688 TNT Down Under

July 2-8 2012 Issue 688 tntdownunder.com

IN W ACTION-

AN N PACKED FIJIAE R ADVENTU

LEAVE A LINE IN The best fishing destinations

FEELING BLUE?

THE REEF FESTIVAL Surf culture meets classical music

Explore the mountains of Sydney’s west

C I G A M D N A ISL

to the next e is d ra a p l a opic one Fijian tr m o fr g in c n u r bo Spend winte + NEWS & SPORT WHAT’S ON FILM REVIEWS TRAVELLERS’ TIPS

TOM STURROCK EDITOR editor@tntdownunder.com

EDITOR’S LETTER We know that a lot of TNT readers spend their time in Australia working hard, saving up for an epic trip abroad.

And it can be hard to choose a destination, with so many on offer. But, this month, we’ll be showcasing Fiji as the ideal choice for a your winter getaway. We sent a writer – it was me, actually – over to do a spot of island-hopping.

Check out the tall tale on p34. Good times.

THIS WEEK OZ DIARY

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CHATROOM

10

FILM

12

TRAVEL

20

COMPETITION

32

NEWS

46

SPORT

48

OPINION

50

LISTINGS NSW

56

LISTINGS QUEENSLAND

58

LISTINGS VICTORIA

63

LISTINGS TASMANIA

66

LISTINGS NT

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LISTINGS SA

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LISTINGS WA

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LISTINGS NEW ZEALAND

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WORK

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TRIVIAL PURSUITS

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34

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FEATURES HOOK, LINE, SINKER

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Throw a line in and put your feet up – we explore the world’s best fishing spots

CLASSICAL SURF

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A new Aussie production sets surfing culture against classical music

FEELING BLUE

28

A rainy weekend of biking and boozing through the picturesque Blue Mountains

FIJI TIME We go island-hopping, kava-drinking and basket-weaving in paradise

34

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OZDIARY EDITORIAL Editor Tom Sturrock Deputy editor Alex Harmon Editorial assistant Leigh Livingstone Contributors Emma Salkild

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Deck those halls

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Design and production manager Lisa Ferron SALES Account manager Justin Steinlauf Sales executive Caroline Ward MARKETING & EVENTS Business development manager Tom Wheeler Marketing assistant Leroy Meurs DISTRIBUTION Lee Sutherland ACCOUNTS Financial controller Trish Bailey

TNT MULTIMEDIA LTD CEO Kevin Ellis Chairman Ken Hurst PUBLISHER TNT Multimedia Limited PRINTED BY Rural Press NEWS AAP PICTURES Getty Images | Thinkstock | AAP | TNT Images | Tourism Australia | Tourism Victoria | Tourism New South Wales | Tourism NT | Tourism Queensland | Tourism Tasmania | South Australia Tourism | Tourism Western Australia | Tourism New Zealand | Tourism Fiji | Ed Sloane TNT Magazine , 126 Abercrombie Street, Chippendale, Sydney, NSW 2008 tntdownunder.com General enquiries Phone 02 8332 7500 Fax 02 9690 1314 Email enquiries@tntdownunder.com SALES ENQUIRIES

02 8332 7511 tom@tntdownunder.com

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MAIN EVENT YULEFEST

BLUE MOUNTAINS For all of you that believe Christmas should be bloody cold, rather than spent baking on Bondi Beach, deck the halls! As part of the tradition of Christmas in July, the Christmas cheer is served cold at Yulefest, hidden away in the Blue Mountains. Celebrate the jolly old season in NSW’s beautiful mountain ranges with a little bit of snow to roll around in.

A range of packages are on offer, including dinner with Santa. Check the website. $69

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night in July Blue Mountains, NSW yulefest.com

WHERE TO GET TNT

SEE tntdownunder.com/magazine-location.html for pick-up points

BLACK SCREEN SHORT FILMS

INDIAN FILM FESTIAL

STATE OF ORIGIN: GAME THREE

It’s a collection of comedy, drama and documentary short films in Sydney libraries as part of NAIDOC Week – that’s the National Aborginies and Islanders Day Observance Committee. And it all kicks off at Newtown Library this Thursday.

From Bollywood and beyond! For the first time, the festival also has a focus on the subcontinent with six gems from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. And it’s the only film festival that has danced its way into the Guiness Book Of Records.

This Wednesday is the third and final round of the State of Origin rugby league at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium and the pressure is on. After the first game, it seemed Queensland had it in the bag but NSW won the next one. So it’s up for grabs this week.

July 4- 5 Newtown, NSW naidoc.org.au

Until July 4 Fox Studios, NSW indianfilmfestival.com.au

July 4 Brisbane, QLD nrl.com/origin

FREE

TNT Magazine is printed on paper from sustainable forests.

There is no business connection between the proprietors of this magazine and TNT Ltd, the worldwide transportation group. Copyright here and abroad of all original materials is held by TNT Magazine. Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden, except with permission of the publishers. Registered by Australia Post.

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Leave your line in When you next head off on your travels, pack your fishing rod and your bait and do your best to hook one of the slippery locals WORDS TOM STURROCK

Anyone who has experienced fishing in the northern hemisphere – particularly in the damper parts of the British Isles – will know it can be a fairly dispiriting experience. Sure, some of the scenery is gorgeous but it’s probably going to be cold and wet – which is a real problem if you fall in. Luckily, down south, that’s not such a problem.

Australians love their fishing and, in a country blessed with thousands of kilometres of coast, there are plenty of awesome spots to try your luck. Admittedly, summer is still a few months away so the quintessential Down Under fishing experience – bare feet, a couple of beers, reeling in a whopper at sunset – might be harder to find, but if you’re heading north any

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time soon, it’s still well worth trying your luck.

In particular, Stradbroke Island (main image) is famed among Australian anglers, although Cairns is also massively popular if you want to catch some thumping-great marlin.

If you’ve got a trip to the Top End planned, make sure you swing past Melville Island, which is one of the best hotspots for barramundi.

In the more southerly neck of the woods, NSW boasts a couple of great spots as well – head out to the Snowy Mountains for a weekend of angling and exploration. It’s a proper outdoorsy weekend and you might just come home with a sack full of trout if the fishing gods smile upon you.

And let’s not forget the Kiwis, who have their own favourite spots. Plenty of travellers who cross the Tasman end up in Queenstown, drawn there by its extreme sports and famous skiing. But it’s also a spectacular fishing destination – it’s a bit of a trek to the River Lochy, but it’s worth it, particularly if you catch something.

If you’re heading abroad, Phuket in Thailand and South Africa’s Cape Town are also renowned fishing hotspots, brimming with charter operators who will point you in the right direction.

So, all in all, it sounds a bit more hospitable than standing around, freezing your arse off in the Lake District, doesn’t it? Best of luck. Hope you catch a whopper.

STRADBROKE ISLAND QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

RIVER LOCHY QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND

Stradbroke Island is situated off the coast of southeast Queensland and offers a range of fishing options for all abilities. Affectionately known as ‘Straddie’, it’s a favourite spot among anglers looking to get away from the big smoke and enjoy some time in the wilderness. It’s separated into two islands and North Stradbroke is probably the pick of the two when it comes to fishing, with popular boat fishing spots around Flat Rock and Group Rock and plenty of beaches and jetties to choose from. In terms of what you’ll hope to catch up there, Spanish mackerel, whiting, dart, flathead and bream are the main ones swimming around.

If you’re lucky, you might also find some tasty mud-crabs rattling around in the shallows.

Although Queenstown is best known for being the adrenaline sports capital of the world – just ask the locals, they’ll tell you all about it – the fishing is also pretty damn good. Some people may raise an eyebrow at the mention of fly-fishing in the same sentence as Queenstown’s other attractions but this is as close to extreme angling as it gets. To access the Lochy River, you’ll need to ride in on a helicopter or catch a boat across Lake Wakitipu. Underneath the Eyre Mountains, the water is crystal clear of full of tasty inhabitants, including the wild brown and rainbow trout, which grow to impressive size, although they are notoriously skittish and hard to hook. Make sure you have a local guide to find the best spots.

stradbrokeisland.com

nzfishing.com

MELVILLE ISLAND NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA

CAIRNS QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Melville Island is Australia’s second-largest island, after Tasmania, and is known for its tropical climate, friendly people and, of course, its fishing. The area’s barramundi has a reputation for being particularly dogged and the waters around Melville Island are one of the best places on earth to go looking for them. Barramundi are caught all year round and there are many trophy-sized fish caught and released in all of the systems that are fished. There are five river systems, including the famous Goose Creek, and a variety of unspoiled coastal creeks and inlets. You can also enjoy an authentic outback experience in this part of the world, exploring vast wetlands, untouched forest and deserted beaches. What are you waiting for?

Located on the Great Barrier Reef – which, let’s face it, is a bit of a bonus – Cairns has been growing as a popular fishing spot since the 1960s. From September through to December, the largest black marlin in the world — some of them weighing in at over 1000 pounds — migrate to the region.

The presence of these whoppers ensures Cairns is regularly voted one of the world’s top game-fishing destinations and the prospect of catching one of these spectacular fish keeps anglers returning year after year. Although, if the “granders” aren’t your thing, a range of lighter tackle, including Pacific sailfish and Spanish mackerel, can be found year-round. If you’re patient, you might also be able to hook yellowfin tuna, wahoo and dolphin fish.

cannoncharters.com.au

cairnsfishing.com

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SNOWY MOUNTAINS NSW, AUSTRALIA

PORT LINCOLN SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA

Known first and foremost for its skiing, snowboarding and adventure sports, the Snowy Mountains is also a great location for fishing of all varieties. Lake Jindabyne is one of the most popular spots with a wide variety of land-based opportunities. Lake Eucumbene, which is fed by several streams running down the mountains, is great for bait fishing. If the thought of tickling a trout has ever tickled your fancy, a trip to the Snowies is a must as it is New South Wales’ premier trout fishing region. In spring and summer, fishing takes over as one of the mountain’s most popular activities and rainbow trout, brown trout and brook trout are all common. Rug up, though – it’s pretty bloody chilly this time of year.

A couple of gulfs across from Adelaide – about 650kms by road or 200kms as the crow flies – Port Lincoln is one of the top fishing spots not only in South Australia, but also Australia as a whole. Yellowfin tuna have built up in both numbers and size but you’ll also find some fat salmon trout and the occasional king George whiting. There are stacks of jetties in the area, which are prime locations for squid, particularly at night. If you fancy wandering further afield, you can get up to Kirton Point or over to Rabbit Island, where you can often find the salmon in even greater numbers. If you’re up for a little bit of role reversal, in Port Lincoln, you can also go cage-diving with some very hungrylooking sharks. You’re the bait.

snowymountainsfishing.com.au

CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA

PHUKET THAILAND

The South African coast is a gorgeous place for a holiday, with some cracking adventure sport on offer, as well as some remarkable local wildlife. But, while visitors flock to Africa’s southernmost city for the excitement, fishermen head there for the enormous schools of tuna that hang out on its coastline. The area has some of the richest tuna grounds in the world and also some of the globe’s toughest fighting fish. A diverse ecosystem guarantees you’ll see albatross, killer whales and dolphins galore. Tuna season lasts from September to June, but there are opportunities to throw your net year round. There are dozens of charter companies to choose from, who will be able to take you out to the best spots for big-game fishing.

Phuket offers some of the world’s best beaches, diving and nightlife but it also offers world-class sportfishing and angling. Blue and black marlin, sailfish, dog-tooth tuna, giant trevally, jacks and even swordfish have been caught in Phuket and its surrounding waters. The clear, blue waters of the Andaman Sea set the scene for some of the best fishing in the world, but the fishing community’s firm catch-andrelease policy helps ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to test themselves against these magnificent animals. Phuket’s charter companies know all the best spots and will get where you want to be in comfort and style. If you fancy a bit of a road trip, you can also head across to the west coast.

capetownfishing.co.za

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fishingportlincoln.com.au

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CHATROOM

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Christian Karlsson The producer and third member of Swedish trio Miike Snow talks to us about the new album, performing live and hanging out with Tupac ahead of the band’s Aussie tour INTERVIEW ALEX HARMON

Is that because they get around in snazzy helmets?

Yeah, exactly. For us, especially in the beginning before people knew our music, we used to wear hooded jackets over our faces. I used to think, ‘Why would you want to see my face? I just want you to check out our music.’

“I guess we needed that third person”

Who exactly is Miike Snow?

He’s actually a friend of ours. Well, not a friendfriend but a guy that we know. He was actually an assistant engineer in the studio so we kind of stole his name.

Are you looking forward to the Splendour In The Grass festival?

Yeah definitely, we played it two years ago and I remember that crowd, they were going crazy.

I thought it was a great festival. Australians have been supportive of our music from really early on. We’re really happy about that.

Tell us about the new album?

Well Happy To You was definitely a different feel for us going in the studio because for the first album we didn’t have an audience, we were making music for ourselves. Second time around, we knew that there would be people who wanted to hear it and also a tour so that changed our approach to the album. We spent a lot more time and focus on doing exactly what we wanted to do, where we wanted to work and which artists we wanted to use. Whether that was a full-on orchestra or a marching band, we knew what Miike Snow was.

How does that translate when you perform live?

First time around, it’s tricky to get that transition from the record to the stage. That took more time than writing the album because we didn’t want to use computers or pre-recorded tracks. It’s more fun for us and more fun for the

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audience to know that the show won’t sound the same every night. We have done over 300 shows and we work on it all the time, making it better and better, finding new toys and making new machines.

Do you have a favourite gig?

We did one that was a big thing for us this year and that was Coachella. It was a huge crowd and we had like 50,000 people watching and a great slot. Such an amazing experience.

Hang out with anyone at Coachella?

Yeah, I hung out with Tupac (laughs). No, I meet amazing artists all the time and a lot of them are now friends of mine. Having all these friends who are artists, producers and DJs is the biggest inspiration for us, especially to be able to hear what they do and what they’re working on.

You have some interesting press shots, do you have much control over these?

Well, the image of Miike Snow is really important so we try to not to release too many photos. We don’t really like to be in the videos either. And a lot of my favourite artists, I have no clue what they look like and I like that. Like, would you recognise someone from Pink Floyd? People like Daft Punk have always been heroes to us too.

He must love it.

Yeah, he was really happy at first but I asked him recently and he’s not so happy about it now.

People meet him on the street and he’s like, “I’m Miike Snow”. And people always say: “Oh, like the singer?”

You guys wrote Toxic for Britney Spears. How did she react to this track?

It was definitely a wild card for them to pick that. Of course we didn’t think so, but I am happy they picked it and so is she. We worked with her a lot before so we knew it would fit.

But you know, we never really like fitting in with whatever we do. I think that Toxic changed the pop sound that we hear now. It’s the biggest song she’s ever done in my opinion.

How did the three of you meet?

I met Andrew in New York, in the Studio 54 building. Above the nightclub there is this really cool octagon-shaped studio. And I was doing a session there and he had a session right after me and he heard a bit of my music and liked it so we kept in contact. Then he came over to Sweden and me and Pontus – the two of us have always been in bands together since we were like 15 – I guess we were missing something that would kind of shut the door on us working on people’s productions. We needed that third person.

Catch Miike Snow at Splendour In The Grass in Byron Bay (July 27-29). Also playing shows in Sydney (July 30) and Melbourne (July 31). ticketek.com.au

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2012

FILMREVIEW

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‘Quick! Which way to the Razzies?’

THE THREE STOOGES FILM review STARRING: Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, Chris Diamantopoulos | PG | 91mins

LOCKOUT FILM preview STARRING: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace | 95 mins

Among Australian actors in Hollywood, Guy Pearce remains one of the most enigmatic, preferring eccentric, offbeat films. So what should we make of this film, where he plays a CIA agent who has to clear his name by breaking into a ‘space prison’ overrun by inmates to rescue the president’s daughter?

On general release July 12

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Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, the duo behind comedy hits like There’s Something About Mary and Dumb & Dumber, have wanted to make a movie about Moe, Larry and Curly for more than 15 years now. And here it is, in all its slapstick glory.

Broken up into three episodes – which frustratingly breaks up the movie’s flow – it follows the three from young pranksters living in an orphanage to dim-witted adults. When the knucklehead trio discover their orphanage is being closed down, they decide to venture into the big city for the first time and raise the $830,000 to save it. On the way, they become embroiled in a murder plot and Moe lands a spot on reality show Jersey Shore, which, while funny, is a pop-culture reference that will date the movie very quickly.

