Coronavirus-free Queensland state opened its domestic borders to all vaccinated people on Monday for the first time in nearly five months, as Australians gear up for quarantine-free travel across most of the country during the busy Christmas period. Hundreds of cars queued up at the state’s southern border with New South Wales well before the rules were set to relax at 1 a.m. local time (1400 GMT, Sunday), television footage showed. FILE PHOTO: Travellers and flight crew members arrive at the international terminal at Sydney Airport, as countries react to the new coronavirus Omicron variant amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Sydney, Australia, November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott Queensland, Australia’s third most populous state, shut its border to New South...
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travelogues, travel articles and news from and about Australia
Millions of red crabs crawled across Christmas Island on Tuesday, part of their annual migration journey to the ocean on the island off the coast of Western Australia. "This year's migration has just been absolutely epic," said Christmas Island National Park natural resource manager Brendan Tiernan. A sign indicating a road closure for red crab migration is seen on Christmas Island, Australia, in this still image from undated video obtained via social media. Parks Australia via REUTERS "The roads have been a seething mass of red crabs. It's caused traffic jams on this small island and people having to get out of their cars and rake them out the way." Tiernan said the ecological phenomenon of crabs migrating to the sea to spawn occurs nowhere else in the world on such a scale. ...
Read MoreAustralia’s Great Barrier Reef will survive if warming kept to 1.5 degrees
A study released on Friday by an Australian university looking at multiple catastrophes hitting the Great Barrier Reef has found for the first time that only 2% of its area has escaped bleaching since 1998, then the world's hottest year on record. If global warming is kept to 1.5 degrees, the maximum rise in average global temperature that was the focus of the COP26 United Nations climate conference, the mix of corals on the Barrier Reef will change but it could still thrive, said the study's lead author Professor Terry Hughes, of the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. "If we can hold global warming to 1.5 degrees global average warming then I think we'll still have a vibrant Great Barrier Reef," he said. Bleaching is a stress response ...
Read MoreAll fully-vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to leave the country without a special exemption from Nov. 1, authorities said on Wednesday, as Australia eases coronavirus restrictions amid a rise in vaccination rates. Australians have been unable to travel abroad for more than 18 months without a government waiver, while thousands of fully-vaccinated residents living abroad have been unable to return due to a cap on arrivals to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many of these are now expected to return after Sydney and Melbourne ended quarantine rules for inoculated travelers from Nov. 1. Other cities, mostly virus-free, are expected to ease their border rules once they reach higher vaccination rates. "The national plan is working ... (it) is about op...
Read MoreMelbourne reopens as world’s most locked-down city eases pandemic restrictions
Melbourne residents flocked to the city's pubs, restaurants and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world's most locked-down city emerged from its latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of COVID-19. Australia's second-largest city has so far endured 262 days, or nearly nine months, of restrictions during six separate lockdowns since March 2020, representing the longest cumulative lockdown for any city in the world. Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, last year went through 234 straight days of lockdown. Shoppers browse an outdoor retail area on the first day of eased coronavirus disease (COVID-19) regulations, following a lockdown to curb an outbreak, in Melbourne, Australia, October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders In Melbourne, people were s...
Read MoreDouble-vaccination rate in Victoria set to reach 70% this week Melbourne, which has spent more time under COVID-19 lockdowns than any other city in the world, is set to lift its stay-at-home orders this week, officials said on Sunday. By Friday, when some curbs will be lifted, the Australian city of 5 million people will have been under six lockdowns totalling 262 days, or nearly nine months, since March 2020. Australian and other media say this is the longest in the world, exceeding a 234-day lockdown in Buenos Aires. FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask walks past light rail platforms devoid of waiting passengers in the city centre at morning commute hour during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sydney, Australia...
Read MoreThousands of Sydney residents flocked to a prominent horse race on Saturday, as Australia's biggest city emerges from a strict COVID-19 lockdown and the nation begins to live with the coronavirus through extensive vaccination. Up to 10,000 fully vaccinated spectators can now attend races such as The Everest in Sydney, Australia's richest turf horse race, and the country's most famous, Melbourne Cup Day, on Nov. 2. Staff members cheer after shooting confetti in the air to celebrate the re-opening of SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium to visitors, following an extended closure due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown orders, in Sydney, Australia, October 14, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, reached its target of 80% of people fully vacc...
Read MoreRising COVID cases can jeopardize domestic travel recovery in UK, Australia
Despite staycation demand in the UK being strong, the rise in COVID-19 infections and the requirement to self-isolate if ‘pinged’ could jeopardise summer plans, and tourism operators could miss out on much-needed revenue this summer, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Similarly, with Australia also battling a rise in COVID-19 cases, domestic travel has reduced there drastically. According to a live GlobalData poll, domestic holidays are set to be the most popular in the coming 12 months, with 30%* of UK respondents opting for this type of trip, marginally lower than the 32% of global respondents preferring domestic travel. With restrictions continuously changing for international travel, domestic holidays seem a safer bet in the immediate term. FILE PHOTO: Travel...
Read MoreUNESCO keeps Great Barrier Reef off “in danger” list after Australian lobbying
The Great Barrier Reef will not be added to a list of World Heritage Sites that are "in danger" after a UN panel on Friday agreed to defer a vote until 2022 amid intensive lobbying by Australia. A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee last month recommended the Great Barrier Reef be classified as "in danger", drawing an angry response from Australia. Desperate to avoid a politically embarrassing classification for a tourist attraction that draws about 5 million people each year and supports nearly 70,000 jobs - Australia's Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley travelled to more than a dozen countries in recent weeks to secure support. Speaking ahead of the decision, Ley assured the 21-country panel that Canberra was committed to...
Read MoreA modern take on traditional Middle Eastern cuisine is now a Luxury Lifestyle Award winner In the multicultural city of Sydney, people from all different cultures and walks of life unite in keeping their traditions close and proudly sharing the best of their cultural heritage with others. But even for many of the city's residents and visitors spoiled for choice, Zahli Modern Middle Eastern restaurant is a breath of fresh air. This year's winner of Luxury Lifestyle Awards in the category The Best Luxury Restaurant in Sydney, Australia, provides the perfect setting to experience exquisite Lebanese cuisine the way it was meant to be. The restaurant's founder, Mohammad Issmail, was exposed to the richness of Lebanese cuisine and culture from an early age. Vivid memories from his chi...
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