Queensland‘s weather is iconic and known the world over for being beautiful one day and perfect the next. The climate is sub-tropical which means tourists and visitors are treated to gorgeous weather throughout the year, including during the winter months when the water temperature barely dips below 15 degrees Celsius.

The Gold Coast and Surfing

The Gold Coast is home to a 70km stretch of coastline. That includes epic point breaks, patrolled beaches, and active surf schools. It’s a fantastic place to learn to surf and there are plenty of surf schools to help you get started. Many of the surf schools promote their ability to get you standing on your very first lesson thanks to their experienced and friendly accredited teachers.

Many of the beaches offer perfect conditions for beginner and professional surfers alike, as the winds and easterly swells serve up one- to two-foot swells weekly.

The rest of the time favorable conditions are offered across the area and most have uncrowded waves so you can enjoy more of your time in the water.

Local’s Favorite Beaches

According to the locals, some beaches are better to frequent based on their surfing conditions, parking, crowds, and point breaks. The beaches which are said to deliver constant ideal conditions for wave catching include: The Spit, Palm Beach, Currumbin Alley, Snapper Rocks, Cudgen Reef and The Other Side.

Arguably the most famous beach for waves is Surfers Paradise Beach. It is an iconic and legendary beach that is a melting pot of locals, tourists, shopping, grand high-rise residences, and deluxe hotel accommodation.

The location boasts access from the retail district straight onto a white sandy beach front that is frequented by winning surf schools and patrolled nearly 365 days a year by committed lifeguards.

It is interesting to note that Virgin Australia even named one of it’s Boeing 737s after this beach.

Safety is key

Water safety is a big focus for local authorities and it is important that you check out what precautions are on offer for each location you wish to explore.

Coastal Watch is an excellent website to visit for real-time videos and information on surf reports, forecasts, news and event information. You can also visit Information Centers to find a list of patrolled beaches on the Gold Coast.

Surfing competitions also feature strongly across the Gold Coast as they dish up premium conditions month after month. Head to the Surfing Queensland website to see the list of organised events, which is not only fantastic weekend entertainment but essential for learning some tips and tricks from the pros.

The best surfing beaches

Snapper Rocks

This beach is home to the legendary ‘super-bank’ – an open stretch which is said to have the world’s longest waves which includes a reported 1.97km wave opening at Snapper Rocks before closing down at Kirra!

Rolling sets come in and encourage the pros and budding surfers to crowd the barrels in hopes of the perfect wave. It is so popular that it hosts the Roxy Pro and Quicksilver Pro competition each year.

Currumbin Alley

This beach enjoys a gorgeous backdrop perfect for postcard photos complete with surfing enthusiasts. It is one of the most popular beaches along the 70km strip by tourists, locals, beginners and pros.

According to surf schools which operate from this location, it is one of the safest and easiest locations to learn to surf on the Gold Coast. It has gentle, sand bottom waves ideal for a first time surfer learning to perfect their turning and duck-diving.

Cudgen Reef

This beach is situated just over the NSW border. It is one of the only reef breaks you can access via the beach on the Gold Coast.

Solid fast right waves form here on the reef and off the creek mouth along the adjacent beach. The height and turn of the waves depends on the shape and position of the sand wave. It is considered a spot for professional and competent surfers only.

The Whole Story

Whilst the Gold Coast is known throughout Australia and the world as having some of the best surfing beaches, it is not always perfect.

Due to changes in environmental and weather conditions some beaches are suffering. Due to a decision to extend the sea walls near the Tweed River mouth The Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project was commissioned in 2001.

Workers continue to remove sand accumulating at Letitia Spit and pump it north to Gold Coast beaches which have been without the natural northbound flow of sand for three decades.

It is everyone’s job to keep the beaches healthy and make sure the Gold Coast continues to be a surfing paradise for generations to come.

The post The Gold Coast: A Surfer’s Paradise appeared first on XpatMatt.

They’ve found the world’s strangest penis.

Lucy Cooke, the host of Freaks and Creeps, visited the forests of Tasmania in search of this rare and slightly frightening prize. She describes the island as a “time machine” with “primeval forests” that “team with living fossils”.

There, she found the echidna, which is a monotreme. That’s the strange rare branch of mammals that lay eggs like reptiles that includes the platypus. The echidna, a small hedgehog-like creature with spiky fur and long claws, looks just as weird as its duck-billed cousin.

