Is V Australia about to officially announce LAX-SYD service at a press conference? That is the likeliest first route--or perhaps SFO-SYD--for the international arm of Australia's Virgin Blue Airlines.
We hear there's an "event" happening in Los Angeles this Monday, 3/31. Let's say this is the big shebang and we get an official ticket sale date and launch date (probably early fall '08) for LAX-SYD...will they give us cabin details? And more importantly, PRICING? Where do you think V Australia is going with these details?
We say: hopefully, as far as pricing goes, to the sub-$1000 (round-trip) sweet spot...sweet spot for flights between the U.S. and Australia, that is. Oh, the soothing lullaby of skies opening up...
Up in Queensland, the Qantas Founders Outback Museum has got a new baby this week. A very special Boeing 707 has been recovered from the scrap heap in the UK, restored and now flown back to Australia, ready for a new home in the Qantas Museum.
It's special because in 1959 it was the first commercial jet in Australia, and some would say that made it the beginning of mass tourism in Australia--it made the trip from Australia to the US or Europe much shorter and finally affordable for more normal people. And like most Qantas plans, it never crashed: yet. It's got a few demo flights to do before it gets tied down permanently for you all to visit in Longreach, but we're confident the Flying Kangaroo can make it.
Last night, in Melbourne, Australia, the self proclaimed sporting capital of the world, pop culture rag TV Week hosted its Gold Logies, Australia's version of the Emmys.
Kate Ritchie, the Susan Lucci of Aussie soaps, took home the award for Most Popular Personality on TV. Ritchie grew up playing Sally Fletcher for the last 19 years on Home and Away. The show, naturally, follows the lives and loves of residents in a suburban small town.
The ceremony also honored the late Crocodile Hunter for his contributions to documentary film. Terri Irwin and her franchise, er, daughter Bindi accepted the award on Steve's behalf.
Few Hollywood stars showed up for the event. Jessica Alba came to support two of her Fantastic Four nominees, Michael Chiklis and Ioan Gruffudd. Alba blazed down the runway faster than The Human Torch, reports The West Australian.
If you're Down Under for the New Year, the ultimate celebration takes place at Sydney Harbour, but there are plenty of other good spots to bring in 2007. Melbourne's been shivering through the coldest Christmastime in history, but they'll host a massive fireworks show along the Yarra River near the city center. Bad pre-Christmas weather also meant that a lights show at Federation Square has been moved to NYE.
Queensland's capital, Brisbane, offers the Streets New Year's Eve party on South Bank, and over on the other side of Oz in Perth, you can choose between the Vienna Pops Concert or jazzy NYE on the Rocks. Or if you don't want to celebrate with tens of thousands of revelers, but a few hundred instead, check out the newyearseve.com.au site for a rundown on events in local clubs and pubs around the country.
All you well-informed Jaunted readers know that big stuff is big Down Under, and perhaps no object is more popular than Coffs Harbour's Big Banana. The giant bendy fruit, celebrating one of the major crops of the area, has been a tourist attraction (of questionable value) for many years now. But today we want you to know that the Big Banana is getting bigger.
The Big Banana and its connected attractions have already been blessed with a $2 million upgrade, and that's just the beginning of a 10-year, $18 million improvement plan. Just imagine how many black blemishes can be scrubbed out of a banana for that kind of cash. This week, the first phase of the extension opened, including:
a games hall for children, a guided tour through a working banana plantation, an interactive banana-packing shed, as well as "two high-tech shows with hologram-like figures"
How itchy are you getting in your seat, just waiting to get to the new bigger and better Big Banana? The Sydney Morning Herald rightly suggested that other big fruit in Oz might be shaking in its peels, but had a few good ideas for other improvement plans:
To compete, should the Big Orange add rides derived from juice-based cocktails such as the Screwdriver, the Bahama Mama and Sex on the Beach, while the Big Pineapple offers an interactive exhibit called the Rough End?
The papers describe the latest culprit as a giant emu--we suspect he's just a normal-sized emu, that great ostrich-like Aussie bird who always has an aggressive glint in his eyes. In Kaarst, western Germany, this emu even managed to tear the trousers of a police officer who tried to arrest him after he pestered passersby.
There are some obvious problems here: lovesick birds and far-from-home Australian birds are largely causing the trouble in Germany. Obviously some community work on making migrant birds feel more at home and giving counselling to birds on romance and love is what's needed to fix up the country. Any bird psychologists out there prepared to help? Just remember to beware of the birds on your next trip to Berlin, Bonn or the Black Forest.
Ever wondered what flying birds really see in the middle of a forest? You can get a genuine bird's-eye view in southwest Australia at the aptly-named Tree Top Walk. Easily found on the road between the towns of Denmark and Walpole, the series of bridges make a loop around and over some spectacular old forest in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park.
But don't start climbing around on top of the forest if you have any kind of fear of heights. Although promoters make a big deal out of the fact that this structure is built to be especially stable and secure--and even wheelchair accessible--it still does its fair share of wobbling. Signs at each platform warn that they can hold only 20 people, and that each span between a platform is only safe for 10. The view is definitely spectacular, but life as a bird would be a lot easier. Or watch their Virtual Tree Top Walk to get half the fun with half the fear.
The Red Bull Air Race World Series hits Perth, Western Australia, this weekend for the final event in the 2006 series. After races this year in Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Berlin, Istanbul, Budapest and San Francisco, the eleven participants and their purpose-built acrobatic aircraft will race over the Swan River at high speed, throwing a few rolls and tricks in for good measure.
This crazy sport is often described as "motor racing with wings," and Aussie spectators are busily trying to learn the rules. The planes will fly about 30 feet above the water, and they have to navigate both horizontally and vertically through inflatable air gates, finishing the course in the fastest time. Something good to know: the inflatable gates are designed to disintegrate if a pilot bumps into them. Finally, an almost biodegradable motor sport!
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by djk
