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Tags: Australia The Movie / Australia Travel / Tourism Board Travel / Videos / → All Tags

Another Australian State Copies Baz Luhrmann

Now that Australia, The Movie has been open a week or so to a pretty lukewarm reception, Australia, The Country might be a bit disappointed that they decided to do so much tourism board promotion tied to the film. This will not be to Oz what Lord of the Rings was to New Zealand, it seems.

That hasn't stopped a couple of Australian states jumping on the bandwagon. First off South Australia got you to make your version of South Australia, The Movie.

And now the breakaway island of Tasmania has gotten cheeky about it. They've put out three spoof promos of "Tasmania, The Movie" with dramatic voice-overs about a man who dared "to take his wife on vacation." We've got a feeling these short vids are probably a lot more enjoyable than the 165 minutes of the real thing, but please don't get the wrong idea. We still like Australia, The Country.

Related Stories:
· Tasmania the Movie [Official Site]
· Movie Mischief: Tassie In Grab for Limelight [SMH]
· First Came Australia, Now There's South Australia, The Movie [Jaunted]
· Australia, The Movie coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Big Things / Australia Travel / → All Tags

Beware The Big Penguin

Australia’s obsession with Big Things--over-sized oranges, frogs and bananas spring to mind--is something we still don't understand, but we somehow adore. So we're sending sympathy down to Tasmania where they're going through a Big Thing crisis.

The problem is that someone's suggested the Big Penguin on Tasmania's northwest coast might be made from deadly asbestos. While some headlines scream "Penguin poisoned thousands," the real story is simply that they're doing some testing. If it turns out there's truth to the asbestos rumor, they'll have to consider removing the penguin.

But never fear: The Big Penguin would be replaced. Remember, Australia really, really loves its Big Things. And maybe while they're at it they could make it a bigger Big Penguin?

Related Stories:
· Asbestos Scare Prompts Big Penguin Test [ABC]
· Big Things coverage [Jaunted]
· Tasmania Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: michalki]

Tags: Lonely Planet / Australia Travel / Tasmania / Lists / → All Tags

Blue List Travel: #1 Attraction Says Please Go Away

Lonely Planet's Blue List for 2009--their now annual list of the must-visits in the travel world--is due for release on November 1, but is slowly being leaked around the world. But the number one pick is a tiny part of Australia that doesn't want to be famous.

This weekend the UK Times published the top ten destination list and Ko Tao in Thailand, the Basque country in France and Spain and the Big Island of Hawaii all feature. The Bay of Fires in north-eastern Tasmania is glad to be recognized as beautiful, but the local mayor says they don't need all the tourists.

With just a 10-room eco-lodge in the area, which is a national park, Blue List-level fame is really not what the Bay of Fires is ready for. Locals would prefer we check out everything else on this top ten list first and if we've still got time and money to spare, then the Bay of Fires might welcome us. Or not.

Related Stories:
· The 10 Best Destinations for 2009 [UK Times]
· Bay of Fires Doesn't Want To Be A Hot Destination [The Australian]
· Lonely Planet Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: seychelles88]

Tags: Australia Travel / Tasmania / Tourist Attractions / Nature / → All Tags

Tasmania's Almost Tallest Tree Discovery

Sometimes being second best is still an exciting thing: That's what they're thinking down in Tasmania where they've just discovered the world's second tallest tree.

The giant swamp gum tree measures 330 feet, making it quite a few feet smaller than the tallest tree found in California's Redwood National Park. But being second isn't harming the tourism potential of this tree with plans already taking shape.

Luckily the tree is close an already-existing tourist attraction, the Tahune AirWalk. The forestry people in Tassie are looking at erecting a boardwalk to get visitors close to the massive tree. And they're also hurriedly measuring the rest of forest to see if they can win the tallest tree award too.

Related Stories:
· World's Second Tallest Tree Found in Tasmania [news.com.au]
· Tasmania Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: sridgway]

Tags: Australia Travel / Tasmania / Tourist Attractions / → All Tags

Dismal Swamp Apparently Now Less Dismal

Australian explorers were prone to naming landmarks with a few depressing names: Lake Disappointment or Mount Hopeless come to mind. But some Aussies in Tasmania have learned something handy. Bad names like this don't attract tourists.

