Things to Do in Australia And The Pacific

Hyde Park is Australia's oldest park and a welcoming green space in the heart of Sydney's city center. Divided into northern and southern sections by Park Street, Hyde Park contains several important monuments and statues, themed gardens, water features, the Archibald fountain and the ANZAC Memorial Building and visitor center.

Although gazetted as a public park (common) in 1810 by Governor Macquarie and named after Hyde Park in London, today's park was not recognizable in its current form until 1927, when architect and landscape artist Norman Weekes won a competition to beautify the area. Prior to this, the park was used as a sports field, a racecourse and a venue for bareknuckle fights!

The tiled central avenue that cuts through the park from Macquarie Street to the ANZAC Memorial is lined with Hill's Figs and is a lovely place to seek shade on a hot day.

Hyde Park plays an important role in a number of cultural events throughout the year and is the venue for the Sydney Festival, Australia Day, ANZAC Day and the Food & Wine Fair.

Hyde Park runs parallel to George St and is bounded by Elizabeth St to the west and College St to the east. If traveling by train, get off at either the St James or Museum railway stations.

Tasmania's apple orchard, the Huon Valley is a lush and pretty region on Hobart's doorstep.

Centering on the little riverside town of Huonville, on the Huon River, it's a region of hillside orchards and villages. The large orchard industry now embraces berries, vineyards and stone fruit, and the towns offer tearooms and antique shops.

Book a jet-boat ride on the river, sample hundreds of varieties of apples, drop into a cellar door for some wine tasting, go fishing or relax at a country-style cafe.

The Huon Valley also makes a great base for exploring Tasmania's wild national parks and going for a stroll on the Tahune Forest AirWalk.

Facing the sea, Lyon's Cottage was - at the time of its building - the first stone house built in Darwin for 30 years and is the only surviving example of colonial bungalow architecture in the city. It's made from locally quarried stone and now houses a museum.

It was built in 1925 from the same porcellanite stone used to construct many of Darwin's major public buildings, including Fanny Bay Gaol and Government House. The architecture of the house is similar to many that the British built in other colonies such as Singapore and Malaysia.

It came through the bombing of Darwin without damage, although it was occupied by the US army. Ironically, Cyclone Tracy saved its life. It had been sold and scheduled for redevelopment, but after the cyclone it was repaired and became today's museum, featuring local and early European history.

Named for Lady Constance Knox, a daughter of the 15th governor of New Zealand, Lady Knox Geyser is located in the North Island's Taupo Volcanic Zone. While this region is famous for a variety of fascinating geological phenomena, the Lady Knox Geyser is unique. Every day it erupts at precisely 10:15am, when a park guide induces it to do so - with soap.

Indeed, the soap is used to break the surface tension of the cold water in the geyser's upper chamber so that it will mix with the hot water in the lower chamber, which causes an 20 meter (65 feet) eruption that can last an hour. Stones have been placed around the opening in order to enhance the blast, and over the years, silica in the water has given the spout a nozzle-like appearance. You'll find it among the other natural marvels of the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland.

While it might look wide and inviting for boats, the Tamar River is a treacherous channel that's rife with rocks, patches of reef, and shifting sandbars that will swallow vessels that don't know exactly where they're going. Luckily for mariners on Tasmania's north coast, a pilot station at Low Head still operates and helps assist boats headed up the Tamar River toward Launceston. Established here in 1805, the Low Head Pilot Station is Australia's oldest continuously inhabited pilot station, and the museum is set in "Pilot's Row""” a string of buildings that were built by convicts in the middle of the 19th century. When visiting Low Head Pilot Station today, you can learn about everything from signaling and lights to the tools used in navigation, as well as look at some early maps that were drawn when much of modern Tasmania had yet to be explored.

Hobart's heart lies on the sea, and as an island Tasmania's history is inextricably bound to the water.

If you'd like to learn more about Tasmania's maritime history, the Maritime Museum of Tasmania provides all the answers.

You'll see models of the ships that docked at Sullivans Cove, hear the stories of the men who sailed in them, learn about Australia's first explorers and see the navigational instruments they used.

The watercraft of Tasmania's original inhabitants, the Aborigines, are also displayed, along with artifacts rescued from shipwrecks, photographs, paintings and whaling equipment.