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Get the best possible deal

When a site is listed on an insurance comparison site, it knows that it is going to be competing with dozen of other quotes. This means that one of the best ways to get the best insurance premiums will be through a comparison website. You may be given quotes that you simply can’t get if you contacted the insurance company directly.

Save time

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Make sure you choose the right website

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Christmas is a time for celebration and festivities as you spend this time partying with your family, friends, and colleagues. This is also a time when you need to plan a corporate party for everyone in the office. For this, you will need to find out how to throw a good corporate Christmas party in Melbourne so that you will have the most memorable and enjoyable time. This is the best way of improving the culture of the company and boosting the morale of your employees. Hence you will need to make sure that you are following the right tips that will ensure that your party will be a successful one. Throwing a Christmas party is not easy as you will need to look after all the details of the party and you need to make sure that the party guests will enjoy themselves to the fullest.

When throwing a good corporate Christmas party, you will need to pick the best theme for the party according to the preferences of your guests. You can also decorate the venue according to the theme of the party so that you will have the perfect party for your office colleagues. You should also select a dress code and color for the guests to wear so that it will make the theme of the party even more successful than ever before.

You also need to set a budget for the Christmas party for making sure that you are sticking to the budget and it will also mean that you will enjoy the party at an affordable cost. Preparing the menu is also very important and you should select the cuisine that will appeal to the guests of the party. It is important that you have a wide variety of food for each guest so that they will enjoy plenty of food and drinks.

In the middle of the Australian continent lies the iconic heart of Australia, the red stone landmark of Uluru. But the monolith of Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, is just a rock after all, so travellers looking for the true beating heart and living centre of the Outback are best advised to look for it in Alice Springs. The town called Alice is the place where the rugged spirit of the early explorers was shaped by the ancient culture of the first peoples, and so created the modern mythos of the outback so central to Australian nationhood.

The traditional owners of the lands of the Red Centre are the Arrernte people, who called the place Mpwante. The Arrernte have lived in central Australia for thousands of years, and according to their ancient stories the landscapes and mountain ranges around Alice Springs were formed and shaped in the Dreamtime by totemic caterpillars, wild dogs, wallaroos and mythical ancestral figures.

The Heart of the Outback

For any traveller wishing to experience the full flavour and rhythms of Australia’s true Outback, Alice Springs is the destination hub where explorations of the Northern Territory’s Red Centre should begin and end. From here visitors can explore the ecology of boundless desert landscapes, hike mountain chains pocked with cavernous gorges, discover hidden waterholes of unparalleled beauty or visit remote Aboriginal communities where the living history of Australia’s first peoples can be experienced first-hand.

Alice itself is a place of quirks and character that grew from a simple telegraph station in the 1870s. The town has grown over the years and today is the cultural, administrative and economic centre for a vast area. The quirks and character are still there, however, as no other place boasts such things as a yacht club with no lake or ocean to yacht on, an annual boat race on a dry riverbed and a knitting and beanie festival in one of the hottest and driest places on earth.

Things to Do in Alice

Alice Springs is certainly not a large city by world standards, with an approximate population of just under 30,000, but it does have plenty of attractions, accommodations, shopping and services. Below are listed some of the top cultural attractions, events and venues in and around the town.

Cultural Attractions and Sights

• Telegraph Station Historical Reserve — The original stone-built telegraph station provides a fascinating glimpse of the town’s beginnings. The station operated from the 1870s until 1932, and nearby is the original “Alice’s spring”, a semi-permanent water hole in the normally dry Todd River watercourse.
• Museum of Central Australia — the museum’s natural history displays bring to life a time when the now-arid deserts of central Australia were covered with lush tropical rainforests and wombats the size of hippos roamed the land beside nine-foot tall flightless birds. There is also an extensive collection of Aboriginal artefacts documenting the cultural legacy of the Arrernte people.
• Reptile Centre — for those not so interested in boring history or stuffy museums, the Reptile Centre offers an up-close look at a host of slithery scaled reptile beasties.
• Alice Springs Desert Park — An ideal attraction for those interested in the ecology of the Red Centre lands, featuring hundreds of species of plants and animals housed in specially recreated habitats.

