Australia is Backpacker heaven. Young independent travelers find Australia’s welcoming locals, easy-going atmosphere and “no-worries”attitude refreshing and relatively hassle-free. An added bonus for some is Australia’s reciprocal membership in the working holiday maker (WHM) scheme, allowing backpackers and other young holidaymakers meeting the visa criteria to top up their funds during their holiday by working in some of the most spectacular settings in the world.

Not all backpackerswant or need to work whilst on holiday. Some save up their money beforehand and spend their holiday time travelling, partying, meeting locals, getting to know the country and having a good time.

Australia offers established touring routes and plenty of lesser-known, off-the-beaten track alternatives. The best known mainstream route is the East Coast Trail, stretching between Melbourne and Cairns. It canbe taken in the either direction and it includes some of Australia’s greatest attractions as well as cosmopolitan Melbourne and scintillating Sydney.

The East Coast route begins at the adventure hub of Cairns, gateway to the Daintree rainforest and Great Barrier Reef. The trail runs through Townsville and the fabulous Whitsunday Coast, fringed with Coral reefs and dotted with islands; it traverses the Capricorn Coast, through Rockhampton with its Japanese Gardens , Hervey Bay, the Gold Coast (perfect surf, giant themes parks and great nightlife) and Queensland’s exciting capital, Brisbane. Crossing into New South Wales, the East Coast route passes through Coffs Harbour (whitewater rafting on the Nymboida River), Port Stephens and the nearby Great Lakes district, Hunter Valley wine country, Sydney (no shortage of activities there!) and the llawarra coast with it’s string of little seaside villages.

Byron Bay, a hip, alternative town located on Australia’s most easterly point, offers great surfing and relaxed lifestyle. It attract backpackers from around the world, providing excellent backpacker lodges and top-ranking guestwalks, houses. Attractions include three gorgeous beaches, rainforest, local Rocks and you may come face to face with wobbegong and grey- nurse sharks, or loggerhead turtles and manta rays.

You can make yur own excursions on the way, heading from the coast to idyllic little towns like Bellingen with its green valley or the rich Gold Coast hinterland, fronted by the Glasshouse Mountains. Take in outback experiences in Queensland or Inland New South Wales or head from Sydney to Canberra and spend a bit of time exploring Australia’s graceful capital before crossing back towards the Coast again.

Backpackers on a 12 months visa have plenty of time to do this and to explore other routes – less travelled but just as rewarding- as well Tasmania, Australia’s southern island state is a perfect example, with magnificient scenery, glass clear lakes, and unspoiled tracts of superb, cool climate forest.

Article written by Le Sel et Le Poivre, read the original article at Article Base

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“Lovely sucluded location with helpful and friendly staff. Great Romantic getaway.”

Guest rating: 4.6/5 – James Ferguson

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“2min walk from the main streets of ByronBay, this hotel is located on a main road. The noise from the road is not a problem, but the hotel walls are rather thin and we’ve heard both nights people either talking/laughing or coughing all night. The room was small but tidy and spacious. Byron Bay is a GREAT place & this hotel was OK because of its cheap price.”

Guest rating: 3.8/5 – Frederic Poliart

“This resort was easy to locate and the staff were nice, friendly and approachable. The suite was clean and extremely nice. Would recommend this resort highly.”

Guest rating: 5/5 – Shervorn Barton

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“We enjoyed our stay at the Byron Lakeside Holiday Apartments very much. The rooms were clean and very well presented and the management were very friendly and accommodating. When we arrived out of office hours the room was waiting for us with a welcoming note. This was very much appreciated. An excellent family facility!”

Guest rating: 5/5 – Marion, VIC

“The Byron Lakeside Apartments are great – big rooms and lovely location…”

Guest rating: 4/5 – Claire, QLD – November 08

“Very clean and comfortable and friendly staff. A very enjoyable stay.”

Guest rating: 4/5 – Damien, VICTORIA – July 08

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“We had THE best weekend, the unit was amazing, clean, colourful, almost perfect!”

Guest rating: 4/5 – Sandy, Q – July 07

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“We had a wonderful time, greeted with a bottle of champagne on arrival, staying in a stunning fully furnished apartment and literally only 5 seconds away from a private beach… Just magic and exactly how it was described prior to booking. Very happy with our stay.”

