The Highway One Travel Companion Book shows you all the country towns, historic interests, attractions etc that have been bypassed and may have been forgotten.

The book is highly detailed with maps and step by step text  for every section you drive, every town or attraction is described so you can visit the things you want to. The book includes beautiful hand drawn illustrations of local buildings or attractions.

 Volume One  is the first of a series of Five books

Melbourne to Tweed Heads in New South Wales on the East Coast

To find out more about the book go to the website

http://www.highwayone.net.au/

I have been to Sydney several times, seeing the bridge, harbour and the Opera House are always the highlight. Every New Years Eve the Sydney Harbour Bridge is centrepiece for the fireworks display.

If you are visiting Sydney and want to the best view of the Harbour be adventurous and do the Bridge Climb.

This website link below has all the information about the Sydney Harbour Bridge being built and some excellent photos of its construction.

http://www.sydneyharbourbridge.info/

Sydney Harbour Bridge

I have been told it is a real photo, what do you think?

The Story Bridge is an icon in Brisbane that goes over the winding Brisbane River. The bridge was built in the Great Despression to boost morale and employment and it remains to be the largest steel bridge in Australia. It was designed and built mostly by Australians from Australian materials.

Sydney Harbour Bridge has an adventure climb and so does the Story Bridge. The climb takes and 2 and half hours, along the way you will learn about the bridges and Brisbane’s history. At the highest point of the bridge you will enjoy stunning views of the city, the winding Brisbane River and the mountainous landscape beyond Brisbane.
www.storybridgeadventureclimb.com.au/

 
Brisbane Botanical Gardens at Mount Coot-tha

The Brisbane Botanical Gardens are at the foothills of Mount Coot-tha which is about a 8 kilometre drive from the Brisbane city centre. The gardens where started in the mid 1970s and it has over 20,000 specimens of plants. Which include many native Australian plants, exotic herbs, shrubs and trees. the garden has many interesting features to see like a Japanese garden, a Tropical display dome, a lagoon and bamboo grove, a fern house, a National Freedom Wall which celebrates 50 years of peace.

There is also a Planetarium, you will see stunning views of Brisbane, the river, More and Stradbroke Islands, the Glasshouse Mountains, there are also walking trails and picnic areas for a great day out. www.brisbane.qld.gov.au

 
Treasury Casino & Hotel

The Treasury Casino and hotel is in the heart of the city, both the casino and hotel are in beautiful heritage buildings. The Treasury Casino occupies the historic Treasury Building and the hotel is located in the Lands Administration Building.

Both buildings are just a short walk away from the inner city botanical gardens, historic walks and bikeways, department stores, specialty shops and cinemas. Also the airport is only 25 minutes away.

The Casino is open all day and night with more than 100 gaming tables and more than 1,000 gaming machines, with several restaurants and bars to keep all visitors entertained.
www.treasurybrisbane.com.au/
Not everyone can get to a casino easily as they are usually only in the cities so a fun alternative is to try online casinos from home.
www.onlinecasino.com.au and if you want to play on a Mac
www.onlinecasino.com.au/mac   
The Heritage Treasury Hotel is luxury accommodation at its best, the casino is a few steps away and so is the Queen Street Shopping Mall. The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Performing Arts Complex, CityCat ferry terminal, South Bank Parklands, the City Botanic Gardens, the Performing Arts Complex are all very close to the Treasury Hotel.  http://www.treasurybrisbane.com.au

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was started in 1927 is one of Brisbanes most visited tourist attraction. It doesn’t just have koalas, it has many Australian native animals like Kangaroos, possums, dingoes, emus, Australian birds and reptiles. The park has over 100 koalas and you can get your photo taken with a koala for a small fee.
http://www.koala.net/

Gold Coast offers visitors a variety of must see tourist attractions. Vast golf courses, wonderful theme parks, famous beaches, ancient rainforests, wildlife sanctuaries, nature reserves, a great night life and a lot of other nature adventures can all be found in one great city.

