Geelong, Australia moments ago became home to the 2007 Australian Rules Football Premiers. Geelong is a beautiful bayside city about an hours drive south west of Melbourne. Only minutes from some of the world’s best surf beaches this town has a year long calendar of events, great attractions and shopping. But today the focus on Geelong is football and the Geelong Cats have just been crowned the best in the land!
Although the Ute or Utility was invented by Ford in Geelong Australia in the 1930’s, Deniliquin in New South Wales holds the title of the Ute capital of the World. Deniliquin is on the edge of some of the driest and flattest land on earth a farming and grazing region and home to the annual ute muster. In 1999 Deniliquin wrote itself into the history books with the largest parade of registered utes with 2939 vehicles taking place, and since then the number has grown to 6211. People bring their utes from all over Australia to attend and some even transport them from overseas for this huge event. This years event is on this weekend and it promises to be bigger than ever. To celebrate this feat the town has even erected a WB Holden Ute up a pole in all its glory. Read the rest of this entry »
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the centre of Berlin is a stark reminder of the horrors of war. This church was built between 1891 and 1895 in honor of the then Emperor Wilhelm II’s grandfather. But during the extensive bombing raids of 1943 the church was virtually destroyed. The only thing left standing was the belfry. Between 1951 and 1961 a new church was rebuilt next to the ruins, and the ruins were kept intact as a reminder of the destruction of war. The church was actually opened on the same day as churches rebuilt after war damage in Conventry England and Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Russia as a symbol of reconciliation between the three countries which were once at war.
The worlds biggest event starts today in Munich, the 174th Oktoberfest. The celebrations will commence with the traditional tapping of the barrel by Munich’s Lord Mayor at 12 PM making way for over 6 million visitors to the festival over the following two weeks. Over six million litres of fresh German beer will be drank along with quarter of a million pairs of sausages, half a million roast chickens, plus paddocks of oxen and more pretzels than you could point a stick at. There are over 12,000 staff employed over the festival with 1600 waitresses, some can carry a dozen full litre beers at once. The huge tens seat over 100,000 people in total at any one time and with all the beer and food the site needs over 1800 toilets.
Yebisu Garden Place is the located in the suburb now more commonly known as Ebisu which is a suburb of Tokyo not far from Shibuya and Roppongi. The Yebisu beer head quarters is situated here. The huge complex features a beer museum complete with samples of their tasty products, a large shopping mall, several restaurants and of course an indoor beer hall. The highlight of the centre is the whimsical Oktoberfest clock which celebrates every hour and delights young and old. The clock features horse drawn carriages with beer barrels, lots of German inspired characters and of course plenty of Ompha music, which for a moment makes you feel like you are in Munich.
Geelong in Victoria Australia is home to over 100 wooden bollards painted up as historical figures from the area stretching the length of its magnificent waterfront. This one in our photograph is a favorite for the town, he celebrates the rich tradition of one of Australian Rules Football most mighty of clubs- the Geelong Cats, who incidentally finished on top of the ladder this season. There bollards were painted by renowned local artist Jan Mitchell and are a favorite for young and old. Made from century old timber from a old city pier that was removed, the iconic bollards cheerfully brighten up the waterfront precinct. Read the rest of this entry »
The Peak Tram is one of Hong Kong’s most popular and historic tourist attractions. Dating back to 1888 the 373 metres of steep track up The Peak offers spectacular views of this magnificent harbor city. The tram travels through the lush mountain through palms and other tropical growth. At the top of the peak there is a magnitude of things to do other than be dazzled by the glittering city below. There is are dining options and of course shopping, you cant seem to escape it in Hong Kong! Recently the world famous Madame Tussaunds has opened a display as well as a huge gaming centre where electronics company EA offer their latest computer games. Twilight is the best time to visit although it can be quiet busy but next to the Star Ferry it has got to be one of the cheapest treats in Hong Kong with one way trips costing only $20HK.
About two and a half hours drive east of Darwin in the heart of the World Heritage Listed Kakadu National Park you will find one of the worlds most unique hotels. A huge crocodile shaped hotel. This luxury hotel is at Jaburu in the heart of Kakadu. The hotel, created by a Darwin architect working with the local Aboriginal people, measuring over 250 metres long the head holds the foyer, reception, gift shop and restaurants. While the body is home to the 110 luxury rooms. The legs are the stairs to the rooms while the tummy of the beast is home to the pool and gardens. The whole reptile is covered in a green scale like metal cladding. Tourist coaches pull up in the jaws of the crocodile to offload and pick up the hotel guests.
During Darwin’s Dry Season from May to October the Mindil Beach Market is one of the most popular attractions. Operating on Thursday and Sunday evenings along the beautiful foreshore of Mindil Beach the markets attract thousands to the huge range of art and craft and one of the best selections of multicultural food you could find anywhere. There is food from over 20 countries, Greek, Italian, Thia, Indonesian, Timorise just to name a few and of course the good old Australian tucker, including some of the more unusual treats, like camel, crocodile, possum, kangaroo and the Territory’s favorite fish barramundi. There is also a great selection of the freshest of tropical fruit. Many of the stalls sell magnificent Aboriginal artworks including paintings, carvings and other handycrafts. There market also features some fantastic entertainment including local bands, comics, buskers and roaming entertainment- fun for all ages.
40km north of Seattle on America’s west coast is the Boeing Factory where their enormous aircraft are assembled. The complex is open to the public and offers an amazing insight into the design and construction of the worlds most popular commercial planes. The assembly building is the largest building by volume in the world and has a perimeter of 3.5km. The company offers a fantastic tour which starts off with the Future of Flight Aviation Centre which is an amazing interactive display with flight simulators, computerised attractions and quite a few full size displays of various parts of the planes. Then its off to the Boeing Everett Factory on a one our guided bus tour where you can see the planes being constructed. Once inside the factory you can see various types of planes in different stages of construction.
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