🇦🇺 Australia: The Land of Oz Australia is defined by its massive scale, ranging from tropical reefs to the rugged "Red Centre" outback.
1. The Great Barrier Reef (Queensland)The world’s largest coral reef system remains the ultimate bucket list item.Top Activity: Snorkel or dive from Cairns or the Whitsunday Islands. For a more secluded experience, head south to Lady Elliot Island to swim with manta rays and sea turtles.Pro Tip: Visit between May and October for the clearest waters and to avoid the "stinger" (jellyfish) season.
2. Sydney Harbour (New South Wales)Sydney’s waterfront is one of the most recognizable cityscapes in the world.Top Activity: Take a ferry from Circular Quay to Manly for the best views of the Opera House. If you’re feeling brave, the BridgeClimb offers a 360-degree panorama from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
3. Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park (Northern Territory)The spiritual heart of Australia, this massive sandstone monolith is best viewed at sunrise or sunset when it appears to glow deep red.Top Activity: Walk the 10km base trail or enjoy the "Field of Light" art installation—a massive desert light display that illuminates the ground near the rock at night.
4. Queenstown & Lake Wakatipu (South Island)Known as the "Adventure Capital of the World," Queenstown is the birthplace of commercial bungee jumping.Top Activity: If jumping off a bridge isn't for you, try the Shotover Jet boat through narrow canyons or take the Skyline Gondola for a luge ride with a view.
In its short lifetime, the Sydney Opera House has earned a reputation as a world-class performing arts centre
and has become a true symbol of Sydney and the Australian nation.
The Sydney Opera House is a beautiful structure known throughout the world.
Alex is our tour guide today. I've always wanted to come here.
The Sydney Opera House, it was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in October of 1973.
And in that time, the Sydney Opera House has become one of the most visited sites in Australia.
The Sydney Opera House has a global recognition factor of around four billion people.
That equates to roughly two out of every three people on the face of the earth
that recognise the iconic shape of the Sydney Opera House.
It's amazing. People get truly overwhelmed walking through this space.
I bet, especially architects.
Architects, they've taken architects around, they just want to come and sit here and go,
Oh, baby.
Okay, so obviously we've got concrete on the inside, but on the outside is not.
Well, the whole roof is covered in ceramic roof tiles from Sweden.
There is 1,056,006 individual roof tiles that cover the whole Sydney Opera House.
Now, instead of climbing up and individually placing each tile, one after the other, up to 1,056,006,
they tiled each one of those panels or lids down on the ground.
Then they used a big crane, picked up each individual panel section and locked it into position.
What's the message to our viewers?
I mean, obviously it's a beautiful structure, but why should people come to the Sydney Opera House?
I thought the Sydney Opera House was just for opera and just for classical music.
But coming to the Sydney Opera House, it's places to eat, great views all the way around and inside,
but it's not just opera that they do here.
It's rock concerts, films, talk, avant-garde theatre, cabaret, burlesque, rock shows,
a little bit of something for everyone.
Well, you've been an awesome tour guide.
Thank you, Alex.
Pleasure to meet you.
Thank you.
Coming up on Next Stop, we experience one of the great thrills that Sydney has to offer.
One of the most thrilling things you can do here is climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Next stop, the top.
Welcome to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
What I'd like you to do is to grab your latch, take it off the hook.
We will be attaching it to our static line.
That will be on our right-hand side.
Are we ready for action?
Yes.
Let's go. Let's do it.
First part of the bridge here, southern approach span, roughly 300 metres long.
Here we are coming over George Street.
It's the oldest street in the country in actual fact.
Is it really?
That was quite a climb.
Brilliant.
That's a fun little climb right there, straight up.
Everybody gets the same thrill that you do on the bridge, Jono.
And you get to do it several times a day.
We do. We get to do it up to three times a day.
You've got to be fit and ready to go as a climb leader.
You're looking fit, man.
So what's that little fort-like thing over there?
Well, I'm glad you asked that, Jono, because that's our main means of defence in Sydney.
Fort Denison, roughly 155 years of age.
So the little island that that fort sits on, which is known as Pinchgut,
was literally the top of the island was quarried away to a shelf
so they could build the fort there that we see today.
I see lots of other people climbing the bridge.
How many people come through this every day?
A record-breaking day, we'll see 1800 people.
Now, big numbers.
It's the thing you've got to do when you come to Sydney, as you can see, Jono.
You've got views of the whole of Greater Sydney,
right out to those Blue Mountains,
right down to the Southern Highlands,
out to the Tasman Sea, part of the South Pacific.
Well, this was a spectacular day.
I won't forget this. You were an awesome tour guide.
You didn't disappoint, so thank you, Dean.
Thanks, Jono. It's been great to have you on board.
Guys, how good is this?
We're staying at one of Australia's best boutique hotels,
located in the heart of Sydney's restaurant and bar district, the Kirkton Hotel.
