Sundive
- Sundive
have been the leaders in Diver Training and dive charter in Byron Bay.
Ballina
Fishing Port about 790km north of Sydney
Ballina was settled in 1846 by cedar cutters and farmers. There was a short flurry of prospecting in
the 1860's when gold was found in the river bed at the entrance to the Richmond River but when it
proved to be only a small find life soon settled down to the present dependence on fishing.
Today
the town flourishes around the 100 strong fishing fleet and offers the visitor many interesting places
to visit.
There is a famous museum here dedicated to The Las Balsas Expedition who came ashore at
Ballina in 1973 after crossing the Pacific Ocean on rafts. The expedition which took
178 days was
a successful exercise in establishing that it had been possible to cross the ocean from South
America as very early settlers may have done.
Bathurst
Home of the famous Great Race - Tooheys 1000
About 200km west of Sydney
Bathurst has played an essential part in the settling of Australia. When the coastal plains became
limited for grazing around Sydney. George Evans and a party of explorers pushed through a trail
across the Gt. Dividing Range and when they found the rolling lush countryside on the
western
slopes of the mountains Australia's future was sealed. Very quickly the cattle and sheep farming
and crop growing industries were established and the city developed.
Broken Hill
In the far west of N.S.W. 1170km from Sydney
Stretching out forever and beyond is known in Australia as 'the back of Bourke'. There is a town
called Bourke some 300klms north-east of Broken Hill which was considered the last stronghold
of civilisation in the 1850's when the pioneers made their way west across this vast,
forbidding,
harsh land. Little did they know that awaiting them were the treasures of the richest silver, lead-zinc
deposit ever found.
The area was discovered by Charles Rasp, a boundary rider in 1883 who
initially thought he had found only tin after misreading his 'Prospectors Guide'.
Broken Hill is the perfect centre from which to explore this magnificent country.
Remote and
timeless, the colours of the landscape, remarkable sunsets, wide horizons and ancient river gorges
have given the many artists who visit, the most impressive subjects with which to work. The
'Bushmen of the Bush' are a group of artists who's work has become recognised throughout the
world and many of them have established galleries in the city.
Byron Bay is the most easterly town in
Australia. The lighthouse, built in 1901, is renowned as
one of the most attractive in Australia. From this vantage point are spectacular ocean views and the
site is extremely popular with whale watchers during the migration season. The Name
Byron was given by Captain Cook in honour of Sir John Byron, a brave sailor and
grandfather to the poet Byron. The bay is a very popular destination to SCUBA Divers and surfers
claim Watego's Beach is one of Australia's best surfing beaches.
Coffs Harbour
has become a popular tourist destination being picturesque with a pleasant sub-tropical
climate. The surrounding countryside is diverse in interest with many secluded beaches and inland
mountainous country with beautiful water falls and creeks where such activities as white water
rafting can be enjoyed. John Korff 1798-1870 a sea captain, is credited with the naming of the area, following having
sheltered his ship in 1847 behind the lee of Mutton Bird Island ( since joined to the mainland by the
breakwall ) for several days during fierce weather. John Korff named the place Korff's
Harbour. It
was later changed by the surveyor for the Crown, when he reserved land in the area in 1861 prior
to the opening up of that part of the coast for selection.
Korff's father operated a haberdashery business in Hackney in England, where John Korff was
born. He actually trained as a shipwright, and it was following upon the failure of his own
shipbuilding business in Sussex in 1835, that he brought his family to Australia. Whilst he was
known as Captain Korff, the title was purely honorary as he always had Captain Campbell on the
bridge as skipper. In the "Brothers" that he built, and later in the "Sisters", he traded the islands of
the Pacific and New Zealand Coffs Harbour's first white settler was Walter Harvie 1843-1932,
born in Nova Scotia, who
arrived in Australia in 1860 as a lad of 17 years of age. He came to Bellinger Heads in 1863 ( the
same place the fictional glass church arrives in 1865 in the movie "Oscar & Lucinda" starring
Ralph
Fiennes due for U.S. release on 21 November). Walter Harvie moved a few miles further north in
1865 to the then uninhabited Coffs Harbour, lured by aboriginal reports of the stands of red cedar,
where he settled for about 7 years. A plaque marking the place of his first cedar log
"tilting in"
place is erected in Rotary Park. Appart from becoming its first white settler, he also became the
first person to export anything marketable in the form of cedar logs, floated out and loaded upon
ships anchored off the beach. His role as first settler, was honoured in 1927 by
the Coffs Harbour
Chamber of Commerce, by the commissioning of a framed portrait of him , which today hangs in
the Historial Museum. Walter Harvie wrote that he never met Korff personally, but that he was "
well known to the old hands along the coast" and "was the owner of a trading vessel that put in for
wood and water on his trips along the coast".
