Discover Western Australia From The Air With Aerobatic Or Scenic Joy Flights

Western Australia, the largest state of Australia, is a wonderful place to explore. You can discover the land from the land, water or air. If you happen to be visiting Western Australia during the next vacation, you can start your exploration from the air. It will be a unique, thrilling experience to discover Western Australia from the air. There are different kinds of flights such as aerobatic flights, scenic flights, and joy flights to discover Western Australia in the most exciting way from the air. There are also different hot spots for performing such flights. Perth, the capital of Western Australia, may be the most liked place for different kinds of aerial experiences. Moreover, if you are on the lookout for a perfect experience gift, an aerobatic, scenic or joy flight in Perth also makes a unique gift that will remain ever fresh in the mind of the receiver.

How to Get to Margaret River, Western Australia

So you've decided to go on vacation in Margaret River, Western Australia's premier wine region.

First of all, congratulations! You'll be glad you decided to visit this unique place that is rapidly making a name for itself as one of the last great "undiscovered" tourist destinations of the Western world.

But you might be wondering: "How do I get to Margaret River? What are the best flights to take? What sort of travel arrangements should I expect?"

While much will depend on your home airport, the time of year that you're travelling, and other variable factors, there is some good general advice to be aware of before you start looking for airplane tickets.

First: Fly to Perth

Direct flights now come into Perth International Airport from most countries. There was a time when international air travelers had to book their flights via Sydney or Melbourne (on the far East and South coasts of Australia) but thankfully that is no longer necessary as Western Australia has grown.

Perth is around 4 hours by plane from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane; an 11-hour flight from Dubai, 5 hours from Singapore, and 7 hours from Auckland. Total flight time from Los Angeles to Perth is approximately 18 hours - 14 hours from L.A. to Sydney, with a connecting flight of 4 hours from Sydney to Perth. London to Perth is also about 18 hours, with a 13-hour flight from London to Singapore followed by the 5-hour connection from Singapore to Perth.

Best airlines to get to Margaret River

Emirates offer the most direct and most often the best prices flying to Australia from the U.K.

Long haul flights are all now of a very high standard and a lot comes down to personal preference, but you should definitely watch for special deals, as almost every year there is a big sale on airfares to Australia. During the past 2 years, Emirates have offered amazing deals for April and May travel to Australia from the U.K. I am not sure if this is the same elsewhere, but generally look for the change of seasons and outside of school holidays to get the best prices.

Get acquainted with the Australian school holiday schedule to time your fare searches appropriately - and keep in mind that winter in the Southern Hemisphere is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and vice versa.

Qantas, the national airline of Australia, offers an outstanding service within Australia and are kept very competitive by Virgin Blue, Jet Star and Tiger Airways which all operate domestically within Australia, too.

Sign up for an airfare e-mail alert service, like TravelZoo - you never know when a once-in-a-lifetime airfare deal will come into your inbox. Use online airfare sites like Kayak.com to aggregate various airfare search engines together. There are almost always discounts to be found, with a bit of effort and flexible travel dates.

Another tip is to make good use of stopovers. Airlines will often allow travelers to stay an extra night or two for free in the city of their connecting flights - talk to the airline before booking a ticket and see what the possibilities might be. This can be an affordable way to extend your vacation, see some new sights, or even end up with a cheaper fare to Perth and Margaret River.

Getting from Perth to Margaret River:

Once you've arrived at Perth International Airport, you can fly by private jet to Busselton or Margaret River which takes around 1 hour or charter a helicopter to your exact location.

If private air transport is not in your budget, take a car (3.5 hours) or bus (4.5 hours). You can also take the train to Bunbury but that is where the line stops. Trains and buses have a limited schedule, so for maximum flexibility and the freedom to travel at your own pace, I recommend renting a car in Perth.

Car rental tips: Watch out for windshield stones!

When renting a car, be sure to pay the extra charge to cover damage from stone chips on your car windshield. In Western Australia, this is a very common thing that happens to drivers' windshields, so it's a good idea to protect yourself from incurring further costs.

Also, when renting the car, make sure that you're covered to go on gravel roads, as there are still quite a few unpaved roads in the Margaret River region. Even though the gravel roads are easy to drive on and well constructed, some car rental companies might be reluctant to have you drive on gravel, so be sure to ask.