Let's talk about the property here and the different room styles available
and just the overall feel you get when you come here.
Yeah, sure. There's three different room types here.
There's the standard and the premium and the executive room type.
The difference really is just in size.
The decor is all pretty much the same.
It really is dependent on how much size you need.
I love the feel you get in this.
You don't feel like you're in a big city.
You feel like you're in a small town.
It's kind of a small-town boutique atmosphere,
and the neighbourhood is awesome.
What we tried to do here with the design of this property
was really fit it into Darlinghurst and create a boutique hotel
that the locals really embraced.
You guys have one of the most famous pubs in Sydney.
We do.
Attached to that hotel.
We do, we do, we do.
Eau de Vie, it's a fantastic cocktail bar,
and it's won numerous awards, right up to best hotel bar in the world.
So I urge you guys to head down there and grab a cocktail.
You know, I think I might fit in there.
Thanks to Paul, we're in Eau de Vie, which is a kind of speakeasy, right?
Yeah, we'll roll with that.
Yeah, a speakeasy, a quiet little bar.
Ian, I'm told you guys make some crazy cocktails.
We do our best shot at it.
That's certainly true, yeah.
So what are we going to do?
Right now we're going to make up for you our own variation
that we do on a Moscow Mule.
The original drink just being a vodka-based cocktail
with some lime juice and a ginger beer.
Give us a good measure of the citrus vodka.
I'll knock some orange juice in there right now.
We cut, instead of just using straight honey,
we just cut it down a little bit.
Give it a good hard shake, get a nice fluffy head on it.
That's very different and very good.
Yeah, so that's the Eau de Vie Yuzu Mule.
I love it.
You've only been open for two years.
How is it so popular?
Well, I think, you know, Sydney eventually is a big town,
but the community is small,
and when they find something cool,
they all follow each other like a ship.
Yeah, I noticed the kitchen's right back here.
The kitchen's just in there.
Whipping it up right next to the bar, out in the open.
Yeah, it's very helpful.
Plus, we gave him shots,
and he gave us a school recipe to make some drinks.
Yeah, so it's a good deal.
It's a fair deal.
It's a win-win.
Cheers to you, Max.
Thank you.
Today, we're traveling a couple hours outside of Sydney
for a tour of the mystical Blue Mountains.
Okay, I can see the sign Flat Rock.
Yep.
But where are we, Dougie?
Well, we are at the beginning
or the middle of the Blue Mountains,
and this particular area is called...
Flat Rock.
Flat Rock, yeah.
So, I've brought you here
because it has magnificent views
across the whole of the Blue Mountains,
a hundred kilometers that way,
a hundred kilometers that way.
Regardless of the mist?
Mm-hmm.
We're just going to imagine it.
Well, yeah.
We'll find other cool stuff.
Yeah, well, you know,
the Blue Mountains are usually blue.
Today, they might be white.
If we go this way,
we just might be able to see
some really special stuff.
Okay, now I feel like we're on the moon.
But a lot of people have been here.
Yeah, look at them all.
This is great.
Do you think Neil Armstrong
has written something here?
I bet he has.
Yeah.
So, after the wars,
there was a worldwide depression,
as you probably know.
So, they moved out to the region.
Some of them lived on beaches,
and people who came to the Blue Mountains
actually lived in caves.
There are hundreds and thousands of caves.
Cool, you'd never know this existed here.
Again, many people have found it, though.
So, next stop is Scenic World,
which is one of the most visited
and most popular attractions in the Blue Mountains.
We're at Scenic World today,
on this skyway, a cable car,
that goes across the valley
about 389 meters to the other side.
As you can hear and see,
the waterfall down here.
Oh, wow.
It's about 800 feet,
top to bottom of the falls.
Next stop is Scenic Railway, 52 degrees.
So, what we've got here
is the steepest railway in the world.
So, this used to haul coal up and down.
Yeah, coal up and down.
Little coal carts from 1878 to 1945.
Yeah, this is pretty steep.
Here we go.
And it's so cool.
This is awesome.
This is quite a lovely way
to end our day.
This is what you do
with your loved ones.
Romantic.
Well, we love you.
You're our new friend.
Oh, shucks.
Thanks for your time today.
Great to meet you.
It was a great day today.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
We're in one of my favorite
Sydney neighborhoods,
The Rocks,
for a tour with Bonzo Bike Tours.
So, I've ridden a bike before,
so I know how to ride a bike.
Yeah.
I know how to put the helmet on.
Yeah.
But I don't know where we're going.
Okay.
Well, where we're going today
is we're going to start down
in Circular Quay.
We go up to Observatory Hill.
You can see a whole bunch
of Sydney from there.
Before the bridge was built,
it actually had a 360-degree view.
Lovely.
Are we going to get
a workout in?