Throughout, there’s the kind of over-the-top physical comedy that’s filled with ba-doom-tish type gags, as well as slaps, pokes, and people getting hit with sledgehammers, run over by buses, or burnt with hot irons. Every actor throws themselves 100 per cent into the chaos of the movie, which along with the incredibly accurate impersonations of the three stooges themselves, work in the film’s favour. The humour is definitely low-brow and the story equally ridiculous, so if you know you’re a fan of witty wordplay this isn’t one for you.

GOOD FOR: Fans of the original and those with unashamedly low-brow tastes

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ENTERTAINMENTFOCUS

With strings attached Surfers, classical musicians, film makers and a French chef united on the Ningaloo coast to create a uniquely Australian work of art WORDS ALEX HARMON

Surfing and classical music may seem like an unusual combination, but for the creators of The Reef – a music, film and surf project hitting the road this month – the two elements are a match made in heaven. The Reef is a creative enterprise, throwing together a bunch of improbable elements, including classical musicians at the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), finless surfers, the artistic stylings of WA’s Tura New Music and a film crew who planted themselves in and around the water at the Ningaloo region of north western WA. “When people hear about this project they think 'oh wow that’s a really interesting mix’,” cellist Julian Thompson says.

“But the funny thing is, music and surfing have been linked forever. There is a whole arm of surf music. Plus, like classical music, surfing is about personal expression. It’s an art form – everyone has their own style.”

Not only is Thompson a member of the ACO and a cellist for over 25 years (“I had big hands as a kid so my mum said the cello is for you”), he is also a keen surfer. “I’ll surf anywhere I can get in the water,” he says.

“I have to say the Ningaloo region is one of the most amazing spots in the world I have ever surfed. The waves are heavy as you have the south-westerly ground swell from way over in Madagascar and they hit the wave pretty hard, creating big barrels. And it’s such an amazing contrast between the desert and the blue sea. The burning whiteness of the sand and then red desert dirt. It’s just amazing.”

These are words echoed by Tos Mahoney, artistic director at Tura Music. “I found there’s a remarkable juxtaposition between the rich ocean underneath the water,” he says.

“Then immediately next to it you have this desert. It’s beautiful. It’s not just a great metaphor for The Reef project, it’s also great to be amongst it.”

For Mahoney, The Reef isn’t just surfing and music: “It’s about the physical environment on the land, and in and above the sea. Of course, above the sea you have surfing.”

Together with Richard Tongetti, the ACO’s artistic director, they set out to create something that connected surfing philosophy with the ocean. Luckily, they where able to draw

“

A strict schedule of morning surfs and jamming of an afternoon

”

upon themes from a previous film Tongetti made in 2007 about finless surfing called Musica Surfica.

Finless surfing uses, as Thompson explains, friction-free boards: “If you’re good you can spin around and access different parts of the wave. You see the wave in a whole new light.”

Mahoney, who resides in Perth, has been bringing music to indigenous communities in WA for over eight years now on an annual tour.

“The idea is that it’s not only bringing to those communities work that they’ve not experienced, but it’s also a two-way process. It influences the work that the artists are doing currently and in the future,” he says.

This is reflected in the story of The Reef, which incorporates indigenous musicians such as Mark Atkins, a didgeridoo player whose mother hails from the area.

“The short story is,” explains Mahoney. “The Ningaloo coast provided the inspiration and in May we planned what we call The Reef Residency at Gnaraloo Station (about 800 km from Perth). We had musicians and a whole pile of surfers and film makers. We surfed, filmed and got inspired.”

While classical music, and in fact, surfing can be isolating to the uninitiated, Thompson has a different opinion.

“Classical music is a huge range of music, you know, from 1450 to now, so there’s a massive timeline of music. And what’s amazing about water is that even people who don’t surf will still go and watch the water – be it waves or flat water because it’s an inherently beautiful thing. That sort of elevates surfing above just its sporting element and turns it into a spiritual, artistic thing.”

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Thompson doing his best crucifix impression

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bit of Tchaikovsky and then some of the surfers from Avalon thought we could play some Alice In Chains to go with some of the heavier footage. So we’d work out how to play that with classical strings and we’d jam away.”

Mahoney, who isn’t a surfer, reiterates the “strict” schedule: “It was a bit of a military machine and even whole lot of fun, it was all very though it sounds like a w scheduled. Although we did have this organised and scheduled fabulous French chef who served up three fantastic meals a day and we were right by the coast so we were eating on great views every morning and night.” these rocky cliffs with gre So, surfing in the day, jamming at night and their own personal French chef – it sounds pe especially gruelling. es “Well, there were some scary times, like once in the middle of tim night nig I found myself with a flat tyre.

The residency forced me to become an expert tyre ty changer,” Mahoney says.

“There was another time on my own which was quite scary sca – I had a big blow-out in the middle of the th dirt. I working away for a couple of hours trying to change it. try “The irony iron was not lost that it was a convoy of surfers who wh showed up to get me out of trouble.” ❚ The Reef To Tour begins in Darwin (July 5), Kununurra (July 7), Bro Broome (July 11), Port Hedland (July 12), Carnarvon (July ( 14), Geraldton (July 15), Perth (July 18) and the Sydney Opera House (July 23). See reeftour.tura.com.au reeftour.tur

Photos: Ed Sloane, Gary Heery, Chris Duczynski

Thompson’s words echo what pro surfer Nat Young said in 1966: “I wish that when they asked us: ‘What is surfing?’

I would have said it's a spiritual activity, and not just a sport, because that’s what put us on the wrong track.”

For Mahoney, the relation to this artistic pursuit is channelled through his son. “My son is a championship body boarder. So I know it’s an incredibly redibly powerful experience. But it’s over in minutes inutes – or less," he says. “Like humans, surfing g is impermanent.

There’s this search for perfection tion but it can’t last. I guess that’s the magic of it.”

The main surf break in the e Gnaraloo area is Tombstones, a heavy, barrelling ng left-hander.

During the filming, Ryan Burch, ch, a young Californian surfer picked up a finless board.

“He is out there surfing basically asically an esky lid. It’s not even glass – it’s foam, am, no fins, a totally flat bottom,” Thompson pson says.

“And he is taking off 30 metres res deeper than anyone with fins and making aking these ridiculous barrels. Instead of smacking off the lip, he was riding it like a rail on a skateboard.”

So, was the residency as awesome wesome as it sounds? “We had a pretty ty strict schedule,” laughs Thompson (pictured). “Surfing in the morning orning to get the good winds and then in the afternoon we would workshop op music material. At night we would camp and we’d jam away. We’d play ay a

TURA NEW MUSIC AND THE AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PRESENT

BACKPACKERS SPECIALS SEE LOCAL BULLETINS

Richard Tognetti Artistic Director and Lead Violin ACO2 Mark Atkins Didgeridoo Steve Pigram Jon Frank and Mick Sowry Film and Images

TOUR 2012 5 –23 JULY

BY RICHARD TOGNETTI, IAIN GRANDAGE, JON FRANK & MICK SOWRY

DARWIN

BROOME

GERALDTON

8.00pm, Thursday 5 July The Playhouse, Darwin Entertainment Centre

7.30pm, Wednesday 11 July Cable Beach Amphitheatre

7.30pm, Sunday 15 July Queens Park Theatre

Tickets: Broome Visitor Centre, Chunes, Cable Beach Club

Tickets: Queens Park Theatre

Tickets: Darwin Entertainment Centre

PERTH PORT HEDLAND

KUNUNURRA 7.30pm, Saturday 7 July Ivanhoe Farms Tickets: Kununurra Visitor Centre and Ivanhoe Farms

8.00pm, Thursday 12 July Matt Dann Cultural Centre Tickets: Matt Dann Cultural Centre CARNARVON 7.30pm, Saturday 14 July Camel Lane Theatre

7.30pm, Wednesday 18 July Perth Concert Hall Tickets: BOCS SYDNEY 7.00pm, Monday 23 July Sydney Opera House Tickets: www.aco.com.au

Tickets: Carnarvon Visitor Centre

www.reeftour.tura.com.au EG>C8>E6A IDJG HEDCHDGH

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Tony & Michelle Grist

14/6/12 3:32:54 PM

WIN

ARE YOU SPOTTED IN THE CIRCLE?

Email us at tom@ tntdownunder.com with ‘Spotted’ in the subject line, email must include a photo of yourself! Boom - You’ve won yourself a $50 bar tab at Gilligans.

Like us on facebook/ tntdownunder for more party pics from the night!

GILLIGANS Sinners Ball.

Saturday 9 June

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SPOTTED_688.indd 18

29/06/12 1:10 PM

Secret Sounds presents

Special Guests

EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS plus WILLY

except *

MASON

Sat-13-Oct • BELVOIR AMPHITHEATRE • Perth Mon-15-Oct • ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE THEATRE • Adelaide Wed-17-Oct • RIVERSTAGE • Brisbane Thu-18-Oct • ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE • Sydney Tue-23-Oct • DERWENT ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE • Hobart Thu-25-Oct • ROD LAVER ARENA • Melbourne Fri-26-Oct • ROYAL THEATRE • Canberra Sun-28-Oct • KURANDA AMPHITHEATRE • Cairns* Mon-29-Oct • CONVENTION CENTRE • Townsville* Wed-31-Oct • CONVENTION CENTRE • Gold Coast* One off Gentlemen of the Road Stopover date to be announced

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Story time This is Brisbane in 48 hours WORDS LEIGH LIVINGSTONE

DAY 1: xBrisbane is the foot friendly city. Sunshine is in high amounts and there are plenty of outdoor activities to let visitors stock up on that Vitamin D. Be outside as much as possible and have fun with this busy weekender.

9:00: Chances are it’s a beautiful morning, so the best thing to do is get amongst it in the fresh air. It might sound a bit civilised but take a stroll through the Brisbane Botanic Gardens (brisbane.qld.gov.au). Located close to the city centre, you can spend time looking at the living museum full of native and exotic plants with themed sections, like the pretty Japanese garden. Everyone should stop and smell the roses once in a while.

10:00: After you‘ve ticked flowers of the list, visit Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (koala.net) and tick fuzzy creatures off it too. You may think you’ve seen more koalas than you care to by this point but you haven’t seen them like this. The Sanctuary is one of the best places in Oz to get up close and personal with not just the dropbears but kangaroos and a whole bunch of unique Aussie wildlife. Hand-feed them, have a cuddle, stock up on the warm and fuzzies because the rest of your 48 hours won’t be so sickeningly sweet.

12:00: Grab some lunch as you cruise along the Brisbane river in style aboard a Kookaburra River Queen (kookaburrariverqueens.com) authentic paddlewheeler.

Take in the sights of Brisbane from a different angle as you sip a beer and stuff yourself senseless on the amazing food.

15:00: No trip to the sunshine state is complete without a

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tour of the XXXX Brewery (xxxxbrewerytour.com.au).

Their Heritage-listed alehouse is a great place to learn all about the history of Queensland’s golden brew and sample a few for historical education purposes, of course.

17:00: Now that you are good and relaxed, it’s time to up the pace. Climb to the top of Brisbane’s Story Bridge and take in the magnificent twilight views of the city. It really is spectacular. Then, when you’re ready, abseil – yes we said abseil – down again. Story Bridge Adventure Climb (sbac. net.au) will help you with all the equipment and safety bits but then it is all you as you whip down the Anchor pier into Captain Burke Park below.

19:00: Bet you’re getting kind of hungry by now? Stop by the Treasury Casino (treasurybrisbane.com.au) and hit up the Blackjack Buffet for an all-you-can eat extravaganza.

You’ll need a strong stomach for the next activity.

21:00: Believe it or not, Brisbane is one of the most haunted cities in the world. Take a walk through the CBD at night with a ghost tour to find out why. Ghost Tours (ghosttours.com.au) will take you through spooky alleys and creepy cemeteries while discussing the haunted histories of the area. Warning: not for fraidy cats. You might want to share a room at Brisbane Backpackers Resort (brisbanebackpackers.com.au) if you’re feeling delicate.

DAY 2: 7:00: Assuming you managed to sleep at all, wake up bright and early for an adventurous day trip to Moreton Island. The ferry departs from Holt St wharf for the hour-

The colourful Valley

long journey with Tangatours (adventuremoretonisland. com). Once there, you have the option of fun activities such as stand-up paddleboarding, a motorboat hire, a catamaran lesson, playing beach volleyball with your cruisemates, quad biking across the sand and almost anything else you can think of. Paying $129 allows you pick three activities plus bonus items like wetsuit and kayak hire, but one thing we recommend you don’t skip is the guided snorkelling tour at the Tangalooma wreck.

18:00: Back in Brisbane after a full day of action, it’s time to get dressed up and hit the town. A good place to start is back at the Treasury Casino and Hotel (treasurybrisbane.com.au) – they don’t call it Brisvegas for nothing. Grab a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants inside, do some gambling and drink a cocktail or two to rev up your evening. The Livewire Bar on the Queen St level has live bands and sports on the big screen to accompany those drinks.

21:00: Keep the good times rolling, even after the dice have stopped, over in the Valley – that’s Fortitude Valley for the uninitiated. The area has some fun nightlife and Birdie Num Num (birdees.com) is the best place to party. Not only is it free entry but the alcohol is cheap. The bonus is that it’s a stylish place with a sexy interior and an awesome rooftop bar covered in fake grass. Keep absorbing that warm air and if you’ve played your cards right, you will have spent most of your weekend outdoors. The way it should be.

On all fours for Moreton Island

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WEEKLY WINNER TWILIGHT RETURNS: Tina Dahmen, 25, Germany TINA SAYS: “I took this photo at Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) in the Northern Territory. I think the picture is so fascinating because it’s in the desert where it’s not usually that green.”

WE SAY: “The colours are stunning in this week’s shot. The bright blue sky against the orange rock. It quintessentially sums up the mood of the Northern Territory.“ THE MONTHLY WINNER GETS THREE DAYS CAR HIRE FROM TRAVELLERS AUTOBARN Send high-res (300 dpi) jpegs with name, age, nationality and a description to: alex@tntdownunder.com. Photos are judged by the TNT team at their own discretion.

Weekly winner Tina wins a free night’s stay at the award-winning Sydney Central YHA (yha.com.au). The monthly winner gets three days’ car hire from Travellers Auto Barn. The runner-up wins a Great Barrier Reef snorkelling adventure and cruise with Awesome Adventures Oz (awesomeoz. com).

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HOT TIPS: Tone TONES AND CONTRAST Tone is one of the most important elements in photography. Even when shooting in black and white, you must be aware of tones and contrast, as these are the cement that glues all the pieces together. Contrast is perhaps even more important when shooting black and white as the grey is doing all the work that colour would normally achieve.

Remember to vary your tones, as this will help with texture. Visually, your eye will be drawn to the lightest tone first. Tonal range refers to the scope of tones between the lightest and darkest areas and this varies in each image depending on contrast – for example, on a grey day, the contrast is low and can become dull, whereas if it’s sunny, it will have high contrast.

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TRAVELTIPS

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A TRAVELLER’S TALL TALE

Live your pipe dreams in Nimbin

YOU ASKED FOR IT...

WE ANSWER YOUR TRAVEL QUESTIONS

true you can buy weed legally Q Isin itNimbin?

Martin Acer, UK Nimbin... the fabled place where A Ah, you can find herbal remedies for all life’s stresses. In short, no, it isn’t legal, but Nimbin has a high tolerance for cannabis with the open buying, selling and consumption of locally grown cannabis on the streets and laneways. Formerly a safe haven for military deserters and a hippy commune, the area’s population soared in the 70s and Nimbin, a small town in New South Wales, now enjoys infamy for its relaxed weed consumption and its annual Mardi Grass Festival, which aims to end the prohibition of cannabis.

There’s the novelty of being able to indulge in minor criminal activities with next to no danger of being sniffed out and swiftly deported has brought backpackers to the town in their droves.

But whether they come for a few hours to stock up or to take some holiday snaps of the local heroin addicts going about their business in the

local playground, most people just come for a day trip and get back on the bus feeling that little bit naughty.

in Cairns and like boating, what Q I’m do you suggest? Jo Pond, USA you’re heading all the way to Cairns to A Ifcheck out the Great Barrier Reef, you may as well make the most of it and book yourself onto a liveaboard diving tour. It will allow you to spend three days cruising around the reef, snorkelling at various spots, including a couple of outer reef locations further away from the main hotspots. It also means you’ll get to dive at night, which is a whole different kettle of tropical fish. Of course, if you don’t have the time or the cash for an extended tour of the Great Barrier Reef, you can still book day trips, which are great if you haven’t done much diving before and need some expert advice. Either way, it’s an absolute must if you love the open water.