Events in Alice

• Finke Desert Race — Every June on the Queen’s birthday motorsports enthusiasts flood into Alice for the running of “The Finke,” a cross-country rally race from Alice Springs to the small community of Aputula.
• The Camel Cup — Every July since 1970 the most unique racing event in Australia is held in Alice with the running of the camels. This fun event draws entrants and visitors from around the world and helps raise funds for various community groups.
• Henley-On-Todd Regatta — this iconic event has been poking fun at the stuffy British tradition of boat racing since 1962. Hilarity ensues every year in late August as teams in homemade “boats” take to the sands of the dry bed of the Todd River to have a race.

Shopping, Food and Entertainment

Alice has a variety of restaurants and clubs to suit almost any taste and budget, from fast food fare to fine dining. Some eateries and clubs of note include: Bojangles, a popular spot for backpackers and local station ringers; Todd Tavern, a classic Aussie pub with pokies and slots, a busy bar, good grub and live music on weekends; Overlander’s Steakhouse known for classic outback steaks with samplings of crocodile, emu, camel and kangaroo on the menu.

• Todd Mall Market — Set up along the main shopping strip in the centre of town. The Todd Mall Market features local vendor stalls, plenty of deals and is held on alternate Sundays from May to December. When the market is not in session, Todd Mall features a variety of retail outlets, galleries and eateries.
• Heavitree Gap Market — Situated just on the far side of Heavitree Gap from the town centre, this market is held on alternate Sundays to the Todd Mall Market and is a bit less formal and pricey.
• Aboriginal Art World — Located along Todd Mall, this shop deserves mention for showcasing traditional artworks from across central Australia.

Exploring the Alice Region

From Alice Springs the entire Red Centre is open for the visitor to explore, with any number of adventures to be had to make a memorable holiday. There are numerous tour operators to help arrange activities from fossicking for gems in the North of Alice to ballooning, trekking, camping and four wheeling expeditions. Day trips to the Simpson Desert to experience the life ways of the Arrernte people can be arranged, and guided tours from half-day trips to four-day junkets can be planned to view the spectacular vistas of the MacDonnell Ranges.

In short, there’s a bit of everything for everybody and too many sights and activities to list.

No trip to Australia is complete without a visit to the Northern Territory. Start your journey through some of most stunning and rugged Australian Outback with centuries old Aboriginal rock art found in Arnhem land and ending with an Inma Ceremony performed at sunset by Anangu women in sight of Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock. Magical adventures await you as you travel through the Northern Territory and the red heart of Australia, exploring its rugged, diverse and timeless beauty.

Darwin’s Balmy Beaches

Located on the Timor Sea on a bluff overlooking the harbour, Darwin boasts a population of 127,500, the largest city in the Northern Territory, but the smallest when compared to other territory capital cities. In Darwin, you’ll be delighted with a bevy of outdoor markets, eateries and festivals where a melting pot of cultures and foods come together. Take a long walk on the area’s beaches or enjoy a cruise on Darwin’s harbour. If you prefer a walk, take a stroll through a lush and thick monsoon forest. From Darwin, visit Litchfield National Park where you can experience a quick dip in crystal clear waterholes surrounded by tall uniquely formed termite mounds. A variety of museums and galleries await exploration of the area’s rich and turbulent history—or take a jaunt to the Tiwi Islands where you can enjoy a local football game, basket weaving and cultural painting.

Kakadu National Park

The Northern Territory is a composite of hundreds of Aboriginal tribes, languages and cultures that when tied together tell a 50,000 year-old story. The Kakadu National Park in the Alligator Rivers area of the Northern Territory covers an area of approximately 19,804 kilometers, roughly half the size of Switzerland. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization lists the entire park as a World Heritage site, meaning that it is recognized for its rich cultural value needing preservation and protection for the world’s future generations. Kakadu National Park has more than 5,000 Aboriginal art sites that date back 40,000 to 50,000 years.

