Oceania

Travel through Oceania by country:

Australia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Travel through Oceania by popular city:

Auckland, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Wellington

Travel through Oceania by popular things to do:

Cook Islands, Sydney Opera House

Travel through Oceania with our writers:

In the Corner of the World, Work and Play in Queensland

AlterNet condoning pirates in Somalia?

by Annie Scott on

AlterNet.org, a human rights advocacy site, has a new article posted: “Why We Don’t Condemn Our Pirates in Somalia.”

First of all, I want to know who gave them the pirates in Somalia. Well, turns out the article is from a Somali perspective, and that “Karma” is the reason they feel they are “biting a perpetrator in the butt.”

Everyone knows that piracy in Somalia is serious business. And like most serious businesses, it’s complicated. Consider our Aaron Hotfelder’s article “Somali pirate talks: ‘We consider ourselves heroes running away from poverty,’” in which pirate Asad Abdulahi told his story, saying “we will not stop until we have a central government that can control our sea.”

AlterNet goes even further. In the words of K’naan, AlterNet’s Somali-Canadian poet, rapper, and musician:

“It is time that the world gave the Somali people some assurance that these Western illegal activities will end, if our pirates are to seize their operations. We do not want the EU and NATO serving as a shield for these nuclear waste-dumping hoodlums. It seems to me that this new modern crisis is a question of justice, but also a question of whose justice. As is apparent these days, one man’s pirate is another man’s coast guard.”

Read more here before you judge. Thanks, Michael S., for the tip.

Locals in lead for Best Job in the World

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you want a great job, move to Queensland. In the ongoing “Best Job in the World” contest, two of the top five are from Queensland – with contest leader Clare Wang from Taiwan. According to international betting agency PinnacleSports.com Wang’s odds of nabbing this cushy assignment are 3.5:1. Queenslander James Hill follows at 5:1 (in the #2 spot). Hailey Turner, from Brisbane, is in fifth, with odds of 13:1.

Unsurprisingly, an American and a German are in a race to the bottom. Greg Reynen (from the United States) has odds of 44.8:1, with Mirjam Novak edging slightly ahead in this immaterial corner of the contest at 43.5:1. The odds for contestants with experience in the porn business were not revealed, but common sense would suggest they aren’t favorable.

The final 16 candidates will head to Hamilton Island next month to spend a week participating in this spectacular publicity stunt working on the island and exploring the Great Barrier Reef.

The Best Job in the World lured 34,684 applicants as part of a $1.7 million global marketing gimmick. It’s paid off already, generating AU$100 million in publicity for Queensland.



The winner will get a lazy one-year contract for AU$150,000.

Get to know the top Aussie in the contest, Hailey, after the jump.

Pay to play in Aussie airport parking lots

by Tom Johansmeyer on

For the past decade, Australians have griped about the escalating cost of short-term airport parking. Accusations of monopoly pricing were leveled, and a year ago, the government got involved, having the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) keep an eye on parking lot fees at the country’s five largest airports. The results are amazing.

Airports pull in 11 percent of their revenue from parking. In Melbourne, it’s a whopping 21 percent, while Sydney‘s airport pulls in a more modest 7 percent of its financial take from the parking lots. Since no government agency is willing to put its head on the chopping block the ACCC would only say that this is “consistent with airports having a monopoly position.”

Of course, there are perks to paying. People parking at the Melbourne airport were the most satisfied customers, with those frequenting Sydney’s lots at the bottom.

But, convenience always wins.

The Sydney airport is only 10 kilometers (a little more than 6 miles) from the city, and only 13 percent of passengers use the airport’s parking lots. Melbourne’s airport is more than twice as far away, making airport parking more sensible.

Watch a ship burn at Vivid Sydney

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Vivid Sydney is the largest international music and light festival in the Southern Hemisphere (at least according to the press release they sent me). It starts May 26 and runs through June 14, so you still have time to book your tickets. If Jetstar fits into your travel plans, just make sure you fit into a Jetstar seat …

“The inaugural year of Vivid Sydney is an exciting milestone in the establishment of Sydney as the cultural epicenter of the Asia-Pacific,” says Jodi McKay, New South Wales Minister for Tourism. “Our city possesses a wealth of creative talent across a variety of industries and this unique event illuminates the city’s most vibrant citizens.”

Vivid Sydney consists of four events, artistic villages and performances in and near the Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, Circular Quay and the City Center. Luminous, a music festival at the opera house, has Brian Eno at the helm. I’ve never heard of him, but apparently he’s worked with the likes of David Bowie, U2 and … you better believe it … the Talking Heads!

Smart Light Sydney, part of the Vivid Sydney experience, offers sculptures in light art and is the brainchild of Sydney born lighting designer and composer Mary-Anne Kyriakou.

Fire Water is a free event that blends “flame, food and spectacle.” A publicist said it, so it must be true. It will showcase an interpretation of the burning of convict ship Three bees, which sank in Sydney Cove in 1814. I have to admit, that actually does sound pretty amazing.

“We have some of the city’s best creative minds working on this festival, and we are confident that in time Vivid Sydney will attract the same level of international attention as the City’s New Year’s Eve celebrations on Sydney Harbour,” says Geoff Parmenter, Chief Executive Officer, Events New South Wales.

Photo of the day (4.07.09)

by Grant Martin on


Fresh from my return from New Zealand, I can’t stop thinking about the range of beautiful scenery found in the corner of the world. Perhaps it’s because I’m jet lagged and can’t fall asleep.

This photo, taken by The Wide Wide World in Queenstown, NZ, summarizes what you’ll see in a typical day on the South Island: vast, sprawling landscapes, tall mountains, placid lakes and beer. I miss it already.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!