WhyGo Australia News 06/15/2010

Western Australia’s Extraordinary Taxi today drove into Broome – the final destination on its groundbreaking journey across the State. Tourism Minister Liz Constable said the 10,000 kilometre-plus taxi ride had already attracted significant media interest throughout Australia and the world, paving the way for the next stage of the promotion.

Organisers of a multi-sport endurance race in the Northern Territory have had to relocate the swimming leg amid concerns about crocodiles at Katherine Gorge.

Scientists are making final preparations at Woomera in outback South Australia for a historic space landing. A capsule from the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa is due to touch down on Sunday night, ending a seven-year, two billion-kilometre journey to collect asteroid samples.

Australia and Everton midfielder Tim Cahill is hopeful his side can get a positive result from their World Cup opener against Germany on Sunday.

Sydney Airport marked today the completion of the international terminal's $500 million expansion works as airport chairman Max Moore-Wilson expressed confidence that the upgraded facilities would afford tourists grander travel experience as they pass through Australia's largest city.

Tourism Australia is embracing mobile technology to assist travellers in planning an amazing Australian journey, with the launch of its first iPhone application (app) the Oz Planner – the mobile extension of the Walkabout Planner.

DARWIN is humid, flat and boring. That's the opinion of former head of Tourism Central Australia Steve Rattray – and it has the Top End seeing red.

Tiger Woods is coming back to Melbourne for this year’s Australian Masters but Victorian taxpayers, who are covering part of his appearance fee, will never know how much they’re paying for the privilege, says Victorian Tourism Minister Tim Holding.

According to Yahoo! News, the scientists had long speculated how the crocodiles — which lack the same aptitude for swimming that they have for killing — wound up on the far-flung up islands of the South Pacific. Using sonar and satellites, the team (which included the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin) found that the deadly beasts hitch rides on surface ocean currents as they travel from island to island in search of fresh meat.

THE iPad is already a tasty product among gadget lovers, but a North Sydney restaurant has become the first in Australia to replace their printed menus with Apple's new touch screen device.

EMIRATES ratcheted up the pressure on Europe's airlines yesterday, spending $US11.5 billion ($13.9b) on 32 new superjumbos that will enable it to grab market share and cut long-haul fares by up to half.

The boss of Tourism Australia Andrew McEvoy has defended its $150m ‘There’s nothing like Australia’ campaign describing those that don’t like it as “the best talkback radio fodder”.

Torrential rain has prompted a weather bureau warning of flash flooding across eastern Sydney, including the CBD.

A two-metre saltwater crocodile has been removed from a trap in Darwin's Holmes Jungle Nature Park, after being reported by a member of the public at the weekend.

Darwin’s Lord Mayer Graeme Sawyer said tourists could be lured to the Northern Territory with cane toad killing safaris. Mr Sawyer believes that plenty of ‘whack-happy’ visitors would be happy to help terminate the cane toad scourge; however past proposals by tour operators to include this activity in their overnight camps have all been knocked back.