For this reason Forestry Tasmania has just made a big decision. Dismal Swamp, a tourist attraction near Smithton, has now been renamed Tarkine Forest Adventures and they've added a bunch of nocturnal wildlife spotting and other tours to the only blackwood sinkhole in the world.

There's still a Great Dismal Swamp between Virginia and North Carolina, so perhaps it'll be up next for a name change. Something cheery, please? We'll take suggestions.

Related Stories:
· Tasmania's Dismal Swamp Gets Name Change [Mercury]
· Tasmania Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo of Dismal Swamp creature: kim_77au]

Tags: Australia / Animals / → All Tags

Three-Legged Cows Down Under

In our long tradition of reporting on animals around the world who get prosthetic limbs...you might remember the tale of Theresa the cow in Tasmania, Australia, who had multiple offers for a new artificial back leg. We have good news for you today: she's got it.

Two-year-old Theresa got her new leg--made of wood and fiberglass--a week ago, and, according to her owners, "after a few minutes" she adjusted to it very well. Good news for Theresa and for the owners, who got it for free after the whole incident generated quite a bit of publicity Down Under. We always encourage you to visit Australia and now we have one more reason: Aussies really care about the legless.

[Photo: miheco]

Related Stories:
· Theresa Gets a Leg Up [The Australian]
· Cyborg Cows Coming to Tasmania [Jaunted]
· Heather Mills' Amagansett Freebie [Jaunted]

Tags: Tasmania / Tourist Attractions / Australia / → All Tags

Australia's Geekiest Big Thing

By now you've got the idea that Australia likes to build big things: bananas, koalas, potatoes that look like dino poop, the list goes on. Beauty or practicality are completely unimportant. This website catalogues a huge number of these useless big things that nonetheless tend to attract their fair share of tourists.

But would you put this on your list: the University of Tasmania's big slide rule? If you must (and you're part of the new wave of geek tourism) then head to the university's Department of Maths and Physics in Hobart, Tasmania's pretty capital. Obviously you could go to the Cadbury chocolate factory or visit the Salamanca Markets or even take a cruise while in Hobart, but ... surely a giant slide rule's the way to go.

[Photo: weaker vessel]

Tags: Steve Irwin / Crocodile Hunter / surfing / Tasmania / → All Tags

Surf With Us, Steve Irwin

A small bunch of Tasmanians who're missing Steve Irwin thought it might be a good idea to go surfing with a crocodile as some sort of tribute. Rest easy, they weren't too crazy--they took a big rubber inflatable crocodile out to catch some waves.

It was a surreal, magical day in the surf of Tassie. According to Stu Gibson, the leader of the pack, nature just knew that it was a meaningful moment:

All the boys agreed that the wind dropped out and the sets got bigger with the croc out there. The croc got all the best waves.

What's more, the cheap plastic croc survived a battering from high waves. Steve was lookin' out for him, for sure.

[Image via frogmuseum2/Flickr]

Related stories:
Surfers' Tribute [Ananova]
Steve Irwin's Pants [Jaunted]
RIP Steve Irwin [Jaunted]

Tags: animals / China / Australia / → All Tags

Cyborg Cows Coming to Tasmania

The Chinese experts who produced an artificial limb for a kangaroo in Hangzhou seem to have moved on to Australia, a logical enough place if their expertise is kangaroos. Yet they've expanded the prosthetic limb idea, because in Tasmania a pregnant cow is about to get a new leg.

The story goes that Theresa (such a pretty name for a cow) fell down an embankment and consequently had a back leg amputated. Obviously enough, life has been pretty difficult for her since--her owners even say she "often acts as if she has a phantom leg there", so we're getting into psychological trauma territory too. Step in the prosthetic limb makers. Theresa's owners have received four different offers of a new leg ... perhaps she can wear a different one every week?

[Image via d2daC/Flickr]

Related stories
Dairy Cow to Get Artificial Leg [The Australian]
China Develops Human-Kangaroo Hybrids [Jaunted]