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About Matt Long
06 July 2011 8:08 PM | No CommentsWho am I? I am a typical Gen-X professional who has a passion for all things travel. My site brings a unique perspective that is hard to find online. I am not a backpacker, nor am I living off of a trust fund. I am...
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Australia Archive
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What’s So Great about Melbourne?
Posted on February 12, 2012 | 10 CommentsEveryone said I would love it. This advice didn’t just come from friends and online contacts, Melbourne was named the world’s most livable city in the 2011 Global Livability Survey. That’s a hell of a statement to make and I was curious what could propel... -
Australia Travel Tips
Posted on January 10, 2012 | 5 CommentsAustralia Travel Tips Australia is a huge country that offers something for everyone, beaches, cities, deserts and everything in between. To get the most out of the vast continent/country would take years, and even then you’d be missing something. For the casual traveler though,... -
Perfect Evening in St. Kilda
Posted on January 9, 2012 | 2 CommentsAfter spending almost a week in the dusty Outback, the last thing I thought I would have wanted was a return to nature. But there I was, sitting at the desk in our spacious room at the InterContinental Rialto thumbing through the guide book trying... -
Travel Itinerary – 48 Hours in Melbourne
Posted on January 8, 2012 | 7 CommentsMelbourne Travel Tips Melbourne was the final stop in our brief tour of Australia and one that proved to be a highlight of the journey. Without exaggeration, Melbourne is one of the best cities I have visited anywhere in the world, and weeks could... -
Travel Tips and Driving Itinerary for Australia’s Red Centre
Posted on January 4, 2012 | 7 CommentsThere’s just something about Australia and the Northern Territory in particular that captures the imagination of people around the world. Maybe its the natural beauty or the famously rugged environment, but it’s hard not to feel drawn to one of the most remote spots on... -
How to See the Best of Alice Springs in 24 Hours
Posted on January 3, 2012 | 4 CommentsAlice Springs Travel Tips Many people know Alice Springs, Australia as the gateway to the Red Centre. From Alice thousands of travelers launch exhaustive tours of Kings Canyon, Glen Helen and of course Uluru, otherwise known as Ayers Rock. Many people just pass through... -
Hairy Coos, Baby Animals and Amazing Views on Churchill Island
Posted on December 13, 2011 | 4 CommentsThe Scottish highland cow greeted us with its giant horns and fuzzy bangs as we navigated the dirt road leading to Churchill Island. We very well could have been in Scotland, except it was far too sunny and there wasn’t a sign of a distillery... -
Four Thoughts on Australia
Posted on December 7, 2011 | 22 CommentsIn August we traveled to Australia as a result of a Twitter contest I won through the Northern Territory. We decided to extend the trip into a vacation and spent almost two weeks exploring as much of Australia as we could. Given the grotesque size... -
42 Things I Love About Australia’s Northern Territory
Posted on November 23, 2011 | 5 CommentsI originally was going to write about the 42 things I love about Australia, but even in list form the country is just too big. The more I thought about my time in Australia, the more I realized that many of my favorite activities, as... -
On Parade with the Penguins of Phillip Island
Posted on November 21, 2011 | 5 CommentsThere are certain words and phrases that should never be repeated in the context of a travel post. Hidden gem, unique treasure, and charming all come to mind. Cute is another one most experts say to avoid, yet I find myself at a loss to... -
Kissed by a Koala at Healesville Sanctuary
Posted on November 15, 2011 | 4 CommentsI never expected to be kissed by a koala, yet there I was being gingerly kissed by Australia’s fuzzy mascot. The koala in question was at the Healesville Sanctuary, a short drive from Melbourne and home to one of the best animal experiences in the... -
Exploring the Hidden Secrets of Melbourne With the Best Tour in Town
Posted on November 10, 2011 | 7 CommentsI received a lot of suggestions from the expert concierge at the InterContinental Melbourne. In an experiment, I decided to use the hotel’s famous concierge service to help plan our time in Melbourne to see if they could do a better job than I could.... -
Discovering the Real Importance of Uluru with the Anangu Tour
Posted on November 1, 2011 | 4 CommentsSammy didn’t say much, well not that I could understand at least. His voice was soft and the words all seemed to blend into each other in a unique blend of Pitjantjatjara and pidgin English. Luckily the interpreter seemed to have no problem understanding Sammy... -
Tracking the History of the Ghan Train in Alice Springs
Posted on October 31, 2011 | 1 Comment“Well, there’s the Old Timers Museum, School of the Air, and the Old Ghan Museum isn’t too far away,” our cab driver kindly suggested as we drove to pick up our campervan and begin our exploration of Australia’s Outback. Another travel hiccup had occurred, and... -
Bilbies and Bettongs – The Alice Springs Desert Park Nocturnal Experience