CHECKING IN WAKE UP SYDNEY OVERVIEW This award-winning hostel is about to celebrate its ten-year anniversary and you can tell why it does so well. Modern, clean, spacious and with a sense of fun at all times. You only need

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to visit their bar downstairs any night of the week to know why.

ROOMS Mixed or all-female dorms as well as private rooms with and without an en-suite. Very secure.

BILL PLEASE Dorms start from $34/ night for an 10-share with a shared bathroom.

509 Pitt St, Sydney (opp Central Station) wakeup.com.au

My two friends and I planned one last diving adventure before leaving Queensland, this time on our own.

We hired a very cheap fishing boat and some scuba gear and set out to explore the Whitsundays. Two days later, the three of us launched into the sea with our yellow tinny, filled to the rim with three days’ worth of petrol, food and dive tanks.

Leaving the harbour at the crack of dawn we decided to hit Whitehaven Beach. After a tropical breakfast and some difficulties starting the engine again, we were on our way around the Whitsundays. Anchoring between the Whitsundays and Hook Island at noon we snorkelled a bit and refilled the petrol tank. We were about to check out Pinnacle Bay only this time the engine wouldn’t start.

So there we were, shipwrecked, floating with the current.

Luck actually came fast as a boat from the Hook Island Resort showed up and towed us to the island. The bad news was that the engine was broken and couldn’t be fixed on the island, but the good news was that the owner of the tinny would refund our money and pick us up the next day.

Francisco, Germany

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Blue Mountains NSW

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A weekend out west The Blue Mountains reward visitors with spectacular scenery, adventure sports and some unexpectedly delicious tucker WORDS EMMA SALKILD

I stand at the mountain’s edge, staring down an 800-foot drop, willing myself to take the plunge and jump. The rain has slowed down to a London-esque trickle but the strong winds still echo across the valley. It’s the most impressive landscape I’ve seen in the Blue Mountains region, yet it’s only my guide Glenn and me here. Glenn is a bubbly, bearded fellow with a penchant for wildlife and adventure.

He effortlessly jumps across the 80cm gap and dances along the one-metre-wide narrow walkway of Hanging Rock. The large slab of golden sandstone precipice juts out from the cliff face as though detached, hence the name. If he had put a foot out of place and slipped – because you know it’s wet and windy up here – I would have got to watch him tumble down past 250 metres of lush forested valley.

A thick fog swirls around the mountaintop, sometimes blocking the view before allowing a glimpse of the bushlands below.

“It’s eerie, but beautiful,” I say, more to myself than to Glenn, who has now come back to join me. We make our way back up the cliff trying to stick to a time schedule.

“The mist can be deceiving,” he replies. “I brought a woman out here once and she walked right up to the edge.

If she knew how deep the drop was she wouldn’t have stood so close.”

Hanging Rock is relatively unknown. For the lucky ones who have seen it – well, they put a kind of claim on it as the best place to visit in the Blue Mountains. But it’s not a stroll in the park – or should I say bush? – to get there. It’s a ten-minute drive from the town of Blackheath until you come to the first fence. From here, Glenn and I shoulder our mountain bikes, climb the fence and begin our sevenkilometre journey to Baltzer Lookout. The last part of the track is too arduous for bikes which means carrying on by foot. On my way back to our bikes I scramble up a wall using my hands to pull myself up the steep slope.

Unlike Katoomba’s attractions such as the Three Sisters and Scenic World, here there are no signs, paved tracks, information centres or handrails. Before my journey back to Glenn’s Ute I take one last lingering look over the scenery of

Grose Valley. It’s as though I’ve been allowed into a secret club. Probably in the same way as those who reminisce about the good old days when travelers could literally stroke Stonehenge or go to the top of the Statue of Liberty, I imagine I’ll get to one day boast about how far I got out to Hanging Rock. It must only be a matter of time before it becomes overrun with tourists, until the dirt road becomes paved and a barricade stops the thrillseekers from dancing with danger.

On two wheels “Have you had much experience using bikes with gears?”, Glenn asks me.

“Well, if you count my experience in spin classes then I guess I’m pretty good,” I reply.

He shows me how to use the gears and away we go.

“You’re going to want to dodge the rocks bigger than a fist,” he says. Two-foot deep puddles the size of cars pop up along our track. At first, I try to ride around them, until realising it’s more amusing to power my way straight through them, muddy water splashing up on my legs. My jumper is already drenched from the rain anyway.

Now on our way back to the car I need to go slower and take more breaks. The arduous trail from Baltzer Lookout to the edge of Hanging Rock has wiped me out. The everpatient and supportive Glenn takes his time, never rushing me or pushing me beyond my limits.

Occasionally I get off my bike to push it up a hill and when I do my knowledgeable guide discusses the surrounding flora and fauna. Lines of eye-popping yellow shine out from the khaki greens and greys of the bush.

“Wattle,” he explains to me before pointing out gum trees, tea trees and waratah (the New South Wales flower).

He pulls off a heath banksia from a bush. Imagine if a porcupine was a log – a strange analogy but go with it. It’s covered in thick bristles and Glenn demonstrates how the Aboriginal people used to suck out nectar. Right now, its spikes are a yellow-brown but I learn it can go a vibrant red in the warmer months.

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[Caption]

Not a bad place for a bike ride “What’s it taste like?”, I ask.

“It’s pretty sweet but it feels so weird when those prickles get stuck in your throat.”

We see lyre bird tracks and then moments later, like waiting for the thunder after a lightning storm, we hear them singing. Bright red and blue rosellas flitter from branch to branch while the regal black and white currawong stands by the side of the road watching us.

Besides the lone hiker who passed us a few miles back, the Aussie birds are our only company; the only ones with the guts to brave the cold, wet, weather.

Some good eatin’ When Glenn drops me off at Katoomba I’m soaked and muddy and feeling very sore in my derriere from the bike seat. Standing on the main drag I look up to see the grand Carrington Hotel. I’m not a guest there but I walk around its common rooms, clutching my backpack containing clean clothes and dry socks. Stealthily I slink into their bathrooms and change before finding the billiard room and collapsing in one of the big leather couches, ignoring the sign outside that reads “Guests only”.

After catching my breath and realising it’s dinner (and beer) o’clock I head next door to the Old City Bank Brassiere. On my way I see teenagers loiter in the Carrington’s swanky front garden drinking and smoking.

Entering the cosy pub, I notice a mix of locals and tourists.

Regulars come in and kiss bartenders on the cheek while a band sets up out the back. A sign proudly states: Winner – Best Regional Brasserie in NSW 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011. The list of boutique beers on tap and local wines is impressive. I opt for a schooner of Amber Ale and order myself a wagyu beef burger and chips. After my day I freaking deserve this. For a mere $14 I’m blessed with 30

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flavourful comfort food. And slowly the beer helps numb the pain in my butt.

Rain and wind greet me again the following day.

The national park is closed, tours are cancelled, and the walk near the Three Sisters has shut down. Apparently the popular attraction was struck by lightning last year and all the maintenance money went towards its repairs instead of track restoration. I take it as a sign that the time has come to farewell the mountains.

I’m still stiff and sore from the previous day’s activity so the plan is to break up the 90-minute drive back to Sydney. Twenty minutes past Katoomba a billboard catches my eye. It has the picture of a large pie and on top lounges a creature that is half alluring woman and half tomato sauce. Pulling over I see signs such as “Cleanest Toilets in the Blue Mountains” and “We heart our customers”.

I’m intrigued.

With over 40 choices of pie, it’s the largest selection I’ve ever come across. Flavours such as lamb and shiraz, tuna mornay and prawn & scallop are enticing but it’s mid-morning so I go with the big brekkie pie filled with tomato, onion and a poached egg with melted cheese on top and the pumpkin, cashew and leek. While the coffee could be a bit stronger, there is nothing weak about these pies.

Everything is made fresh on the premises and the open-planned kitchen means I can watch the pie-makers work their magic. The owner stands behind the counter scanning the room smiling at all the people enjoying his masterpieces. Clearly, he really does heart his customers.

With a full belly, I’m more satisfied than I could imagine. I jump in the car and leave behind my wilderness adventure and head back toward the big smoke. ❚

NEXT WEEK Cairns: We go bungy jumping and reefsnorkelling way up in northern Queensland

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All Day Trolley Tour Ride to 29 great attractions in Katoomba and Leura World Herit age area with an unlimited number of stops. Plus ride on Scenic Railway and Scenic Cableway at Scenic Worl d.

Tour includes full commentary on the history of the Blue Mountains. Plus access to Blue Mountains Bus Services Medlow Bath, Blackheath and Wentworth Falls.

Concessions Available

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DAY 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; WEDNESDAY Coach departs Katoomba 9.45am.

Tour starts with a breathtaking stop at Govetts Leap Lookout, Blackheath then onto Jenolan Caves forâ&#x20AC;Ś Country Luncheon (2 course), Lucas Cave Tour, 3 Course Dinner with Guide, Mysteries Legends and Ghost Tour, Overnight stay in either a Classic Room or Mountain Lodge Studio Unit.

DAY 2 - THURSDAY Full Country Buffet Breakfast, Orient Cave Tour, Nettle Self Guided Tour. Coach returns to Katoomba at 5.00pm.

All this for only

Per Adult Twin Share

Single supplement $45extra.

(Adventure Caving option instead of Lucas Cave tour extra $56).

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Go to tntdownunder.com and click on the WIN page. See webpage for terms and conditions. Winners will be selected at random

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Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands FIJI

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Another day in paradise Island-hopping in Fiji is one of the most relaxing holidays you’ll ever have and is a perfect way to banish the winter blues WORDS TOM STURROCK

The coconut leaves seem certain to break WHEN TO GO: It’s the perfect But, as though not yet satisfied with his apart but Mali’s hands work them expertly, time to go – any time between now demonstration of the humble coconut’s weaving them between one another in a and the end of the year, although versatility, Mali shows me how part of the deceptively strong tapestry that forms the shell can be used as a hairbrush and how it starts to get a bit muggy later basin of our traditional Fijian bushman’s on. And you probably want to avoid the stringy pieces of the husk can be roped basket. Some of the leaves splinter slightly together into string strong enough to bind the school holidays. as he forces them into place but they’re the walls of huts together. After a week CURRENCY: Fijian dollar. reinforced by the combined strength of the travelling through Fiji’s tropics, I’m reminded $1 = 1.85 FJD lush, green carapace already built around once again that these islands are full of ACCOMMODATION: Make them. I finish the second side of the basket surprises. your selections based on which – with only the occasional pointer from Mali islands you want to visit. Check out Love songs and broken thongs – and then begin to tie off the loose ends to p72 for more information or go to make sure the basket is enclosed.

A week earlier, my island-hopping adventure awesomefiji.com.

Mali shows me once, twice, three times: begins in Nadi, a coastal town on the SEE: For an overview of what Fiji “It’s just like plaiting your girlfriend’s hair – western edge of Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island. has to offer, go to tourismfiji.com. now you finish the job.”

Or for more information on the After boarding the Yasawa Flyer in Port I’m terrible at it. The old left-to-middle, islands, see yasawafijiresorts.com Denarau, we’re soon zooming through the right-to-middle pattern is familiar enough, or mamanucafiji.com. open sea, heading north toward the island but the constant gathering of extra strands, of Waya Lailai, the first port in our whistleto be dragged in with one hand and then the other, leaves stop tour. There, the Ecohaven resort is one of the few in Fiji me all fingers and thumbs. Eventually, we get there, tieing owned entirely by the local villagers – most are part-owned the ends off and then creating the basket’s opening by and still dependent on some foreign investment. hacking the fibrous stalk away with a machete to leave the Upon our arrival – we coast ashore in a battered metal smart, functional finished product. dinghy – the staff gather on the beach to sing a Fijian “You fill it with yams, tell your story and you go home,” welcome song, their voices raised, accompanied by a small Mali grins, holding the basket casually over one shoulder. ukulele. Accommodation on Fiji’s islands is often billed as a Next is coconut-carving. With machete still in hand, resort but it actually sells many of the establishments short Mali chips away the hard shell, exposing the husk, before – they are fairly basic but no less comfortable and have far impaling the coconut on sharpened stick, custom-made for more charm than any sparkling four-star chain hotel. The this very exercise. I do my best to tear away the coconut’s Ecohaven, for its part, is made up of huts – bures, in Fiji – thick inner shell but it proves a struggle, raising peals of dotted along a vast lawn overlooking a pristine beachfront. laughter from the resort’s watching staff. At Funky Fish on After settling in, I introduce myself to Jerry, an enormous Fiji’s Malolo Island, watching coconuts leave travellers utterly Fijian who runs the activity shack – he’s quite a sight down defeated is top-shelf matinee entertainment. there, sporting a pencil-thin moustache, resplendent in his Finally, the husk comes away in small, inelegant chunks bright-red, XXXL Hawaiian shirt, seemingly filling every and we’re into the tasty part of the coconut. Mali chops it up inch of space behind his desk. After locking me in for an into cubes and mixes it with a plate of salt and garlic, which afternoon hike to the island’s summit, Jerry offers his own he assures me is perfect for marinating fish. take on the relaxed pace on Waya Lailai.

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The sweeping sights of Waya Lailai’s Ecohaven resort “All the villagers, they used to work six days a week – fishing, going to the mainland, rest on Sunday and then do it all again,” he explains, leaning back in a creaking chair.

“But now we have a resort, we have big smiles and just play the guitar all day; ‘Bula’ when tourists come.”

The hike to the island’s summit is considerably harder work – it is, admittedly, mostly my fault, my decision to attempt the hike wearing thongs soon proving foolhardy.

Following several days of heavy rain before our arrival, the ground is slick and spongey and, five minutes in, I suffer a disastrous double blow-out and am forced to discard the pair of busted flip-flops. Still, even in bare feet, the hike through the island’s hinterland, up its rugged, rocky slopes and through its pockets of thick jungle is worth it for the exquisite views from atop its jagged escarpment; the surrounding islands visible against the pinkish-orange sunset smeared across an uncluttered sky.

The expression ‘Fiji time’ may encapsulate the unhurried approach in this part of the world: if the boat’s running late or you want to take a nap – no problem, everyone’s on Fiji time. Relax. And it’s great, but on the second leg of the hike, the way back down, I discover that, although schedules might be flexible on Fiji time, it still gets dark at about 6pm.

I finally return to camp, under the cover of darkness, my legs coated in mud almost to the knee, having well and truly earned my dinner.

Mary, who runs the resort’s kitchen, has, since lunch, decided I look like Prince William – she appears to mean it as a compliment but I remain unconvinced – so there’s no chance of me slinking in unnoticed. “Prince Weel-yam,” she exclaims loudly. “Where have you been?”

I mutter something about Fiji time and start drinking.

In the corner, some of the staff have struck up a barbershop

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quartet; big Jerry plays a dinky little guitar, dwarfed in his hands, like a bear strumming a fiddle, while his mates sing.

At the intermission, he sidles over and I ask him to translate the last song’s lyrics.

“It’s saying, ‘if you cut my heart open, your photo would be inside’,” Jerry explains, suddenly very serious. “It’s a love song. They’re all love songs.”

And so my first night in the Fijian islands, warm with island ballads, closes in around me, barefoot, bedraggled and with a belly full of beer.

A place to party There is an enjoyable rhythm to island-hopping in Fiji. The region’s main boat companies provide a hop-on, hop-off service, the boats tracking north from the mainland in the morning, all the way to the top of the Yasawas, before turning around and coming south in the afternoon, back past the Mamanucas before docking again at Port Denarau.

Travellers simply hitch a ride as far as they want to go; when the ferry draws close to each new island it drops anchor before motorboats, driven by staff at each resort, arrive to collect disembarking guests and carry them back to shore.

All that remains is for the island-hoppers to choose where they want to spend their time and, broadly speaking, the islands are divided into places to party and quieter, more low-key places that are big with couples. As it happens, my next stop, the Mantaray, on Nanuya Balavu, is a place to party. Even in a period that is generally slower for Fijian tourism, the Mantaray is often full, a mixture of Brits, Canadians, Americans, Aussies, Kiwis and Europeans arriving in droves to spend a few nights in its neat bures, some on stilts in the jungle, others mounted just metres from the sea.