Car rentals are available in most towns - either Perth or Margaret River, or anywhere along the way. Quite often tourists and backpackers take the bus to Margaret River, relax for a few days, possibly take a guided tour and get used to their surroundings. Then they will rent a car locally and go off on their own exploration of the region. Car rental rates range from $70 AUD per day upwards depending on the type of car, and naturally there are often better rates for longer term rentals.

No matter how you get here, you'll be glad you made the trip. Margaret River's stunning natural scenery, flavorful wines and down-to-earth hospitality are waiting for you.

Christmas - Unique Celebrations & Traditions in Alaska, Africa & Australia!

Christmas is a celebrated event in many countries world-wide. Here are three countries, Alaska, Africa and Australia all located in vastly different regions of the world and each has their own unique traditions and celebrations. Here are some of their fascinating traditions and celebrations.

Alaska - "Carrying the Star" is a traditional Christmas procession. Young and old carry elaborately decorated tinsel trimmed wheels with eight points, usually as big as umbrellas. They are highlighted with a centre picture of either an angel or the nativity scene. They are carried for three nights from January 7th over icy snow topped roads. The stars represent the angels who announced the birth of Christ. Families lovingly maintain the stars. Some are more than a hundred years old!

Africa - There are approximately 350 million Christians in Africa who celebrate Christmas. Emphasis is more on the religious celebrations of Christ's birth rather than gift giving. Although the most common gift (if nothing else) is new clothes which will be worn to the church service. People in many countries of Africa such as Central African Republic (CAR), Uganda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo believe it is an absolute must to attend church on Christmas day, even if they never attend the rest of the year. An annual Christmas pageant as well as groups of carolers singing Christmas carols within villages is now part of the festivities.

Churches in Africa start intense preparations for Christmas many months prior. Nobody escapes the yuletide feeling as it has been said that it feels like the whole country is preparing for the birth of the baby Jesus with so much joyful and active community preparation taking place! The streets are alive with music as well as on the radio, television and just about where ever you look! People joyously visit their friends and relatives in the spirit of community celebration regardless of religious persuasion. It is usual to see brightly colored and decorated trucks, cars and buses as well as homes, schools, churches and neighborhoods often boasting creative festive displays made with colored crepe papers. Colorful and alive with joyous celebration is Africa! Ancient and spectacular masquerades locally called "Agugu" now play a major part in Christmas celebrations. Usually held after the Christmas Eve service is a joyous procession of dance and music through the streets lead by local bands with dancing masqueraders (usually young boys dressed in fancy and colorful costumes) and Christmas revelers. People parade with large intricately made lanterns called "fanals" usually in the shape of houses or boats.

In Ghana Christmas dinner is not complete without fufu (a thick dough like food) and okra soup and in Liberia rice, beef and biscuits are the order of the day. Zimbabwean's make sure there's plenty of bread, jam and tea to eat with their prized goat meat which is their traditional Christmas roast. On the west coast of Africa most homes have an oil palm for a Christmas tree.

Austria - St Nicholas is widely honored and appears on his feast day December 6th. In Austria this is a holiday separate from Christmas. He appears in his traditional dress of flowing robe and tall Bishop's miter carrying a shepherd's staff and a thick book. It is believed the good and bad deeds of children are recorded in his book! It was once tradition to hold an elaborate Christmas Eve ceremony where St Nicholas and the feared Ruprecht (demonic creature, who wears a hide, has glowing eyes and a long red tongue) both appear on Christmas Eve. Children gather together and sing a hymn to welcome the Saint. Then one by one the children join the Saint at a family table where he checks their lesson books then asks them to repeat a prayer he says. This ends with the children kissing his Bishops ring while he tells them to go place their shoes outside then look at them when the clock strikes ten! Ruprecht stands over the door watching the childrens every move! Before St Nicholas leaves he blesses the children as he sprinkles them with holy water then quietly and swiftly departs. The children with great excitement then hurriedly run to place their shoes outside their homes. At the stroke of ten children run outside to find their shoes filled with treats of apples and nuts!

Austria is a predominantly Catholic country renowned as the land of the sound of music and home of Mozart, Strauss and Schubert. Included in Christmas celebrations is the "Advent Concert Series" in Innsbruck. It features groups of family singers and instrumentalists similar to the famous "Trapp Family" from "The Sound of Music". Another famous Christmas festivity is in Salzburg where the hottest ticket for the season is for the "Salburger Adventsingen". It is a program of advent music and folk lore which began more than half a century ago. They get more than a 100,000 requests each year for the prized 30,000 tickets available for admission. The fish carp is served for the traditional Christmas dinner.