Posted on October 23, 2011 | 1 CommentWe weren’t supposed to spend the night in Alice Springs. My Grand Plan for the Outback in Australia clearly had us picking up the Britz campervan and driving to Glen Helen for a night of “roughing it.” The day before though we learned that there... -
Embracing the Corny in Australia – Sounds of Silence Dinner Experience
Posted on October 17, 2011 | No CommentsI usually stay away from what I perceive to be over-touristy experiences, but the Sounds of Silence dinner at Uluru intrigued me. A trip to Uluru, or Ayers Rock, tends to be fairly scripted. The resort experience is like a cruise ship in the desert... -
Kings Canyon Death March, er, Hike
Posted on October 4, 2011 | 3 CommentsI have a confession. I have never been on a forced march, made to do hard labor in a Federal penitentiary or been indentured to a life of servitude. And yet, all of these feelings came to the forefront as we began the Kings Canyon... -
Finding the Best Hotel For Your Visit to Uluru
Posted on October 3, 2011 | No CommentsEven though I enjoyed every moment of exploring the Northern Territory’s Red Centre, the real star of course was Uluru (Ayer’s Rock). If you travel to Uluru, you will necessarily be a guest of the Voyages Ayers Rock Resort, namely because they’re the only game... -
Travel Mystery – Why Australia Will Never Have Burger King
Posted on October 2, 2011 | 18 Commentsphoto credit: Sweet One I love bizarre societal quirks. Little details that many may miss and travel guides never address. I was confronted with one such oddity on a recent trip to Australia. I noticed a lot of restaurants that looked like Burger King, they... -
Travel Itinerary – 48 Hours in Sydney
Posted on September 28, 2011 | 4 CommentsOur first introduction to Australia came at the end of a fifteen hour flight to Sydney. Our Australian schedule was a busy one and we only had two days to spend exploring this great harbor town. I knew it wouldn’t be enough time, but I... -
Voting for the New Seven Wonders – A Case for Uluru
Posted on September 26, 2011 | 3 CommentsA couple of months ago I wrote about the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition that is currently underway. The effort follows on the heels of the New 7 Wonders project that, while somewhat flawed, was very successful. One can argue about having a voting... -
Desert Oasis – Kings Canyon Resort Experience
Posted on September 26, 2011 | 8 CommentsI’m not going to lie, getting to Kings Canyon from Alice Springs was a bit of an event. I guess I’m just a soft city mouse, but the two hours of driving on corrugated, teeth shattering dirt roads was a bit much. But that introduction... -
Boat Tourism – Seeing the Other Side of a City
Posted on September 22, 2011 | 5 CommentsI love exploring new cities; finding hidden alleyways and cool shops are some of the best travel experiences anyone can have. One of the best ways to learn more about a city though is by leaving it, sort of. Exploring a city from the water... -
Part II – Off-Roading in Australia – My Campervan Road Trip Through the Red Centre
Posted on September 20, 2011 | 1 CommentContinued from yesterday Part II It wasn’t just the lack of paved roads that scared me, it was the uncertainty of the condition of the roads on which I knew we would have to drive for several hundred kilometers before we reaching the Kings Canyon... -
Off-Roading in Australia – My Campervan Road Trip Through the Red Centre
Posted on September 19, 2011 | 2 CommentsPart of the condition of my trip to Australia’s Red Centre was that we travel around in a Britz Campervan. The idea was to replicate the trip Andrew Evans, the world famous travel writer and digital nomad, took around the Northern Territory. Since I won... -
Light, Shadow and Rock – The Changing Faces of Uluru
Posted on September 15, 2011 | 3 Comments -
Discovering the Sydney Opera House
Posted on September 13, 2011 | 8 CommentsMajor landmarks can be a letdown sometimes. Either they’re not as impressive as you thought or after a lifetime of dreaming about THE moment when you actually get to see the famous wonder, the reality is a bit of a letdown. With this in mind,... -
Five Ways Australia Surprised Me
Posted on September 11, 2011 | 23 CommentsBefore our trip to Australia, I thought I generally knew what to expect: koalas roaming the streets, free beer and lots of shrimps on the barbie. I was surprised though when confronted with the reality, but here are the things that surprised me the most.... -
Quirky Australia – The Great Ned Kelly Debate
Posted on September 8, 2011 | 4 CommentsA lot of things confused me about Australia. Paying $4 for a 20oz. Diet Coke, the nonchalant attitude towards the myriad poisonous things that can cause instant death just to name a couple. But what really threw me for a proverbial loop was the admiration... -
Facing My Fears on the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb
Posted on September 7, 2011 | 11 CommentsI don’t like heights. Well, not at all heights. My phobia is unpredictable and usually irrational; I have no problem flying, but a three foot ladder makes my legs wobble. That’s why I wasn’t sure if I could actually tackle the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb.... -
Three of the World’s Best Walking Tours
