Australia

The Guantanamo Bay Beach Cages of Bondi, Australia [Photo]

Like what you see? Subscribe to the full RSS feed. © tarotastic Really, really bizarre. I still haven’t figured out if this is Photoshopped or not. Anyone know for sure? Update: Evidently it’s part of an art installation, according to the Sydney Morning Herald: Inside each of the interconnected four-by-four metre cells was a beach umbrella, […]

Man Cries Wolf … er … Wombat After “Rape”

To be clear, this is not the alleged wombat rapist © Stygiangloom A New Zealand man who called local police to report that he had been raped by a wombat has been ordered to do 75 hours of community work for wasting police time. Arthur Ross Craddock, a 48-year-old orchard worker from the South Island Town of […]

Following the Wind: Hitchhiking New Zealand’s Wild Northland

Traveling to New Zealand to revel in its wild beauty and farm the land where sheep outnumbered people eight to one.

Aussies Are Undisputed Extreme Ironing World Champs

© ExtremeIroning.com A group of 72 Australians have been crowned Extreme Ironing champs after beating a Guinness record for ironing laundry under water. The feat was achieved when the 72 brave souls plunged into the murky waters off a pier in Melbourne. Extreme ironing, according to the Extreme Ironing Bureau, combines the “thrills of an outdoor […]

Perfect Travel Gift: Kangaroo Scrotum Bottle Opener

Ah, what to buy that traveler who has everything? Paper shaving cream sheets? Cool, but no. How about a pair of sandals with a built-in flask? Clever, but what kind of message does that send? An REI gift card? Nah, too predictable. How about a kangaroo scrotum bottle opener? Bingo! Now we’re […]

Photo of the Moment: Sunset Beach, Auckland

Sunset Beach, Auckland © Chris Gin

Skydiving Queenstown: An Acrophobic’s Rite of Passage

Nestled against violet mountains on the South Island of New Zealand lies the self-proclaimed “Adventure Capital of the World”: Queenstown. This alpine resort town has it all – a pristine recreational lake, nearby ski slopes and the gateway to some of the most scenic hiking trails on the planet. On almost every street, advertising brochures […]

Youth Camel Hunting on the Rise in Australia’s Aboriginal Communities

© BntAl3nabi Forget adrenaline sports – a new initiative to relieve frustrated Aboriginal youths in the interiors of Australia has them hunting and butchering camels. Substance abuse and alcoholism are rampant among teenagers in remote Aboriginal settlements like Kintore, where there are hardly any (legal) recreational opportunities to speak of. This has worried substance abuse task […]

The Underground World of Australian Cockroach Racing

© justinbaeder It started in a parking garage. Two men had been arguing all night about their roaches. Drunk and Australian, they decided that the only way to determine who truly possessed ‘the fastest roaches in Brisbane’ was to retreat to a local parking garage. To the cheering of inebriated fans, they held a race. No […]

Bugs on a Plane: Wasps Cause Aborted Qantas Take Off

I Sting © furryscaly According to the BBC, a series of aborted take-offs at Australia’s Brisbane airport has been linked to wasp infestation of the airplanes involved. Apparently, wasps got to work building nests inside five Qantas airplanes while they were waiting on the runway. On one of the flights aborted during take-off, the pilot reportedly […]

66% of Australians Are Members or Hopeful Members of Mile High Club

Forget personal LCD screens, 199 music channels, and 3-D games – Australians are in the mood for higher end in-flight entertainment. Reuters is reporting that, according to a survey, two in three Australians would either like to be a member of the Mile High Club, or have already been initiated into its cramped, hallowed halls. […]

First Passenger Flight Touches Down in Antarctica

An Australia–Antarctica passenger jet made its first successful landing at the very first runway in Antarctica. Scientists at the Australian-Antarctica division have reason to cheer – the four and a half hour long flight will mean no more 5 week sea trips to reach the ice continent, at least during summer. The laser leveled runway measures 2.5 […]

Australian Magazine Recalls Hitchhiking Issue After Backpacker’s Murder

Australian backpacking magazine Tourist and Traveler (TNT) has been forced to reprint this month’s edition. The reason? It contains a plug for hitchhiking in New Zealand, and the timing couldn’t be worse. On September 20, German tourist Birgit Bauer was murdered while on a hitchhiking holiday in New Zealand. Brauer was stabbed to […]

Australia Finally Gives Thumbs Up to Kyoto Protocol

After years of hedging the issue under former Prime Minister John Howard, Australia under its newly elected Primed Minister and Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd has ratified the Kyoto Protocol. This leaves the US in the uncomfortable position of being the only country that hasn’t ratified the global environmental treaty. According to Rudd, who […]

Photo of the Moment: Brisbane Zombie Walk 2007

Photo © d70dug No censorship!

36 Hours in Perth: Australia’s Last Urban Outpost

Perth usually gets tagged as the most isolated city in the world. If you’re visiting Perth, you’ll probably realize that it is a heck of a long way from anywhere as you take flight after flight to get there, but once you’re strolling around Kings Park or having a beer at the Brass Monkey it’ll […]

New Work for U.S. Backpackers in Australia

Great news for U.S. backpackers looking for work in Australia, via Concierge.com: If you or someone you know is hoping to pick up some casual work while backpacking around Australia, there’s good news: A new agreement between Australia and the U.S. will let Americans do just that. When I backpacked around Oz back in 2001, I […]

The World’s Most Isolated Destinations: Pitcairn Island

Instatravel points us to Pitcairn Island: A World Apart, complete with surreal photos: Searching for the most isolated place on the planet is becoming more and more of a problem. An island with a population of just fifty seems unlikely in today’s world, but it does exist. … Pitcairn remains one of the most isolated habited places on […]