Eerie Travel Secrets

Located approximately 60 kilometres south of Queensland’s capital city of Brisbane, Tamborine Mountain is a volcanic plateau set within Australia’s Gold Coast hinterland.

The many attractions of the Mount Tamborine area include beautiful views on both sides of the range and the many craft and antique shops, galleries, cafes and restaurants of the area’s villages, which attract countless tourists each season.

The latest attraction to entice visitors to the mountain is the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk and Eco Centre. Set on 30 acres of magnificent rainforest, the Centre provides an eco-adventure that will take you along elevated walkways, past butterfly lookouts and waterfalls, to an amazing cantilevered 40-metre structure set 30-metres above the valley. This stroller-friendly walk is self-paced and takes approximately an hour – once back at the Centre visitors can browse the Gift Shop, enjoy lunch at the Birdwing Cafe or visit the Rainforest Eco Gallery. The latter has an array of rainforest fauna and flora information including displays and an aquarium containing a variety of Australian freshwater fish.

The Tamborine region is renowned for its fine wineries and one in particular has an added attraction that draws thousands of tourists every year. The Cedar Creek Estate Winery, set on a 22-acre lakeside property, is popular with local and overseas visitors due to its magical Glow-Worm Caves. The caves consist of 2 cavern-like man-made concrete structures linked by a tunnel. Inside, thousands of Glow-Worms radiate their unmistakable luminescent light as expert guides provide informative commentary on guided tours. After the tour, you can enjoy a mouth-watering meal overlooking the Wild Duck Lake, taste the winery’s specialty wines such as Chambourcin and Verdelho or take a stroll in the grounds along the Rainforest Walk.

If you enjoy walking, pop into the Mount Tamborine Visitors’ Centre situated in Doughty Park on Main Western Road and enquire about the various Tamborine National Park walking circuits. From one-hour strolls to six hour marathons, there are several walking tracks leading through magnificent subtropical rainforest and past awe-inspiring waterfalls, many of which have picnic and BBQ areas peppered along the way.

TMt Tamborine also has some amazing lookouts offering stunning views over the Gold Coast or to the West over the Hinterland.

Those with energy to burn can plan an action packed day at Tamborine Mountain’s Adventure Parc. The Parc itself stretches through many hectares of forest between bush & subtropical rainforest with almost 1,000 towering trees that stretch 18 metres above the ground. There are 68 elevated challenges, spread over 8 exciting flying-foxes and over four courses of varying difficulty.

The Park’s literature warns visitors to allow at least three hours to live out that Indiana Jones fantasy! This is a popular destination for corporate team-building groups, teenagers and active people of any age. For your protection, height and weight restrictions apply and all safety equipment is provided; just bring along closed in sports shoes and a sense of adventure.

As a tourism destination Tamborine Mountain is exceptional and a world-away from the glitzy, high-rise buzz of the Gold Coast. Those of you who enjoy natture will find ‘The Mountain’ irresistible and if you like peace and tranquillity, then the Witches Falls Cottages are the ideal Tamborine accommodation for you.

These romantic, self-contained chalets are located in a natural rainforest setting where you can wake to the sounds of whip birds, lorikeets and kookaburras and star gaze through the glass ceiling above your spa bath before retiring. So when it comes to accommodation Tamborine Mountain, the most spellbinding place to stay is at the Witches Falls Cottages, we look forward to relaxing you soon.

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When it comes to naturally beautiful worlwide destinations, Australia’s Mount Tamborine region ranks very highly and for good reason.

Located around 60 kilometres south of the state of Queensland’s capital city of Brisbane, Tamborine Mountain is a volcanic plateau set within Australia’s Gold Coast hinterland.

The area is the result of an outpouring of lava from nearby Mount Warning and this geological phenomenon created a plateau approximately 8 km long by 5 km wide that now sits 600 metres above sea level.

The many attractions of the Mount Tamborine area include beautiful views that can be enjoyed on both sides of the range and the many craft and antique shops, galleries, cafes and restaurants which attract thousands of tourists every season.

Tamborine Mountain is famous for its National Parks. The Tamborine National Park covers eleven square kilometres of the mountain’s plateau and foothills and its oldest section, the Witches Falls, was first declared in 1908, making it Queensland’s oldest National Park. Over the years, additional reserves have been declared & today Tamborine National Park comprises 13 sections of land.