The beach bar is where much of the action happens at the

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Life’s a beach at the Mantaray Mantaray, the open-fronted pavilion, surrounded by benches and hammocks, is an inviting place to share a Fiji Bitter and a conversation with fellow travellers. It’s also where punters gather for daily activities.

I immediately sign up for the kayaking, which takes us out from the resort’s sheltered inlet to a deserted beach – not exactly a rarity in Fiji – on the other side of the water. There, after dragging our kayaks ashore, we snorkel on coral reefs and skim stones. Before sunset, a boat from the resort comes past to collect passengers for the sunset cruise. It sounds terribly genteel but there’s neither a dinner jacket nor an hors d’oeuvre in sight. Instead, as dusk descends, we find ourselves in the open sea, bobbing in tyre tubes, collecting beers from a full esky.

The signature activity, though, is, as the resort’s name suggests, swimming with the island’s resident mantarays.

The timing of their presence is unpredictable but as soon as they’re sighted offshore a call goes around and the resort’s drums begin to beat, signalling that a swimming expedition is about to depart. The rays are alien-looking creatures with ‘wingspans’ of several metres, wide-spaced eyes and weird, gawping mouths that afford a line of sight straight down their gullets. Their movement through the water – during their visit to a so-called cleaning station, where smaller fish nibble at their skin and gills, clearing away parasites – looks completely effortless, arcing loops completed without the rays perceptibly moving a single muscle.

And, after dark, the fun and games only escalate – Nesi, the resort’s appointed master of ceremonies, herds the guests down from the dining hall to the beach where a limbo contest begins proceedings. Competitors are divided up by nationality, raising the stakes and ensuring all involved treat the contest with deadly seriousness. After all, bragging

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rights are on the line. After the limbo, won, perhaps unsurprisingly, by the sole Brazilian entrant, Nesi introduces a new game, played in pairs, where one partner must lower the other while holding their hand, allowing them to push a small stone as far along the ground as they can, before hauling them back to their feet without collapsing in a tangled pile. It’s a bizarre spectacle, with all manner of tactics employed, before Nesi weighs in at the last minute with an expert display to claim first place.

Last of all is the notorious ‘box game’, in which competitors, standing on one leg, take it in turns to bend down and lift a cardboard box off the ground using only their teeth. After each round, an inch or so of cardboard is torn from the box, making it ever harder to retrieve.

After some impressive efforts, Nesi once again confounds the watching throng by nimbly doubling over, barely even wobbling, and lifting the remaining sliver of cardboard off the deck. It’s freakish, but never in doubt.

The hunter and the hunted On Tavewa Island, the northern-most destination on my trip, the staff at Coral View resort make up for the fact that I visit in a traditionally quieter period by singing almost constantly for the extent of my stay. There is the welcome song – which is continued all the way up from the beach and into the foyer – and the farewell song, which gets a couple of runs, and a stack of other island ditties in between. The Fijians, there can be no mistaking, love to sing.

Tavewa is remarkable among the Fiji islands for the variety and vivacity of its marine life. The resort, on a narrow peninsula, is a short boat ride from the aptly named blue lagoon, a stunning, secluded alcove where radiantly coloured fish dart in and out of the brilliant coral. They’re pretty tame,

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Staff at Coral View love a good singalong too – if you take a chunk of bread underwater, the fish are bold enough to eat right out of your hand. I swear one takes a nip out of my thumb and another even has a little go at my mask. It’s a completely unique, slightly unsettling experience to be in the centre of a horde of fish – black-and-white zebra fish, long-nosed barracuda and thousands of darting little blue ones with touches of pink around their gills.

Further afield, where the sea floor falls away into yawning, reef-lined caverns, I detect a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. When I look more closely, there’s no mistaking the grey skin and telltale dorsal fin – there’s a bloody shark about 20 metres from me. It’s not too big, I tell myself, nothing to worry about. But, on a totally unrelated note, I decide I’ve had enough snorkeling anyway – probably time to get back to the boat. Immediately.

“What kind of sharks are down there?”, I ask our skipper, known only as Mr S, once back in the safety of the bow.

“They’re just reef sharks,” he shrugs, casually.

“Would they ever have a crack at a person swimming in the area?”, I ask, seeking reassurance.

Mr S just laughs – the mere idea of a shark attack is, apparently, ridiculous. I suppose that’s meant to be heartening. The rest of the afternoon is spent fishing – what better way to reassert my status at the top of the food chain than to hook the shark that scared me shitless earlier?

Alas, though, my chunk of herring, used as bait, remains utterly untouched for several hours. Fishing is an exercise in patience, I tell myself – it doesn’t matter if you don’t catch anything, right? It’s just nice to be out on the water with a line dangling over the side of the boat. Another day in paradise and all that.

Still, I can’t help but feel a pang of indignation when Mr S ambles over next to me and, about 10 minutes after casting

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his line out, whoops with excitement after attracting a bite.

“Keep a lid on it, champ,” I think to myself. “No need to throw a party over hooking a piddly little garfish.”

But then, as Mr S reels his line in, it becomes clear that there’s no garfish on the other end. Instead, Mr S reaches over the side and wrestles an octopus into the boat. It doesn’t come quietly – its head is about twice the size of a man’s hand and its tentacles wrap around Mr S’s heavily tattooed arm, all the way to his shoulder. The other anglers, myself included, are stunned, the calm of our fishing expedition shattered by the sight of an octopus writhing around in the boat, desperately squirting its ink as Mr S proceeds to kill it with his bare hands, smashing and tearing its head apart. It is, at the risk of understatement, not something you see every day.

“Octopus,” Mr S grins, with a raised, satisfied eyebrow.

“Will make good bait.”

Sega-na-lega Toward the end of my trip, I lob at the Beachcomber resort, another of the most popular stops on Fiji’s island circuit, famed far and wide for its vast beachfront bar, where the sand doesn’t stop at the door. Instead, the sand covers the entire floor – it’s a perfect way to enjoy a few sundowners without leaving the beach behind.

In order to work up a thirst, though, there are the obligatory games of touch rugby and beach volleyball, travellers slotting in alongside the local lads, who appear to have spent most of their young lives practising. Much of my afternoon is spent grasping at thin air as an opponent goosesteps his way past me or face-down in the sand, having flailed hopelessly after an errant ball. It is not completely futile, though – I do come across a useful piece of Fijian

WHERE TO STAY? CHECK OUT OUR FAVOURITE ISLAND RESORTS ECOHAVEN The laidback resort on Waya Lailai is perfect for a lazy couple of nights and is close to a spectacular snorkelling spot. There are some perfectly situated hammocks for sleepy afternoons on the beach.

See: bcdi.ca/wayalailai MANTARAY You can rent a private bure if you want the peace and quiet or book yourself into the dorm if you want to make new friends and save a few bucks. Be ready to get up early to catch the mantarays, though.

See: stayinfiji.com

vocabulary. After I attempt a particularly unsuccessful, albeit very snazzy no-look pass, one of my Fijian teammates holds up his hands and smiles: “Sega-na-lega.”

The phrase, it turns out, means “no worries”. It’s certainly a useful phrase in this part of the world, one that rings in my ears when I leave the lads to their game and retire to a nearby hammock. Later, when the shadows lengthen, I pull up a stool in the Beachcomber’s bar and am soon joined by gaggle of other new arrivals. We promptly order a tower of beer – probably three jugs’ worth, served in an upright refrigerated tube – and settle in for the night.

After dinner, the Beachcomber’s entertainment troupe stride out onto the bar’s panelled stage, decked out in shirts and leg-warmers made from grass, brandishing thick, black traditional tribal weapons. What follows is part hoedown and part war cry, a kind of choreographed line-dancing interspersed with guttural yelling and wild lunges at audience members, who inevitably recoil in shock.

“

No Fijian epic would be complete without an evening on the kava

”

CORAL VIEW All the way in the north, the Coral View has some of the friendliest staff in Fiji and is among the best spots to dive or snorkel. There are a heap of places to visit by boat and, who knows, if you’re lucky, you might catch an octopus.

See: coral.com.fj BEACHCOMBER You’ll be spending your evenings in the sandy beach bar (below) before cruising back to your snazzy little bure.

Equally, if you’re on a budget, you can book into the dorm instead. One of the must-visits in the Mamanucas.

See: beachcomberfiji.com

Afterwards, unnerved by the imminent arrival of another tower of beer, I find an excuse to turn in, walking across the sands to my bure on the beach. Sitting on the porch, I look out across water – it’s impossible to see much but I’m sure that, somewhere, out on one of those dimly silhouetted islands, another party, like the one I’ve left, is in full swing.

It’s been a whirlwind trip and now, near the end of it, under palm fronds held horizontal in the wind, billowing like full sails, I feel relaxed enough to atomise. I reflect on my experiences and the details that have coloured my time in Fiji, this chaotic land of soft sand, unsealed paths and bumpy boat rides. I’ve clambered in and out of more tin-can dinghies than I’ve had hot breakfasts, to be spirited each time into a head-wind bearing the promise of new adventures; as surely as the last tropical paradise recedes in the boat’s wake, the next one looms on the horizon.

My trip has been pebbled with casual conversations with other island-hoppers, easy friendships quickly formed and greetings shouted from passing boats, its soundtrack made up of the buzz of mosquitoes, drumbeats heralding dinner and bird calls at dawn. Throughout, I’ve explored steepled jungle passes, strafed broad, flat beaches built for days of unending idleness and swum in seas layered by different stripes of luminescence. Sega-na-lega, indeed.

Kava nights and unexpected visitors

FUNKY FISH It’s delightfully remote and there’s an incredible reef just minutes away, where you can also wander up onto a sandbar to chat with travellers from all round the area. Exceptionally picturesque but still with a hint of authentic jungle.

See: funkyfishresort.com

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Of course, no Fijian epic would be complete without an evening or two spent drinking kava. And so, after my honest day’s work at Funky Fish – spent, if you recall, cracking coconuts and weaving baskets – the staff at the resort show up with their wicker mat and clay bowls: all they require for an old-fashioned kava party.

Kava crops can be found throughout Fiji and the potion

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High tide at the kava ceremony is made out of the roots of the plant, which are dried, pounded and chewed before being held in a sieve and water is filtered through, the same way you make a pot of tea. The result, though, is quite different. Kava, once ready to drink, is a grey-brown liquid, pooled in a deep basin in the centre of the circle. One man, appointed to pour, goes around the circle, filling each drinker’s cup.

“You can have low tide,” he says, filling my cup less than halfway. “Or high tide,” he continues, filling it higher. “Or, you can have tsunami,” he grins, filling my cup to the brim.

During a kava ceremony, it is polite to clap once before receiving your bowl and then, after downing your helping, clap a further three times, while keeping a broad smile on your face. Sometimes, the kava has a real kick, so beaming brightly after chugging it down can be harder than expected.

Still, I acquire a taste for it and, tonight, the staff have allowed me to stand in as chief, which means I get my own special cup and get to drink the first serve from each round.

A common misconception is that kava is alcoholic – it’s not at all and its effects are almost completely opposite to those of booze. Instead, it’s kava’s naturally occurring psychoactive ingredients, known as kava lactones, which do the trick – first, my mouth and tongue turn numb and then I find myself slowing down, chilling out, becoming very relaxed but not necessarily sleepy. It’s like being mildly, pleasantly stoned – after six or seven bowls, I find I am perfectly happy just hanging out on the kava mat, staring off into the middle distance, listening to the boys take it in turns to play guitar and sing songs I don’t understand.

Still, as the night wears on, I can’t resist the drift toward bed. Saying my goodbyes to the other drinkers, I pick my way down the hill toward the shore, where I’m staying.

Admittedly, with a head full of kava, my reflexes are not at

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NEXT WEEK

their most cat-like, so, despite detecting movement to the side Village life: We of the path, it’s only after closing head inland for the to within a couple of metres of traditional way of life the disturbance that I clock the half-dozen enormous cows that have found their way into the resort and now block the way to my bure. There’s a big bull at the front, mooing with a loud sense of entitlement.

This is too bizarre – where the hell have these cows appeared from? I later learn that they have escaped from a small farm that also operates on Malolo Island but, here and now, I begin to question whether this is some hallucinogenic side effect of the evening’s kava, whether every first-time drinker returns with wide-eyed reports of bovine intruders in the night. Fortunately, I have my camera with me so, just as the cows turn tail, I snap a handful of quick pictures. Hard evidence and further proof that, in Fiji, another surprise waits just around the corner. ❚

The cows were definitely real

Ratu Kini’s Come spend a few days on Mana Island, and enjoy our nice sandy beaches, KWUNWZ\IJTM ZWWU[ _QÅ LQ^QVO WZ [VWZSMTQVO KWTL JMMZ IVL a]UUa UMIT[ IVL N]V OIUM[ X]\ \WOM\PMZ Ja W]Z NZQMVLTa [\INN )VL OW PWUM _Q\P NWVL UMUWZQM[ WN your holiday in Fiji and the South Seas. For QVNWZUI\QWV WV [XMKQIT[ IVL JWWSQVO OW \W

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Definitely bad taste

MAN EATS WIFE’S LIPS IN BIZARRE ATTACK SWEDEN

A Swedish professor who sliced off and ate his wife’s lower lip after he suspected her of having an affair has been formally charged with aggravated assault.

Prosecutors say the unnamed 52-yearold flew into a rage in May after his wife asked for a divorce. The researcher at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute allegedly told his wife after the attack he wanted to inflict a lifetime of pain on her.

“He did it so that she would never be able to kiss again and said ‘I’ll get four years, but you’re getting a life sentence’,” prosecutor Jakob Holmberg said.

The minimum sentence in Sweden for aggravated assault is four years, but prosecutors will be asking for jail time closer to the maximum 10 years.

JAILBIRDS SET TO BECOME BOOKWORMS

Ball sports: Kurt Perschke’s installation, ‘RedBall’, sits high on the Golden Jubilee footbridge as part of London’s arty Olympic makeover. Only problem is that workmen have to climb up to reinflate it every few days. Seems like a lot of bother, doesn’t it?

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CROATIA

Blue Ivy, Beyonce and Jay-Z’s daughter, born in January, has become quite the tourism pull, at least according to one Croatian mayor.

Late last summer, the music moguls vacationed in Croatia, while Beyonce was pregnant. While there, the duo filmed Beyonce in front of a

G

BEYONCE’S GIRL GETS SHOUT-OUT

blue tree in Hvar, an island in the Adriatic Sea. In the video, Beyonce can be heard saying: “I think it’s Blue Ivy, which would be quite appropriate!”

Apparently, that was enough to excite mayor Pjerino Bebic, who wrote to the couple: “The story of the origin of your girl’s name, Blue Ivy, has brought huge media attention and great tourism promotion to the town of Hvar. I have decided to grant your daughter the status of honorary citizen of the town.”

Ph

for prisons. “Without doubt they will leave a better person.”

I

BRAZIL

Brazil will offer inmates in its crowded prison system a novel way to shorten their sentences – cutting four days for every book they read.

Inmates in four federal prisons holding some of Brazil’s most notorious criminals will be able to read up to 12 works of literature, philosophy, science or classics to trim a maximum 48 days off their sentence each year.

Prisoners will have up to four weeks to read each book and write an essay which must “make correct use of paragraphs, be free of corrections, use margins and legible joined-up writing”.

“A person can leave prison more enlightened and with an enlarged vision of the world,” said Sao Paulo lawyer Andre Kehdi, who heads a book donation project

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THIS WEEK

IN NUMBERS 10 Yvonne the cow

CONCERN FOR RIGHTS OF PSYCHIC PETS GERMANY

German networks have upset animal rights activists with the recent explosion of using animals to latest predict the results of Euro 2012.

Two years after the death of popular pundit Paul the octopus, a range of pets are now being deployed to predict which football team will win. However, Yvonne the cow, Kasimir the alpaca and Xaver the bulldog have upset German animal rights activists.

Marius Tunte of Tierschutzbund, an animal rights group, said: “These days, everybody who has an animal seems to put it in front of a camera. Every station has its own animal.”

The group said the use of animals as psychics threatened the dignity of the creatures. That may br true, but Yvonne the cow correctly predicted Italy would beat Germany, so she’s got a big future.

MAN ROBS BANK AFTER VIEWING DOCO

Photos: Getty Images

UNITED STATES

A US man says he was so moved by an Academy Award-winning documentary on the cause of the global financial crisis that he decided to rob a bank.

Raymond Carl Knudson, 50, told investigators he felt compelled to rob the bank after watching Inside Job. Court documents say he drove straight to police and confessed, carrting the $US425 to the Gresham Police Department where he turned himself in.

