No-frills carrier Virgin Blue (tel. 07/3295 2296; www.virginblue.com.au) continues its expansion, with new routes to smaller cities such as Newcastle in New South Wales. Links between major centers are also expanding, with flights between Brisbane and Hobart (the only direct service between Queensland and Tasmania), Canberra and Adelaide, Brisbane and Whitsunday Coast, Canberra and the Gold Coast, and Melbourne and Maroochydore all added in the past few months. Also keep an eye out for the introduction of Virgin's sister airline Pacific Blue, which is set to launch in February 2004 with flights between Brisbane, Australia and Christchurch, New Zealand. The company has plans to extend services between other Australian and New Zealand cities.
Also trying to tap into the growing demand for cut-rate airline seats with no frills is Qantas (www.qantasusa.com), which has announced that it will launch a new low-cost carrier in May 2004. Travelers flying between Sydney and major regional destinations such as Alice Springs, Darwin, Northern Queensland, the Gold Coast and Tasmania are expected to be the winners.
On the ground, the first services on the long-awaited rail line linking Alice Springs and Darwin will roll out on February 8, 2004. The iconic Ghan will operate weekly between Adelaide and Darwin and twice a week between Adelaide and Alice Springs. One-way per-person fares for the 2,979km transcontinental journey between Adelaide and Darwin start at A$440 (US$286) for a "daynighter" seat and $1,740 (US$1,131) for a first class sleeper, which includes all meals served in a stylish restaurant car. The Indian Pacific and The Overland trains provide connections with The Ghan in Adelaide for guests traveling to or from Sydney and Melbourne. For more information and reservations call 61/8/8213-4592 or visit www.trainways.com.au
Meanwhile, TT-Line's new Spirit of Tasmania III (www.spiritoftasmania.com.au) ferry will operate three round-trip services a week between Sydney and Devonport, on the north coast of Tasmania, from January 2003. The trip takes 20 hours and the vessel offers two, three and four berth cabins, and hostel beds for the budget conscious traveler. You can take your car on board for free. Check the website for more details.
Some travelers to Australia might have to tighten their belts after recent dramatic increases in the value of the Australian dollar against the greenback. The Australian dollar has jumped in value from around 62 US cents at the start of 2003 to over 70 US cents at the end of the year. In Frommer's Australia 2003 and 2004 editions, the exchange was set at one Australian dollar equals 65 US cents.
Sydney
Major changes are afoot on the Sydney hotel scene with property group Accor acquiring and refurbishing the 23-year-old Sydney Airport Hilton. The property was renamed the Mercure Sydney Airport in November 2003. The hotel will join two other Accor hotels near the airport -- the four-star Novotel Brighton Beach and the three-star Ibis Sydney Airport. An Accor two-star Formula 1 Hotel is also being built at the domestic terminal. Check out www.accorhotels.com.au for details on all of these properties.
Accor is also the new manager of The Wentworth Hotel, 6-101 Phillip Street (tel. 02/9230 0700; www.accorhotels.com.au), right in the heart of the city. The hotel is undergoing an A$50 million (US$3.25 million) refurbishment, to be finished in early 2004. I recently stayed in a newly refurbished standard room on assignment and I highly recommend this place.
The Hotel Intercontinental Sydney, 177 Macquarie Street (tel. 02/9253 9000; www.sydney.intercontinental.com), a short stroll from the water at Circular Quay, has also recently refurbished its rooms. This luxury landmark hotel was deleted from Frommer's 2003 because the rooms were desperately in need of a major revamp. The A$25 million refurbishment, finished in October 2003, fixed everything that needed fixing. The hotel now also has a brand new rooftop club lounge with terrific harbor views. Hotel Intercontinental Sydney gets the thumbs up once more.
Say goodbye to the Imperial Peking Chinese restaurant on the Circular Quay waterside, a regular Frommer's star, which went out of business in 2003.
Brisbane
The Museum of Brisbane (tel. 07/3403-8888) opened in October 2003 in the Brisbane's historic City Hall. Designed to capture the history and essence of Brisbane, the museum (affectionately dubbed "MoB") has a small theater showing a short film about the city. Exhibits relate the stories of the events and ideas that have shaped the city. Entry is free. Open 10am to 5pm daily except Christmas and Good Friday, and from noon to 5pm on Anzac Day (April 25).
Brisbane's landmark Story Bridge will launch a bridge-climbing adventure (called, appropriately, Bridgeclimb) in August 2004. The climb, only the third in the world after Sydney and Auckland, will be open to anyone aged 12 years and over.
Brisbane's new Cultural Industries Precinct at Kelvin Grove, still under construction, will be the new home of the innovative La Boite Theatre (www.laboite.com.au). La Boite is due to move into this new 400-seat theatre-in-the-round in late 2003.