Just over 170 km southeast of Darwin, Kakadu is located in the tropics between 12 and 14 degrees south of the Equator. The climate is characterized by two main seasons: the wet season and the dry season. The dry season typically starts in April/May and lasts until September /October. During the dry season, humidity is low and rain is minimal. More than 1,700 plant species are found inside of Kakadu, some of the richest flora found in Australia. In Kakadu and Arnhem Land, you can take guided tours through many of the rock art sites that depict cultural and natural history. Some of the world’s best X-ray art is found in Kakadu’s at Ubirr Rock.

Arnhem Land

Wholly owned by native Aboriginal peoples, Arnhem land is site to the now famous Gabarnmung Cave where archaeologists uncovered a ground stone axe believed to be close to 40,000 years old. The rediscovery of the Gabarnmung Cave occurred when two locals flew over the area in a helicopter in 2006. While in Arnhem Land, fish from the creeks, reefs and ocean of the Cobourg Peninsula or visit Mount Borradaile in the company of an Aboriginal guide.

Tennant Creek

Found on the Stuart Highway, just south of the Barkly Highway terminus, historic Tennant Creek is township to approximately 3,500 people with about half of its residents being indigenous Aboriginal peoples. Once the third largest producer of gold in Australia, Tennant Creek still produces gold and is accessible by car, train or bus. Between Katherine and Alice Springs, Tennant Creek is situated approximately in the middle of the Northern Territory. With a rich and colorful musical community, home to the Winanjjikari Music Centre with regular podcasts and fans on Facebook, and the award-winning Nyunyu Cultural Centre, there’s plenty to experience in Tennant Creek as you travel through Australia’s Northern Territory.

Katherine Gorge

Travel along the Katherine River and cruise through 13 naturally-created gorges lined by sandstone cliffs nearly 70 meters high. Visit during the dry season and take the time to stop at one of the many pools at the bottom of a plunging waterfall. For the hearty in body and mind, take a four to six-day walk on the Jatbula Trail, camping out as you go and ending up at Edith Falls.

Alice Springs

Alice Springs will take you back in time to a true “Outback” town, well-known for its pioneer history and rich Aboriginal art. Called simply “Alice” by the locals, it boasts a population of just 27,481 residents and is the second largest town in the territory. Alice is equidistant between Adelaide and Darwin, Alice bestrides the typically dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. Alice is found in the “Red Centre” of Australia, so named for its red soil and sparse desert greenery. Renowned as the Aboriginal Art Capital of Central Australia, the community serves as host to many art galleries and cultural events and festivals. Some of the town’s yearly events include the Camel Cup, a race among camels and riders, the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, the Beanie Festival and the Finke Desert Race south of Alice Springs in the Simpson Desert. Alice Springs is accessible by train, car, bus or air.

Inma Ceremony and Uluru

There’s no better way to finish your visit to the Northern Territory than with the traditional Inma Ceremony performed at the Talinguru Nyakuntjaku viewing site just 3 km east of Uluru or Ayers Rock. Because of the deeply spiritual significance of the Inma Ceremony that draws Anangu peoples from the region, not much can be written about it—it is something that must be experienced. Uluru can be visited from nearby Yulara that sports a variety of motels, hotels, lodges, resorts and campgrounds.

How to get to the Northern Territory:

• Fly into Darwin to start your journey.
• Travel by bus, motorhome, campervan or car.
• The Ghan – a train that crosses the Australian continent twice a week between Darwin and Adelaide.
• Alternatively fly into Yulara and start your journey there.

Travel to Australia’s Northern Territory and participate in a corroboree, visit sacred and ancient sites and enjoy your own dreamtime and bushwalk.

There is one place in the world where you can see six seasons transform the land in an endless cycle of change and renewal. One place you can witness a biological wonderland teeming with life like nowhere else, one place where a million birds can all take flight in a living cloud of colour and reptiles and mammals of all shapes and sizes patrol the waterways and roam the woodlands. One place where you can stand on the edge of a cliff that stretches for 500 kilometres and it feels like you’re standing on the edge of the world. One place where you can read 20,000 year old stories on 200 million year old rocks. That one place is Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Located in the tropical Top End of the Northern Territory, Kakadu is the largest national park in Australia, comprising nearly 20,000 square kilometres of pristine wildlife habitats and landscapes. Kakadu is one of the most biologically, ecologically and geologically diverse regions anywhere on the planet, with landforms and ecoregions that range from the coastal beaches and mangrove-fringed estuaries of the Arafura Sea, to open savannah flood plains, upland woods, monsoon rainforests, on up to the high plateau “stone country” of the 500 kilometre long Arnhem Land escarpment.