Adding to the echnida’s weirdness is its four-headed penis, which looks like a normal penis, except at the end where it branches off in to four little nozzle’s. The evolutionary use for such a feature, beyond a shotgun multi-stream advantage in the unlikely event of a pee fight in the forest, is not clear.

The episode of Freaks and Creeps starring the echnida’s bizarre genitalia will air on Tuesday, 7/17 at 10pm on Nat Geo WILD.

Here’s a little teaser–and yes, it shows the penis.

The post The World’s Strangest Penis Found in Tasmania (Video) appeared first on XpatMatt.

Swimming with Sharks

Photo by bradjward

Surprisingly, this one is done indoors. Melbourne’s aquarium offers visitors the opportunity to hop in a tank with leopard and grey nurse sharks, as well as stingrays and sea turtles. The best part is, you don’t even have to be a certified diver. There are also options for non-divers to take an intro course before they jump in the tank, or to wear one of those spacey underwater helmets with a hose that rises to the surface while walking on the bottom.

If you want the real open water experience, however, you’d better hop on one of the flights to Adelaide, where you can book an open-ocean cage diving trip.

Kayaking the Yarra

Photo by elizabethdonoghue

The Yarra River has been an important fixture in southern Australia for centuries. It used to be an important source of food for aboriginals, was later used for shipping, and now central to outdoors recreation in and around the city.  Just a forty-five minute drive outside of the city is a stretch of river comprised of a mix of low-grade whitewater and long scenic paddles that is perfect for beginner kayakers.

Adventure Racing

 Photo by joshjanssen

 Adventure racing has been getting more and more popular around Melbourne, and it looks like a blast. This one is a bit difficult to describe because no two adventure races are at the same. They are unique and challenging multi-sport races that pit individuals or teams against a variety of terrains and usually include some combination of running or hiking, mountain biking, and paddling.  For example, the GeoQuest 48Hr is a two-day race including over 200km of trekking, mountain biking, and kayaking.

Surfing Bell’s Beach

Photo by willrich

Here we come full circe and arrive at the inspiration for this article–the famed Bell’s Beach, home to the longest running surf competition in the world, the Bell’s Beach Surf Classic, and locale (although not the actual filming location) for Bodhi’s death ride at the end of Point Break.

It’s not just the breaks that make Bell’s awesome. It’s long and storied history make it a place akin to Mecca for surfers–a place we must all visit once before we die.

And if that’s not enough for you, then hop on one of the frequent flights to the Gold Coast to check out another of Australia’s epic surf spots.

Lead photo by Extra Medium

The post Four Adventures Near Melbourne That I Have to Try appeared first on XpatMatt.

Australia Location

Australia, officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is located in the Southern Hemisphere and includes the main island of Australia, as well as numerous smaller islands, the best known of which is Tasmania. Located in the South Pacific, Australia is bounded by the Coral Sea to the northeast, Tasman Sea to the southeast, Great Australian Bight to the south, Indian Ocean to the west, and Timor Sea to the north.

Major Cities in Australia

The largest and best known cities in Australia include Canberra, the capital, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, and Perth.

Geography of Australia

At 7.6 million square kilometres, Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, the smallest continent, and has about 34,000 kilometres of coastline. It’s often referred to as the “island continent” and sometimes the “Earth’s largest island” even though Australia is technically not an island.

Australia sits atop the Indo-Australian Plate. Since it’s so big, Australia has a wide variety of landscapes and climactic zones. Australia’s best-known geographic feature is the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world, which is located off the country’s northeast coast and extends over 2000 kilometres. You’ve likely seen pictures of an enormous flat rock that rises out of an Australian plain. They actually have several, one of which is Mount Augustus, the largest monolith in the world, which is located near the West Coast. The tallest peak on the mainland is 2,228 m Mount Kosciuszko in New South Wales, but the tallest in the country is Mount McClintock in the Australian Antarctic Territory at 3.492 m.

The northeast of the country is home to subtropical rain forests, and the southeast is comprised largely of mountain ranges. In the middle is a really big desert. Anyone who has seen Crocodile Dundee knows about Australia’s vast wild outback, which is mostly semi-arid desertish landscape. And, of course, there are lots of nice beaches.

Australia Weather and Climate

Since it’s so enormous, and surrounded by ocean, Australia has different climates in different places. They include equatorial, tropical, subtropical, desert, grassland, and temperate. To get a better idea of how Australia’s climactic zones are arranged check out this climate map.