Today Coffs Harbour is one of Australia's main banana growing areas.
Located in central New South
Wales about 8 hours drive from Sydney, Coffs Harbour has thanks to its
superb beaches and and many great tracks in the rain forests in the Great
Dividing Range to the East, become particularly popular as a
stopover destination for travellers between Sydney
and Brisbane/Gold
Coast.
Jacaranda, wheel and flame trees line the streets of this pleasant garden town. Grafton is on the Pacific Highway at the junction with the Gwydir Highway some 665 km north of Sydney, 320 km south of Brisbane and 160 km east of Glen Innes.
Bordering the scenic Clarence River, Grafton is the commercial and cultural centre of the Clarence Valley cane-growing areas. The escaped convict Richard Craig discovered the district in 1831. In return for a pardon and a reward of 100 pounds, he brought a party of timber-fellers to log the cedar trees. John Small arrived as a settler in 1838 and occupied land on Woodford Island. The original town was established in 1839 and was simply known as Settlement. It was renamed Grafton by Governor Fitzroy after his grandfather the Duke of Grafton. Two separate settlements developed, one on each side of the Clarence and initially the only connection was by rowing boat, although this was later replaced by a steam punt. A bridge across the river was opened in 1932. Grafton was made a city in 1885 but the town on the opposite bank, South Grafton, was a separate community until 1956, when the two sides were amalgamated.
The trees in this city did not grow by accident. As early as 1866, council by-laws encouraged the planting and preservation of trees, so now Grafton has more than 7,000, of which the most famous are the jacarandas.
The Clarence, once known as the Big River, is the largest river system on the northern NSW coast and, with its tributaries, drains an area of more than 2 million hectares. There is good boating on the Clarence, which also has good fishing. Worth seeing is Schaeffer House Museum, built in 1900 and now totally restored. South Grafton, across the bridge, is a perfect example of a 19th-century NSW river town.
Some 25 km south of Grafton on the Pacific Highway is Merino Mac's Australian Agradome. This has trained sheep of different breeds who parade on stage. Kelpie sheepdogs go through their paces, and there is shearing and wool-classing.
Susan Island is in the Clarence River almost opposite Prince Street. Canoes for the trip to the island can be hired. One end of the island is rainforest with walking tracks and the largest fruit bat colony in the southern hemisphere. The southern section of the island has a picnic area and toilets.
The restored Prentice House, built in 1880, houses the Grafton Regional Art Gallery which runs a variety of exhibitions.
The national parks of the Clarence Valley are Yuraygir, Bundjalung, Gibraltar Range and Washpool.
Port Macquarie was settled as a place for convicts in 1821. 'Port' as it is known, is one of the oldest towns in the State. A major holiday resort, it is situated at the mouth of the Hastings River, 423 km north of Sydney. The temperatures range from 25 degrees Celsius maximum to 7 degrees Celsius as a rare minimum. The CSIRO has stated that Port Macquarie has the most ideal climate in Australia.
In October 1818 the explorer John Oxley reached the mouth of the Hastings River and described the area as '...a beautiful point of land, having plenty of good water and grass, and commanding a fine view of the interior of the port and the surrounding country'. He named the inlet Port Macquarie in honour of then governor of the colony of NSW. Port Macquarie was established in 1821 by a pioneer party of soldiers and convicts, partly to build a forward post from which escaping convicts could be tracked down. It was also seen as a place of severe punishment for those convicts who had, in the opinion of the authorities, committed further offences after their arrival in NSW. Newcastle, which had originally been favoured, had become ineffective because the settled areas had grown around it. Port Macquarie was considered ideal as it was the most northerly point of settlement in the colony, was isolated and could be reached only by sea. But by the late 1820s even this did not hold true and civilian settlement in the area started. From then on there was no looking back, and Port Macquarie eventually became the important town that it is today.