Guest rating: 4/5 – Simone, NSW – Mar ‘08

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1. Bluesfest finally gets its own permanent home – just 10kms north of Byron Bay on the northern NSW coast

2. Bluesfest becomes the only music festival to be nominated for the prestigious 2009 Australian Events Awards – to be announced on 8 October

3. Early Bird tickets for the special 21st Birthday Bluesfest Festival Bash in 2010 over the Easter long weekend (Thursday April 1 to Monday April 5) will go on sale on Monday, 28 September 2009

Bluesfest Festival Director, Peter Noble, is understandably delighted to be able to announce this Bluesfest Trifecta.

The first leg – achieving a long held dream to give the festival “its own home and heart” – will see Bluesfest 2010 staged at the 120hectare Tyagarah Tea Tree farm just off the Pacific Highway 10 minutes north of Byron Bay.

The second leg – winning peer recognition among Australia’s most innovative, creative and outstanding events – Bluesfest will be nationally recognised at the ‘Industry Night of Nights’ Gala Dinner at the Westin Hotel, Sydney on Thursday 8 October 2009.

The third leg – an earlier than usual Early Bird ticket release – to reward the faithful multitude of fans with a promise of a special landmark 21st Birthday Bluesfest celebration event over Easter in 2010.

The new Bluesfest home:
The securing of a permanent home for Bluesfest has been a burning ambition of Peter Noble. He said: “With this long anticipated move we are able to give not only our countless thousands of faithful fans, but also the wonderful galaxy of performing artists who keep returning to grace our festival – a deeper sense of home, heart and belonging”.

While the former site at Byron Bay’s Belongil Fields helped create an important plank of the folklore of Bluesfest’s growing reputation, Peter Noble believes that the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm home will add several new dimensions to Australia’s most awarded music festival.

Bought in 2007, the long established Tea Tree farm is six times larger than the Belongil Field site. It is an operational agricultural and livestock farm, with the Tea Tree crop proudly collected by Peter and his team only a few weeks ago. But the rare Jelly Bush honey crop is another matter of pride. The bees producing this honey – an echo of New Zealand’s famed Manuka honey – are only to be found in this region of the NSW north coast. Said Peter: “Jelly Bush honey has the same mystical quality of the Manuka honey – it can be used to heal open wounds on the human skin. It is also delicious to eat, by the way.”

Byron Bay Council have given a three year approval for the festival to be staged at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm. Work is well under way by the Bluesfest team to prepare for the 21 Birthday event – with facilities and space for 6,250 campers and up to 17,500 daily visitors.

Australian Events Awards:
Bluesfest is the first music festival to be nominated for a prestigious Australian Events Award. At the “Industry Night of Nights” on 8 October, Bluesfest joins a nominee roll of honour for the Best Cultural or Arts Event that includes Sydney Festival 2009, Adelaide Fringe 2009, 16th Biennale of Sydney.

Bluesfest also qualifies for the Blue Riband Australian Event of the Year which will be announced at the gala dinner.

Tickets On Sale Now:
The great opportunity for pre-early bird tickets will be launched on the morning of Thursday 17 September 2009 for one week only! Early Bird tickets will take over after the one week special offering discounted tickets for those who were not fast enough to take advantage of the special offer. Peter Noble is promising for 2010 to more than match the legendary array of class performers who have graced the Bluesfest stage over its 20 year history. He has been travelling the world re-uniting with his peers and friends at the world’s premier music events.

Details of the line up are a couple of months away from being made public, but Peter has let slip that fans should – among other things – look forward to a “Guitar Lover’s Festival from Hell.” He has also hinted at an evening entitled “a taste of Classic Rock” and, of course some of the best blues available anywhere in the world.

Peter’s final word: “Bluesfest is known and respected around the world. I hear that feedback in all my travels. It explains why we can attract the best artists time after time. A North American date or a trip to Europe is easy for any of them. But to commit to the long haul to Australia and give so much of their time – that’s commitment.

“We in turn treat them with the respect they deserve. And they know that Bluesfest audiences will give them the credit they are due. The fans recognise the creative talent we put on that stage and they come to listen to some of the best blues, jazz and world music that can be found anywhere.”

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This article is sourced from the official Bluesfest website here.