Australia Description

Tourism makes up a significant part of the Australian economy (about 2.5%) and in 2010-11 the country received 5.9 million short-term visitors. Considering the size of the country, though, it’s not exactly what you’d call jam-packed.

Australia is a geographic wonder with tons of unique outdoors opportunities. The country is home to twelve UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites including the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites, Fraser Island, the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, Heard and McDonald Islands, the Lord Howe Island Group, Macquarie Island, the Ningaloo Coast, Purnululu National Park, Shark Bay, Western Australia, and the Wet Tropics of Queensland.

The Great Barrier Reef is, of course, epic for snorkelling and scuba diving. Fraser Island, just off the East Coast is the largest sand island in the world and home to hoof of the world’s perched freshwater dune lakes. The Gondwana Rainforests in the east contain a cornucopia of rare and threatened species. The Heard and McDonald islands, just 1,700 km from Antarctica is one of the few places on earth where the unique ecosystem is completely intact and free of alien plants and animals. The Ningaloo Coast has an enormous network of underground caves and is also a gathering place for whale sharks and sea turtles. This list could go on and on.

Adventure activity recommendations

Australia Highlights

It’s hard to pick just a few highlights from this diverse country. But a few exceptional outings include:
• Sandboarding in the Pinnacles Desert near Perth is a great way to experience the desert without getting bored.
• Surfing anywhere in the country.
• The Grampian Mountains northwest of Melbourne offer hiking and climbing for enthusiasts of all levels.
• I don’t even know if I need to tell you that scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef should be on everybody’s list.

Australia Outdoor Adventure Activities

• Surfing
• Stand-up paddle boarding
• Scuba diving (wreck, reef, cave)
• Snorkeling
• Surfing (all levels)
• Sailing
• Kitesurfing
• Windsurfing
• Parasailing
• Paragliding
• Hang gliding
• Sky diving
• Bungee jumping
• Hot air ballooning
• Whitewater rafting
• Kayaking (river and lake)
• Hydrospeed/riverboarding
• Canoeing
• Caving and spelunking
• Hiking/trekking (all levels)
• Via Ferrata
• Canyoning
• Coasteering
• Ziplining
• Rock climbing (all levels)
• Ice climbing
• Abseiling/rappelling
• Mountain Biking (novice to expert)
• Horseback Riding
• Skiing and snowboarding
• Sandboarding
• Cross-country skiing

Travel Insurance

Get a travel insurance quote here

Australia Photos

[nggallery id=62]

Images (in order) courtesy ,drubuntu, University of Denver, nosha, Tooley, monkeyc.net, Michael Dawes, steve caddy, boobook48, Luca Zappa,Kenski1970, richard ling, and kelvin_luffs on Flickr.

Australia Map

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Disclosure: If you purchase insurance, book a hostel, or purchase one of the recommended books on this page using the links provided, I will receive a small commission. I do not, however, recommend these products simply to make money. I recommend World Nomads travel insurance because I use it myself and feel that they offer a good product that suits my needs at a fair price. I recommend Hostelbookers.com because they have the cheapest booking prices that I have seen online and a large selection, and I recommend the selected books from Amazon.com because they have reputations for quality information and were up to date at the time of writing. If you have found my blog useful I hope that you will consider purchasing some of these products using the links on this page to help me to continue providing free information about adventure travel around the world.

The post Australia Adventure Travel Guide appeared first on XpatMatt.

If you’re planning on taking a trip to enjoy the wonderful outdoors, there are affordable flights to Perth that can be booked in advance with sites such as Expedia.

Place

Perth, Australia

Perth Location

Perth is located in southwest Australia between the Indian Ocean and a low escarpment called the Darling Range.

Geography of Perth

With 1.6 million people, Perth is the fourth largest city in Australia. Located on in the southwest corner of the country, Perth is bounded on the west by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and in the east by the Darling Range, a long low escarpment that runs north-south. Perth is also bisected by the Swan River. According to Bill Bryson, Perth is the most remote city on earth. There may be some truth to this statement. Perth is actually geographically closer to Jakarta than Sydney.

Perth sits on a sandy coastal plain of infertile soil. The city is measures about 90 km (56 mi) north-south, and stretches about 50 km (31 mi) inland and has two river systems, the Swan and the Canning. The city sits on relatively flat and rolling land and is known for clean, beautiful beaches.

Perth Weather and Climate

Although far from the area, Perth is said to have a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers that last from December to March and cool wet winters.