Inside Job is about the late-2000s financial crisis directed by Charles H Ferguson, who described his film as being about “the systemic corruption of the

Jumbo toilet rolls used to make the winning wedding dress at annual competition in the US

Age of the man arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at his neighbour for farting outside his apartment

2,500

Amount, in pounds, of the fine imposed on people who feed the ducks in a Cambridgeshire park

Value, in dollars, of a collection of coins from the year 50BC found by local metal detector enthusiasts on Jersey

Rats are a bonus United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that”.

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1,542,636

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

POUNDLAND: NUMBER ONE WITH RODENTS UNITED KINGDOM

British bargain chain Poundland has been embarassingly busted resealing, and selling, packets of sweets and biscuits that had been gnawed by hungry rodents.

The local magistrate in Croydon, Greater London, fined Poundland a cool £24,000 ($36,969) for the egregious health and safety breach. Prosecutor David McNeill said the chain’s Croydon store, which laid mousetraps and dealt with pest control prior to this discovery, was caught with contaminated food and a dead mouse on its shelves.

“Food that had been gnawed by mice, instead of being disposed of, was resealed with Sellotape by staff and put back on sale,” he said.

Poverty stricken but still cool as fuck Lara Bingle cements her status as one of Australia’s foremost thinkers by tweeting a pic of two poor kids smoking

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Cadel Evans

TOUR DIRECTOR FANCIES EVANS CYCLING

Australia’s Cadel Evans has the form to claim back-to-back victories in the Tour de France, Tour Down Under race director Mike Turtur says.

Turtur says Evans has prepared well in a bid to defend his tour crown after becoming the first Australian to win cycling’s biggest race last year.

Key rivals, including Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador, will also be missing, leaving Briton Bradley Wiggins as his main challenger.

“Everyone is talking about Wiggins being a big threat but I believe on the big climbs near the end, when the crunch really comes, that Evans will have the upper hand,” Turtur told reporters.

GIGGS SELECTED AHEAD OF BECKHAM

The next man in?: Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has threatened to win a grand slam tournament in the past but he’s in good nick at Wimbledon and could be the main beneficiary of Rafa Nadal’s exit. We’re backing him to make the final. How about that?

MOSS HOPING FOR LONDON GRAND PRIX

FOOTBALL

Former England captain David Beckham last week revealed he had not been picked for Great Britain’s Olympic football squad, Manchester United stalwart Ryan Giggs preferred.

Beckham, regarded as a potential skipper of the side, confirmed in a statement he had not made the final 18-man squad as one of coach Stuart Pearce’s three over-age players.

Pearce had travelled to the United States to assess Beckham’s form last week before making his decision.

“Everyone knows how much playing for my country has always meant to me,” Beckham said. “I would have been honored to have been part of this squad.”

FORMULA ONE

Britain’s most venerated Formula One driver, Sir Stirling Moss, says he has been waiting for more than half a century for a London Grand Prix.

The sport’s chief executive Bernie Ecclestone says he is ready to back a bid to stage a race in London, saying it is the perfect venue for F1.

But Moss said: “When I was racing, they said we’ll have the Hyde Park GP around Hyde Park, which would have been absolutely stunning, and they were going to put the pits where the Serpentine was, but the police turned around and said: ‘I’m sorry, we just couldn’t control the people who’d come along.”

BIG WEEK FOR ...

English cricket fans will have ave fond memories of Mitchell Johnson hnson completely losing his radarr and going to pieces during the last Ashes and plenty of Aussies es would have concluded he was a spent force at international nal level. But, after about ninee months on the sidelines, Johnson is back in Australian colours.

He’s got an impressive record in that format but, with James Pattinson and Pat Cummin in the mix, Johnson’s time may have passed.

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK I like England and I am from there. But when it involves organisation it is going to be a right balls up British comedian Russell Brand doesn’t hold out any high hopes for London’s forthcoming Olympics

England captain Alastair Cook

PREVIEW They’re only ODIs but still worth watching We’ve all heard the familiar whinge – there’s too many meaningless series played and two much 50-over cricket sandwiched awkwardly into an already crowded schedule. But seriously, bugger that – when England and Australia continue their sparring this week, it’ll still be worth watching.

When it comes to Test cricket, of course, England are top dogs these days and will relish the chance to remind Australia of it – and of the results of the last two Ashes series. But when it comes to the 50-over stuff, the antipodeans still hold sway. At least, on paper, they remain the topranked side and have managed to deliver

My team didn’t get angry because I was booked — but they saw my physique and got jealous!

consistently decent performances in recent years, even as their form in Test cricket dropped away.

That said, this is a pretty inexperienced Australian side, particularly in the batting department, where Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey will be missed. But England have their own concerns – there are question marks over their top six and, in particular, over their ability to replace the prematurely retired Kevin Pietersen.

Italian striker Mario Balotelli after stripping off to celebrate his second goal against Germany. He’s a funny guy

ENGLAND V AUSTRALIA

Former Australian cricketer Shane Warne reckons England have become a bit too big for their boots these days

WEDNESDAY 10.30PM, FOX SPORTS 1

ENGLAND V AUSTRALIA

SATURDAY 9.30PM, FOX SPORTS 2

THE CHAT | The transfer silly season

Deep down there will be a feeling of superiority. I just sense they might underestimate Australia

TV HIGHLIGHTS RUGBY UNION

Photos: Getty Images

Chiefs v Crusaders that the Euros are out of the way, Q Now talk will turn to who’s going where. Any big fish on the move?

Luka Modric has renewed his bid to leave A Tottenham’s White Hart Lane. He’s been agitating for a transfer for the past year and he’s now promised to quit, Manchester United and Real Madrid apparently his preferred destinations.

The figures bandied around this time of year are always exorbitant – Tottenham apparently want £40m for Modric, which is a bit cheeky. Bizarrely, former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has also been linked to Barcelona but that should probably be filed under ‘nonsensical rumour’.

Kiwi heavyweights clash Friday 5.30pm, Fox Sports 2

AUSTRALIAN RULES Collingwood v Carlton An ancient rivalry renewed Friday 7.30pm, Fox Footy

TENNIS Wimbledon men’s final Luka Modric

What chance Andy Murray?

Sunday 10.30pm, Channel Seven

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49

OUTSIDE THE FLAGS COMMENT: TOM STURROCK editor@tntdownunder.com

‘I’m hot – can I have more money?’

Ladies need to rethink their argument about equal pay It’s not about chauvinism, but about how much the product is worth

» Agree or disagree? Should women get the same money as men? editor@tntdownunder.com

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According to John Fingelton, a posh old patron of the exclusive Marylebone Cricket Club, rowdy Australians have been lowering the tone at the cricket.

Last week, Fingleton was having a cry about the time an Australian he had been talking to stole his hat band while he visited the toilet. “I went to have a pee and when I returned my hat band had disappeared,” he said. “I wasn’t wildly impressed with that. I had no doubt in my mind at all that he’d nicked it.”

“

An Australian fan nicked his hat band

”

Fingleton also recalled a horribly traumatic experience at the SCG during the 2006-07 Ashes when he was seated in the Members Pavilion: “After about four overs my panama hat suddenly went flying and from behind me a bloke said ‘Take that f****** thing off, mate!”

In an increasingly mixed-up, homogenous world, it’s great to be reminded of Aussies’ and Brits’ enduring differences.

Photos: Getty Images

Every year at Wimbledon the debate about equal prizemoney rears its head.

Duly, it’s cropped up again this year and, although there’s little to be gained by male tennis players wading into the fray, some of the responses from their female counterparts suggest they know they’re on shaky ground.

Frenchman Gilles Simon reopened the can of worms last week when he insisted women were not earning their slice of the pie, which, since 2007, is now just as large as the men’s, despite the fact that tournaments where the men’s and women’s tour come together rely more heavily on the men’s game to generate revenue.

“It’s just that I think that today men’s tennis is really ahead compared to women.

When Rome became a joint tournament it was to save the women because I remember a final with 20 spectators,” Simon said. “If women’s tennis is more interesting than men’s tennis, if the price of the woman’s final is higher than the price of the men’s final, they will deserve to win more money than us. That’s just the way it works. This is nothing new.”

It’s not an argument about gender – it’s an argument about economic rent. Female gymnasts work pretty hard at their sport as well, but they earn a pittance because no one wants to watch them compete. Is that unfair? Maybe, but it’s the way it works. Is it sexist?

Absolutely not. And the responses from the female tennis players, faced with an argument that makes at least some intuitive sense, have been underwhelming.

“Definitely a lot more people are watching Maria Sharapova than Simon. She’s way hotter than he is,” Serena Williams said. “Women’s tennis, I think, is really awesome.”

Williams may not have been serious but she unwittingly hurt her own cause. Sure, Sharapova is photogenic, and that’s why she’s the world’s highest-paid sportswoman. But if that’s the best argument in favour of equal pay, it doesn’t say much for the product.

AUSSIE BOGANS TERRORISE GENT

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The doubts linger The Tour de France began on the weekend – will it ever be clean?

WORDS TOM STURROCK

Over weekend, the 99th Tour de France began in the Belgian city of Liege and will finish in Paris in three weeks. The race is a monument to supereme athletic endurance, illustrated by some of Europe’s most majestic scenery, but it is an event dogged by skepticism. For the Tour’s first 60 years, doping was part of the race’s very fabric. Riders imbibed everything under the sun to gain an edge – alcohol, ether, toad extract, amphetamines, cocaine, nitroglycerine, even strychnine.

It was only after a series of incidents in the 1950s, when drugged riders injured themselves, that doping became illegal and drug-testing began.

In 1966, a third of riders tested positive for amphetamines.

In 1967, British rider Tommy Simpson died in his saddle, after a combination of drugs and alcohol masked the effects of exhaustion. Steroids eventually became the drug of choice but they were too easily detected. By the 1990s, it was all about erythropoietin (EPO), a drug ostensibly synthesised to boost red-cell production in anaemics. Since then, the Tour has been beset with one doping scandal after another and spectators can be forgiven for questioning how many of the top riders are clean and how many are drug cheats.

Contador rides again Alberto Contador had won the Tour De France three times, most recently in 2010, and was considered one of the world’s best climbers. There were suspicions surround the Spaniard for several years, though – in 2009, after Contador smashed a climbing stage up the Swiss peak of Verbier, former Tour winner Greg LeMond wrote that Contador's perfromance would require an aerobic capacity “that has never been achieved by any athlete in any sport”.

Contador refuted the allegations but when he was

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eventually busted, few were surprised. In 2010, he tested positive for clenbuterol, a steroid used to treat asthma, and plastic residue, which suggested he had used blood transfusions to beat testers. Contador copped a one-year ban but, on appeal, claimed contaminated food was responsible.

The Spanish Cycling Federation cleared him and Contador’s case was referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which last year reiterated the ban, although it meant Contador was able to defend his title last year.

How dodgy is it? The 2006 Tour de France was rocked by the Operacion Puerto case, a Spanish investigation into the doping network of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes. Contador and his Astana teammates were all implicated. At the time, Contador insisted: “I was in the wrong team at the wrong time and somehow my name got among the documents.”

Landis tells tales American cyclist Floyd Landis won the 2006 Tour de France, only to be stripped of his title after returning a urine sample showing a hormone imbalance nearly triple the legal ratio.

It was a landmark in professional cycling – the sport’s most prestigious race sullied as the ugly reality of doping was dragged out from the shadows.

Landis protested his innocence and even released a book, Positively False, and created a website to raise funds to clear his name. But in 2007, he was found guilty and banned for two years. When Landis eventually admitted to doping in 2010, no one was surprised, although many were disgusted by his willingness to ask other people to donate funds to his fraudulent defence. And Landis went a step further, naming others he claimed had also doped, including seven-time Tour winner – and Landis’s former teammate – Lance Armstrong.

Clockwise: Alberto Contador; Floyd Landis; Lance Armstrong

How dodgy is it? Landis claimed members of US Postal used EPO and resorted to blood transfusions to avoid getting caught. Landis charged that ‘clean’ blood was extracted in Armstrong’s apartment and kept in a fridge in his wardrobe.

Landis also claimed that a positive drug test returned by Armstrong had been suppressed after team officials paid off cycling bosses.

Photos: Getty Images

Armstrong implicated In 1996, Armstrong, then 25, was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Even though the tumour metastasized into his brain and lungs, Armstrong recovered and came back to win the Tour de France seven years in a row between 1999 and 2005.

But, in 2010, Tyler Hamilton – an Olympic gold medalist and another of Armstrong’s former teammates, broke his silence. Appearing before a federal grand jury investigating doping in cycling, Hamilton admitted using performanceenhancing drugs and even returned the Olympic gold medal he won in 2004. Speaking to 60 Minutes, Hamilton claimed to have seen Armstrong inject EPO “many, many times” and that he had also used testosterone and undergone blood transfusions to avoid detection, describing it as “the culture of the sport”.

How dodgy is it? Armstrong, now the subject of a fresh prode by US officials, is quick to claim he has never failed a drug test despite being “the most tested athlete in the world”. In the past, Armstrong has insisted: “This has been a (13)-year question... Blood, urine, hair, whatever they wanted to take. At some point, somebody’s going to have to answer that question. I’m not wasting any more of my time.”

But how many former teammates need to implicate Armstrong before the mud sticks?

AND THEY’RE OFF...

KNOW YOUR JERSEYS The Tour de France is held across 21 stages spanning nearly 3500km. The main event is known as the General Classification – the eventual winner is determined by the time elapsed in completing the various stages. During the tour, the leader of the General Classification wears the yellow jersey.

But there's also a Points Classification, where the first 25 riders who finish each stage earn points depending on where they place. The leader of the Points Classification wears the green jersey.

Then there’s the King of the Mountains, which recognises the cyclists who excel in the climbing stages, where riders require a unique fitness base to battle the steepest hills. The leader in these climbing stages wears a white and red polka dot jersey. It’s all very colourful, isn’t it?

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Manly Backpackers 24-28 Raglan St. Manly. 02 9977 3411 manlybackpackers.com.au

Incorporating Shearman Lawyers

CONTACT (02) 8084 5707 or 0412 333 860 or ds@shearmanlawyers.com.au 56

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Sydney Harbour Bridge The Rocks. bridgeclimb.com Sydney Aquarium Darling Harbour. sydneyaquarium.com.au Sydney Wildlife World Darling Harbour. sydneywildlifeworld.com.au Taronga Zoo Mosman. zoo.nsw.gov.au Waves Surf School wavessurfschool.com.au

SYDNEY MUSIC Hordern Pavillion playbillvenues.com Oxford Art Factory oxfordartfactory.com Sydney Opera House sydneyoperahouse.com The Annandale annandalehotel.com

Cammeray Gardens 66 Palmer St, North Sydney. 02 9954 9371 sydneyboardinghouse.com

The Enmore enmoretheatre.com.au

Wake Up! 509 Pitt St, CBD. 02 9288 7888, wakeup.com.au

The Metro metrotheatre.com.au

SYDNEY DO Manly Surf School Manly Beach.

02 9977 6977, manlysurfschool.com Maritime Museum Darling Harbour. anmm.gov.au

sydney city solicitors

ticketmaster.com.au

My Sydney Detour Unique city tours. mysydneydetour.com Oceanworld Manly West Esplanade. oceanworld.com.au Powerhouse Museum Darling Harbour. powerhousemuseum.com.au Skydive the Beach Wollongong. skydivethebeach.com

The Gaelic Hotel thegaelic.com

BLUE MTNS Blue Mountains YHA 207 Katoomba St, Katoomba.

02 4782 1416, yha.com.au

CENTRAL COAST Newcastle Beach YHA 30 Pacific St, Newcastle.

02 4925 3544, yha.com.au Terrigal Beach YHA 9 Ocean View Dr, Terrigal.

02 4384 1919, yha.com.au

BYRON BAY

Sydney Olympic Park Darling Harbour. sydneyolympicpark.nsw. gov.au

Backpackers Holiday Village 116 Jonson St 1800 350 388, byronbaybackpackers.com.au

Sydney Tower and Skytour 100 Market St, CBD. sydneyskytour.com.au

Backpackers Inn 29 Shirley St 1800 817 696, backpackersinnbyronbay.com.au

QLDLISTINGS BRISBANE STAY Aussie Way Backpackers 34 Cricket St. 07 3369 0711, aussiewaybackpackers.com Banana Bender Backpackers 118 Petrie Terrace.

