Australia

Let's face it...that long haul flight is certainly worth it.

Not only that, any Australian will gladly tell you that there is so much more to see and do than what you just see in the brochure!

That's why it's so important to get your travel plans sorted out properly - whether it's Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, or even the Great Barrier Reef - Australia has it all!

Title : Rough Guide Map Australia (Rough Guide Map S.)
Author : Rough Guides
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : an exceptional read

this book gives all the details anybody would need who is traveling to australia plenty of advice to everywhere worth visiting. the book apeals more to the indpendant traveller rather than families.it has advice on where to stay eat and party it is an essential guide if you are travelling to oz i give this book a big thumbs up.

Title : Dangerous Creatures of Australia (Michelin Green Guides)
Author : Marty Robinson
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Don't visit Australia until you have read this book

Researching Australia for an impending trip, I heard all kinds of horror stories about how I could end up being injected with poison by innocent-looking toads, ripped to pieces by blood-thirsty tiger sharks or even have a couple of bites taken out of me by cute-looking caterpillars. What I discovered by reading Dangerous Creatures of Australia however, was that that is all they are; stories. In fact, on the first page the author's opening statement is 'Many people believe that Australia is full of dangerous wild animals. Although it is true that we have many potentially dangerous creatures, most of them are rarely encountered and indeed even hard to find.' Whilst he goes on to admit that 'Australia has more venomous snakes than any other country, both the world's most venomous spiders and the world's most venomous octopuses,' Robinson covers many pages on reassuring the reader via a table of statistics regarding accidental death, that you are more likely to be murdered, poisoned or even struck by lightening than you are to die from a snake bite. There is also material regarding precautions the reader can take to avoid being attacked by a dangerous animal and many maps showing the precise locations of the creatures' whereabouts.

The author splits the book into the following sections: Large land animals (including feral pigs and snakes), small land animals (spiders and scorpions), large water animals (sharks and crocodiles) and small water animals (jellyfish and octopuses). One thing that particularly enthralled me about the book was the strange and sometimes downright bizarre creatures that can be found in Australia. The sea snake, for instance, with its paddle-shaped tail, single lung and short (yet deadly) fangs. Fire coral, as the name suggests, is a type of coral which looks no different than the regular kind, yet one brush against it could cause nasty stinging.

I found the full colour photographs together with the information very useful, as I could get a clear picture of exactly what was being described, should I be unlucky enough to come across the creature in question. Those with a tendency for being faint-hearted should steer clear of the rather nauseating pictures graphically depicting injuries sustained from encounters with leeches and snake bites. Whether you are planning a short break in Australia or a backpacking holiday, the book is very small and lightweight, and therefore can slip into your bag without adding any significant weight. A down side however, is the price #8211; for a book so concise, I found the asking price a bit much.

Anyone with an interest in the fascinating country that is Australia may also like the wonderfully funny 'Down Under' (by travel writer Bill Bryson), or 'Wild Down Under: The Natural History of Australia' (by Damon Smith). Both are excellent, with the latter depicting the natural wonders of the country in hundreds of beautiful photographs. I sincerely hope that I won't bump in to any of the dangerous creatures shown in this book on my travels, but just in case, it's handy to have a copy nearby.

Title : The Fatal Shore: History of the Transportation of Convicts to Australia, 1787-1868 (Harvill Panther S.)
Author : Robert Hughes
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Well worth the read.

This book is an excellent read, both accessible and fluid in its writing as well as detailed and well researched.
I'm sure that this book will be an invaluable resource for those studying or interested in the transportation process and Australian history in general.
While the main focus is on the penal colonies, the book opens with fascinating insights into both the Aboriginal group around Sydney harbour at the time and also the Georgian "Working" and "criminal" class. Both of which give depth and range to the subject at hand.
Being a history teacher myself I can recommend this book for teachers who are looking for something new and interesting to spice up the industrial revolution. And for the general reader I would recommend this book as a fascinating and balanced insight into a very different world. One that is both part of and a world away from the Georgian world we so often hear about.

Title : The Rough Guide to Australia (Rough Guide Travel Guides S.)
Author : Margo Daly
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Where would I be without this book?

this book was easy to use, very useful when I was travelling on my gap year and the reason that I managed to make it safely round oz. it guided me to some of the best places to stay and warned me off a few that I tried anyway and then realised the wisdom in their words after I had made my mistake. Buy this book if you are travelling oz, heed its words, take its advice but also don't be afraid to do a little experimenting of your own as I found many a gem of place to stay/ eat and see that were not included in the book - but then you cant expect them to know everything, it is only a rough guide but a very nice one to have by your side when you feel like you are on the other side of the world, it lends a big helping hand in making your travels that bit simpler. Buy.

Australia Hotel Sydney Wentworth and Australia online resources.