Guided tours are organised in Port Macquarie by the visitor information centre. Some of the sights are Port Macquarie Observatory, which allows visitors to look at the stars and the universe by way of the planetarium and telescope; the Hastings District Historical Museum which won the Australian Museum of the Year Award two years in a row.
Macquarie Nature Reserve has a historic visitors' centre. You can picnic in the grounds and visit the Koala Hospital, or see the healthy marsupials being fed at 8.00 am and 3.30 pm.
For non-historical fun there is Peppermint Park near Flynns Beach, which has water slides, mini golf, dodgems and roller blading in landscaped parkland.
Tacking Point lighthouse is the third oldest in the country. Nearby is Lighthouse Beach where, at the southern end, Camel Safaris offer camel rides. Cassegrain's Hastings Valley Winery on the Pacific Highway is open every day for wine tasting and cellar door sales. The Sea Acres Rainforest Centre, Pacific Drives, has a boardwalk 1.3 km long in a 6.2 ha park of coastal rainforest.
Finally, Fantasy Glades is set in 2.5 ha of land and has ghosts, castles, dragons, witches, dwarves, mini cars and train rides.
Rightly called the Blue Water Paradise. Situated approximately 200 kilometres north of Sydney it is
accessed easily by a two hour road journey on the F3 Freeway or just 35 minutes from Sydney by
air to Newcastle airport at Williamtown.
Port Stephens is an idyllic holiday setting of clear shimmering turquoise waters wreathed by long
clean beaches of white sand. The giant twin peaks known to the locals as "the Heads" stand guard
to what can justifiably be argued as one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. One of the many attractions is the
bushland surrounding Port Stephens literally abounds with
wildlife with over 220 bird species, 48 different types of mammals, and 38 species of
reptiles. Each
year over 200 varieties of wildflowers come into bloom from the 650 plant species that are
distributed throughout the area. The area of Port Stephens is bounded on the north by the magical Myall Lakes, to the
west historic
Morpeth, the south by the Hunter River, and the magnificent Seven Mile Beach lapped by the
Pacific ocean to the east. Many of the business community of Newcastle, the second largest city in New South
Wales , use
Port Stephens as their dormitory. Being situated only 69 kilometres from Nelson Bay the lucky
Newcastle business person can be a part of the vibrant business life of that city and then at the end
of the day depart to the relaxed environment of a Port Stephens lifestyle.
Tamworth
Famous for the annual Country-Music Festival
411km north of Sydney
"Let there be light" - took on special meaning to this country town when it was the first community
in the southern hemisphere to be lit by electricity in 1888. The country music festival attracts many
thousands of visitors every year for national awards in musical achievements and helps to bring
further prosperity to this already wealthy country town. The music industry has an enormous
influence on the daily lives of those who are involved in the development of this annual event.
The city took it's name from the district in Staffordshire England where Sir Robert Peel had his
constituency. He established a private estate for the Australian agricultural company on the banks
of the river Peel in 1834. The town was established in 1850 when the gold rush triggered
development.
The tourist will find many beautiful national parks to explore and a water playground
presents at
Lake Keepit. Fossicking for gemstones is a popular pastime here.
The city is capital to the Riverina. This is the collective name given to the area of the fourth largest
river system in the world made up of The Murray, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, Condamine and
Darling rivers. The Murray marks the border of New South Wales with Victoria from the upper
reaches in the Snowy Mountains to the border of South Australia and out to the ocean.
Although
initially explored by Charles Sturt in 1829, the town was not developed until late in the 1840's. This city, situated on the banks of The
Murrumbidgee is the Riverina hub of all agriculture, industry,
business, cultural activities and education. The river winds around the perimeter of
the city forming
several lagoons of which Wollundry is the most picturesque, willows lining the banks. Wagga is a
city of parks and gardens and the National Trust have implemented several historical walks
to
showcase this beautiful city.
Wagga Wagga is often just called
Wagga, something that isn't appreciated by all locals. For this reason
there one of them wrote a well known Australian song called "Don't
call Wagga Wagga Wagga"
Wollongong is on the coast of NSW 80 km from Sydney and 238 km from
Canberra. It is an interesting city, offering some contradictions for the traveller. Often referred to disparagingly as the 'cloud factory', its sister town is the highly industrialised Port Kembla. This is a heavy industrial (steel-making) town. At the same time these urban/industrial areas are surrounded by beautiful countryside, both coastal and mountain. Indeed, Wollongong is locked in by national parks that surround the city, with the result that there is a desperate shortage of building land because the national parks block any possibility of development outwards.
