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Some great family travel ideas to Australia....
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Brash and beautiful, Sydney sits nestled in the sandstone cliffs
overlooking Sydney Harbor, basking in its role as a gateway for
travelers, a mecca of culture and a playground for tourists and
its 5 million residents alike. Host to the 2000 Summer Olympic Games,
the city is feverishly sprucing up, renovating its infrastructure
and repairing its image as a rough-and-tumble town..... MORE
In some ways, though, the city delights in its "bad-boy" heritage.
Though the region was populated for 100,000 years by the Aborigines,
captain Arthur Phillips sailed his First Fleet into Sydney Cove
in 1788, bearing nearly 1,000 exiled convicts from British prisons.
Settled as a colony of the crown and named "New South Wales," the
country grew as more exiled convicts joined free settlers in forming
the basis for the community that would become a major financial
and cultural center of the Asia-Pacific region.
Today, Sydney abounds with modern interpretations of its colonial
past. At waterfront Circular Quay, where Phillips first landed,
street entertainers ply their trade along Writer's Walk, where famous
writers' words about Australia are fixed in the sidewalk with gold
medallions.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
The streets of the city center are alive with thousands of residents
bustling in and out of buildings that are a blend of grand Victorian
and modern architecture and house everything from outstanding galleries
to opulent theatres. Hundreds of designer fashion boutiques, many
shops and countless rows of sophisticated little cafés line the
main thoroughfares. Over 3000 restaurants present fine cuisine accompanied
by superb local wines.
This friendly multicultural city is home to people from over 140
nations, a fact that is reflected in the excellence and diversity
of the food choices that are available. There is something to please
everyone. Green and gold trams circle the city providing efficient
transportation in the gracious style of days gone by. Children will
love the riverboat cruises, water taxis and gondola rides that provide
the best in aquatic travel on the Yarra River. They will also enjoy
a visit to a shark at Melbourne Aquarium and an afternoon at the
Melbourne zoo...... MORE
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Auckland is the gateway to New Zealand and its largest city. Almost
entirely surrounded by water, and covered with volcanic hills, the
city has a spectacular harbor and a population of 1.3 million people.
This is a city of infinite possibilities. Wherever the visitor may
be at any given moment, there is the assurance that within 30 minutes
or less he or she could be cruising the harbor, playing a round
of golf, swimming at a beautiful city beach, or even walking in
subtropical forest . New Zealand consists of two main islands, North
and South, as well as some small offshore islands. Auckland is located
on the North Island. It has a pleasant subtropical climate with
mild winters (June, July and August) and warm, humid summers (December,
January and February). Greater Auckland is actually a fusion of
four cities: Auckland, Manukau, North Shore, and Waitakere. Each
is reached via a highway network, which crosses the harbor, rivers,
creeks, and bays and is used daily by the thousands who commute
into the inner city to work....... MORE
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