Located halfway between the tip of Cape York and Brisbane, Townsville is a coastal city in northeastern Queensland with a population of 234,283, according to the 2021 census.
Townsville is a major service centre for northern Queensland and the main centre for government administration outside Brisbane.
The between Newcastle Foreshore and Nobbys Lighthouse starts at the waterfront walking path alongside Wharf Road next to the 11-hectare Newcastle Foreshore Park, a popular venue for many community events. Following the footpath in the northeast direction alongside Wharf Road towards Nobbys Lighthouse, you will walk past Nobbys Beach on the east side and Horseshoe Beach on the west side.
Surrounded by mountains on all sides, Lake Wakatipu is beautiful and distinctly different in the 4 seasons of the year.
A good way to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the lake and the surrounding mountains is to take a cruise on TSS Earnslaw, which is a 1912 vintage steamship, or the Spirit of Queenstown cruise ship.
Another way to enjoy the beautiful Lake Wakatipu is to walk by the shoreline near Queenstown town centre, which is small and very walkable. It is an awesome free thing to do in Queenstown.
Kelvin Peninsula, located southeast of Queenstown town centre, extends into Wakatipu Lake. Kelvin Heights, located on the Kelvin Peninsula and is a 20-minute drive from the Queenstown town centre, is part of the Queenstown urban area. The section of Kelvin Peninsula Walk Trail around Queenstown Golf Club and near the Wakatipu Yacht Club at the tip of the peninsula offers the best lake and mountain views and popular picnic and swimming spots in the warmer months.
Just a stone-throw away from Wellington CBD, Wellington Waterfront is itself a tourist attraction. Wellington Museum, TSB Arena, Circa Theatre, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Max Patte’s “Solace in the Wind”, a bronze naked man sculpture, the “Wellington” Sign, and Waitangi Park are all located on Wellington Waterfront. Visitors can walk on walking paths, boardwalks, and pedestrian bridges from Wellington Museum to Freberg Beach on Oriental Bay, all times right next to the water away from vehicle traffic.
Auckland Botanic Gardens is approximately 25km, or a 35-minute drive, southeast of Auckland city centre, in Auckland’s suburb of Manurewa. Auckland is located in the North Island of New Zealand. Here visitors will find more than 10,000 plants of which many are self-sustaining and require minimal intervention in Auckland’s mild South Pacific climate without pesticides.
The 0.82-square-km Singapore Botanic Gardens was established in 1859. Although not huge by comparison with many others, Singapore Botanic Gardens is very compact, containing 3 water bodies, many walking paths, many themed gardens, and the very well-known and popular National Orchard Garden.
Singapore River is a 3.2 km long river that feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. Used to be an important hub of commerce, many warehouses by the banks of the river near the river mouth were built and were used to store spices and other produce. Today, some of these warehouses were restored and converted into entertainment and dining venues.
Marina Barrage is a 350 m long dam built across Marina Channel to keep out seawater to form the Marina Reservoir.
As well, Marina Barrage enables flood control to reduce flooding in low-lying areas around the reservoir. During heavy rain and low tide, gates at the dam can be opened to release excess stormwater into the sea. During heavy rain and high tide, pumps at the dam can be operated to drain excess stormwater into the sea.
The 5-square-km Sentosa Island, located just 15 minutes from Singapore CBD, is packed with many attractions and more attractions are being built to bring new and returned visitors to this island resort getaway. There are 2 golf courses, a deep-water yachting marina, resort hotels, sandy beaches, theme parks such as Universal Studios, Fort Siloso Skywalk, Bungy Jump Skybridge, and many more attractions, as well as many entertainment, dining, and shopping venues.
The 10 km-long Kallang River is Singapore’s longest river. Kallang River starts at Lower Peirce Reservoir in the centre of Singapore, and flows through several housing and industrial estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Toa Payoh, Bendemeer, and Kallang Bahru, before meeting Geylang River at Kallang Basin and Singapore River at Marina Bay in the south of Singapore.
Forster is a beautiful coastal town within the Mid-North Coast and the spectacular Barrington Coast region, a 3-hour-45-minute drive north of Sydney and a 35-minute drive from Taree Airport, the nearest airport. Tuncurry is Forster’s twin town located just across the other side of the Wallis Lake entrance from the Pacific Ocean.
A small coastal reserve surrounded by rainforest, Saltwater National Park is about a 30-minute drive east of Taree on the Barrington Coast 4-hour drive north of Sydney.
Saltwater headland, just north of Saltwater Lagoon, has an interesting headland walking track where walkers can take a short, leisurely 300 m stroll through the thick rainforest to reach the headland lookout at the end of the track. The lookout has magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean, Saltwater Beach, and Khappinghat Creek river mouth, and is a great place to go whale watching.
Double Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney located between 2 other coastal suburbs – Darling Point and Piper Point and is just about 4 km east of Sydney CBD. These beautiful coastal suburbs have some of the most expensive multimillion-dollar apartments. You can visit Double Bay by a 20-minute scenic ferry ride from Circular Quay.
A symbol of freedom and democracy, the Statue of Liberty is a must-visit US iconic sight on Liberty Island in the New York Harbour. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the people of the US in 1886 and was created by the French sculptor and painter Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.