The approach from the north is either through the Great Dividing Range or through the Royal National Park by way of Audley. The route takes in some beautiful coastline. Bald Hill Lookout, where there is a memorial to Lawrence Hargrave, the man on the $20 note, is now a popular spot to hang-glide. These flying machines very accurately reflect the original designs of Hargrave. The approach from the south takes in rolling coastal plains and equally impressive ocean views.
The city itself offers a pretty little harbour and a historic lighthouse (dating from 1872), good surfing beaches, foreshore parks, and Lake Illawara, which is good for prawning, fishing, and sailing. Hire boats are available.
Bathurst has played an essential part in the settling of Australia. When the coastal plains became
limited for grazing around Sydney. George Evans and a party of explorers pushed through a trail
across the Gt. Dividing Range and when they found the rolling lush countryside on the
western
slopes of the mountains Australia's future was sealed. Very quickly the cattle and sheep farming
and crop growing industries were established and the city developed. 
Byron Bay is the most easterly town in
Australia. The lighthouse, built in 1901, is renowned as
one of the most attractive in Australia. From this vantage point are spectacular ocean views and the
site is extremely popular with whale watchers during the migration season. The Name
Byron was given by Captain Cook in honour of Sir John Byron, a brave sailor and
grandfather to the poet Byron. The bay is a very popular destination to SCUBA Divers and surfers
claim Watego's Beach is one of Australia's best surfing beaches.
Coffs Harbour
has become a popular tourist destination being picturesque with a pleasant sub-tropical
climate. The surrounding countryside is diverse in interest with many secluded beaches and inland
mountainous country with beautiful water falls and creeks where such activities as white water
rafting can be enjoyed. John Korff 1798-1870 a sea captain, is credited with the naming of the area, following having
sheltered his ship in 1847 behind the lee of Mutton Bird Island ( since joined to the mainland by the
breakwall ) for several days during fierce weather. John Korff named the place Korff's
Harbour. It
was later changed by the surveyor for the Crown, when he reserved land in the area in 1861 prior
to the opening up of that part of the coast for selection.
Korff's father operated a haberdashery business in Hackney in England, where John Korff was
born. He actually trained as a shipwright, and it was following upon the failure of his own
shipbuilding business in Sussex in 1835, that he brought his family to Australia. Whilst he was
known as Captain Korff, the title was purely honorary as he always had Captain Campbell on the
bridge as skipper. In the "Brothers" that he built, and later in the "Sisters", he traded the islands of
the Pacific and New Zealand Coffs Harbour's first white settler was Walter Harvie 1843-1932,
born in Nova Scotia, who
arrived in Australia in 1860 as a lad of 17 years of age. He came to Bellinger Heads in 1863 ( the
same place the fictional glass church arrives in 1865 in the movie "Oscar & Lucinda" starring
Ralph
Fiennes due for U.S. release on 21 November). Walter Harvie moved a few miles further north in
1865 to the then uninhabited Coffs Harbour, lured by aboriginal reports of the stands of red cedar,
where he settled for about 7 years. A plaque marking the place of his first cedar log
"tilting in"
place is erected in Rotary Park. Appart from becoming its first white settler, he also became the
first person to export anything marketable in the form of cedar logs, floated out and loaded upon
ships anchored off the beach. His role as first settler, was honoured in 1927 by
the Coffs Harbour
Chamber of Commerce, by the commissioning of a framed portrait of him , which today hangs in
the Historial Museum. Walter Harvie wrote that he never met Korff personally, but that he was "
well known to the old hands along the coast" and "was the owner of a trading vessel that put in for
wood and water on his trips along the coast". 
Jacaranda, wheel and flame trees line the streets of this pleasant garden town. Grafton is on the Pacific Highway at the junction with the Gwydir Highway some 665 km north of Sydney, 320 km south of Brisbane and 160 km east of Glen Innes.
Port Macquarie was settled as a place for convicts in 1821. 'Port' as it is known, is one of the oldest towns in the State. A major holiday resort, it is situated at the mouth of the Hastings River, 423 km north of Sydney. The temperatures range from 25 degrees Celsius maximum to 7 degrees Celsius as a rare minimum. The CSIRO has stated that Port Macquarie has the most ideal climate in Australia.