Tourism Australia is the best source of information on traveling Down Under. Its website, www.australia.com, has more than 10,000 pages of listings of tour operators, hotels, car-rental companies, special travel outfitters, holidays, maps, distance charts, suggested itineraries, and much more. The site provides information tailored to travelers from your country of origin, including packages and deals. Tourism Australia certifies "Aussie specialist" travel agents throughout North America, and you can search online by zip code or state to find one near you. By signing up for the free e-newsletter, you will receive updates on hot deals, events, and the like on a regular basis. You can also order brochures online. Tourism Australia operates a website only, no telephone lines. Other good sources are the websites of Australia's state tourism marketing offices. They are:
- Australian Capital Tourism: www.visitcanberra.com.au.
- Northern Territory Tourist Commission: www.travelnt.com.
- South Australian Tourism Commission: www.southaustralia.com.
- Tourism New South Wales: www.visitnsw.com.au or www.sydneyaustralia.com.
- Tourism Queensland: www.queenslandholidays.com.au.
- Tourism Tasmania: www.discovertasmania.com.
- Tourism Victoria: www.visitvictoria.com.
- Western Australian Tourism Commission: www.westernaustralia.com.
To read a few blogs about Australia (and other places) take a look at:
- www.gridskipper.com
- www.travelblog.com
- www.travelblog.org
- www.worldhum.com
- www.australiablog.com
Two of the biggest map publishers in Australia are HEMA Maps (tel. 07/3340 0075; www.hemamaps.com.au) and Universal Publishers (tel. 1800/021 987 in Australia, or 02/9857 3700; www.universalpress-online.com). Both publish an extensive range of national, state, regional, and city maps. HEMA has a North American office (tel. 317/257-4362; www.hemamaps.com), and maps are sold in the United States through Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com) and Map Link (tel. 800/962-1394; www.maplink.com). HEMA maps are also distributed in the U.K. by Blackwell (tel. 01865/333 000; www.blackwell.co.uk). Universal is also sold through Map Link in the U.S.
