of course there are several benefits to choosing a smaller compact car for your travel needs. These include of course the much better gas mileage that these vehicles get. They go much farther on one full tank and that can add up to big savings when you are driving around a lot or going several hundred miles on an interstate trip. This is by far one of the biggest reasons that more customers choose a compact car.

Another important factor for selecting a smaller car is that a compact automobile is much easier to handle. When you’re hiring a car, a smaller one will likely be easier to steer, park, and drive and especially if you happen to be driving in a location where the lanes might be more tapered than those you’re accustomed to or that will expect you to drive on a different side of the road then you typically do, a smaller auto may help you prevent misjudging the vehicle and possibly having an accident.

A compact car is the least costly vehicle that you are able to hire from a car agency and that’s another valuable reason that many choose this sort of automobile, however there are a number of disadvantages to driving a compact car as well, that you ought to know. A compact automobile is merely designed for no more than 4 people and unless you’re traveling with small adult passengers, you may find that the rear seat won’t make for comfy travel on a road trip. In addition, many compact autos offer a very small trunk or hatch back which usually actually only enable you to fit a few small bags comfortably.

Whenever possible book a compact vehicle and book early. This will ensure that you can get the better rate and gas mileage of that smaller car. Just make sure to consider how many people and how many bags you will be taking along for the ride.

Australia’s deserts are a bit of a hit and miss relationship, to the extent that wildlife is concerned. If you happen to be traveling during a drought year, all you could possibly be able observe are red, dusty plains, the odd group of Kangaroos and emus and a couple of sad looking trees. Return soon after substantial rain, however, and you are most likely to come upon something resembling an idea of the Garden of Eden. Fields of wildflowers, including white and gold daisies, stretch endlessly into the distance, filling the air with their scents. The salt lakes fill with fresh water and millions of water birds; pelicans, stilts, shag and gulls will be seen feeding on the ultra extensive fish and insect life of the waters. It all looks like a mirage and like a mirage; it’ll dissolve rather quickly if the land dries out, only to spring to life again in a few years or decades time. The fantastic diversity of Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef is renowned and a boat trip over to the reef from Cairns or Port Douglas is exceptional.

Australia’s plants can be intriguing to observers, the diversity of abundant flowering plants on the continent has forever puzzled botanists. Again, and Australia’s poor soils appear to be the cause of the perplexity. Sandy desert plains are about the poorest soils in Australia, made up of virtually pure quartz with little nutrients, this obstructs any single rapid growing species learn to discover the narrow niches of their own, and therefore numerous species co-exist.

Queensland has 506 locations of environmental or natural value, making up just above 4% of the state’s 1,727,200 square kilometers. Of these locations, 219 are national parks, a few of which include simply a single hill or lake, whereas others are immense expanses of wilderness. The rest are a mix of state parks, resources, reserves and nature refuges. Queensland is furthermore home to five of Australia’s 16 Unesco World Heritage sites. The Wet Tropics Worlds Heritage Area, of which extends 450km of Queensland’s northern coast, and the Great Barrier Reef are credited as two of the world’s most assorted eco systems.

In Queensland’s northwest the Riversleigh Australian Fossil Mammal Site is among the world’s 10 best fossil sites. The Central Eastern Rainforests Reserves shelter temperate and unique rainforests. Then there’s Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island and home to a diversity of fragile and complex ecosystems, including lush rainforests and crystal clear lakes. To get any information about these areas, contact the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service which can be found in most major towns.

In Melbourne you’ll find all accommodations are very clean and well kept. Most in this area pride themselves on their hospitality and offer guests a beautiful selection of experiences on a lot of varied budgets. Backpacker lodgings in Melbourne are very diverse and can really help make a visit to this region a much more reasonably priced experience.

The Gunn Island Hotel for example is one situated in Middle Park and is pretty conveniently accessible to the Grand Prix racetrack as well as being home to one of the most favorite pubs in Melbourne. You’re certain to enjoy your stay and will find that this is a popular local haunt and one that is well entitled to its excellent reputation. Another amazing hostel is known as the Back of the Chapel and is one that is incredibly centralized to many of the most favorite attractions in Melbourne including the very popular St. Kilda Beach. Having straightforward access to the beach is one of many reasons that many tourists opt to stay at this location, especially if they’re traveling around Melbourne by foot.

If you are looking to take in the city itself and its outstanding nightlife and are searching for inexpensive accommodations then you will want to look at a stay at the Melbourne Connection. In the heart of Melbourne this amazing location not just lies within walking distance from many area favorites like sports amphitheaters and other major attractions, but it’s also within easy reach of various types of public transportation which include buses, railroad, and the local airport. There is even a tram to help get you around locally. you will definitely discover that a stay at the Melbourne Connection is one you won’t ever forget.

Don’t fall for the stigma that you’re settling. A stay at a backpacker hotel or hostel can be equally wonderful as at any hotel and with cooking facilities and on-site entertainment, which typically includes TV, internet, and many times even a game room and a pool.