Sightseeing

The metropolitan city of Sydney is a very popular place for tourists, with many varied attractions. To start, Featherdale is a privately owned wild life park that received the gold tourism award for 2009. It is an ideal day out for all the family with more than 2000 animals, such as the cuddly Koala plus Wombats and Reptiles to see and don’t forget the local Kangaroos. The world heritage sandstone Blue Mountains just bordering Sydney are a fabulous sight, where natural forests of eucalyptus densely grow and you can explore the nature trails and fast flowing Wentworth waterfalls. The rock formation known as the Three Sisters can be seen from most areas of the mountain. There are many short cruise excursions around the local harbour; it can be a little choppy on the water, but well worth it for the views. Sydney opera house is an enormous building for the performing arts, you can take guided tours around the building or relax watching one of the many famous shows that are performed daily. One of the most popular tours in the region is one to partake in whale watching; they sail out from Sydney harbour daily from mid May where tourists can view the fabulous sight of a humpback whale. There is always something to do in Sydney that will suit most tourists.

Shopping

There is so much shopping to be done in Sydney, it’s a shoppers heaven! You won’t know where to start or when to stop with large department stores and massive shopping complexes all within walking distance of each other. There are speciality stores and designer boutiques selling everything you could possibly think of. You could spend a week visiting the stores in centre point and still not have seen them all. Not only do you have all the indoor stores though, there are also outdoor markets held weekly for a different experience.

Eating

Fish and chips are served widely in Australia. It is one of their favourite dishes alongside a variety of fresh sea food dishes. If you like something a little different, or even wacky, then try a ‘bush tucker’ which is the aborigine traditional food consisting of nutritious bugs, grubs and ants; not for the faint hearted. Sydney is very diverse in its cuisine and regional foods like Greek, Asian and Mediterranean can be found easily. Sydney has some top notch restaurants, especially around the harbour and prices are quite reasonable.

Nightlife

Sydney Opera House has performances nightly from comedy to theatre and more, there are also regular shows that are aimed at the family, so you will surely find a show to suit your requirements. If you’re looking for pubs, clubs and nightclubs then Sydney is the place to be a party animal too. If you are looking for something lighter then this main city has something to suit everyone’s taste, from loud and rowdy clubs to quiet and romantic evening cruises around the harbour.

Beaches

Sun, sea and surf is the Australian way. If you’re not swimming or topping up your tan on the white sand beaches, then surfing it must be. There are life guards along the beaches to stay safe and there are plenty of other water sports available if you want to do more than swim. Surfing really is the sport of the country though, so have a go.

Tunisia is the most northern country and the smallest in all of North Africa, situated on the Mediterranean coast. Relatively small in relation to the neighbouring countries, it is on the Atlas Mountain range and also has a southern desert region, which is part of the Sahara. Tunisia has a varied history, which means that there is much that can be learnt when you visit any of the areas there. However, it is also well known for the beautiful scenery which attracts many people each year.

Tunisia is a great place to go for a sporting holiday, as there are several major sports that are practiced in the area. Hotels may have the facilities for these onsite, but if not there are many sports clubs which can offer activities such as golf and tennis, and there is 1,300km of coastline, where water sports such as diving, sailing and surfing can be tried. Dune skiing or go karting through the desert are other sporting alternatives too, which can be a great deal of fun. It is not just a place that people go to sit and relax on the golden sands, although it is obviously a tempting pastime.

If you are in Africa, shopping is always a good thing to try out. The nation makes gorgeous hand crafted materials, from jewellery to cloths, and Tunisia is no exception. Handicrafts and creativity are one thing that you can see in abundance in Tunisia, and that is what the remainder of this article will focus on.

The heritage of Tunisia means that there are beautiful remnants of previous times still in existence. One such example is mosaics. Try the Bardo museum, 4km from the capital of Tunis, for an example of artwork and mosaics from many of the previous centuries, many from the 2nd and 4th Centuries AD. Look out for the mosaic portrait of Virgil as a key piece of artwork. The ancient city of Carthage will delight people who want to relish in the beauty of ancient Tunisian ruins, so try a day trip there, which will give you plenty of photo opportunities. Of course, whilst looking at the creativity of other nations is a great way to pass time, the best thing is being able to pick out something special that you can take back home to remember your trip by. Tunis medina (al-Madinah) is one of the best places to go to try and grab a bargain for yourself. From the 5th Century AD, Tunisia was admired for the weaving that took place there. Something such as a cushion or throw, along with ceramics, are the kind of things to look for at a Tunisian market, as they are specific to the area. The Grand Souk des Chechias, one of the biggest Souks, is also a good place to try for the traditional red caps that are known as being popular in the region and which were traditionally used for making a turban.

Sousse and Monastir also have nice markets, so wherever you are staying in the region, you can get yourself bargains to take home- just remember to haggle!