Last week, Jaunted Embed markj went on the VAustralia inaugural and then spent a couple days in Sydney waiting to return stateside.

Much like the rest of the world, Australia is feeling this global recession. Let's face it, most folks see Australia as a far away expensive land, so dream trips to Oz are easily dashed during tough times on the grounds of "it is just too far and too expensive."

However, there is no doubt one of the positive bi-products of this "recession which will lift by the end of the year" is that traveling to Australia has never been more comfortable and less expensive for Americans. Fact: Now that VAustralia is flying from LAX to SYD (and Melbourne later this year), Qantas has found itself in a fare war that have lowered USA - AU flights to an astounding $299 or so each way. These prices may even head lower when Delta starts service on these routes in July, so watch your favorite travel sites.

Still not convinced? The Aussie Dollar is at right around .60 cents to ours, and there are rumors that Aussie officials are kicking around the idea of actually paying for your flight. Ok, enough with the hard sell, just take a look at what we learned in Sydney Australia 2.0

· Jaunted has Twitter followers in Bondi Junction, follow @carlyeinfeld.

· Our new travel Twitter friend, @lilyroseallen does a bang up job posting "Killer Hotel Views".

· Flip Mino HD will change the way you feel about lugging around a video camera on vacation

After the jump, enjoy the entire video reel from Sydney. No dramas, mate.]]> markj 2009-03-18T08:27:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/5/0322/03007

We just rode shotgun in a most excellent seaplane tour over Sydney. Before we took off, Pilot Andy let it be known that in his opinion there were few things better than riding in a seaplane, and he was right on. Take off, which you can watch in the above video was smooth and once airborne we put on our headsets and listened to Andy school us on a bit of aviation history as we cruised 1,000 feet above Sydney Harbour.

The quick tour takes you Southeast down the dramatic coastline a bit to Bondi Beach. At Bondi the plane circles back and affords you views of the Northern Beaches and, of course, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. After you pass Circular Quay you begin a quick decent, smoothly splashing down into Rose Bay.

The tour will run you $225 AU and you can get to Rose Bay easily by taking one of the Sydney ferries at Circular Quay (the green & white ones).

If you want to check out the Inner Harbour view video, it is after the jump. If you want to catch up on all our Jaunted in Sydney videos, you can watch them here. ]]> markj 2009-03-05T09:56:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/4/0180/25143

Walking through the Sydney Botanical Gardens after a quick lunch today we heard what sounded like Tucan birds screaming from the trees. With Australia being the land of crazy animals, we figured we weren't hearing your garden variety squawking crow, so we glanced up at the nearest tree and there they were -- tens of giant fox bats, probably over 100 in all.

In perfect Aussie fashion there was a sign under these trees that says:

DO NOT TOUCH THE FLYING FOXES
For many years Grey-headed Flying-foxes have been seasonal visitors to the Royal Botanic Gardens. At night these large bats feed on the flowers and fruits of many native plants and they are important in pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds of these species.

However, as you can see by looking around the Palm Grove, the bats that have set up camp in the Gardens are damaging the trees they roost in. For this reason, the Royal Botanical Gardens has been given a license to use non-harmful methods to discourage the bats from roosting here.

As far as the bat-touching goes, duly noted but we aren't keen to touch some bats. We wouldn't touch a normal bat, let alone a dinosaur flying fox bat. Would you?

Related Stories:
· Jaunted in Sydney [Jaunted]
· Royal Botanical Gardens [Official Site]

]]> markj 2009-03-04T09:11:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/1/9/52115/33504

Our very own Aussie, Amanda Kendle, just returned from a trip to New South Wales, where the summer fun is in full swing.

Since Sydney is the biggest city Down Under, it's no surprise that it's a damn good place to get cultural. Yet after half a dozen visits, our latest trip was the first time we ended up in a couple of museums.

We started out at the Australian Museum up near Hyde Park, which sounded like it should sum up the whole country in one small-ish building. It didn't, as it's instead one of those natural history places full of stuffed animals that we used to love as kids. The exhibits are modern and there are tons of those weird Aussie animals, plus a cute display of typical living room skeletons--including this cat skeleton which impressed us no end.

