Highlights Of Australia

Alice Springs is the main focus on the Centre, the red outback country of central Australia. It is the northern Terminus of the Central Australian Railway and a jumping-off point for the exploration of central Australia.

Ayers Rock is located in Northern Australia near Alice Springs. The large red ‘rock’ is noted to be the largest monolith in the World.

The Great Barrier Reef curves close to the coast and meets the rain forest at Cairns, the gateway to Australia’s “Deep North.” Explore the reef up close via catamaran, or choose from a host of excursions the lush tropical forests, picturesque towns and homesteads that surround the city. The nearby town of Kuranda has a butterfly farm and a great street market on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Melbourne, (mèl´bern) city (1991 est. pop. 3,153,500), capital of Victoria, SE Australia, on Port Phillip Bay, at the mouth of the Yarra R. Australia’s second largest city, it is a commercial and industrial center with such manufactures as ships, automobiles, farm machinery, textiles, and electrical equipment. The city was settled in 1835 and named (1837) for the British prime minister, Lord Melbourne. It was the seat of the Australian federal government (1901-27). The population,
once primarily British, has changed since World War II with immigration from E and S Europe. Melbourne was the site of the 1956 Olympic games. The Melbourne Cup Race is run annually.

On Cape Breton Island, it is not uncommon to find Gaelic spoken and to hear the plaintive call of bagpipes. For it is here that the Scots found a land that most resembled their own beautiful home. Follow the winding Cabot Trail around the coast of Cape Breton, one of the most dramatic drives in North America. On Bras d’Or lake, you may spot one of the 250 pairs of bald eagles nesting in the treetops. Visit the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, where the inventor spent his summers. Explore the star-shaped French fortress of Louisbourg, conquered by the British in 1760. Or sample the rugged life of the coal miner at the Miner’s Museum.