This natural diversity combined with six dramatic seasonal climate variations makes Kakadu a virtual living tapestry of wonder, one that offers something new to the visitor with each changing season and makes returning again and again an enriching experience. The Aboriginal traditional owners of the land, the Bininj/Mungguy people, identify six distinct seasons that drive the pace of life in Kakadu:

The Six Season of Kakadu

• Gunumeleng (October-December) is characterised by increasing heat and humidity in the build up to monsoon season. Afternoon thunderstorms begin to refill the billabongs and new growth begins to tinge the dry ground with green.
• Gudjewg (January-February) is the height of The Wet, a time of heavy rains and flooding. High heat and humidity causes an explosion of plant and animal life. Magpie geese nest in the sedge.
• Banggereng (March) is nicknamed “knock ‘em down storms” for the violent thunderstorms and high winds that can flatten vegetation. Most plants are in fruit and the animals look after their young.
• Yegge (April-May) brings morning mists over the plains, cooler weather and drying winds signal the time to start “burns” that clear patches of bush and encourage new growth for grazing animals. These burns are also insurance against more destructive fires during the hotter months.
• Wurreng (June-July) is the height of the Dry. This is the coolest time of year when most visitors come to Kakadu. The floodplains dry out and the creeks cease flowing, forming the famous billabongs that are now crowded with a myriad of water birds.
• Gurrung (August-September) is windless with steadily growing heat. The land and lifescape seems to pause and lie dormant as the thunderheads begin to build in the afternoons, anticipating the return of Gunumeleng.

No matter what time of year Kakadu is visited, the secret is to take the time to appreciate the place in all its various aspects. The Wet is the time to take an airboat tour of the vast wetlands with their teeming populations of birds and aquatic life, or to book a boat, raft or canoe tour on one of Kakadu’s many rivers; while the Dry is the best time to go for a guided walkabout or a four-wheel drive tour to appreciate the dramatic landscapes.

The Cultural Legacy of Kakadu

Kakadu is one of only a handful of UNESCO World Heritage sites so listed not only for its natural wonders, but also for its cultural significance. Kakadu is home to a living Aboriginal culture that has existed for thousands of years, and archaeological evidence indicates that the area has been continuously inhabited for as long as 50,000 years, making the Aboriginal traditional owners of these lands the oldest extant living culture in the entire world.

The park has the highest concentration of Aboriginal rock art in all of Australia. Over 5,000 Aboriginal sites have been identified within the park; including hundreds of rock art galleries that are renowned the world over and a major attraction for the park. Sites like Ubirr in Kakadu’s northeast feature paintings of the animals that were hunted thousands of years ago, some of them now extinct. Other paintings at this site record the first contact with “whitefellas,” thought to be buffalo hunters of the 1880s.

At another site nearby to Ubirr is found the gallery containing paintings that have been definitively dated through scrapings of their pigments as being at least 23,000 years old. Other famous rock art sites within Kakadu are Nourlangie Rock, Anbangang and Nanguluwu. Taking a Rock Art Tour with the help of a local Aboriginal park guide who is well versed in the meanings and stories behind the legendary pictures is the best way to experience the cultural significance of this vast trove of artwork.

Kakadu Park Information

Kakadu National Park is open to visitors all year round. The heaviest time for visitors is during The Dry, between April and October, when about 200,000 people visit the park. The place to start is at the Bowali Visitor Information Centre, where staff can provide detailed information about accommodations, tours and park attractions to help plan a visit. There are also regular audio-visual presentations, displays and a library to assist visitors in learning how much there is to see and do in Kakadu.

As a living cultural landscape, Kakadu offers the visitor a unique opportunity to experience not only the natural wonder and grandeur of this amazing land, but also the richness of the traditions and life ways of Australia’s first peoples. The Bininj/Mungguy people are the Aboriginal traditional owners of Kakadu who joint manage the park with the government Parks Service, and are committed to preserving their culture and their land and sharing it with the world.