New Zealand And Australia Blog

It has been commonly thought that Aborigines most likely populated the Australian continent around 50,000 years ago, by people from the areas we now know as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Recent evidence has emerged in the form of ancient Kimberley Rock Art that suggests that this may have been more like 70,000 years...

This iconic Australian passenger train 'The Ghan' took over one hundred years of planning, $1.3 billion in resources, and its path now stretches from Adelaide through Alice Springs and onto Darwin. It travels North to South through the center of Australia covering 2,979 kilometres (1846 miles) in 3 days Its been one hell of a journey, the project began construction in 1878 and was completed 126 years later,  `The Ghan' now crosses the continent twice a week offering accommodation options rivaling the best in the world.

Locally known as ‘The Rock’, Ayers Rock is a single stone, larger than an island, lies in the Great Western Desert close to the geographic center of Australia. It has another name, a name of towering antiquity, a name from before the ice ages and a name associated with the giant devil dingo, which some believe dwells somewhere on the crest of what the aborigines call “Uluru”.

Nothing fuels the flames of the New Zealand and Australian ‘Trans Tasman Rivalry’ more than the Aussies taking claim to Kiwi icons. The Kiwi's gripe list is large and ranges from the pavlova (a desert), Phar Lap (a Horse), Split Enz (a Band) to the more recent icons of Russell Crowe and Oscar nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes. But now a great-granny from New Zealand may just have the ultimate bargaining chip to get them all back, because she says she's in possession of one of Australia's most sought after relics: Ned Kelly's skull. 

Looking for something interesting for the family to do while in Sydney? Just north of the city is a place worthy of a mention. Housing New South Wales largest crocodile, some ferocious Tasmanian devils, the continent’s most venomous snakes and lets not forget the Goliath bird-eating spiders - The Australian Reptile Park maybe of interest.