Perth receives and average of 8.8 hours of sunshine per day and receives most of its rain between May and September. The average high in the summer reaches up to 31.3°C (88.3°F) and averages lows in the winter dip down to 7.8°C (46°F) in July.

Perth Description

Despite its remote location, Perth draws a great deal of tourism, especially from backpackers and adventure seekers. Although there are no nearby mountains to speak of, the geography is exceptional for outdoors activities. The beaches and Darling Range offer great climbing. Like the rest of Australia, Perth is proximate to exceptional scuba diving, snorkelling, surfing, and kitesurfing. The nearby rivers offer great whitewater rafting and kayaking and, being near the desert, even sandboarding trips can be arranged.

Steak is always in the menu in Australia. Dining at a local steakhouse comes highly recommended.

Perth Highlights

Bullet point highlights including keywords
• Diving on Rottnest Island 18km (11 mi) west of Perth is known for its great visibility, reefs, and biodiversity.
• Surfing and kitesurfing on the beaches up and down the coast are world-class and offer something for enthusiasts of all levels.
• Sandboarding day trips can be arranged from Perth to the Pinnacles Desert, and are a great way to experience the desert.
• Hike and explore Crystal Cave in Yanchep National Park, about an hour’s drive north of Perth.

Perth Outdoor Adventure Activities

• Surfing
• Stand-up paddle boarding
• Scuba diving (wreck, reef, cave)
• Snorkeling
• Surfing (all levels)
• Sailing
• Kitesurfing
• Windsurfing
• Parasailing
• Paragliding
• Hang gliding
• Sky diving
• Bungee jumping
• Hot air ballooning
• Whitewater rafting
• Kayaking (river, lake, and ocean)
• Canoeing
• Caving and spelunking
• Hiking/trekking (all levels)
• Rock climbing (all levels)
• Abseiling/rappelling
• Mountain Biking (novice to expert)
• Horseback Riding
• Sandboarding

Travel Insurance

I like to use World Nomads. It’s not too expensive and signing up is fast and straightforward. They also have pretty good coverage for sports equipment like surf and snowboards, but it varies depending on your country of origin, so be sure double check. You can get a free quote on their website.

Perth Photos

[nggallery id=60]

Images (in order) courtesy rosswebsdale, akeii, michaelroper, maxful, Makenosound, Kate Raynes-Goldie, rksmith99, jp3g, Robin Hutton, Kenny Teo (zoompict) ,kelvin_luffs, and  Shane__Watson on Flickr.

Perth Map

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Disclosure: If you purchase insurance, book a hostel, or purchase one of the recommended books on this page using the links provided, I will receive a small commission. I do not, however, recommend these products simply to make money. I recommend World Nomads travel insurance because I use it myself and feel that they offer a good product that suits my needs at a fair price. I recommend Hostelbookers.com because they have the cheapest booking prices that I have seen online and a large selection, and I recommend the selected books from Amazon.com because they have reputations for quality information and were up to date at the time of writing. If you have found my blog useful I hope that you will consider purchasing some of these products using the links on this page to help me to continue providing free information about adventure travel around the world.

Perth Vacations

The post Perth, Australia Adventure Travel Guide appeared first on XpatMatt.

The relaxing Scottish sport over which businessmen make deals and get drunk on Sundays is certainly not exempt. Man’s desire to take everything ‘to the next level’ has resulted in several golf courses so extreme that, quite frankly, I’d be afraid to play on them.

If you came here looking for a nice place to play a few holes, I suggest you visit www.arizonagolf.com or some other boring plaid-and-cleats website. This post is about three golf courses that few people have the balls to play on (pun intended).

The Third Most Extreme Golf Course in the World: Uummannaq, Greenland

Photo: World Ice Golf Championship Committee, Greenland

Located 590km North of the arctic circle, Uummannaq is frigid, barren, isolated, and has been home to the World Ice Golf Championships since 1997. This town of 1300 is in fact so far north that the local children believe they know which bay on the island Santa Claus lives in. The average winter temperature there is around -17°C. In June and July it peaks at a smouldering 7°C.

This golf course has a backdrop of glaciers and icebergs and the “green” (sometimes called the “white”) is cut away just days before the event. Physical and mental preparedness are essential for playing this course. With windchill, the temperature can drop to -50°C. The scenery, however, is spectacular.

Graphite clubs are not recommended, as they tend to shatter in the extreme cold.

