Australia: The Rough Guide (Rough Guide Travel Guides) [Paperback]

The Rough Guide to Australia is one of the most impressive additions to the already prestigious Rough Guide series, and weighing in at over a thousand pages, it's also one of the most physically imposing. But anything short of this would hardly be appropriate to this most breathtaking of continents, and it has to be said that the team of contributors have covered the country in the most thorough and masterly of fashions. The maps are always a speciality of this series, but the prospect of exploring even the remotest corners of Australia is rendered more than achievable by the cartography on offer here.

What the guide sets out to do, however, has something in common with all the series: to inspire us to visit the country by some of the most tempting photography (along with the text) -- and the latter is a particular asset here. Of course, there is so much to explore in Australia that it is difficult to know where to begin. But such sections as that on the Gold Coast Hinterland will inspire the more fit explorer to tackle the rugged (and less readily accessible) walking tracks and hiking trails, taking in the beech forests and waterfalls.

But the guide will also have you wishing to experience Marine Mountain, a volcanic plateau near the Gold Coast which still has pockets of rainforest, and once was the haunt of the Wangeriburra Aborigines.

As all of this implies, the experience that Australia has to offer is a million miles away from more restricted horizons. If your taste is for nightlife, that's also comprehensively covered here, and (once again), the received opinion that Australia is a philistine country is thoroughly trounced by the detailed coverage of the highly impressive venues for the arts. Let’s face it, this is quite likely to be the only guide to Australia that you will ever need. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

All you need to know, with comprehensive coverage and detailed advice...an invaluable travelling companion.

A perfect companion, it's all there.

Comprehensive, clearly laid-out, well sign-posted.

Detailed advice on exploring the great outdoors.

The definitive handbook.

Just in time for the 2000 Olympics, this guide goes down under to provide in-depth accounts of every region, from Tasmania to the tropics, from wildlife to wild Melbourne nightlife. This fully updated edition features more information on exploring the Outback and adventure activities as well as the latest on getting to - or staying away from - the Olympic Games.

Margo Daly was born and grew up in Sydney, and after a decade based in London, now lives in her native city again, which she covers in this guide. David Leffman is an established Rough Guide author and inveterate traveller. He is co-author of Rough Guides to China and Iceland. Anne Dehne has lived in Melbourne since 1989, and has written for several publishers, mainly on Australia. Chris Scott covers NT and WA. His other books include 'Sahara Overland' and 'Desert Travels'. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

When to go

Australia's climate has become less predictable in recent times, although like the rest of the planet the country has rarely had stable weather patterns over the last few thousand years. Recently observed phenomena, such as an extended drought in the eastern Outback, the cyclic El Ni-o effect, and even the hole in the ozone layer - which is disturbingly close to the country - are probably part of a long-term pattern.

Visitors from the northern hemisphere should remember that, as early colonials observed, in Australia "Nature is horribly reversed": when it's winter or summer in the northern hemisphere, the opposite season prevails Down Under. Although this is easy to remember, the principle becomes harder to apply to the transitional seasons of spring and autumn. To confuse things further, the four seasons only really exist outside of the tropics in the southern half of the country. Here, you'll find reliably warm summers at the coast with regular, but thankfully brief, heatwaves in excess of 40C. Head inland, and the temperatures rise further. Winters, on the other hand, can be miserable, particularly in Victoria, where the short days add to the gloom. Tasmania's highlands make for unpredictable weather all year round, although summer is the best time to explore the island's outdoor attractions.

In the coastal tropics, weather basically falls into two seasons. The best time to visit is during the hot and cloudless Dry (from April to November), with moderate coastal humidity maintaining a pleasant temperature day and night and cooler nights inland. In contrast, the Wet - particularly the "Build Up" in November or December before the rains - is very uncomfortable and is marked by stifling, near-total humidity. As storm clouds gather, rising temperatures, humidity and tension can provoke irrational behaviour in the psychologically unacclimatized - something known as "going troppo". Nevertheless, the mid-Wet's daily downpours and enervating mugginess can be quite intoxicating, compelling a hyper-relaxed inactivity for which these regions are known; furthermore the countryside - if you can reach it - looks its best at this time.

Australia's interior is an arid semi-desert with very little rain, high summer temperatures and occasionally freezing winter nights. Unless you're properly equipped to cope with these extremes, you'd be better off coming here during the transitional seasons between April and June, and or October and November.

In general, the best time to visit the south is during the Australian summer, from December to March, though long summer holidays from Christmas through January mean that prices are higher and beaches more crowded at this time. In the tropical north the best months are from May to October, while in the Centre they are from October to November and from March to May. If you want to tour extensively, keep to the southern coasts in summer and head north for the winter.