Posted on September 5, 2011 | 12 CommentsEven though I love unique and sometimes unusual ways to experience new travel destinations, one of the best ways to learn about a new place is through a classic walking tour. Organized tours can highlight a neighborhood or entire city, while self-guided walks offer precious... -
Getting Back to Nature in Victoria
Posted on September 2, 2011 | 4 CommentsEven though we still had dust in our shoes from our adventure in Australia’s Red Centre, we were eager to explore some of the best natural sites in the state of Victoria – Healesville Sanctuary and Phillip Island. We rented a car for the day... -
Falling in Love with Melbourne – Lanes, Arcades and the X-Factor
Posted on September 1, 2011 | 4 CommentsGetting to Melbourne was a chore pure and simple. We were on the road before dawn, leaving Uluru behind us and pointing the car towards Alice Springs. Five hours, several hundred kilometers, four kangaroos and a singing dingo later we boarded the first of our... -
Experiencing the Sacred and Sublime at Ayers Rock – Exploring the Northern Territory
Posted on August 31, 2011 | 5 CommentsAyers Rock, or Uluru, is a well oiled machine. Not the rock of course, but the resort and National Park complex. We got our first taste of The Rock the night before while enjoying a dinner under the stars at the Sounds of Silence experience,... -
Kings Canyon, Ayers Rock and Everything In-Between – Exploring Northern Territory
Posted on August 30, 2011 | 2 CommentsWe woke before dawn, the sounds of the nocturnal desert coming to a slow end as prepared ourselves for the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. I’m not going to lie, it was hard, but like most things it was worth it in the end. The six... -
Exploring the Northern Territory – Alice Springs and the Red Centre Way
Posted on August 29, 2011 | 1 CommentAfter our brief stay in Sydney, it was finally for us to fly to Alice Springs and start the Northern Territory portion of our trip. It was the Northern Territory that brought us to Australia in the first place, and I was eager to explore... -
Exploring Sydney – The Rocks, The House and The Climb
Posted on August 26, 2011 | 7 CommentsAfter more than 24 hours of planes, airports and really bad food, we touched down in Sydney, Australia. Neither of us could really believe it, Australia was the stuff of movies, novels and old reruns of Facts of Life. For both of us it... -
Exploring Australia – The Itinerary
Posted on August 18, 2011 | 17 CommentsEarlier this year the Northern Territory of Australia, in conjunction with the amazing National Geographic travel writer Andrew Evans, hosted a contest asking people to name the reason why the Northern Territory is the place they would most like to visit in Australia. Entries were... -
7 Lessons I Learned About Driving in Australia After My Accident in the Outback
Posted on June 29, 2011 | 16 CommentsToday I am pleased to highlight a fantastic guest post by travel writer and blogger Ben Reed. Ben is an Orlando-based Travel Blogger that will try (almost) anything once. His travel blog Adventures with Ben encourages readers to do the same as they learn how... -
Interactive Travel Planner – Path to Australia
Posted on March 23, 2011 | 15 CommentsA few weeks ago, I wrote about a trip I recently won to Australia, sponsored by Northern Territory Tourism. We have long wanted to visit the antipodes, but never had the opportunity. This is our chance to finally explore as much of the continent as... -
Driving in Australia – Signs of Impending Doom
Posted on March 8, 2011 | 1 CommentA friend and colleague of mine recently spent time in Australia, and after begging and pleading she finally agreed to pen a guest post for me on her experiences. In this hilarious piece, Stephanie takes us along with her in her attempt to chase summer.... -
Chill the Fosters and Throw Another Shrimp on the Barbie, LandLopers is Headed to the Outback!
Posted on February 14, 2011 | 12 CommentsRecently the Northern Territory of Australia, in conjunction with the amazing National Geographic travel writer Andrew Evans, hosted a contest asking people to name the reason why the Northern Territory is the place they would most like to visit in Australia. Entries were accepted via... -
Will Oprah Help Australia?
Posted on October 18, 2010 | 8 CommentsThe media giant Oprah Winfrey recently surprised her audience when she announced that all 300 of them would join her for a trip to Australia, where Winfrey will tape at least two shows. While in keeping with previous mega-Oprah gifts (you’ve won a new... -
The Unknown Art Oasis in the Outback of New South Wales
Posted on August 16, 2010 | 2 CommentsI am really excited about today’s guest post, graciously written by Brooke Schoenman of WhyGo Australia. Australia is a place to which I have always wanted to travel but never have. In her post, Brooke discusses a unique corner of the continent completely unfamiliar to... -
Hidden Treasure – Cape Leveque, Western Australia
Posted on April 27, 2010 | No CommentsWestern Australia Travel In Western Australia and just North of Broome you’ll find the landscape of Cape Leveque. It’s a remote place and most roads to get there are unsealed. But this is changing already and soon the whole road will be drivable by...