The Second Most Extreme Golf Course in the World: Coober Pedy, Australia

Photo: Morning Calm News

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Coober Pedy. This town of about 2000 is famous for several quirks. It’s known as the “opal capital of the world” for the quantity of opals that are mined there. It’s also known for the desert-like environment and extreme heat, which has forced residents to live underground and in caves rather than houses. In fact, the name Coober Pedy comes from the local aboriginal phrase for “white man’s hole”.

Nothing grows here. The town has but one tree, and it was made out of scrap metal and erected on a hill by a local. Thus, Coober Pedy is home to the only golf course in the world where you carry your own turf with you.

Because of the extreme daytime temperatures (temperatures have been known to reach highs as extreme as 47°C) this course is usually played at night using glowing balls.

The Most Extreme Golf Course in the World: Camp Bonifas, South Korea

Photo: Prince Roy

Those other golf courses may be extreme, but this one takes the cake. Dubbed by Sports Illustrated magazine “the most dangerous golf course in the world”, this single-hole par 3 course is located beside a United Nations Command military post on the South Korean side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (the ever-tense heavily-guarded border between North and South Korea).

Formerly called Camp Kitty Hawk, the base was renamed to commemorate US Army Captain Arthur G. Bonifas who was killed nearby by North Korean soldiers in what is now called the “Axe Murder Incident”.

However short, this course is exciting—partly because it is surrounded by land mines. The reporter from Sports Illustrated who played it actually set one off with a stray shot.

Have you ever played any of these courses? Do you know of any others that belong on this list?

Lead Photo: mtlin

The post The World’s Most Extreme Golf Courses appeared first on XpatMatt.

RELATED GUIDES

Perth Guide

Melbourne Guide

Place

Sydney, Australia

Location

Sydney is the provincial capital of New South Wales and is located on the southeastern coast of Australia about 800 km northwest of Melbourne. Those visiting can find places to stay in Sydney on Expedia.

Climate and Geography

Situated on an area of 1687 km² between the Blue Mountains to the west and Tasman Sea to the east, Sydney sits in a coastal basin on a ria (an area where rising ocean levels have flooded what used to be river mouths). This makes Sydney’s harbor, Port Jackson, the largest natural harbor in the world and is also the reason that Sydney has more than 70 beaches, including the famous Bondi beach.

The weather in Sydney is rarely surprising or uncomfortable. Summers are hot and winters are not too bad either. January is the hottest month with average temperatures ranging from 19 to 26°C. Those averages can be deceiving though, as most years Sydney will record a few days of 40+°C temperatures. July is the coldest month with average temperatures of 8 to 16°C. There is no rainy season, and Sydney is said to have more than 300 days of sunshine per year.

Description

Sydney is the oldest, biggest, and richest city in Australia. With immigrants accounting for 75% of population growth, Sydney is as multi-cultural as they come, and international restaurants are easy to find. The weather is hot and dry. There are parks and waterways everywhere and beaches line one side of the city while mountains the other. It’s not surprising that every time anybody makes a list of the best cities in the world to live in, Sydney is on it.

Wealth, beaches, and weather have made Sydney a popular tourist destination. In 2009 Sydney received 22.6 million domestic visitors and 2.7 million more from abroad. Although you will have to share the city with a lot of tourists, there are a lot of well-developed facilities for travelers.

The most obvious choices for adventure travel in Sydney are ocean sports, like diving, surfing, kitesurfing, sailing, and the like. Not as obvious are the inland activities offered by the Blue Mountains, such as rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking and whitewater rafting and kayaking. In Sydney, you get the best of both worlds. You can even climb the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge legally with a tour. The only thing Sydney doesn’t have is a ski hill, though the nearest one isn’t all that far away—only about a six-hour drive.

Activities in the Sydney Area

• Adventure racing
• Hiking and trekking
• Rock climbing
• Abseiling
• Canyoning
• Caving and spelunking
• Coasteering
• Mountain Biking
• Scuba-diving (wreck and reef)
• Snorkeling
• Kiteboarding
• Windsurfing
• Surfing, boogie boarding, and body boarding
• Stand-up paddle boarding
• Sailing
• Hot air ballooning (wildly popular)
• Skydiving
• Horseback riding
• Kayaking (whitewater, lake, and ocean)
• Whitewater rafting
• Parasailing
• Paragliding
• Hang gliding
• Sky diving
• Bungee jumping
• Hot air ballooning
• Rock climbing (all levels)

On a Budget?

