Qantas Airways, Australia face industrial action from ground staff, baggage handlers and engineers over pay and labour conditions.

 
The ground workers’ strike of October 2011 has caused inconvenience to thousands of passengers. Some flights have been cancelled while others have been delayed or brought forward. The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers association and the Transport Workers Union are the major workers’ unions battling with the airlines for better pay and working conditions. The past month saw outrages of the Qantas airlines workers through an array of full shift job walk-offs, one-hour strikes, nationwide stoppages, overtime bans and daily stop work meetings. Some threatened strikes are cancelled at the last minute, but disruption is still caused. AustraliaBargains.co.uk has warned passengers from the UK flying to Australia to keep in touch with Qantas and be prepared for delays. Whilst international flights from UK to Australia, have not been affected so far, connecting flights on the Qantas domestic network may well be delayed or cancelled.
With the travel plans and flights of 28,500 domestic and international passengers already disrupted, Qantas airways estimate that the work stoppages and industrial action will cause inconvenience to almost 55,000 passengers. International airports across the country, including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airport, are being affected greatly by the industrial strike.
The strike initiated by the union representing Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU) has been successful in gaining the support of more groups of airline workers like cabin cleaners, catering staff, ramp workers and engineers. While efforts are being made to settle the issues between the airlines and the workers, a partial breakthrough has been achieved on pay negotiations.
Qantas is trying to resolve the industrial action by holding several rounds of negotiation meetings. The positive approach has calmed down the workers’ unions and a conclusion can be expected to reach soon. However, the unions warn that several strikes will follow, if the airlines fail to identify the workers’ demands and needs. Nevertheless, all passengers to Australia are advised to stay aware of the inconvenience which the industrial strike may cause.

There is no doubting that Australia is a beautiful country with much to offer tourists however there are a few things that you should be aware of when heading down under.

You need a visa

If you are a British national, you are required to obtain a visa before going on an Australia holiday. To be eligible to purchase a visa you must ensure you have proof of leaving the country this could be via, providing a return or onward ticket. There are many websites advertising information on extending a working holiday visa, you should be aware that visas may be cancelled through this as these offers are scams.

Be aware

If travelling to the Northern Territory, parts of Western Australia or South Australia and Queensland, ensure extra health precautions have been made due to numerous cases of serious illnesses and in some circumstances death over 2011 in several states/Territories from Murray Valley Encephalitis. There is also the potential risk of being infected with Pertussis (whooping cough) which is a growing problem across the whole of Australia, with Queensland and New South Wales also being infected by the hendra virus more recently.

Natural disasters

All tourists must be aware of the natural disasters that occur seasonally in Australia. Australia is one of many countries that are prone to seasonal disasters some of which include tropical cyclones, dust storms, bush fires and flash flooding. The cyclone season occurs between November to April normally, but due to the unpredictability of nature and the disasters travellers in affected areas should at all times keep up to date with advice from emergency services and local media. This is shown in recent months
were Australia has seen heavy rain and flooding throughout, with Queensland suffering a flood with an area the size of France and Germany inundated, being the worst of them all.

Be careful

For tourists who intend on bushwalking around Australia or exploring national parks you must be aware that most of these areas are remote and if in trouble it can take hours to reach help when needed. This downfall has resulted in numerous deaths over the years; the intense heat and difficult terrain can have a severe impact on your judgement, wellbeing and general awareness. Water and a means of rigging up a shelter to shade yourself away from the sun is vital to keep you hydrated and safe. All tourists are also warned about how frequent bushfires are in Australia, occurring unexpectedly throughout the year but more commonly known in the summer month November to February.

We are the Australia holiday experts and today we wanted to highlight some two of the best Australia tours packages that help you see as much of this beautiful country as you can.

Blue Mountains nature and wildlife day tour from Sydney

Explore Sydney to the fullest; taking a whole day for a nature and wildlife trip to the world heritage listed Blue Mountains. You will visit Featherdale Wildlife Park and quaint mountain villages on the scenic route from Sydney, as well as what the Blue Mountains have to offer, including, Aboriginal Dreamtime legends, the Three Sisters and a stroll through the rainforest.