07 3367 1157, bananabenders.com Base Brisbane Embassy 214 Elizabeth St. 07 3166 8000, stayatbase.com Base Brisbane Central 308 Edward St. 07 3211 2433, stayatbase.com Brisbane Backpackers Resort 110 Vulture St, West End. 1800 626 452, brisbanebackpackers.com.au

XXXX Ale House Brewery tours. Cnr Black & Paten St, Milton.

07 3361 7597, xxxxalehouse.com.au

GOLD COAST Aquarius Backpackers 44 Queen St, Surfers Paradise.

1800 22 99 55, aquariusbackpackers.com.au Backpackers in Paradise 40 Peninsula Drive, Surfers Paradise.

1800 268 621, backpackersinparadise.com.au Coolangatta Kirra Beach YHA Pl, 230 Coolangatta Rd, Bilinga.

07 5536 76442, yha.com.au

Brisbane City Backpackers 380 Upper Roma St 1800 062 572, citybackpackers.com

Coolangatta Sands Hostel Cnr Griffiths & McLean Sts, Coolangatta. 07 5536 7472, coolangattasandshostel.com.au

Bunk Backpackers Cnr Ann & Gipps Sts, 1800 682 865, bunkbrisbane.com.au

Gold Coast International BP 28 Hamilton Ave, Surfers. 1800 816 300, goldcoastbackpackers.com.au

The Deck 117 Harcourt Street, New Farm.

04 3377 7061

Islander Backpackers Resort 6 Beach Rd, Surfers Paradise.

1800 074 393, islander.com.au

Tinbilly Travellers Cnr George and Herschel Sts. 1800 446 646, tinbilly.com

Sleeping Inn Surfers 26 Peninsular Dr, Surfers Paradise.

1800 817 832, sleepinginn.com.au

BRISBANE DO

Surfers Paradise Backpackers Resort 2837 Gold Coast Highway, Surfers. 1800 282 800, surfersparadisebackpackers.com.au

Australia Zoo Glasshouse Mountains, Tourist Drive, Beerwah. 07 5436 2000, australiazoo.com. au

Surfers Paradise YHA Mariners Cove, 70 Seaworld Drive, Main Beach, Surfers Paradise.

07 5571 1776, yha.com.au

Gallery of Modern Art 07 3840 7303, qag.qld.gov.au

Trekkers Backpackers 22 White St, Southport. 1800 100 004, trekkersbackpackers.com.au

Riverlife Adventure Centre Kayaking & rock climbing. Lower River Terrace, Kangaroo Point.

07 3891 5766, riverlife.com.au Story Bridge Adventure Climb 170 Main St, Kangaroo Point.

1300 254 627, storybridgeadventureclimb. com.au

IF YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE LOOKING FOR SUMMER FUN THERE IS NO PLACE BETTER THAN THE BRISSIE SUN!

GC DO Dreamworld Theme park. dreamworld.com.au Get Wet Surf School 07 5532 9907

CARVE IT

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SURFING THE GOLD COAST You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t claim to have experienced Australia until youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had a go at the national obsession, surfing. And where else to try it but at Surfers Paradise. Well actually, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re half-decent on a board, Surfers is one of the worse places on the Gold Coast to look for waves â&#x20AC;&#x201C; instead try South Straddie, Snapper Rocks or Burleigh Heads.

However, if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your first go and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for a lesson, then Surfers is, well, paradise.

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QLDLISTINGS

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BOOK NOW

Seaworld seaworld.com.au Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World wetnwild.myfun.com.au

Palace Adventures 184 Torquay St, Hervey Bay, 1800 063 168 palaceadventures.com.au

Warener Bros Movie World movieworld.com.au

BUNDABERG

Zorb 07 5547 6300

Federal Backpackers 221 Bourbong St. 07 4153 3711 federalbackpackers.com.au

SUNSHINE CST Mooloolaba Backpackers 75-77 Brisbane Rd, Mooloolaba.

1800 020 120 mooloolababackpackers.com

Northside Backpackers 12 Queen St. 07 4154 1166 Bundaberg Bondstore Distillery tours.

07 4131 2999 bundabergrum.com.au

Nomads Noosa 44 Noosa Dr, Noosa Heads.

1800 666 237, nomadshostels.com

BOB DYLAN TRIBUTE

Halse Lodge YHA 2 Halse Lane, Noosa. 1800 242 567, halselodge.com.au

Lyric Theatre, Brisbane. July 7. From $99 Celebrate 50 years of blowing in the wind. Featuring artists such as Josh Pyke, Holly Throsby, Kevin Mitchell and Patience Hodgson.

South Bank, Brisbane

RAINBOW BEACH Dingos Backpacker Adventure Resort 20 Spectrum St. 1800 111 126, dingosresort.com

qtix.com.au

HERVEY BAY Aussie Woolshed

Pippies Beach House 22 Spectrum St. 1800 425 356, pippiesbeachhouse.com

181 Torquay Rd 07 4124 0677

Skydive Rainbow Beach 0418 218 358, skydiverainbowbeach.com

Next at Hervey Bay 10 Bideford St. 1800 102 989, nextbackpackers.com.au

woolshedbackpackers.com

Nomads Hervey Bay 408 The Esplanade.

1800 666 237, nomadshostels.com Palace Backpackers 184 Torquay, 1800 063 168, palaceadventures.com.au

FRASER ISLAND Eurong Beach Resort

WORKERS WANTED FOR FARM IN INNISFAIL. Free accommodation and fwood provided. Offers very good working and living conditions.

P

PHONE 0437 692 002

WORKERS WANTED

WORKERS WANTED WORKERS WANTED WORKERS WANTED WORKERS WANTED WORKERS WANTED

AYR NORTH QUEENSLAND

AYR BACKPACKERS stay at Wilmington House

S

Working Hostel of the Burdekin District

s /PEN AND AIRY 1UEENSLAND STYLE FOUR AND SIX BEDROOMS s )NTERNET #AFÏ s 0OOL ""1S AND TROPICAL GARDENS s 4ABLE TENNIS AND &2%% POOL TABLE s ,OCKERS s #LEAN COMFORTABLE QUIET AND FRIENDLY s 4RANSPORT PROVIDED TO WORK s &IVE MINUTE WALK TO MAIN STREET SHOPPING AND FAST FOOD STORE s &REE PICK UP FROM !YR BUS TERMINAL AND RAILWAY STATION s 6IDEO AND 46 ROOMS s &IVE FULL KITCHEN FACILITIES

WORKERS WANTED Call Mick & Daphne 07 4783 5837

WORKERS WANTED WORKERS WANTED WORKERS WANTED WORKERS WANTED WORKERS WANTED

58

07 4120 1600, eurong.com.au

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TOWN OF 1770 1770 Backpackers 6 Captain Cook Dr. 1800 121 770, the1770backpackers.com 1770 Undersea Adventures 1300 553 889, 1770underseaadventures.com

AIRLIE BEACH airliebeach.com 259 Shute Harbour Rd. 1800 677 119

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Airlie Beach YHA 394 Shute Harbour Rd. 1800 247 251, yha.com.au Backpackers by the Bay 12 Hermitage Dr. 1800 646 994, backpackersbythebay.com Base Airlie Beach Resort 336 Shute Harbour Rd. 1800 242 273, stayatbase.com Magnums Whitsunday Village Resort 366 Shute Harbour Rd. 1800 624 634 magnums.com.au

BOWEN Bowen Backpackers Beach end of Herbert St. 07 4786 3433 bowenbackpackers.net

TOWNSVILLE Adventurers Resort 79 Palmer St. 1800 211 522, adventurersresort.com Adrenalin Dive Yongala diving.

07 4724 0600, adrenalindive.com.au Yongala Dive Yongala diving.

07 4783 1519, yongaladive.com.au

QUEENSLAND’S BEST BACKPACKERS

Reception open 24/7 for your convenience Beer garden & cocktail lounge open 7 days Awesome, well-travelled local staff Pool & hot tub for lazy afternoons Free drop-off to Koala Sanctuary Global Gossip & wireless internet All rooms are air-conditioned Ensuite rooms available Surround sound TV lounge Huge self-catering kitchen Tour & Travel Sales Desk

QLD’S #1 HOSTEL

www.bunkbrisbane.com.au Untitled-1 1

1800 682 865 or +61 7 3257 3644

16/4/12 5:22:16 PM

. . .

E R E H Y L L A IN F E â&#x20AC;&#x2122;R YOU

LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!

DA9 K F LG <AN= OAL@ 9MKLJ9 L9C= L@= HDMF?=$ D=9J LS NA SIO VE PROFES GREAT BARRIER REEF DI

QLDLISTINGS MAGNETIC ISL Base Magnetic Island 1 Nelly Bay Rd. 1800 24 22 73, stayatbase.com Bungalow Bay Backpackers Horseshoe Bay. 1800 285 577, bungalowbay.com.au Hotel Arcadia 7 Marine Pde, Arcadia Bay. 07 4778 5177 magnetic-island.com/arc-rsrt.htm Pleasure Divers 07 4778 5788

MISSION BEACH Absolute Backpackers 28 Wongaling Beach Road. 07 4068 8317, absolutebackpackers.com.au Scottyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beach House 167 Reid Rd. 07 4068 8676, scottysbeachhouse.com.au

CAIRNS STAY Bohemia Central Cairns 100 Sheridan St. 1800 558 589, bohemiacentral.com.au

Nomads Beach House 239 Sheridan St. 1800 229 228, nomadshostels.com

CAIRNS DO AJ Hackett Bungy jumping & canyon swinging.

1800 622 888 cairns.ajhackett.com Pro Dive 07 4031 5255, prodivecairns.com Raging Thunder Adventures Whitewater rafting.

07 4030 7990, ragingthunder.com.au Skydive Cairns 07 4052 1822, skydivecairns.com.au

CAPE TRIB

Calypso Backpackers 5 Digger St. 1800 815 628, calypsobackpackers.com.au

Crocodylus Village Lot 5, Buchanan Creek Rd, Cow Bay. 07 4098 9166, crocodyluscapetrib.com

JJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Backpackers Hostel 11 Charles St. 07 4051 7642, jjsbackpackers.com Harbour 141 Sheridan St.

PKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jungle Village Cnr Avalon & Cape Trib Rd. 1800 232 333, pksjunglevillage.com.au

Bohemia Resort Cairns 231 McLeod St. 1800 155 353, bohemiaresort.com.au

Our 5 Day PADI Open water course is the most popular way to do it.

1800 807 055, njoy.net.au

7/2+%23 7!.4%$ &RUIT AND 6EGETABLE PICKING JOBS AVAILABLE

s 4RANSPORT TO FROM WORK s &2%% COURTESY BUS PICK UP s ,AUNDRY FACILITIES s )NTERNET FACILITIES s 0LEASANT AND FRIENDLY STAFF

We also specialise in Liveaboard dive trips and all levels of dive education.

s "ISTRO AVAILABLE AT "ANJO S TAVERN NEXT DOOR

6!2)%49 /& 7/2+ !6!),!",% 9%!2 2/5.$

"REEZY 4ROPICAL VERANDAHS CLEAN FRIENDLY #LOSE TO SHOPS BANKS OLYMPIC POOL

&EDERAL "ACKPACKERS "OURBONG 3T "UNDABERG 1LD

0HONE www.prodivecairns.com SHOP: Cnr Shields & Grafton Sts, Cairns FREECALL: 1800 353 213 PHONE: +617 4031 5255 RES: info@prodivecairns.com 60

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WWW FEDERALBACKPACKERS COM AU FEDERALBACKPACKERS HOTMAIL COM #OMPLIES WITH ALL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS QUANTITY DEPENDS ON SEASON

Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Gold Coast

Famous for fun

AdventureGoldCoast.com

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MELBOURNE STAY

BOOK NOW

All Nations Backpackers Hotel & Bar 2 Spencer St. 1800 222 238, allnations.com.au Base Melbourne 17 Carlisle St, St. Kilda. 1800 242 273, stayatbase.com Central Melbourne Accommodation 21 Bromham Place, Richmond. 03 9427 9826, centralaccommodation.net

EIFFEL 56 + N-TRANCE

The Greenhouse Backpacker Level 6, 228 Flinders Lane.

1800 249 207, greenhousebackpacker.com.au

Home at the Mansion 66 Victoria Parade. 03 9663 4212, homemansion.com.au Home Travellers Motel 32 Carlisle St, St Kilda.

1800 008 718, hometravellersmotel.com.au

Palace Theatre. Sept 20. $52.60 The Nineties are well and truly back as these two bands from the end of the decade step back in time for the Stayinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Blue tour.

Bourke St, Melbourne

ticketek.com.au

Hotel Bakpak Melbourne 167 Franklin St. 1800 645 200, hotelbakpak.com Melbourne Central YHA 562 Flinders St. 03 9621 2523, yha.com.au

Melbourne Cricket Ground Brunton Av. 03 9657 8888 mcg.org.au

The Tote thetotehotel.com

Old Melbourne Gaol 377 Russell St. 03 8663 7228, oldmelbournegaol.com.au Official Neighbours Tours 570 Flinders St. 03 9629 5866, neighbourstour.com.au

Space Hotel 380 Russell St. 1800 670 611, spacehotel.com.au The Spencer 475 Spencer St. 1800 638 108, hotelspencer.com

Nomads Melbourne 198 Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;beckett St. 1800 447 762, nomadshostels.com

MELBOURNE DO

Northcote Social Club northcotesocialclub.com Palace Theatre palace.com.au

National Gallery of Victoria Federation Square. ngv.vic.gov.au

Flinders Station Hotel 35 Elizabeth St. 03 9620 5100, flindersbackpackers.com.au

Esplanade Hotel espy.com.au

Melbourne Aquarium Cnr of Flinders St & King St. 03 9923 5999, melbourneaquarium.com.au

Melbourne Museum 11 Nicholson St, Carlton. 13 11 02 melbourne.museum.vic.gov.au

Exford Hotel 199 Russell St. 03 9663 2697, exfordhotel.com.au

Habitat HQ 333 St Kilda Road, St Kilda. 1800 202 500, habitathq.com.au

Australian Centre for the Moving Image Federation Square.

03 8663 2200, acmi.net.au

MELB MUSIC Cherry Bar myspace.com/cherrybarmelbourne Corner Hotel cornerhotel.com East Brunswick Club eastbrunswickclub.com

The Hi-Fi thehifi.com.au

GREAT OCEAN RD Anglesea Backpackers 40 Noble St, Anglesea.

03 5263 2664, angleseabackpackers.com.au Eco Beach YHA 5 Pascoe St. 03 5237 7899, yha.com.au Great Ocean Road Backpackers YHA 10 Erskine Av, Lorne.

03 5289 2508, yha.com.au Port Campbell Hostel 18 Tregea St, Port Campbell.

03 5598 6305, portcampbellhostel.com.au Surfside Backpackers Cnr Great Ocean Rd & Gambier St, Apollo Bay. 1800 357 263, surfsidebackpacker.com

Stay. Play.

Melbourne.

$20

Accommodation from $20 a night (subject to availability)

Maximum 4 bed dormitories with linen and towel FREE all you can eat breakfast (cereal, toast and juice), weekly meal, rice and pasta, tea and coffee FREE in room oversized locker with personal power point 5 minute walk to city Large bar with big screen (all major sporting events shown) Drink specials at the bar Public transport on doorstep

UC103

Unique value tour packages

Book Now 1800

631 288 urbancentral.com.au

334 CITY ROAD SOUTHBANK MELBOURNE VIC 3006 AUSTRALIA

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VICLISTINGS

follow us on Eco Beach YHA 5 Pascoe St. 03 5237 7899, yha.com.au Great Ocean Road Backpackers YHA 10 Erskine Av, Lorne.

03 5289 2508, yha.com.au Port Campbell Hostel 18 Tregea St, Port Campbell.

03 5598 6305, portcampbellhostel.com.au Surfside Backpackers Cnr Great Ocean Rd & Gambier St, Apollo Bay. 1800 357 263, surfsidebackpacker.com

DON’T MISS

MORNINGTON

MUMFORD AND SONS Rod Laver Arena. Oct 18. $TBA Get in quick because this tour will sell like hotcakes. The Sons are bringing indie rockers Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros too.

Batman Ave, Melbourne

MELBOURNE STAY

MELBOURNE DO

All Nations Backpackers Hotel & Bar 2 Spencer St. 1800 222 238, allnations.com.au

Australian Centre for the Moving Image Federation Square.

