Perth, Western Aust. Newspaper Highlights, Loves, etc. 'God's little secret'!!

From Daily Mail travel section yesterday in London, they have this headline: "Is becoming an Australian 'taste master' the best job in the world? If you like food and wine, sunshine and surfing, look no further" with these highlights: "If you're visiting Australia for the first time, it's likely your to-do list centres on iconic sights such as the Sydney Opera House or the Great Barrier Reef on the east coast. The country's western capital, Perth, meanwhile goes largely overlooked - and that's a shame. For the lucky few who do venture over to Western Australia will get a privileged glimpse of a land that many know as 'God's little secret'. Now the state is looking for a 'Tastemaster'. Perth, with its diverse background of unspoilt beaches and wild beauty is dedicated to making wines that could make Europe blush. It also boasts fine dining to put the world's best chefs to shame. We sampled a week of the lifestyle - visiting the lush wine region of Margaret River in the south, fishermen toiling off the historic shoreline of Cervantes to the north, and Western Australia's cosmopolitan capital, Perth. World class: The wine region of Margaret River boasts some 200 boutique wineries and the perfect Mediterranean climate with a maritime breeze."

Lots of pictures and many other details on this area are contained in this lengthy profile. For our first visit in January 2014, we will be focused on the Port Douglas, Adelaide/Kangaroo Island, Sydney and Tasmania areas before moving toward NZ on our Solstice cruise. BUT, after our 2014 trip, I will have to consider these options for Western Australia. Sounds great and exciting!!

From Sunday NY Times coming in the Travel section, they have this headline: "Road Tripping to Australia’s ‘Other’ Great Reef" with these highlights: "Near the westernmost point in Australia, a tableau more stunning than the heat stretched out below us. On either side, the coastline fell away in tricolor stripes: azure sky, red dune cliffs, blindingly white beach. The water was perfectly transparent, and from a cliff-edge platform we peered down into another world, a child’s primer of aquatic life in the Indian Ocean. A pod of dolphins frolicked; huge manta rays cruised below the surface like undulating black shadows; dugongs and sea turtles drifted; right below us, a cowtail stingray skimmed along; and everywhere you looked, patrolling the shoreline and lurking behind rocks, were sharks, sharks and more sharks. I was halfway through an 11-day road trip up Australia’s unsung west coast. Our goal: Ningaloo Reef — the “other” great reef, a 160-mile-long stretch that hugs the coast starting about 700 miles north of Perth. Two years ago, we had visited the Great Barrier Reef and left with mixed feelings. It is undoubtedly impressive — it’s the world’s largest living structure — and attracts two million tourists a year. But as a result, long stretches of the coast are now crowded and overdeveloped, and the reef’s best spots are an exhausting and (for me) stomach-turning two-hour boat ride from shore. Ningaloo promised the opposite: an empty coast and a teeming reef, with all the weird and wildly colored tropical sea creatures you could shake a snorkel at — all within wading distance of your hotel’s beach."

Interesting background and details for both what is on the west coast, plus about the Great Barrier Reef!!

Full stories at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2303416/The-best-job-world-If-like-food-wine-sunshine-surfing-Australian-taste-master.html

http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/travel/road-tripping-to-australias-other-great-reef.html?ref=travel

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 126,419 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

If you are able to get to WA, the Kimberley region in the north is unique, and I may be biased, but one of my five favourite destinations on the planet. Broome, the Bungle Bungles, Kununurra and all in between are worth the effort. When we were there in 2002, drivers still waved to each other on the main highway. Perhaps they still do.