Alice Springs is just a sleepy stop-over on the way to Ayer’s Rock, right?

Actually, no. Alice is a vibrant town (population 30, 000) with plenty to see, both indoors and out.

Nestled beside the striking MacDonnell Ranges, the Alice region looks spectacular from the air, I discover after reluctantly agreeing to take a dawn ballooning tour. We start so early the stars are out and our shadows come from the moon. Just one hour later the desert sun is blazing and we’re scrambling for sunscreen as we gaze out at the rich red ranges against vivid blue sky.

Ecotourism Excels at Kingfisher Bay

Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village is a fully-integrated, large-scale ecotourism resort which opened in 1992 setting bench marks in ecotourism which have been used by ecotourism ventures worldwide.

The resort is designed to give people an enjoyable nature based tourism experience on Fraser Island while creating minimal impact on the environment.

Destination: Hunter Valley NSW

It’s Not About the Horse

Stetson just stood there. Occasionally his mannequin demeanour was broken with a lick of the lips and a blink of the eye.

“That’s his left brain working, “says Diamond, “Keep the horse thinking in the left brain. That means comfort. Right brain is for fear and we don’t want to go there.”

Brisbane, the adolescent city, is no more. In its place is a dynamic, sophisticated city, now actively competing with its southern sisters Melbourne and Sydney to pull in the tourists.

Just a 90minute flight from Sydney, it’s then less than half an hour to drive to the heart of Brisbane.

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