Summit To Talk About
Sun Herald
Sunday December 7, 2003
WELCOME in the new day from the summit of Sydney's Coathanger and witness the city and the harbour awake below you.
Limited to a maximum of 48 people per day, bridge climbers can experience the thrill of setting out along the catwalks in darkness, then see the dawning of a new day as they ascend the eastern arch on the next round of dawn climbs available from December 26 until January 17.
Book early. Climbs depart at 3.45am, 3.55am, 4.05am and 4.15am and cost $225. Phone BridgeClimb on 8274 7777 or book online at www.bridgeclimb.com .
Brisbane's abuzz
BRISBANE'S three-month festival Festivus , on now, has more than 670 events, activities and celebrations.
Highlights include more than 140 performances, shows and concerts and appearances from Santa in the city centre. Last night carollers warmed their vocal cords during the annual Lord Mayor's Christmas Carols at the Riverstage , Botanic Gardens .
The city will be abuzz with bargain hunters on December 26 for Boxing Day sales. The new aerial stunt spectacular Mission Improbable on the Upper Stage from December 26 will entertain and distract during the hectic shopping spree. Then celebrate New Year's Eve with midnight fireworks at South Bank . Festivus also introduces an ambitious program from January 7 to 23 for children aged from five to 15 called MetroKids . The end-of-school-holidays kids' spectacular offers more than 300 activities over the final three weeks of the break many free or almost free. At the Longest Little Lunch at Roma Street Parkland on January 7 1000 children will have a free morning tea en masse. Kids can also enjoy red carpet treatment at a premiere screening of the blockbuster Peter Pan and cooking classes with some of the country's best chefs.
Learn from a local
DID you know that more than 20 countries have Spanish as the first language and there are more than 355 million Spanish speakers worldwide? What better way to learn than to immerse yourself in a Spanish-speaking country.
Travelling Fit has a Spanish Language Study Tour departing January 17 to Guatemala , which borders lower Mexico . There is a one student to one teacher course structure which is ideal whether you're starting from scratch or at a more advanced level.
The all-inclusive package, in the tranquillity of the beautiful town of Antigua , starts from $4295 for three weeks. For details see www.languageleap.com .
Just the ticket
SYDNEY has something to offer everyone, whether you are a local or visiting from interstate or overseas. DayTripper , an all-in-one train, bus and ferry ticket offers unlimited all day and night access on CityRail's suburban train network, Sydney Ferries and Sydney Buses.
For $15 for adults ($7.50 for children) you can hop on and off as many times as you like in a day.
Check out Cabramatta's Asian food delights, swim and picnic at glorious Palm Beach , relive Olympic memories or bushwalk at Waterfall or Otford. Or check out Balmain 's village life with its weekend markets, head off to Watsons Bay for some famous fish and chips and then head off to Kings Cross for a night on the town.
DayTripper tickets are available from CityRail stations on the day of travel. Phone 131 500 or see www.cityrail.info .
Kashmir opens to world
TWO months ago, mobile phones were forbidden in Indian Kashmir . Now, anyone can wirelessly surf the web from the houseboats and gondolas on the waters of its famous Dal Lake .
In a bid to woo back foreign tourists scared off by a bloody separatist rebellion, authorities have made the sprawling lake in the summer capital, Srinagar , the world's latest, and certainly one of its most unusual, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) ``hot spots".
Armchair traveller
IT'S not likely you're going to stick this one in your back pocket on your next holiday, t'be sure, but this weighty tome is packed with everything you want to know about the land of legends, Guinness and eternal merriment. From Abbeyknockmoy (a Cistercian monastery in Galway) to Zozimus (the blind poet), it's the most up-to-date and comprehensive reference book on Irish literature, language, history and geography, economics, sociology, the arts and music, science, engineering, astronomy and sport.
The Encyclopedia Of Ireland, Brian Lalor , Macmillan, $125.
What a site!
ON July 2, the International Olympic Committee selected Whistler and Vancouver as hosts for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Whistler is the proposed venue for the alpine (downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and combined), Nordic (biathlon, cross-country skiing and nordic combined), sliding (bobsleigh, luge and skeleton), ski jumping and all Paralympic events. But there is so much more to see and do here. See www.winter2010.com.
READER'S PICK
ANTHONY KLEIN of Rydalmere , NSW, writes: On Christmas Day in Antarctica we were cruising the Lemaire Channel when the crew announced that they intended to have a barbecue lunch on the deck of our ship Orlova . We wondered a little about their sanity as it was overcast and cold. Just before midday, however, the sun came out and transformed the landscape. The colours became vivid and were backdropped by splashes of blue sky. Where the water was still it caught the reflections of the ice and rock in its surface. One of the crew who had been taking cruises to the area for eight years said it was the first time he had seen the sun shine on the channel.
SEND US YOUR SNAPS: Send pictures to Travel, The Sun-Herald, PO Box 506, Sydney NSW 2001. Or email dneilson@mail.fairfax.com.au. Include your name, address and 150 words on the story behind it (digital image needs to be 15 centimetres wide at 300dpi, saved as JPEG).NB: Send duplicate snaps or slides as originals will not be returned.
© 2003 Sun Herald