03 8663 2200, acmi.net.au

Base Melbourne 17 Carlisle St, St. Kilda. 1800 242 273, stayatbase.com

Melbourne Aquarium Cnr of Flinders St & King St. 03 9923 5999, melbourneaquarium.com.au

Central Melbourne Accommodation 21 Bromham Place, Richmond. 03 9427 9826, centralaccommodation.net

Melbourne Cricket Ground Brunton Av. 03 9657 8888 mcg.org.au

Exford Hotel 199 Russell St. 03 9663 2697, exfordhotel.com.au

Melbourne Museum 11 Nicholson St, Carlton. 13 11 02 melbourne.museum.vic.gov.au

Flinders Station Hotel 35 Elizabeth St. 03 9620 5100, flindersbackpackers.com.au The Greenhouse Backpacker Level 6, 228 Flinders Lane.

1800 249 207, greenhousebackpacker.com.au Habitat HQ 333 St Kilda Road, St Kilda. 1800 202 500, habitathq.com.au Home at the Mansion 66 Victoria Parade. 03 9663 4212, homemansion.com.au Home Travellers Motel 32 Carlisle St, St Kilda.

1800 008 718, hometravellersmotel.com.au Hotel Bakpak Melbourne 167 Franklin St. 1800 645 200, hotelbakpak.com Melbourne Central YHA 562 Flinders St. 03 9621 2523, yha.com.au

64

ticketmaster.com.au

Bayplay Lodge 46 Canterbury Jetty Rd, Blairgowrie.

03 5988 0188, bayplay.com.au Sorrento Foreshore Reserve Nepean Hwy. 1800 850 600, mornpen.vic.gov.au Sorrento YHA 3 Miranda St,

Sorrento.

03 5984 4323, yha.com.au Tortoise Head Lodge French Island.

03 5980 1234, tortoisehead.net

DANDENONG Emerald Backpackers 03 5968 4086

MURRAY RIVER Echuca Gardens YHA 103 Av, Mitchell St, Echuca.

03 5480 6522, yha.com.au Mildura City Backpackers 50 Lemon Ave, Mildura.

03 5022 7922, milduracitybackpackers.com.au Oasis Backpackers 230 Deakin Av, Mildura.

04 0734 4251, milduraoasisbackpackers.com.au

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GIPPSLAND Prom Country Backpackers 03 5682 2614 Rawsom Caravan Park Depot Rd, Rawson.

03 5165 3439, rawsoncaravanpark.com.au

PHILLIP ISLAND Amaroo Park YHA 97 Church St, Cowes.

03 5952 3620, yha.com.au The Island Accommodation 10-12 Phillip Island Tourist Road. 03 5956 6123 theislandaccommodation.com.au

GRAMPIANS Grampians YHA Eco Hostel Cnr Grampians & Buckler Rds, Halls Gap. 03 5356 4543, yha.com.au

ROCK OUT

National Gallery of Victoria Federation Square. ngv.vic.gov.au Old Melbourne Gaol 377 Russell St. 03 8663 7228, oldmelbournegaol.com.au Official Neighbours Tours 570 Flinders St. 03 9629 5866, neighbourstour.com.au

MELB MUSIC Cherry Bar myspace.com/cherrybarmelbourne Corner Hotel cornerhotel.com East Brunswick Club eastbrunswickclub.com Esplanade Hotel espy.com.au Northcote Social Club northcotesocialclub.com

Nomads Melbourne 198 A’beckett St. 1800 447 762, nomadshostels.com

Palace Theatre palace.com.au

Space Hotel 380 Russell St. 1800 670 611, spacehotel.com.au

The Tote thetotehotel.com

THE GREAT OCEAN WALK

GREAT OCEAN RD

The Spencer 475 Spencer St. 1800 638 108, hotelspencer.com

Anglesea Backpackers 40 Noble St, Anglesea.

03 5263 2664, angleseabackpackers.com.au

The Great Ocean Walk (GOW) is located between the Great Ocean Road and the sea, and it’s a 91km track which stretches from Apollo Bay to Glenample Homestead, adjacent to the 12 Apostles, passing through the Great Otway and Port Campbell National Parks. The entire track will take you about a week, or choose to ‘step on and step off’ the trail, completing short, day, overnight or multi-day hikes, ranging from easy walks to difficult treks. You will experience some of the most spectacular coast and forest scenery, wildlife, rocky platforms, and sheltered beaches in Australia.

The Hi-Fi thehifi.com.au

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DARWIN STAY Banyan View Lodge Darwin 119 Mitchell St. 08 8981 8644, banyanviewlodge.com.au

KATHERINE STAY

DON’T MISS

BIG4 Katherine Holiday Park 20 Shadforth Road.

1800 501 984, big4.com.au

Elkes Backpackers 112 Mitchell St. 1800 808 365, elkesbackpackers.com.au

KATHERINE DO

Gecko Lodge 146 Mitchell St. 1800 811 250, geckolodge.com.au

Youth Shack 69 Mitchell St. 1300 793 302, youthshack.com.au

DARWIN DO Crocosaurus Cove Crocodile park and cage of death. 58 Mitchell St. 08 8981 7522, crocosauruscove.com Deckchair Cinema Jervois Rd, Darwin Waterfront.

08 8981 0700, deckchaircinema.com.au

ALICE DO Alice Springs Desert Park Larapinta Drive.

08 8951 8788, alicespringsdesertpark.com.au

Airborne Solutions Scenic helicopter flights.

08 8972 2345 airbornesolutions.com.au

Frogshollow Backpackers 27 Lindsay St. 1800 068 686, frogs-hollow.com.au

Melaleuca on Mitchell 52 Mitchell St. 1300 723 437, momdarwin.com

Toddy’s Resort 41 Gap Rd. 1800 027 027, toddys.com.au

Palm Court Kookaburra Backpackers Giles St. 1800 626 722

Darwin YHA 97 Mitchell St. 08 8981 5385, yha.com.au

Alice Springs Reptile Centre Meet and hold lizards.

9 Stuart Terrace.

08 8952 8900, reptilecentre.com.au

Nitmiluk Tours Gorge cruises and kayak hire. 1300 146 743 nitmiluktours.com.au

BEER CAN REGATTA Mindil Beach, Darwin. July 15. Free One of the country’s quirkiest festivals make waves next week. Beers and boats have always been a great mix, so sink a few as they sink!

Mindil Beach Darwin Fannie Bay Gaol Heritage prison. East Point Road, Fannie Bay. 08 8941 2260, nt.gov.au Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory 19 Conacher St, Bullocky Point.

08 8999 8264, magnt.nt.gov.au

beercanregatta.org.au Oz Jet Boating Stokes Hill Wharf.

1300 135 595, ozjetboating.com.au Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise Adelaide River.

08 8978 9077, jumpingcrocodile.com.au Wave Lagoon Waterfront Precinct. waterfront.nt.gov.au

TENNANT CREEK Tourist Rest Leichardt St. 08 8962 2719, touristrest.com.au

Outback Ballooning Hot air balloon rides.

1800 809 790, outbackballooning.com.au Royal Flying Doctor Service Base Museum and operations room.

Stuart Terrace. 08 8952 1129, flyingdoctor.net

ALICE SPRINGS Alice Lodge 4 Mueller St. 08 8953 1975, alicelodge.com.au Alice Springs YHA Cnr Parsons St & Leichhardt Tce. 08 8952 8855, yha.com.au Annie’s Place 4 Traeger Ave. 1800 359 089, anniesplace.com.au

Haven Resort 3 Larapinta Drive.

1800 794 663, alicehaven.com.au

School of the Air Long-distance schooling museum.

80 Head St. 08 8951 6834, assoa.nt.edu.au The Rock Tour Uluru tours.

78 Todd St. 1800 246 345, therocktour.com.au

WORD FROM THE STREET

Sara Chare, England WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE NT? Katherine, Darwin, Kakadu, Alice Springs, Uluru, The Olgas and Kings Canyon FAVOURITE DAY SPOT IN THE NT? Kings Canyon because it was so unexpected. I knew I was going to see Uluru but to find these rock formations that look like an ancient city blew me away AND NIGHT SPOT? Darwin’s Deckchair Cinema because you could never have that at home in the UK because of the rain.

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65

TASLISTINGS HOBART STAY

LAUNCESTON DO

DON’T MISS

Central City Backpackers 138 Collins St. 1800 811 507, centralbackpackers.com.au

Montgomery’s YHA 9 Argyle St. 03 6231 2660, yha.com.au

Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery 2 Invermay Rd & 2 Wellington St. 03 6323 3777, qvmag.tas.gov.au

Narrara Backpackers 88 Goulburn St. 03 6234 8801, narrarabackpackers.com

Tasmania Zoo 1166 Ecclestone Rd. 03 6396 6100, tasmaniazoo.com.au

Pickled Frog 281 Liverpool St. 03 6234 7977, thepickledfrog.com

DEVONPORT Republic Bar. July 25. $27.90 The lead singer of Aussie rock band Thirsty Merc is heading out on a rare solo tour this month to road test some new material.

HOBART DO

Elizabeth St, Hobart

PORT ARTHUR Port Arthur Historic Ghost Tours 1800 659 101, portarthur.org.au

Salamanca Markets Every Saturday, Salamanca Place. salamanca.com.au Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery 5 Argyle St. tmag.com.au

Tasman Backpackers 114 Tasman St. 03 6423 2335, tasmanbackpackers.com.au

RAI THISTLETHWAYTE

Cascade Brewery 140 Cascade Rd. 03 6224 1117 cascadebreweryco.com.au Mt Wellington Descent Bike tours. 03 6274 1880 mtwellingtondescent.com.au

Cataract Gorge launcestoncataractgorge.com.au Centre for Beer Lovers Boag’s Brewery, 39 William St. 03 6332 6300, boags.com.au

Hobart Hostel 41 Barrack St. 1300 252 192, hobarthostel.com

Transit Backpackers 251 Liverpool St. 03 6231 2400, transitbackpackers.com

LAUNCESTON Arthouse Backpacker Hostel 20 Lindsay St. 1800 041 135, arthousehostel.com.au

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Launceston Backpackers 103 Canning St. 03 6334 2327, launcestonbackpackers.com.au

ADVENTURE

CRADLE DO Devils at Cradle Tassie devil sanctuary. 3950 Cradle Mountain Rd. 03 6492 1491. devilsatcradle.com Overland Track Six-day walk parks.tas.gov.au

FREYCINET Iluka Backpackers YHA Reserve Rd. 03 6257 0115, yha.com.au Freycinet National Park Brewery, Wineglass Bay camping. 03 6256 7000, wineglassbay.com

BICHENO

moshix.com.au

Lloyds Hotel 23 George St. 03 6331 9906, backpackersaccommodation.com.au

Mt Roland Budget Backpacker Rooms 1447 Claude Rd, Gowrie Park. 03 6491 1385

Bicheno Backpackers 11 Morrison St. 03 6375 1651, bichenobackpackers.com Bicheno Penguin Tours 03 6375 1333, bichenopenguintours.com.au

CRADLE MTN Discovery Holiday Parks Cradle Mountain Rd. 1800 068 574, discoveryholidayparks.com.au

STRAHAN, Strahan YHA 43 Harvey St. 03 6471 7255, yha.com

STRAHAN DO Four Wheelers Henty Sand Dunes quadbike tours. 04 1950 8175, 4wheelers.com.au Water by Nature Extreme multiday whitewater rafting. 1800 111 142, franklinrivertasmania.com

WORD FROM THE STREET

Alex Vivas, England

Photo: Tourism Tasmania

FRANKLIN-GORDON NATIONAL PARK

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This World Heritage area in Tasmania, made globally famous by the intensely-fought conservation campaign in the 80s to get it protected, is about as wild, rugged and inaccessible an area as you could hope to find in Australia. Those with an adventurous spirit will struggle to beat the experience of rafting the mighty and dangerous Franklin River. Expeditions range from five to 10 days and offer the only opportunity to access the major Aboriginal site at Kutikina Cave. If you don’t have as much time, trek to the top of Frenchman’s Cap for views across the whole south-west. The park starts about 120km to the west of Hobart.

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WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN IN TASSIE? All over really. Love it here so much I’ve been twice FAVOURITE DAY SPOT? I loved the Overland Track in general; really spectacular and I saw a platypus in the wild. Wineglass Bay is an obvious bone, but possibly the prettiest beach in Australia (you can camp in the bush right next to it, loved that). Bay of Fires, Stanley’s Nut, Strahan, The far south too, including Bruny Island, is hardly visited but very beautiful NIGHTSPOT? It’s got to be Hobart really. There are some cosy welcoming watering holes down near the harbour

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ADELAIDE STAY

1 Oliver St. 1800 633 891, radekadownunder.com.au

Adelaide Backpackers Inn 112 Carrington St. 1800 24 77 25, adpi.com.au

Riba’s Underground 1811 William Creek Rd. 08 8672 5614, camp-underground.com.au

Adelaide Central YHA 135 Waymouth St. 08 8414 3010, yha.com.au

KANGAROO IS

Adelaide Travellers Inn 220 Hutt St. 08 8224 0753, adelaidebackpackers.com.au Annie’s Place 239 Franklin St. 1800 818 011, anniesplace.com.au Backpack Oz 144 Wakefield St. 1800 633 307, backpackoz.com.au Blue Galah Backpackers Lvl 1, 52-62, King William St. 08) 8231 9295, bluegalah.com.au Glenelg Beach Hostel 5-7 Moseley St. Glenelg. 1800 359 181, glenelgbeachhostel.com.au Hostel 109 109 Carrington St. 1800 099 318, hostel109.com My Place 257 Waymouth St. 1800 221 529, adelaidehostel.com.au Shakespeare Hostel 123 Waymouth St. 1800 556 889, shakeys.com.au

ADELAIDE DO Adelaide Oval Home to the Donald Bradman collection. War Memorial Drive.

08 8300 3800 cricketsa.com.au

DON’T MISS THE BAMBOOS The Gov, Adelaide. July 7. $37.60 They’re about to release their fifth and biggest album yet, so catch them as they tour in support of the oh so infectious Medicine Man.

Port Hindmarsh, Adelaide

Adelaide Zoo Frome Rd. 08 8267 3255, zoossa.com.au Haigh’s Chocolates Factory tours. 153 Greenhill Rd, Parkside 1800 819 757, haighschocolates.com.au Temptation Sailing Dolphin swimming, Glenelg.

04 1281 1838 dolphinboat.com.au

Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience Sea lion and dolphin swims.

08 8626 5017 bairdbay.com

Vivonne Bay Lodge 66 Knofel Drive, Vivonne Bay 13 13 01 seaink.com.au

Calypso Star Charters Great white shark cage diving.

08 8682 3939, sharkcagediving.com.au

RIVERLAND

moshtix.com.au

BAROSSA VAL

Harvest Trail Lodge Loxton.

08 8584 5646, harvesttrail.com.au

COOBER PEDY Opal Cave Coober Pedy Hutchinson St. 08 8672 5028, opalcavecooberpedy.com.au Radeka Down Under

EYRE PENINSULA Coodlie Park Farmstay Flinders Highway, Port Kenny.

08 8687 0411 coodliepark.com

Kangaroo Island YHA 33 Middle Terrace, Penneshaw.

08 8553 1344 yha.com.au

Berri Backpackers Sturt Highway, Berri.

08 8582 3144, berribackpackers.com.au

Barossa Backpackers 9 Basedow Road Tanunda.

08 8563 0198, barossabackpackers.com.au

Port Elliot Beach House YHA 13 The Strand, Port Elliot. 08 8554 2785 yha.com.au

Nomads on Murray Sturt Highway, Kingston on Murray.

1800 665 166, nomadsworld.com Riverland Backpackers Labour Hire Services 08 8583 0211

FLEURIEU PENIN

Nullarbor Traveller Tours across to Perth.

1800 816 858 the-traveller.com.au Port Lincoln Tourist Park 11 Hindmarsh St. 08 8621 4444, portlincolntouristpark.com.au Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions Great white shark cage diving.

08 8363 1788 rodneyfox.com.au

FLINDERS RANGES Angorichina Tourist Village 08 8648 4842, angorichinavillage.com.au Wilpena Pound Resort Wilpena Rd. 08 8648 0004, wilpenapound.com.au

LION’S DEN

Whether it’s cuddling a koala, feeding a kangaroo or diving with sharks, meeting the locals is a big part of travelling around Oz. But perhaps the most overlooked and under-rated animal experience Down Under is swimming with seals. You’re unlikely to find a more friendly, sociable and fun creature in the sea. One of the best places to play around with them is sleepy fishing village Baird Bay, which is home to a large sea lion colony, plus plenty of dolphins. Named after an early settler who got speared by local Aboriginals, remote Baird Bay is also great for escaping the crowds. You’ll find it on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula, west of Adelaide.

