Departure Lounge

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday February 5, 2008

CHRIS WATSON

Plenty on in the outback

From bog snorkelling to yabby races and Australia's toughest

rodeos, there are plenty of events in Queensland's outback

planned for 2008. At the Julia Creek Dirt 'n' Dust Festival

(April 4-6), in north-west Queensland you can join in the cowpoo

throwing competition or compete in the outback bogsnorkelling

race at a festival famous for the Outback Triathlon,

Australia's Best Butt Competition and PBR Touring Pro Bull

Riding Rodeo. The camels are off and racing at the famous

Boulia Camel Races (July 18-20), when the town of Boulia

swells from a population of 300 to 3000 for the weekend

which also includes a fi rework spectacular and entertainment.

Australia?s national gem is celebrated at the Yowah Opal Festival

(July 18-20). Yowah, 155 km west of Cunnamulla in south-west

Queensland, is home to the Yowah Nut Opal which was fi rst

discovered at the end of the 19th century. Mount Isa Rodeo

(August 8-10) celebrates its 50th year in 2008 and is the biggest

event on the Australian rodeo calendar, attracting the best of

local and overseas competitors. The rodeo is now housed in

the multi-million dollar, purpose-built Buchanan Park rodeo

arena that can accommodate more than 5500 spectators. On

Wednesday, September 3, the main street of Windorah will be

temporarily closed for the Windorah International Yabby Races.

It?s perfect timing for those travelling through town en route to

the Birdsville Races, and punters have the opportunity to buy

one of 40 racing yabbies caught in local waterholes. The tiny

outback town of Birdsville?s annual XXXX Gold Birdsville Cup

(September 5-7) lures colourful characters who sleep in a swag

under the stars. The town becomes one of Australia?s busiest

airports for a day as more than 200 aircraft land for the event.

Kenya devoid of tourists

Kenya's resorts are devoid of tourists who would normally

be crowding its attractions during the high season as the

turmoil since the December 27 election is proving an absolute

disaster. Since President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election over

opposition leader Raila Odinga, unrest has killed more than 600

people, displaced a quarter of a million and unleashed chaos

across the nation. The Kenya Tourist Board had projected a

total of 314,995 tourists would visit its coast in the fi rst quarter.

It has now revised that fi gure down, by more than half, to

134,450. Many European and American tourists hurriedly left

the country when the turmoil began, while others who had

booked holidays cancelled them as images of ethnic violence

and riots beamed round the world.

Eaglereach koala habitat

One thousand eucalyptus species have been planted at

Eaglereach Wilderness Resort in the Hunter Valley for koalas

in the area. Located at Clayfl at Basin, the trees will serve as

a primary food source for koalas. The species selected include

canaliculata, patintenervis, paniculutala and tereticornis, which

will supplement the already well-treed mature top-storey trees

and healthy under-storey on the 440 ha property. Two smaller

areas are also being developed as secondary habitats and

refugees for migrating individuals and expelled juvenile males.

The trees will also benefi t other wildlife such as native bees,

possums and a wide range of birds as well as reducing the

carbon footprint of the property.

A bit of country living

Head to the north-western NSW town of Boggabri for the

Drovers? Campfi re Weekend in April if you fancy a bit of country

living. The weekend features local tours of the district, campoven

meals, campfi re sing-a-longs, entertainment, market

stalls, shearing demonstrations, bush poetry, whip cracking

and a community church service. Last year more than 300

people attended and even greater numbers are expected this

year. Anyone with a caravan, motorhome, camper trailer, ute,

tent or even just a swag is welcome to join the weekend, held

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at the Boggabri Showground from April 25 to 28. Entertainers

this year include Rex Baldwin from Gunnedah and renowned

Melbourne bush poet Jim Brown. Boggabri is on the Kamilaroi

Highway halfway between Gunnedah and Narrabri in the north

west of NSW.

Sharing in Vanuatu

Guests staying at either of two waterside resorts in Port Vila,

Vanuatu, can now use the facilities of the other and charge

any costs there back to their own rooms. The hotels are the

Iririki Island Resorts and Spa, reached by a three-minute ferry

on a private island in Port Vila harbour, and The Sebel Vanuatu,

opened last year on the mainland just across from the Iririki.

Guests now have the choice of seven restaurants and cafes,

fi ve bars, a nightclub, three swimming pools, a private beach

and watersports centre, a coral-viewing and snorkelling area, a

spa and a gymnasium. Main features at Iririki are its Micheners

Restaurant - named for the late American author of Tales of

the South Pacifi c and other best-selling novels - an adults-only

precinct, two pool bars, the Spa Frangipani, a watersports

centre with casual cafe and bar, and the Snorkellers Cove for

coral viewing. The Sebel Vanuatu, a stroll from Port Vila's main

shopping area, has a gymnasium, the top-fl oor Hemisphere

Lounge with harbour views, a fine-dining restaurant and

harbourside pool with bar.

Toe-tapping on Norfolk

Well-known Aussie country musicians Bill Chambers and The

Flood, along with New Zealand trio The Darlings, will have fans

toe-tapping at this year?s Norfolk Island County Music Festival

from May 25. In its 15th year, the festival showcases a variety

of award-winning country music acts. The Flood, which took

out the Tamworth 2006 Golden Guitar Award for vocal group,

will take centre stage with accomplished singer-guitarist Bill

Chambers, father of country music icon Kasey Chambers.

Sharing top billing will be The Darlings? Jackie Clark, Callie

Blood and Wayne Bell, who regularly woo audiences around

NZ with melodic versions of numbers made great by the likes

of Emmy-Lou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Johnny Cash. The

festival takes place over four evenings, allowing fans plenty

of time during the day to enjoy Norfolk?s rich history and eco

experiences.

Macau a good bet

The number of visitors to Macau jumped almost 23 per cent

last year, putting the fast-growing gambling haven on track to

surpass neighbouring Hong Kong as a tourist destination. The

tiny, former Portuguese-ruled enclave of less than half a million

people registered more than 27 million arrivals in 2007, up

22.7 per cent from the previous year, according to government

statistics. Hong Kong registered more than 28 million visitor

arrivals, an increase of more than 10 per cent on 2006. If

growth rates are maintained, Macau will take the lead this

year. Once-sleepy Macau returned to Chinese rule in 1999, two

years after China regained control of the nearby former British

colony of Hong Kong. Macau has seen its star rise precipitously

in the wake of the opening of its casino sector to foreign

investment and the loosening of travel restrictions on Chinese

tourists in recent years. Several foreign-owned, Las Vegas-style

casinos have gone up, including Las Vegas Sands? palatial

Venetian Macau, which boasts the biggest casino on earth. Not

surprisingly, the biggest and one of the fastest-growing sources

of visitors to Macau last year was China, accounting for 55 per

cent of the total.

Wall down, tourism up

Ever since the city's reunification in late 1989, Berlin has enjoyed

a boom in tourism, with fi gures surging upwards every year.

More than 17 million people visited Berlin in 2007 - eight million

more than in the first year after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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