The tour includes the following:

-          Scenic drive from Sydney to the beautiful Blue Mountains

-          Visit to Leura and Katoomba mountain villages, with free time to look around

-          Stopping at Echo point to see the famous Three Sisters rock formation

-          Discovering the Aboriginal Dreamtime legends of the mountains

-          Following scenic route, enjoying views of Megalong Valley

-          Option to visit Scenic World and ride the Scenic Railway, Scenic Skyway or Scenic Cableway

-          Australia’s native animals at Featherdale Wildlife Park

-          Boardwalk stroll through the rainforest

-          The option to lunch at Scenic World, with 360-degree panoramas and views of the Three Sisters from your table

-          Hotel pickup and drop off

The tour guarantees a fun and exciting day out, seeing Australia’s beautiful scenery and unique wildlife, such as, kangaroos, koalas and wombats.

Average cost of the Blue Mountains nature and wildlife tour is £91.81, just for the day trip and £103.04 including lunch.

Rottnest Island Day Trip from Perth 

Perth has many exciting tourist attractions to visit; the Rottnest Island is a great excursion for those who want to enjoy the beaches whilst staying at Perth too. Visiting secluded beaches, land locked lakes and isolated sandy bays, whilst learning of its early settlement and history. The Indian Ocean island paradise is abundant in marine life and wild life, the most unique being the quokka, a small nocturnal marsupial, there is also the appearance of a pint sized kangaroo that is native to the island.

The tour includes the following:

-          Travel by boat and see the sights from the water

-          Great overview and orientation of the city

-          Cruise over the Swan River while enjoying morning tea

-          Informative, friendly and professional guide

-          A unique guided tour of Rottnest Island, history, environment, heritage and wildlife

-          Free time to explore, shop or enjoy other activities (own expense)

-          Sample wine from Western Australia’s award winning wine growing regions

-          Free drinks included

-          Free snacks included

-          Pick-up from a centrally located meeting point

Average cost of the Rottnest Island excursion is around about £90

Australia is one of the most exciting places in the world with its beautiful scenery and rare animals. It is a popular tourist destination with great cities some of these including, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane. Australia is truly a place for all the family.

Canberra:

Most tourist visiting Canberra come to see the stunning collection at the National Gallery of Australia, or to browse through the many museums and science centres. Canberra isn’t just a place to seen for its big-ticket monuments, it is a relaxed place with much more to offer, with its open spaces and clean air it feels more like a park than a metropolitan capital. Making it an ideal place for all the family, it includes a bunch of fun filled activity centres and interesting places for both children and adults to join in the excitement. A popular place for kids to visit for fun is the National Zoo & Aquarium.

The National Zoo & Aquarium is Australia’s only combined Zoo and Aquarium; it is two attractions combined into one making it double the fun for kids when they visit. Situated just five minutes from the centre of Canberra, the Zoo & Aquarium is made up of 7 hectares of land, with a wide variety of both exotic and native animals, as well as the largest inland saltwater tank Australia has. There is opportunity to get up close and personal with their animal encounters, with something for everyone to do it is guaranteed fun for all the family.

Sydney:

Most tourist visit Sydney for its captivating scenery and its world famous Opera House. Sydney is the oldest and largest city in Australia and is the capital of New South Wales; the city is built round Sydney’s harbour. Most of its tourism comes from the world Famous Opera House, however, the city has an incredible array of activities to offer with a number of beautiful beaches and national parks. One of the favourite attractions for kids to go to is Merimbula’s Magic Mountain, which includes activity for not only kids but adults to.

Merimbula’s Magic Mountain is an amusement park, with water rides and attractions. Offering a fun action packed day out for the whole family, with lots to see and do kids will definitely be entertained. Some of the exciting activities include, the Diamond Python White Knuckled Roller Coaster, Mountain Water Slides, Triassic Park Prehistoric Fun and loads more. The amusement, water and attraction park has plenty of excitement to suit everyone.

Australia has more sheep than it does people, the population of people living in Australia is around about 22 million. The population for sheep is almost six times this amount at a whopping 115 million, this equates to approximately five sheep to every one person living in Australia.