So why should you – quite literally – ‘take a hike’? Well, first of all, the Tamborine National Park overall has much to offer walkers including sundappled picnic areas (many with BBQs), breath-taking lookouts and waterfalls, cliffs and gorges, sparkling rock pools and shady woodlands. The Park is also home to an astounding 85 percent of all fauna species and 65 percent of all flora species in the Gold Coast City area.

Now that they form part of Tamborine’s National Parks, these lush rainforest areas with Piccabeen palm groves, wet Eucalypt forests, sky scraping flooded gums and open areas of bracken and ferns, are all protected. This protection extends to cover its interesting fauna too, including the rare Albert’s Lyrebird & one of the world’s largest skinks; the glossy, black and very generously proportioned Land Mullet. Richmond Birdwing Butterflies, whose males are a dazzling iridescent green and Noisy Pittas, birds that hop on the rainforest floor in search of leeches and snails, both migrate seasonally to the park, making this an extremely significant area in terms of conservation.

Many believe that the Witches Falls section of Tamborine’s National Park is one of the most captivating to walk. Its 3.1 km circuit begins from the picnic area on Main Western Road. This lawned rest area has electric barbecues, picnic tables, toilets and is surrounded by soaring eucalypts.

The Witches Falls Circuit snakes down a steep incline through closed-in forest into a rainforest area that features cycad groves. Cycads are the single most ancient plants on earth that still exist today and are known, through fossil findings, to have been present in the Permian era – over 200 million years ago – even before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Although once abundant across the globe, cycads are now greatly reduced in both numbers and distribution and much international attention is being drawn to protect these plants that are believed to be nearing extinction.

While en route to the waterfalls you will come across shimmering lagoons, palm groves and enormous strangler figs. After heavy rain, the lagoons fill with water and thrive with many species of frogs and insects. The Witches Falls waterfalls only flow after recent rain and can be viewed by taking a short 200m detour from the circuit to a lookout platform. The track then returns through the rainforest and ends behind the local cemetery.

For your own safety, walk only in daylight hours and wear sturdy shoes, a hat, protective clothing and sunscreen. Take along a mobile phone and drinking water as creek water may contain organisms that can cause illness. At a usual walking pace, you can expect 3km to take about an hour. If you are walking with young children however or if plan to take photographs or bird watch along the way, do allow extra time.

When it comes to Bed and Breakfast Tamborine, the most spellbinding place to stay is at the Witches Falls Cottages , a retreat that consist of many private cottages tucked away in one of the Mountain’s most secluded and peaceful locations and just a few steps away from the Witches Falls’ circuit’s start point.

Technorati Tags: australia, conservation, destinations, endangered, mount tamborine, queensland, rainforest, tamborine mountain

Sydney is one of the world’s favorite cities. Set on a stunning harbor the shopping and dining variety are superb and you are within easy access of the great outdoors. Sydney was voted by the readers of Conde Naste in 2008. Sydney is a gay friendly city and its wide range of attractions encourages gay travel to this part of Australia.

The Gay and Lesbian community is very active in the city. But the most famous event is the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. This is party central and the event has general popular appeal. Many non homosexual Sydneysiders stand along the parade route to enjoy the fun atmosphere.

Beaches are everywhere around Sydney. A short ride across the harbor is the Manly area with it’s surf beach and laid back way of Life. There are a wide choice of beaches that are good for swimming and surfing or just lying back and improving your tan. If you want to find naturalist beaches there are four in the area just to the North of Sydney.

The food side of life is well catered for and is complemented by a great cafe culture. The balmy to hot temperatures make outdoor dining possible and there is nothing better than sipping a glass of wine watching the water or people going by.

The main gay district of Sydney is centered around Oxford Street; affectionately know as the pink stip. Here there are many gay friendly bars and clubs and a wide range of shopping opportunities from start up designers to the much more high end range of shopping options.

If you are in need of some relaxation and sun don’t forget Sydney is southern hemisphere and the seasons are the flip of what they are in the Northern hemisphere – February is still summer. Gay travel to Sydney Australia is great and the city is definitely gay friendly.

If you want a different sort of twist on a southern hemisphere journey, you might try a gay vacation in beautiful Brazil, which is becoming increasingly tolerant.

Technorati Tags: australia, brazil, gay travel, gay vacation, queensland, sydney