The white sand of Lucky Bay beach is so white like snow that Lucky Bay was voted the winner of the whitest beach in Australia. Combined with crystal-clear blue waters, Lucky Bay is unbelievably beautiful.
Esperance’s 40-km breathtaking Great Ocean Drive loop which starts and ends in Esperance town centre and reaches Australia’s most stunning beaches all of which are within a 30-minute drive from Esperance town centre.
Western Australia Rainbow Coast stretches over 150 km from Walpole in the west, through Denmark, to Albany in the east. Why called Rainbow Coast? It is because visitors see rainbows very often in the wetter months of Autumn, Winter, and Spring. Rainbows can appear in sunsets, sunrises, on a misty morning, and when there are rains out in the ocean.
Margaret River is an inland town named after the 60 km long Margaret River that flows past the town in the western direction into the Indian Ocean. The Margaret River Region, a famous holiday destination for many, actually refers to the region beyond Margaret River town stretching from Busselton along the coastline down to Augusta. This region is known for its spectacular beaches and surfing spots, exquisite caves, beautiful forests, extensive walking trails, and award-winning wineries.
Western Australia South West Edge refers to the southwest region that stretches from south of Perth towards Albany then east from Albany to Esperance. The coastline from Perth to Albany stretches more than 700 km by the Indian Ocean. Continuing from Albany to Esperance is another approximately 500 km of coastline by the Great Australian Bight, which is part of the Indian Ocean.
Is it feasible to visit Chongqing 重庆, Three Gorges 三峡, Zhangjiajie 张家界, and Chengdu 成都 in Sichuan 四川, all in a short single trip? That was my motivation for planning independent travel in China to include these 4 destinations in Central and Western China.
Chongqing 重庆 city is a financial centre, manufacturing hub, and transportation centre in central and western China. Chongqing city’s downtown centre is located on the Chongqing peninsula surrounded by Yangtze River 长江 and its branch Jialing River 嘉陵江. Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport 重庆江北国际机场 is a major aviation hub serving this region and is one of the top 50 busiest airports in the world. Chongqing city is well-connected to other major Chinese cities via China High-Speed Railway (HSR) Network 中国高铁网.
Chengdu is located in the central part of the Sichuan Province 四川省 in southwest China and is the capital of the Sichuan Province. With a population of around 14 million, Chengdu is the fifth largest city in China, after Shanghai 上海, Beijing 北京, Shenzhen 深圳, and Guangzhou 广州.
Chengdu is famous for being the home of giant pandas 大熊猫 that are immensely popular and well-loved around the world. Giant pandas are protected under Category 1 of the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Law of 1988 and are considered the national treasure of China.
A 1-week Central Canada road trip itinerary in Central Canada may start from Toronto and may include Niagara Falls and major cities such as Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City, as well as other cities Gatineau, Hamilton, Kingston on the road trip route without too much detour.
Canada’s largest city Toronto, like Canada’s capital Ottawa, is in Ontario Province where a third of Canada’s population lives. Toronto is located by the coast of the massive Lake Ontario. Niagara Falls is a 2-hour drive along the coast in the eastern direction. Ottawa is a 4-hour drive northeast of Toronto. Its central location makes Toronto a good base to start a road trip in Central Canada.
From Ottawa, a 3-day road trip to Montreal and Quebec City may include picking your own apple during apple harvest season at Verger Labonté on Perrot Island, which is a 30-minute drive southwest of Montreal, then Montreal downtown Underground City, Old Montreal, and the nearby Montreal Old Port waterfront, Mount Royal Park, Jean-Talon Market, and finally an evening visit to Montreal Botanical Gardens for “Gardens of Light” held at the time of my road trip. You may use Montreal as a base and have a day-trip driving to Quebec City, 3-hour away from Montreal, and back to Montreal on the same day. The Quebec City day-trip may include Plains of Abraham, Old Quebec, Quebec Old Port, and Montmorency Falls.
Hamilton is home to more than 100 waterfalls and is often called the City of Waterfalls. If you are fascinated by waterfalls, this is the place to visit while you visit the magical Niagara Falls.
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada and is Canada’s sixth-largest city. While Ottawa is a city in Ontario Province and Gatineau is a city in Quebec Province, the 2 cities are really just separated by the Ottawa River, on the 2 sides of the riverbank. The total metro area population of Ottawa-Gatineau is about 1.4 million and Gatineau’s population constitutes about 25% of the total population. Gatineau is often considered part of “Greater Ottawa”.
Kaohsiung (高雄) is a hidden gem for travellers. It is a coastal city in southern Taiwan that has mild tropical weather and because of that, there is an abundant supply of good quality local tropical fruits. The city’s affordable and efficient mass rapid trains (which started operations in 2008) and light rail trains (which started operations in 2016) have made many tourist attractions in the city a lot more accessible. Food prices were very affordable in 2019. Visitors can have a reasonable lunch or dinner meal at less than 200 Taiwan Doller (~A$10 or ~US$7) in 2019. Be sure to visit the night markets (夜市) while in Kaohsiung where you can find many delicious Taiwan snack or small dishes (台湾小吃).
Denham is the westernmost town in Australia. Located on the western shore of Peron Peninsula in the UNESCO Shark Bay World Heritage Area, Denham is within Western Australia’s 1,100 km breathtaking Coral Coast which stretches from Cervantes, a 2-hour drive north of Perth, to the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.