Australia hit a milestone in it’s population towards the end of 2009 with the amount of people being approximately 22 million, before 2009 the population was just roughly 20.6 million people. However Australia’s land mass is the sixth largest in area in the world making this percentage of population small taking into account the size. When you compare it to America, they have a larger land mass placing them third largest in the world, having a population of approximately 304 million people. There is also the comparison to United Kingdom who place 78th in the world for land mass but have a population of around about 61 million which is high compared to Australia.

Outback and desert occupy around 70% of the entire continent, this is classified as arid or semi-arid, which means it gets less than 500 mm of rain a year that makes Australia the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Only 3% of the Australian population live in the dry 70% of the continent, the rest of the population is concentrated on the coasts.

Australia is the only place where dasyurids or carnivorous marsupials are found. These animals include the quoll, Tasmanian devil, ningaui, antechinus planigale and phascogale among others. The Tasmanian devils are found in the wild only in the Australian island state of Tasmania. It seems Tasmanian devils were spread all over Australia and they may have been in Papua New Guinea. They probably became extinct on mainland Australia at least several thousand years ago it is thought this may either be through failure to compete successfully with dingo’s or through disease, climate change or another process. The actual cause of extinction is not known precisely.

Australia is made up of six mainland states they are Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensalnd. It also has one island state this being Tasmania.

The Great Barrier Reef

Formed around 9,000 years ago and can be found in the Queensland area of Australia. The coral was formed after the last ice age, as the coral can only be grown below water level as the ice melted this increased the level of the water and formed the reef. The reef stretches 1,250 miles with an area of 135,000 square miles. It is estimated to be home to 2,000 types of fish and 500 species of coral.

Shark Bay World Heritage and Marine Park

A World Heritage area and is home to many endangered species and set in Western Australia. Monkey Mia and Shell Beach are two of the main areas of interest within the park. Monkey Mia’s natural untouched surroundings are home to bottlenose dolphins which can often be fed, tiger-sharks and dugongs. Shell Beach is made of deep layers of cockle shells 40 miles long, this gives a long white beach with aqua blue ocean waters of the Indian Ocean next to it.

Sydney Opera House

Designed by the Danish architect, Joern Utzon. The Opera House was completed in 1973 and can be found on Benelong Point. The Opera House is the biggest art center in the world, consisting of, five theatre bars, 100 rooms, 60 dressing rooms, five rehearsal studios and the green room canteen and lounge. The final cost came to $100 million. It is possible to tour the Opera House and view it’s performing arts.

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Based in the Northern territory of Australia and is one of Australia’s most famous features. Uluru formerly known as Ayers Rock was changed in 1985 by the Australian Aborigines after the Australian Government handed the title over. The Rock is masked in Aboriginal myth and legend from years past, it is a single rock consisting of sandstone rich in crystalline minerals making it’s colour change throughout the day. Generally the Rock appears red or orange however when it rains it can turn purple or black. Uluru is a popular tourist attraction standing 1,200 feet high with many tourists attempting to climb it, although not many people make it all the way.

Kakadu National Park

Located in the Northern Territory of Australia it covers 20,000 square km and has a very diverse environment. Tourists can have the experience of seeing ancient aboriginal rock art or visit the floodplains of the South Alligator River with its amazing assortment of wildlife. If you take the Adelaide River tour you will get to see the famous jumping crocodiles, you will be amazed as they jump for food and you can get as up close and personal as you dare!!!

Australian tourism businesses are not optimistic about their prospects for 2009. A large survey has revealed that the luxury sector has been hardest hit with price reductions at five star hotels in Australia failing to stimulate a worthwhile increase in bookings. Indeed it is the student / gap year / backpacking sector which is proving to be the most resilient part of the Australia tourism industry. More at The Australian.

In the short term at least this should be good news for travellers from the UK looking for bargain flights and holidays to Australia as airlines and hotels reduce their prices for flights and accommodation. In the longer term we might see capacity reductions and at least the scaling back of ambitious growth plans such as more Qantas A380 aircraft at London.