You certainly are.
It's easy.
It's something that
everyone can do.
Let's do it.
Alrighty.
So, we're here in Circular Quay,
which is where the tour starts.
It's also the place
where Sydney started,
pretty much,
so it's kind of only appropriate.
This is cool, though.
I've seen the ships down here
in Circular Quay.
They're amazing.
They're a different one
every day.
What a view, man.
This is awesome.
This is what you guys
call art here?
It's like, well,
it's what some people call art.
I like it.
We're in a place
called Walsh Bay.
What we can see over here
is something called
Blues Point Tower,
which is what some people say
is the ugliest building
in Sydney,
but unfortunately,
it got heritage listed.
Really?
Yeah.
Why would it be
heritage listed?
Because it was one
of the oldest ones here,
so they built it,
the government bought it,
and it stuck around
long enough.
I've noticed, Captain,
Sydney is a very fit city
as the people just went by.
It takes a little bit of work
to maintain the reputation,
but...
What's the reputation?
Hot.
It's a good-looking country.
It's very...
Everybody's in good shape here.
I love it.
Here we are
at Observatory Hill.
As you can see,
there's a fair bit to observe.
There's a lot to observe.
As you can see,
there's a pretty good view.
We return.
Captain, thanks for the tour.
No worries.
We'll get you back
safe and sound.
We love your city, man.
Koalas are so cute
and so cuddly,
but in most places
in the world,
you actually can't cuddle them,
but here, Jazz,
we can.
You can.
Yes, one of the very unique
opportunities
that we allow our guests
as they come to the zoo.
So she likes to be cuddled?
She does, yes.
Do you want to have a go?
Of course.
All right.
Good girl.
All right, so it's really,
really easy.
It's basically like holding
a baby that's got nails.
There you go.
Oh, yeah.
She's sweet.
She is.
Feels like a little baby.
It does.
Feels like a teddy bear
with batteries.
She's precious.
She is.
Is it possible for me
to take her home?
No, you wouldn't get far.
I've got incredibly long legs.
You can't come to the zoo
in Australia
and not hang out
with the kangaroos.
It is by far
one of the most popular
aspects of the zoo
is coming to see
these Aussie icons.
I didn't think they'd let us
get this close.
They're incredibly friendly,
very, very relaxed,
just like the rest
of us locals.
They're pretty chilled out.
This bird kind of scares me.
The cassowary.
Probably the most dangerous
bird in the world,
am I right?
Potentially, yeah.
Basically, they run at you.
They can run up to
about 60 kilometers an hour
and they'll run at you
and strike with either
their chest and or their foot.
Now, there's a baby around
that we can actually
kind of get close to?
Yeah, we can get close to him.
He's not so much a baby anymore,
more of a sub-adult,
but we can still
get quite close to him, yeah.
Before we do go in there,
I just wanted to let you know
that we were in there before.
He might be a little bit nervous,
so if he does start
to show any signs,
we'll just jump straight out.
I'll just follow you.
Sure.
I don't know
what those signs might be.
It's kind of like
getting in the swamp
with the crocodile right now.
Kind of what that's like.
Here he comes.
You guys are all right.
If you just stay there,
he'll be okay.
No sudden moves.
Our next zoo adventure,
the crocodiles.
Throughout the world,
we have 23 species
of crocodilian.
Here in Australia,
we are lucky enough
to have two of those species.
Those bumps along his back,
they're basically
helped to break up
the surface tension
of the water,
allowing these animals
to be a mere 15,
20 centimeters
below the surface
and move right up
into position.
You might see
if we can get the big fella
out for you today,
so you can have
a bit of a better look at him.
There we go.
Look at that.
What a lovely smile.
What a special day.
Thank you, Jess.
This was awesome.
We do have one last surprise,
one character who would love
to have a cuddle with you.
Bring it on.
Come on over, honey.
Hey.
What an amazing
hands-on experience
here at the Cairns Tropical Zoo.
Queensland has loads
of food options.
Tonight we go on
the extreme side
in downtown Cairns at Ochre.
So I'm pretty sure
this is going to be
one of the most
unique restaurant segments
that we've ever had
on the show.
It already started.
You've already put
kangaroo on the grill.
We do a lot of
native Australian food here.
We're using lots of
bush foods and a lot
of native Australian
animals as well.
What are you cooking
for us tonight
besides kangaroo?
We're going to do
some wallaby as well,
some crocodile wontons.
None of which I've had
ever in my entire life.
Yeah.
Shrimp and...
Crocodile.
Shrimp and crocodile.
Yeah.
There you go.
It looks good enough to eat.
Yeah.
So this is wallaby.
And the wallaby.
Yeah.
So we just put that
with the kangaroo.
We've had that on the
menu for a while now.
People seem to love it.
I really don't want to
destroy the presentation,
but...
Try it.