Melbourne
The National Gallery of Victoria, St.Kilda Rd. (tel. 61/3/8620-2222; www.ngv.vic.gov.au), reopened in December 2003 after a A$168 million architectural overhaul. I was lucky enough to get a preview of this amazing addition to Australia's growing cultural scene and I walked away in awe. The ceilings are high, the lighting is fabulous, the is architecture inspiring, and the huge collection of magnificent artworks -- including ancient ceramics, Oceanic and Asian art, important Flemish and English works, a Rembrandt room, Modernist masterpieces and more -- makes this the most important gallery in Australia. There's a good café here too. The Australian collections are housed at the Ian Potter Centre (tel. 03/9208-0203) in Federation Square. Entry is free, but expect to pay for traveling exhibitions.
Queensland
P&O Australian Resorts (tel.1800 737678 in Australia or 02/9277 5050; www.poresorts.com) has added Wilson Island to its portfolio of outdoor experiences, offering a chance to camp out in style on the Great Barrier Reef. Starting in March 2004, P&O will run two departures a week from Heron Island, off the central Queensland coast, 540 km north of Brisbane. Packaged with pre- and post-visit accommodations at Heron Island, the 5-night Wilson Island Experience is priced at A$1,750 (US$1,138) per person (with a maximum of 12 guests) until March 31, 2004, and at A$1,995 (US$1,297) per person (still with a maximum of 12 guests) until March 2005. Children under 16 are not permitted on this trip. Visits to Wilson Island are not available in February when the island is closed for the seabird nesting season. Wilson Island is a remote coral cay located 8 nautical miles north of Heron Island -- a 40-minute boat ride. Lodging is in six permanent luxury tents. There is a separate amenities building with six showers and dressing areas (one for each tent) in addition to toilet and vanity areas. Meals are served in The Longhouse, a spacious open-sided central complex with dining, lounge and bar facilities.
Two of a planned six walking trails being built for Great Walks of Queensland will open in June 2004, in the Whitsundays and Fraser Island. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (tel. 07/4946-7022; www.env.qld.gov.au) is planning tracks that will highlight some of Queensland's most valuable parks and forests in World Heritage areas.
The Top End
As we mentioned above, beginning in February 2004, the Top End will have its first rail link when The Ghan starts running to Alice Springs and Darwin. The train, operated by Great Southern Railway (tel. 13- 21-47 in Australia or 61/8/8213-4592 outside Australia; www.trainways.com.au) will run one weekly return journey between the two cities, leaving Alice Springs on Mondays and arriving in Darwin about 24 hours later.
Perth & Western Australia
A fabulous new addition to Perth's accommodation choices is The Sebel Residence East Perth, at 60 Royal Street (tel.08/9223-2500; www.mirvac.com.au). Opened in October 2003, this is a chic all-suite hotel in the new Cove Promenade restaurant district in East Perth. It has 57 elegant, well-appointed, contemporary apartments, with choices of a studio, a one-bedroom apartment, or both combined into a spacious two-bedroom apartment. Many of the apartments have a fully appointed kitchen and a separate living area with a balcony, and some apartments have spas. Most of the units also have river views. There's a well-equipped gym and a heated infinity lap pool. Rates are A$150 (US$98) per room per night for a studio with river views and A$175-A$195 (US$114-US$127) for a one-bedroom suite.
In Margaret River, locals are mourning the loss of popular award-winning Valley Café, which burnt to the ground in October 2003.
Canberra
The Medina Apartments are highly recommended in all Frommer's guidebooks covering Australia. Medina has several properties in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra. A new property, the Medina Apartments James Court, 74 Northbourne Avenue (tel. 02/6240 1234; www.medinaapartments.com.au) opened in June 2003. A one-bedroom apartment costs around A$169 (US$110) a night and a two-bedroom apartment A$225. Two new Medina Apartments properties will open in Perth in mid-2003. By the way, rates are cheapest booked through the website.
The Outback
In the Red Centre, Longitude 131 (tel.08/8957-7888; www.voyages.com.au) the upmarket camp property near Uluru/Ayres Rock was badly damaged by a freak fire in October 2003. Twelve of the 15 deluxe tents were completely destroyed. The property, operated by Voyages Hotels and Resorts, is due to re-open in July 2004. Call or check the website for updates.
Also in the Outback, the four-star Novotel Outback Oasis Alice Springs (tel. 08/8952 6100; www.accorhotels.com.au) has just undergone a major renovation. Located at the foot of the McDonnell Ranges, the resort-style hotel has its own kangaroo enclosure.