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Photo: Tourism Australia

BAIRD BAY

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WALISTINGS

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One World Backpackers 162 Aberdeen St, Northbridge.

1800 188 100, oneworldbackpackers.com.au Perth City YHA 300 Wellington St. 08 9287 3333, yha.com.au The Old Swan Barracks 6 Francis St. 08 9428 0000, theoldswanbarracks.com Underground Backpackers 268 Newcastle St, Northbridge.

08 9228 3755, undergroundbackpackers.com.au

DON’T MISS

The Witch’s Hat 148 Palmerston St. 08 9228 4228, witchshat.com

PARKLIFE Wellington Square. Oct 1. From $123 It’s the festival that kicks off the season and the line-up includes The Presets, Robyn, Plan B, Chiddy Band, Passion Pit and more.

East Perth

ticketmaster.com.au

PERTH STAY Billabong Backpackers Resort 381 Beaufort St. 08 9328 7720, billabongresort.com.au Britannia on William 253 William St, Northbridge.

08 9227 6000, perthbrittania.com

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Emperor’s Crown 85 Stirling St, Northbridge. 1800 991 553, emperorscrown.com.au Globe Backpackers & City Oasis Resort 561 Wellington St. 08 9321 4080, globebackpackers.com.au Ocean Beach Backpackers 1 Eric St, Cottlesloe. 08 9384 5111, oceanbeachbackpackers.com.au

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PERTH DO Aquarium of Western Australia 91 Southside Drive, Hillarys.

08 9447 7500, aqwa.com.au Kings Park & Botanic Garden bgpa.wa.gov.au Perth Mint 310 Hay St. 08 9421 7223, perthmint.com.au Perth Zoo 20 Labouchere Road, South Perth. 08 9474 3551, perthzoo.wa.gov.au

DON’T MISS BILL BAILEY Riverside Theatre. Aug 26. From $79.90 There will be music, twisted logic, political ranting, brilliant visuals and animation as the English comedian tours the country.

Mounts Bay Rd, Perth

PERTH MUSIC Amplifier amplifiercapitol.com.au Astor liveattheastor.com.au Mojo’s Bar mojosbar.com.au The Bakery nowbaking.com.au The Rosemount Hotel rosemounthotel.com.au

ticketek.com.au

FREO STAY Backpackers Inn Freo 11 Pakenham St. 08 9431 7065, backpackersinnfreo.com.au Old Firestation Backpackers 18 Phillimore St. 08 9430 5454, fremantleprison.com.au

WALISTINGS Sundancer Backpackers Resort 80 High St. 08 9336 6080, sundancerbackpackers.com.au

FREO DO Fremantle Markets 08 9335 2515, fremantlemarkets.com.au Fremantle Prison 1 The Terrace.

08 9336 9200, backpackersinnfreo.com.au

ROTTNEST ISL

08 9842 9599, cruizeinn.com Metro Inn Albany 270 Albany Hwy. 1800 004 321, metrohotels.com.au

MONKEY MIA Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort 1800 653 611, monkeymia.com.au

NINGALOO REEF

Rottnest Island YHA Kingstown Barracks.

08 9372 9780, yha.com.au

Blue Reef Backpackers 3 Truscott Crescent, Exmouth 1800 621 101, aspenparks.com.au

Rottnest Express 1300 Go Rotto rottnestexpress.com.au

Ningaloo Club Coral Bay 08 9948 5100, ningalooclub.com

MARGARET RIV Margaret River Lodge YHA 220 Railway Tce. 08 9757 9532, yha.com.au

ALBANY Albany Bayview Backpackers YHA 49 Duke St . 08 9842 3388, yha.com.au Cruize-Inn 122 Middleton Rd.

Excape Backpackers YHA Murat Rd, Exmouth.

08 9949 1200, yha.com.au

BROOME STAY Cable Beach Backpackers 12 Sanctuary Road.

1800 655 011, cablebeachbackpackers.com Kimberley Club 62 Fredrick St 08 9192 3233, kimberleyklub.com

WORD FROM THE STREET

Ben Proctor, England WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN IN WA? We drove from Perth to Broome, and also Margaret River FAVOURITE DAY SPOT? Turquoise Bay near Exmouth FAVOURITE NIGHT SPOT? Sitting on Cable Beach in Broome MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE? The Sunset Cruise on Shark Bay at Monkey Mia Resort. Also the Dirty Detour Sip and Cycle Wine Tasting in the Margaret River, both of these experiences are highly recommended!

7 ,Ê -/Ê "-/ Ê Ê7 ÊÓääÇ -/ÊÓäänÊEÊÓää

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NZLISTINGS BUS TOURS Kiwi Experience +64 9366 9830 kiwiexperience.com Magic Travellers Network +64 9358 5600, magicbus.co.nz Nakedbus.com 0900 62533, nakedbus.com NZ Travelpass 0800 339 966, travelpass.co.nz

Rent-A-Dent 0800 736 823, rentadent.co.nz Rental Car Village +64 9376 9935, hire-vehicles.co.nz Spaceships 1300 139 091, spaceships.tv Standby Cars 1300 789 059, standbycars.com.au Wicked Campers 1800 246 869, wickedcampers.com

Stray +64 9309 8772, straytravel.com

RENTAL FIRMS Ace Rental Cars 1800 140 026, acerentalcars.com.nz Backpacker Campervan & Car Rentals +800 200 80 801, backpackercampervans.com Bargain Rental Cars 0800 001 122, bargainrentals.com.nz Darn Cheap Rentals 0800 447 363, exploremore.co.nz Econo Campers +64 9275 9919, econocampers.co.nz Escape Rentals 1800 456 272, escaperentals.co.nz Explore More 1800 800 327, dcrentals.com.nz Jucy Rentals 0800 399 736, jucy.com.nz

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AUCKLAND Airport Skyway Lodge Backpackers (BBH) 30 Kirkbride Road, Mangere. +64 9275 4443, skywaylodge.co.nz Auckland International Backpackers (BBH) 2 Churton St, Parnell. +64358 4584, Base Auckland 229 Queen St. 0800 227 369, stayatbase.com Bamber House (BBH) 2 2 View Rd, Mt Eden. +64 9623 4267, hostelbackpacker.com

follow us on The Fat Camel (Nomads) 38 Fort St. +64 9307 0181, nomadshostels.com

Nomads Capital 118 Wakefield St. 0508 666 237, nomadscapital.com

Nomads Auckland 16-20 Fort St. +64 9300 9999, nomadshostels.com

Rosemere Backpackers (BBH) 6 McDonald Cres. +64 4384 3041, backpackerswellington.co.nz

Oaklands Lodge (BBH) St. +64 5A Oaklands Rd, Mt Eden. +64 9638 6545, oaklands.co.nz

Rowena’s Backpackers (VIP) 115 Brougham St. 0800 80 1414

Queen Street Backpackers (VIP) 4 Fort St. +64 9373 3471, enquiries@qsb.co.nz Surf ‘n’ Snow Backpackers 102 Albert St. +64 9363 8889, surfandsnow.co.nz YHA Auckland City Cnr City Rd & Liverpool St. +64 9309 2802, yha.co.nz YHA Auckland International 5 Turner St. +64 9302 8200, yha.co.nz

WELLINGTON Base Wellington 21-23 Cambridge Tce. +64 4801 5666 stayatbase.com

Central City Backpackers 26 Lorne St. +64 9358 5685, backpacker.net.nz

Downtown Wellington Backpackers (BBH) 1 Bunny St. +64 4473 8482 db@downtownbackpackers.co.nz

City Garden Lodge 25 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell. +64 9302 0880

Lodge in the City (VIP) 152 Taranaki St. +64 4385 8560 lodgeinthecity.co.nz

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YHA Wellington City 292 Wakefield St. +64 4801 7280

CHRISTCHURCH Chester Street Backpackers (BBH) 148 Chester St East. +64 3377 1897, chesterst.co.nz Foley Towers (BBH) 208 Kilmore St. +64 3366 9720, backpack.co.nz/foley Jailhouse Accommodation (BBH) 338 Lincoln Rd. 0800 524 546, stay@kiwibasecamp.com

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QUEENSTOWN Base Discovery Lodge St. +64 Queenstown 49 Shotover St. +64 3441 1185, stayatbase.com Bungi Backpackers (VIP, BBH) 15 Sydney St. 0800 728 286, bungibackpackers.co.nz Cardrona Alpine Resort Between Queenstown and Wanaka. +64 3443 7341, cardrona.com Flaming Kiwi Backpackers (BBH) 39 Robins Rd. +64 3442 5494, flamingkiwi@xtra.co.nz Hippo Lodge (BBH) 4 Anderson Hts. +64 3442 5785, hippolodge.co.nz Nomads Queenstown 5-11 Church St. +64 3441 3922, nomadshostels.com

Kiwi House 373 Gloucester St. +64 3381 6645, kiwihouse.co.nz

Pinewood Lodge (VIP) 48 Hamilton Rd. 0800 7463 9663, rgrieg@xtra.co.nz

The Old Countryhouse (BBH) 437 Gloucester St. +64 3381 5504, oldcountryhousenz.com

Southern Laughter (BBH, VIP) 4 Isle St. 0800 728 448, southernlaughter.co.nz

Tranquil Lodge (BBH) 440 Manchester St. +64 3366 6500, tranquil-lodge.co.nz

YHA Queenstown Central 48A Shotover Street. +64 3442 7400, yha.co.nz

Rucksacker Backpacker Hostel (BBH) 70 Bealey Ave. +64 3377 7931, rucksacker.com

YHA Queenstown Lakefront 8890 Lake Esplanade. +64 3442 8413, yha.co.nz

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Looking for

work? tntdownunder.com/jobs

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71

OZWORK

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All hands on desk If you like working with people but don’t have any qualifications then office work is a great way to gain skills in Australia

“Working nine to five, what a way to make a living.”

Someone sang that years ago, and it still rings true. Office hours are great for travellers because you’ll have your weekends free to explore and your evenings free to “get to know the locals”. It’s the kind of work where you don’t have to get too serious, but it still looks good on your CV. So, you’ve arrived in Oz but you don’t have a qualification after your name. Have you considered admin work? In this field you’ll receive on-the-job training and gain some useful skills and experience along the way.

Job Capital executive Victoria Brown tells us that most office or admin roles don’t necessarily require a degree.

“For contract jobs, experience is always sort after more than qualifications. Someone with a great personality, who can communicate clearly and confidently is a highly desirable candidate,” she says.

The good thing is there is plenty of work available at the moment, even if you’re after short-term work. There’s everything from data-entry jobs to filing clerks, receptionists, PAs, office administrator positions and more.

“There’s always a steady demand for travellers to fill

72

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contract and temp assignments,” Victoria says.

Signing up with an agency will also help you meet with the right firms across Australia and point you in the right direction, depending on the work you’re after.

And the pay is good too, Victoria explains: “Standard hourly rates range from around $20-$25 per hour. As with any industry, people with more experience are going to be offered the higher rates, which can be from $27-$32 per hour.” Not bad for a day at the office.

The best thing is the experience you’ll gain on your working holiday journey. As Victoria puts it, it’s not just a job, it’s a cultural learning experience: “There are so many benefits for people who come to Australia to work. They get the chance to earn better money, experience a different culture, expand on their personal and professional networks and gain invaluable working experience that looks great on their CV when they do choose to go back home.”

And if they chose not to go home? “Job Capital’s on-site migration agent can assist you” Victoria says. “As long as you meet the criteria set out by the Department of Immigration, there is no reason why you can’t be sponsored.”

ladies REQUIRED

Try us just once and you will not be disappointed!

Call us now on

02 9212 1195

Experienced and good looking ladies required for sensual massage at Glebe.

15 mins walk from the Central Station.

Previous experience will be an advantage but training will be provided. Wages according to your experience will be paid. p: 0434 542 816

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Tiffany’s has Sydney’s largest selection of immaculately groomed, stunning girls who are specialists in the art of making a man feel totally at ease and relaxed. Easily found in a peaceful central location, spread over five large terraces, Tiffany’s boasts a number of beautifully appointed self-contained spas, double bedrooms and private waiting lounges.

Work with us:

Unlimited earning potential Shifts to suit Full training provided Quality accommodation provided 99 Albion Street, Surry Hills, NSW

Paramour of Collins Street

SETTING A WORLD-CLASS STANDARD IN AUSTRALIA. Melbourne’s most exclusive escorts, models, dinner dates and travelling companions.

Paramour is a Melbourne’s leading Escort Agency with over 40 beautiful women.

Paramour provides the most outstanding outcall adult entertainment in Melbourne.

Since the 1980s, we have been providing high class escorts in all Melbourne suburbs.

Paramour is the only escort service agency located in the city area of Melbourne.

Paramour girls are very highly paid, beautiful women for international executives. Our ladies are the elite of Australia and are treated as princesses.

Our girls come from many different countries and speak many languages. We understand that the best clients deserve the very best, most feminine ladies and we are continually interviewing to keep our standards high - Paramour Girls are the pinnacle.

www.paramour.com.au 03 9654 6011 PCA 113E

Australia’s award winning escort agency is looking for women, 18-28 years old for high class escort work.

Earn on excess of $5,000 per week No experience necessary Please call 02 9279 3999 Or fill out the employment form on the website

www.boardroomescorts.com.au

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73

TOTALLYTRIVIAL

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MYTHBUSTERS DIFFERENT DAIRY MILK?

THIS WEEK’S QUIZ

PACIFIC ISLANDS c) Suva

Which pacific island managed to Q 6.avoid official British colonisation?

d) Lautoka

a) Fiji c) New Guinea

many islands make up Fiji?

Q 2.a)How 322

b) Cricket c) Badminton d) Soccer

is not a Pacific Island?

Q 3.a)Which Hawaii b) Tonga

The name pacific came from which Q 8.term used to describe the islands?

d) Tasmania

a) Placid b) Specific c) Peaceful d) Platonic

Q 4. When did Fiji cease to be a British colony? a) 1970 b) 1770 c) 1980 d) 1870 Q 5. What nickname did Tonga get from

Captain James cook? a) Loud Islands b) Barbaric Islands c) Happy Islands d) Friendly Islands

SUDOKU PUZZLE 9

8

6 5

4

9

5

6

7 8

1

6

1

2

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1

5

ANAGRAM-ARAMA

AUSSIE-ISM “WHITE POINTER”

6

3

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a) Micronesia b) Indonesia c) Melanisia d) Polynesia

2

3 7

6

Q 9. Which is not in the Pacific Islands?

4

7

2 3

9

5

WEEK There is obviously a difference between UK and Aussie chocolate.

But why?

Apparently, all global brands are made with the same ingredients, but it’s the source and proportion of them that affects taste and texture. Aussie choccie must contain no more than five per cent vegetable oil, but UK choccie contains a lot more. The balance is made up with milk fats, because Aussies like their chocolate really milky and creamy and not as dark and cocoa-flavoured as the Brits. Which would explain why some travellers find Aussie chocolate bland.

Finally, different cows eating different grasses make different kinds of milks.

Aussie milk must be creamier – or something. So now you know.

ANSWERS: 1. c 2. a 3. d 4. a 5. d 6. b 7. a 8. c 9. b

c) New Zealand

8

b) Tonga d) Samoa

sport does Fiji Bati play?

Q 7.a) Which Rugby League

b) 233 c) 110 d) 123

1

OF THE

If you happen to overhear this one at the beach, don’t panic, while the term could easily be mistaken for describing a shark, more commonly, it refers to a woman sunbathing topless. Phew.

THIS WEEK IT’S...

‘BIG’ AUSSIE LANDMARKS 1. PIPE PLAN 2. BORING, DOCILE COX 3. DRUM A BRAIN 4. ACROSS WAY ANSWERS: 1. Pineapple 2. Boxing crocodile 3. Barramundi 4. Cassowary

is the capital of Fiji?

Q 1.a)What Nadi b) Labasa

MYTH

CRUISE WHITSUNDAYS Experience Queensland’s most innovative and spacious reef pontoon located at Knuckle Reef. Knuckle Reef Pontoon features Queensland’s largest and most spectacular underwater viewing chamber and is the only reef pontoon in Australia with a giant waterslide. Student and Backpacker Discounts available.

HBCRUISE 688wrkfle.indd 1

26/06/12 3:01 PM