Hi everyone, another chance to have a chat on the Australia DOWNunder UPdate Newsletter. We are celebrating the autumn in fine weather at present. Lovely sunny days, not too hot, coolish blanket on bed nights and that suits me fine.

Australia is a long way from anywhere (except of course, Australia) and I understand when I hear travellers worrying about the time it takes to get down under. For me the 27+ hours from Europe and 16+ hours from the US is daunting, very daunting.

But people do it all the time. For my money, it’s what’s waiting at the other end of the journey that makes the long flights well worth it. Australia has so much to see and do, and is unique in so many different aspects, to any other country in the world.

Last week I looked at the subject of festivals being presented in Australia and went surfing for the most interesting festivals that are being held over the next three months here in Oz. (There were some I couldn’t feature for obvious reasons).

I posted the article for you last Sunday and here’s the link to that article: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art44066.asp

Lots of conversation over at the Australia forum. An interesting one on Kangaroos and one visitor who delighted us with his news on his “Star Party” visit to Australia. Pop over to the forum and join in the conversation. Here’s the link: http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php/forums/315/1

As always, here’s a rundown of the latest happenings in Australia over the past week, through the eyes of the leading newspapers.
THE NEWS FOR WEEK
28th March to 4th April
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/ The Australian
http://afr.com/ The Financial Review
http://www.smh.com.au Sydney Morning Herald

Here are some interesting Aussie snippets I’ve come across on my web surfing this week.

http://www.quarantinedomestic.gov.au/index.php Some interesting on Quarantine throughout Australia

http://www.interfaceaustralia.com/blog/ an interesting blog from an ex-New Yorker who has found peace and serenity in the bush of Australia

http://www.aussiebushburb.com/autumn-beauty/ thought any Aussies out there would appreciate a gorgeous picture of the beautiful eucalyptus in autumn glory.

http://cattle-kids-chaos.blogspot.com.au/ this has got to be one of the best Aussie blogs I’ve come across, enjoy the surf!

Well, readers, I must be away for now. Will pop in again next week with more information on the Australia site here at Bellaonline – The Voice of Women.
Cheerio for now

Judie Bellingham, Australia Editor
http://Australia.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com