We love getting stuff for free, but apparently the red-haired people of Adelaide, South Australia would rather pay to get into the Adelaide Zoo at the moment.

The zoo started a promotion using the Aussie slang term "ranga", a nickname for redheads that derives from the color of the average orangutan. The deal offered free entry to the zoo for all "rangas," but they've toned down the deal now after some complaints.

The good news is that despite the complaints, the zoo decided just to drop the "ranga" title. So red-haired visitors (including those with dyed red hair!) can still get into the zoo for free for the next week. Apparently less than 2 percent of people are redheads but if you're one of them then rush down to Adelaide now. And don't be offended--we're just jealous we can't get in for free.

Related Stories:
· Zoo Drops "Ranga" Free Day Campaign [news.com.au]
· Free Range Orang Utans Now Available [Jaunted]
· Zoos coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: peasap]]]> amandak 2008-09-30T09:30:36-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/24/74040/1759

Remember how we mentioned that the future of Australia's Big Orange was bleak? You can all breathe a sigh of relief because it seems like there's a solution--but not one to please citrus fruit lovers.

The Big Orange (and the land and water around it) is up for auction on October 29, and one idea being kicked around is that the Big Orange could be turned into the Big Golf Ball. Liquidator Des Munro came up with the idea, saying:

I think that could be an icon for the area because that area's such a mecca for golfing people.

It'll be at least a month before we know the Big Orange's fate. And then it might be goodbye to one Aussie tourist icon, and hello to an even stranger one.

Related Stories:
· Big Golf Ball Suggested as Landmark [ABC]
· Big Orange Not Big Money-Spinner [Jaunted]
· Big Things coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: thepurpleempire]]]> amandak 2008-09-24T09:30:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/8/34010/31901

Perhaps the future of green travel is worms. Down at the Adelaide Convention Centre in South Australia they certainly think worms are key: They've just bought an "organic digester" which includes 800,000 worms, who are going to chomp through the 750 pounds of organic waste put out weekly by visitors and travelers passing through the place.

We're not surprised to see this eco-friendly news coming out of Adelaide, home of the world's first solar-powered bus

There's just one catch to this plan, we think: Market yourself too green and nobody will want to unleash all those carbon emissions on the flight in. Instead you'll have to hop on your bike to check out Adelaide's worm farms.

Related Stories:
· Adelaide Convention Centre Going Green [eTravel]
· Hot Aussie Sun Powers Frog-Colored Bus [Jaunted]
· Adelaide Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wahj]]]> amandak 2008-07-11T09:00:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/12/71155/6207

If you travel around Australia and order an orange juice on the way, the chances are good that at some stage you'll be drinking Berri. This famous brand of juice is backed up by one of those ridiculously over-sized food sculptures the Aussies are renowned for: That's right, near the town of Berri, you can visit the Big Orange.

That is, you can at the moment. But the Big Orange, one of Australia's most recognized big things, is under threat. Apparently numerous owners in the past decades have struggled to attract enough visitors to the South Australian town to make running the Big Orange worthwhile; the current owner is thinking of selling.

There are a few ideas in the pipeline: There's one potential buyer who's considering moving the Big Orange to a more profitable site. Perhaps even a Jaunted reader with a spare A$100,000 (that's less than $95,000) could be the new owner of the Big Orange? You'd have to be ripe for a few juicy jokes though.

Related Stories:
· Big Orange May Find New Home [ABC]
· Big Banana Just Got Bigger [Jaunted]
· Koalas--Scary When Big [Jaunted]

[Photo: joshnunn]]]> amandak 2008-05-12T09:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/25/54455/4206

Got your spaceflight booked yet with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic? They're still saying the first space tourist flights should take off next year at a cost of $200,000--or two million frequent flier points.

Initially, the suborbital space flights will blast off from the Californian desert, but if the government of South Australia has any say in it, that might change. The SA Tourist Commissioner has suggested to Branson that the vast nothingness that makes up much of the south-central Australian state would be the perfect launching pad for Virgin Galactic flights.

If Branson considers all those nasty nuclear tests that happened in the area in the 60s, he might be able to increase his profit line by not even taking off--some of that desert probably looks just like outer space already.

Related Stories:
· South Australia Wants Space Tourists [ABC]
· Virgin Galactic Unveils Space Ship Two [Jaunted]
· Virgin's Free Space Flight [Jaunted]

[Photo: wouter!]]]> amandak 2008-04-25T09:35:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/3/4/02940/59516

What's cute, green and loves the sun? You probably won't guess that it's Tindo, the world's first fully solar-powered bus which has just started operating in Adelaide, South Australia.

The name Tindo comes from a local Aboriginal word meaning "sun," fairly appropriately as the electric bus gets it energy from solar panels on the roof of the bus station. It takes something like three hours to charge, but fully-powered the bus can travel about 200km (125 miles).

If you want a ride on Tindo, it won't cost you anything all--apart from the fare to fly to Australia, if you're not already there. The bus belongs to the Adelaide Connector bus fleet which provides free shuttle services between the city center and North Adelaide. Apparently the Tindo runs really quietly, but we think it looks so much like a green tree frog that we expect to hear a croak.

Related Stories:
· Richard Branson Flies Around on Coconuts [Jaunted]
· Green Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: MM_Anadamon]]]> amandak 2008-03-04T09:11:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/5/3/174047/8342

As it turns out, San Francisco isn't the only place offering shark tours. Calypso Star Charter out of Port Lincoln, Australia, offers one- and multi-day cage-diving-with-great-whites trips to the Neptune Islands--where Wikipedia says Spielberg filmed part of Jaws. Yikes.

After a two-and-a-half hour boat ride to the islands, you'll jump into a cage before being lowered to your doom see the sharks. With visibility around 60 feet, you'll want to take along a waterproof camera to snap some super-clear underwater shots. The one-day trip--which costs $310--takes about eight hours, so you'll be back in time to tell your harrowing tales of the deep at the bars in Port Lincoln.

[Photo: Jared Kelly]

Related Stories:
· Calypso Star Charter [Official Site]
· San Francisco Shark Tours [Jaunted]
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