• Sydney has no shortage of hotels and hostels tailored to fit every traveler’s budget, with dorm beds starting at around $20 USD. Camping generally starts around $40 USD for two people per night, but there is a campground on Cockatoo Island where you are allowed up to four people on a site for the same price.
• With all manner of exotic foreign places to eat in Sidney, it may be hard to stick to a budget. Cheap breakfasts and lunches can be found for around $6-9 USD per meal and low-end dinners will start around $10 – 12 USD. Shopping in supermarkets is cheaper and prices of many common items are available on University websites like this one.

Photos

[nggallery id=30]

Images (in order) courtesy of Vermin Inc, Ernst Moeksis, tarotastic, Michael Dawes, End of Level Boss, tarotastic, doug.deep, Tooley, dicktay2000, pj_in_oz, kagey_b, and Kinho Pizzato on Flickr.

Map

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Sydney Vacations

The post Sydney, Australia Adventure Travel Guide appeared first on XpatMatt.

RELATED GUIDES

Sydney Guide

Perth Guide

Place

Melbourne, Australia

Location

Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria, situated on the southeast coast of Australia.

Nearby Towns/Cities/Villages

There are several well-known towns and cities near Melbourne, two of the more notable are St. Kilda and Portsea, a popular holiday destination that is home to some of the most affluent families in Australia.

Climate and Geography

Located on the bay of Port Philip, Melbourne’s city center sits on the estuary of the Yarra River. The topography of the 8806 km² city varies, ranging from valleys (Yarra and Dandenong Creek) to lowland mountain ranges (Dandenong, Macedon), to bustling metropolitan sprawls, to flat volcanic plains, to beautiful beaches along Port Philip Bay (there are more than 36 for sun-worshippers to enjoy!).

The climate varies as wildly as the landscape. The city is said to experience “four seasons in one day.” Temperamental weather changes occur due to a clash between the warm inland climate and the cool southern ocean. Hail and heavy rain may occur suddenly in one area, while another area nearby remains dry. After storms rain-drenched areas will clear up and become sunny and calm, as if nothing had transpired. Melbourne’s oceanic climate produces warm winters and cool summers.  The average daily temperatures range from 26°C in January to 15°C in August.

Description

An international city that was voted the second-best place to live on the planet, Melbourne has a population of 4 million people. It attracts visitors from around the globe with its renowned festivals, fantastic shopping, alluring landscapes, colorful arts and culture scene, and major sporting events such as The Melbourne Cup, Formula One Grand Prix, and Australian Rules Football. Known as the sporting capital of Australia and the “Ultimate Sports City” of the world, adventure enthusiasts will be in their glory with an array of adrenaline-spiking activities to choose from.

One activity growing in popularity in the area is known as “adventure racing”. In this sport teams of 2 – 4 people test their endurance levels with intense bouts of kayaking, cycling, swimming, mountain climbing, hiking, and running. These competitions can last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. Other popular activities center on the plentiful beaches, where visitors can go kiteboarding, scuba diving, snorkeling, and boating.

Activities in the Melbourne Area

• Adventure racing
• Scuba diving
• Snorkeling
• Rock climbing
• Hot air ballooning (wildly popular)
• Skydiving
• Horseback riding
• Kayaking
• Kiteboarding
• Surfing
• Hiking and trekking
• Camping
• Whitewater rafting
• Aerobatic flying
• V8 Racecar driving
• Paragliding
• Skydiving
• Boating

On a Budget?

• Melbourne hotels and hostels are designed to fit every traveler’s budget. Hostels range from $18-50 USD per person per night, and one can find many budget hostels and hotels near the State Library of Victoria and Melbourne Central. Campsites on the beach with a stunning view of Port Philip Bay are available near the city. There are also numerous sites tucked away in the wilds of Victoria, for travelers looking to get up close and personal with nature.
• Melbourne offers the daring diner many enticing options. It is known as the “foodie capital” of Australia (seems that Melbourne is #1 for many things in Australia). Due to the international flavor of the city, visitors will find restaurants with fare from all corners of the globe. On the cheap end, one can expect to pay around $8-13 USD per meal.

Photos

[nggallery id=20]

Images (in order) courtesy of, colros, chrisleishman, Looking Glass, eguidetravel, Lucid-Dreams, Looking Glass, macinate, Paleontour, Looking Glass, and thomasrdotorg on Flickr.

Map

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Melbourne Vacations

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