At the other end of town, in the Rocks area, we checked out the Museum of Contemporary Art in a gorgeous old building recently saved from demolition. There are five floors of galleries including some video installations and a floor of their newest acquisitions. Development plans mean the MCA will get a new wing and huge renos by 2011. Yay for more funky culture, we say.

Related Stories:
· Museum of Contemporary Art [Official Site]
· Australian Museum [Official Site]
· New South Wales Field Trip [Jaunted]
· Sydney Travel coverage [Jaunted] ]]> amandak 2009-01-09T11:05:45-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/1/7/254/88723

Our very own Aussie, Amanda Kendle, just returned from a trip to New South Wales, where the summer fun is in full swing.

The Hunter Valley is famous for having more than 100 wineries to visit, but curiously the most successful tourist attraction there isn't a vineyard: It's a grape-free garden.

Aptly named the Hunter Valley Gardens, this place is owned by the same people who once owned the Nutrimetics skin products empire, so you know they've got money to plant. Located in the middle of all the vineyards, HVG markets itself as "the easy escape." (When we got lost trying to find a path back to the entrance, we found that kind of ironic.)

But we only got lost because the place is so huge and so distracting. From the Chinese garden through to the relive-your-childhood storybook garden, and then up the hill to a chapel where weddings are regularly held, even a nature-hater would find something to like here.

HVG runs regular thematic events like Christmas night lights and Easter specials, so time your visit right for a little something extra. Entry is A$20 ($14), and we suggest stopping by before you visit too many wineries--or you might get even more lost than we did.

Related Stories:
· Hunter Valley Gardens [Official Site]
· Clubbing for Seafood [Jaunted]
· New South Wales Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> amandak 2009-01-07T12:00:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/31/211516/40

Our very own Aussie, Amanda Kendle, just returned from a trip to New South Wales, where the summer fun is in full swing.

In the Hunter Valley region less than two hours north of Sydney, eating out isn't a matter of finding a great pub meal or a corner cafe. If you're looking for a decent meal, you'll soon find that, as in much of the rest of New South Wales, it's all about the clubs.

These people love to belong somewhere, whether it's a workers' club, bowling club, veterans' club or the upmarket country club. We stepped out one night to the Halekulani Bowling Club in the town of Budgewoi and discovered getting a meal wasn't as simple as you'd think.

Most of these clubs have a bunch of rules and showing your ID, filling out a visitor's form and wearing the right clothes is only the start. But in exchange for your trouble you get cheap (and delicious) seafood, the chance to gamble (these clubs are allowed to have poker machines) and an insight into the Hunter Valley social scene. And of course a very full stomach.

Related Stories:
· Halekulani Bowling Club [Official Site]
· New South Wales Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: disneymike]]]> amandak 2009-01-06T11:15:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/31/21233/191

Our very own Aussie, Amanda Kendle, just returned from a trip to New South Wales, where the summer fun is in full swing.

Cruising Sydney Harbour is chicken feed compared to floating around on Lake Macquarie, less than two hours north of Sydney. The largest coastal lake in Australia, Lake Macquarie is more than four times bigger than Sydney's famous harbor and at least as beautiful.

Being so close to the big smoke, yet a whole lot more relaxing, rumor has it that celebrities pop up to the lake for a getaway. Locals can tell you scandals dating back to the King Edward and Wallis Simpson era, but there's no celebrity map tour going just yet.

Getting out on the water for a day is surprisingly cheap, with four-hour lunch cruises going for A$39 ($27). Take your binoculars to see how the rich people sunbathe on their lakeside lawns, in the hope that you might spot an escaping celebrity, too. You can take public transit there (two trains and a bus) or take the F3 highway from Sydney.

Related Stories:
· Lake Macquarie [Official Site]
· Tiny Sydney Harbor [Jaunted]
· New South Wales Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> amandak 2009-01-05T09:30:43-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/