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 : Australia (DK Eyewitness Travel Guides)
Author :
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A beautiful, informative guide to Australia

This guide is one of the best travel information books I have come across. It follows a slightly different line to the likes of the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet series, as it contains hundreds (if not thousands) of colour photographs, yet still manages to provide detailed information. If it's in-depth information you're looking for as you set out on your travels, you'd be better taking one of the previously mentioned travel guides, but the Eyewitness slogan 'The guides that show you what others only tell you' is spot on.

The book begins with an overview and map of world heritage areas of Australia, as well as full pages of information on Aboriginal culture, Australian artists and writers, wines and beach culture. Another useful section involves a month-by-month guide to Australian entertainment (for example, October includes the Melbourne Marathon, Writers Festival and Carnival of Flowers), as well as information on climate: temperatures, hours of sunshine and rainfall in major cities for each month of the year. There is a fifteen-page summary of Australian history, with photographs, a timeline, artwork, maps, vintage posters and museum pieces.

The section covering Sydney is an impressive one hundred pages in length, with key segments including maps and many superb photographs regarding Sydney's best museums and galleries, best architecture, best architecture and reserves. Key streets, such as 'The Rocks' and places of interest there (includes admission prices, opening times and contact information where applicable). There is even a room-by-room guide to the prestigious Powerhouse museum. Also included are a mini- shopping directory, and guide to where the best stores can be found, as well as a beach guide (listing Sydney's top thirty beaches, and points are awarded for amenities such as windsurfing, scuba diving, barbeque facilities and restaurants). The chapter ends with six pages of detailed colour maps depicting Sydney's main streets. The other main chapters cover key cities and states of Australia in a similarly impressive fashion.

There are pages at the back of the book with a twenty-five-page guide to the best hotels in Australia, a section of the same length describing the best places to eat (both parts providing contact information, and a list of facilities.) One of my favourite pages was the guide to Australian delicacies such as Yum Cha (a mini Chinese feast), Char-grilled Kangaroo Fillet and Baked Ricotta Cake (including rosella buds). A photograph accompanies each explanation of the dish. Practical information, such as what different bank notes look like, how the public phones work and public transport information can be found on the final pages. All in all, the DK Eyewitness guide is indispensable; although my only criticism is that it is rather heavy, so not really suitable for those hoping to travel light.

Title : The Rough Guide to Australia (Rough Guide Travel Guides S.)
Author : Margo Daly
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A brief outline...

This book gives a brief insight into many areas but, tries to do too much and fails miserably. The content is generally ok but in some cases outdated. You will not find the information that you need to plan your itinerary in this guide

Title : Lonely Planet : Australian Phrasebook
Author : Sue Butler
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A must-have for any Aussie visitor

used this book for my 8 month trip round australia, certainly was my bible (sorry) The information is very acurate with only a couple of mistakes that left me staying in what can only be describe as an ex-mental hospital with a few left-over patients!.. apart from that, I stayed in over 100 hostels, all listed within the book and all as acurate as the descriptions!.. if your oz bound buy it!

Title : Living and Working in Australia: A City by City Guide
Author : Roberta Duman
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Excellent!

This book is an invaluable guide. It's packed full of useful info and tips on getting by Down Under - concise, up-to-date and beautifully put together. I have only been back from Australia a couple of weeks and quite frankly I wouldn't have survived without it!

Title : The Fatal Shore: History of the Transportation of Convicts to Australia, 1787-1868 (Harvill Panther S.)
Author : Robert Hughes
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A history of The Convict Stain

From Captain cook's discovery of Botany Bay and The First Fleet's cargo of convicts this is comprehensive history of the transpotation system and the earliest days in the fledgling Australia. Factual and detailed the author desribes the gradual genocide of the primitive Aboriginal race, the precarious settlement of Sydney, the floggings and horrors inflicted within the harshest prisons on Tasmania and Norfolk Island. A tale of Britain's attempt to sweep an entire unwanted section of the communtity 'under the carpet'- which stopped only when they started getting rich on the proceeds of the newly discovered Australian goldfields. Wealth which could never quite remove 'The Stain' of a convict origin.

Title : Rough Guide Map Australia (Rough Guide Map S.)
Author : Rough Guides
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A brief outline...

This book gives a brief insight into many areas but, tries to do too much and fails miserably. The content is generally ok but in some cases outdated. You will not find the information that you need to plan your itinerary in this guide

Title : Lonely Planet : Australian Phrasebook
Author : Sue Butler
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Phrasebook for Australia

Lonely Planet's "Australian Phrasebook" is a great introduction to the Australian way of life and speaking for foreigners. Whether you are a tourist going on a trip to the land of Aussies, or a person studying English as used in Australia, this can be a good guide and reading supplement. Traditionally to Lonely Planet phrasebooks, this one gives you a short and easy-read introduction to the origin of Australian English. Then follow the sections dealing with present-day Australian English, Australian culture and regional languages.

Firstly, you get acquainted with phonetic and grammar features of Australian English, with British, American and Aboriginal influences, regional varieties of English in this huge country and some borrowings. Here you will also find out how to greet people, get around with Aussie English, and catch the most important colloquial phrases. You will even been able to join the Australians singing their national songs. After you've enriched your general vocabulary it is possible to get to know more about Australian culture and institutions: food and drink, party-culture, sports, urban and rural talk. Whether you'd like to find your way in coffee types or the art of argument "Australian Phrasebook" is helpful enough. It even gives you the recipes of the most popular dishes, so that next time you can throw an Australian party yourself, or just feel sure when ordering damper, pavlova and hedgehog.

The regional section gives you a thorough cultural and linguistic insight into numerous aboriginal languages. Here you will read a lot about the culture of indigenous people, as well as find rather short lists of major words you may encounter during your visit to the inner parts of the country. But, unlike the same sections in "British" or "USA" phrasebooks, the "Australian" one does not let you more or less exchange basic phrases with the Aborigines.

The strong feature of "Australian Phrasebook" is a great number of examples, comprehensive lists of words and expressions, extensive coverage of spoken language. Written in a simple language and entertaining manner, while being very informative "Australian Phrasebook" is a must-have on your next trip to the land Down Under and will certainly be your good companion, which will easily fit in a pocket.

Jobs Hotel Australia and Australia online resources.