I'm going to try it.
If you're in Australia,
you might as well
have a crack at it.
Absolutely.
That's why I'm here, right?
Yeah.
Okay.
Let's do it.
All you exotic food lovers,
here we go.
I'm a little nervous.
I'm not going to lie to you.
Start out with the
crocodile.
Here we go.
Not bad.
A little chewy.
It's your basic
kangaroo filet.
I expected it to be gamey.
It's really not.
And here we go with
your basic wallaby.
Here's to nothing.
I don't even know
how to describe this.
It's not like anything
I've ever had.
I honestly am surprised
at how un-gamey
and how actually good
a lot of this stuff was.
The kangaroo
totally surprised me.
The prawns were amazing.
The crocodile was even good.
I would highly recommend
Okra Restaurant
on your next visit
to Cairns.
Today I get to check
something off my bucket list.
After a scenic boat tour
from Port Douglas,
we're smack dab in the middle
of the world-famous
Great Barrier Reef.
All righty, guys.
We're going to go on
this semi-submersible here.
What it does,
it takes you around the reef
for about 25 minutes.
See a lot of those
bigger creatures out there,
sharks, turtles.
It's quite a more unique
way of viewing the reef,
that's for sure.
This is cool.
Yeah.
Look, the Great Barrier Reef,
you're actually looking
at about 350,000
square kilometres.
There's hundreds of
different types of fish.
I'm really impressed
with these little
stick-like features.
They're called staghorn coral,
the branchy ones.
But the reason why
they're different in colour,
it comes down to an organism
called zooxanthellae.
There's just amazing colours
in this reef.
Sunlight does depend as well.
What we tend to find
when it comes to
trying to figure out
the names of these
corals and fish is
what they look like
and what they look like
is what they're called.
What are these ones here?
These guys here
are called
scissortail sergeant majors.
I'd call them zebrafish.
Zebrafish is another one.
That's the more common name.
Is it really?
Yeah, it is.
It is.
I've been here
for the last
two and a half years
and there's always
still something new
to see every day.
Oh yeah, you never
see the same thing.
Oh, no way.
Yeah, no, it's amazing.
You can also see
this swine coral
on our left here.
Spaghetti coral.
Spaghetti coral, yeah.
Spaghetti coral.
It looks like spaghetti.
Yeah, you can relate to that.
It's one of our soft corals.
Luke, that was great.
Thanks, mate.
Oh, mate, I'm glad
you enjoyed it.
No worries.
Who's up for some snorkeling?
This guy.
Let's snorkel
the Great Barrier Reef.
We've seen the reef
from underneath the water.
Now it's time to get
a bird's eye view.
What a day.
Harry, you guys
at Quiksilver
have set the bar pretty high.
Certainly a pleasant
place to work
and a pleasant place
to visit as well.
Oh my God,
the Great Barrier Reef.
The reef itself
made up of about
2,900 separate reefs
along with sand caves
and islands
stretches to 1,500 miles
along the Queensland coast.
Spectacular.
The Great Barrier Reef
is one of the seven wonders
of the world
and for good reason.
Wow.
Music and culture
go hand in hand,
especially today
at the Javagai
Aboriginal Cultural Park.
Well, we started 25 years ago
in a little sleepy
little village
in Karanda
and here we are
25 years later.
The message is loud and clear.
We want people
to be educated about Australia
and we're more to Australia
than just
blonded surf boys,
kangaroos,
and Vegemite.
We've got a living culture here
that's been going
for countless generations
and we're very proud of that.
I'm going to learn
how to throw a boomerang.
I'm going to learn
how to toss a spear.
But what do you call
a boomerang
that doesn't come back?
A boomer gone?
No, we call it a stick.
A stick.
That's good.
Time to learn
how to throw the boomerang.
It seems rather simple
but I doubt it is.
Zach, how do we do this?
So these are used
for hunting pretty much.
They're used for
big flocks of birds
curving around
making tight circles.
So you've got
the curved side.
That's for the aerodynamics.
And the flat side.
So you tilt it like this
when you throw it?
Yeah, so on a tilt.
Okay.
So it'll catch the wind
and push it back to you.
Okay.
That did not work.
Let's try it again.
I need to go up.
Right in front of my head.
That was fun, the boomerang.
Yeah.
I like it.
I kind of got the hang of it.
So we're going to learn
how to throw the spear.
Yep.
What's the key?
Pretty much follow through.
Like a tennis hoop.
I can do that.
I can play tennis.
Easy.
So before we learn
how to play the didgeridoo
let's talk a little bit
about this.
We saw this earlier
in the performance.
It's such a beautiful
instrument, Colin.
The first step
is the vibration
of your lips.
You're going to actually
push up against your lip.
So it's actually tight
so no air is coming out.
You know what?
I think we'll let
the master do it.
Take it away, Colin.