Austria is famous for its miniature creche figures. Nearly all families have a creche with miniature figures of the holy family and often a few animals are included. Many creches are hundreds of years old, treasured heirlooms handed down from one generation to the next!

Austria's Epiphany celebrations - boys and Girls on the day of the Epiphany (which remembers the Three Wise Men from the east who were looking for the newly born Jesus) dress in oriental costumes and sing traditional songs. They move from house to house receiving small gifts including gifts of money. They carry a lantern referred to as the "lighted star of Bethlehem" to guide them on their way. It is popular to see people chalk the initials of the wise men "CMB" (Casper, Melchior, Balthasar) on the transoms of their doorways!

Austria's fun Krampus Day tradition - in Salzburg December 5th is known as Krampus Day. Krampus is believed to be an evil spirit. He is usually clad in frightening fur, wearing deer horns, a mask with a long red tongue and bulging red eyes and carries a birchwood rod. He storms down the street with a loud racket using huge cowbells and rattling chains as he shouts menacingly at the onlookers. Thousands, including many children crowd the streets to watch the medieval event. With much laughter and merry making, whenever children and adults see Krampus, they throw snow balls at this menacing figure. In the city each year a "Krampus Run" is held with fun and much teasing, poking and laughter. It is said that the purpose of Krampus is to remind children to be good!

In recent times in some communities the Krampus actors have to wear a number so they can be identified under their masks in case they loose control. It has been known for some to get carried away after downing a few too many schnapps or beers. A prominent Austrian child psychiatrist has been arguing for a ban on Krampus. He suggests he's "a jolly old fright" for children. However there have been few known cases of "Krampus trauma"!

Australia - Christmas falls in the middle of summer and the heat can be more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It is common for people to hold out-door barbecues for the main Christmas feast and often parks and beaches are alive with family feasting taking place. It is not uncommon to see thongs, shorts, a beer in hand and a Santa hat on the head chef (usually the father in a family) at the Christmas day BBQ which is almost always followed by Australia's best loved desert "Pavlova". It is as light and delicate as Anna Pavlova the famous Russian ballerina for which it is named after.

Australian Carols by Candlelight - an Australian Christmas Eve carol service started in 1937 by radio announcer Norman Banks. Famous performers gather to sing at "Carols by Candlelight" held in Melbourne each year. A hugely popular annual event televised throughout the nation. Carols are performed on a stage to a huge audience where thousands attend outdoors holding lit candles.

Beach visits Christmas Day in Australia - up to 40,000 people visit Bondi Beach in Sydney on Christmas day! It is the middle of summer in Australia and with soaring heat levels beach barbecue lunches and swimming is popular while waiting for Santa to arrive on a boat on Christmas day!

Visiting the East Coast of Australia

A brilliant place to take a holiday for a few weeks is Australia, although it's a long way you can often get a flight for not much more than £500 and it's actually reasonably cheap when you get there. If you want to have a trip where you can visit some famous sites, view gorgeous beaches and have a party then the East Coast of Australia is the place to go.

When you arrive there it's likely that you will land in Sydney which is a great place to start your journey. It's a fabulous place to visit and the first place you need to go to is the opera house. It's possible to walk around the building and take photos. If you want to go inside you can do a tour in there and if you have time you can even go and see a show there.

Not far from the Opera house the Harbour Bridge. It's possible to do a walk over the bridge which is a great opportunity to take some spectacular photos though not recommended for those with vertigo.

If you stay on the site that the Opera House is on you can visit Sydney Zoo and the Aquarium. They are both great places to view animals, including some only found in Australia. At this side of town is also the City Centre. Sydney is a great place to go shopping, you've got everything from pound shops to Chanel stores and you can spend hours walking through the shops and markets in the town.

If you want more of a relaxing day then there is no better place to visit then the famous Bondi Beach. It's a beach for the beautiful people, Nicole Kidman is often spotted on a run around the beach. It's also got brilliant waves so it's the place to go to have fun.

You can also take a boat over to Manly beach which is a 20 minute trip. It's like a separate town as it's very small and quaint but is actually part of Sydney. It's recommended to get the boat back from Manly just before sunset so that you get to arrive in Sydney as the sun is coming down and you get some fantastic views.