Anyone visiting Gold Coast should not miss famous wildlife events and nature destinations that you can visit using a campervan hire. Some of these attractions are the  Australian Outback Spectacular, Paradise Country Aussie Farm Tour , Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary,  Sea World, Araucaria Lookout Track, Bellbird Circuit, Best of All Lookout, Caves Circuit, Coomera Circuit, Dave’s Creek Circuit, Dreamworld, David Fleay Wildlife Park , Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk, Gwongoorool Track, Historic Rivermill, Illinbah Circuit, Lower Bellbird Circuit, Mount Hobwee Circuit, Mount Merino, Natural Bridge Rainforest Circuit, Purling Brook Falls Circuit, Ships Stern Circuit, Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk, Tullawallal Circuit, Wagawn and Warrie Circuit. These and a lot more sports and recreation activities await the willing traveller, the agile tourist or the active visitor.

However, capturing every moment, enjoying every minute and indulging in such experiences can only be made possible if you have all the stuff you need to experience nature. A good digital SLR camera or any other video cam, a nice umbrella or a big hat, a wide mat or a foldable bed, a foldable chair or even a laptop will definitely allow you to enjoy nature better. And yet this can only be possible when you have a a campervan hire because with a rented car you can bring all your stuff everywhere and you get to choose whether to stay in the same place longer or pack up and go somewhere else better.

If your looking for a campervan hire always consider visiting www.camperhire.com.au.

Visiting the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders in the world, was a dream come through for me. This magnificent attraction, along the Queensland coastline in Australia, was awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO as a unique place for protecting some endangered species of wildlife.

My adventure to the Great Barrier Reef included learning about this one-of-a-kind tourist attraction. As the largest reef system worldwide, the Marine Park extends over 1,800 miles and it can be seen from outer space. It comprises of over 3,000 individual reefs and coral cays and more than 1,500 species of fish and a wide range of marine animals and wildlife.

No vacation to Australia is complete without a visit to the famous Great Barrier Reef. For my trip from the USA to Australia I left nothing to chance, therefore, I got travel insurance cover for the non-refundable portion. My journey included traveling from Sydney to the northeastern beach town of Cairns, which is about miles 45 kilometers from the Outer Reef.

The day tour was from 9:00 am to 5 pm and I spent 5 hours at the Marine World on the Outer Reef. The 90-minute trip on the fast, stable, spacious and air conditioned motor catamaran was comfortable. The tour package offered many options for swimmers and non-swimmers to experience and learn about the Great Barrier Reef at an affordable price. It included snorkeling equipment, presentation by On Board Marine Biologist, glass bottom boat and semi-submersible tours and refreshments and lunch.

As a newbie to water sports, one of the best ways to see the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef was by snorkeling. After getting some useful tips on how to use the snorkeling equipment, I was fitted with a mask, fins and snorkel. I was then ready to begin the guided tour and experience the amazing underwater life at the Outer Reef. By using the stairs provided, it was extremely easy getting into the water from the snorkel platform at the sheltered coral lagoon. The water clarity was of the highest quality, which made for excellent visibility and I was able to look at the bottom of the lagoon to see the breathtaking view. It included different colours, shapes, textures and movements of the array of corals and marine life.

One of the highlights of the snorkeling trip was swimming alongside Wally the Giant Maori Wrasse and taking pictures with my underwater camera. It was also good to have floating rest stations that were strategically placed at points so that I could take a break from my snorkeling activities.

On the 30 minute semi-submersible tour, while sitting about 1 meter underwater, I was able to see the colorful coral gardens as well as schools of fish, including reef fish, red bass, angel fish and Jump Headed Parrot fish. I even saw Minke whales and friendly reef sharks. Another way I was able to experience the colors and beauty of marine life in the Outer Reef was by taking the 30 minute glass bottom boat tour.

My adventurous trip to the Great Barrier Reef was an amazing one filled with fun, excitement, information and wonderful close-up views of a diverse range of coral reefs and marine wildlife. Overall, I would recommend this once-in-a life-time experience to everyone.

About the author: Dominic Godwinson, global finance and travel insurance expert and travel enthusiast. Dominic writes about various topics related to finances.