Travel books and guides are essential when you are planning and travelling on your holiday or road trip. All these books below  are recent releases in 2011. I have a copy of each of these books so I can recommend each of them for being very useful and excellent for the information that they provide as each has been created for a specific purpose.

Each book has a link so you can check out more details about each book, remember to check info like how many pages and size as they all vary.

Travel Australia book from Readers Digest

Explore Australia by Caravan and Motorhome

1000 Great Places Travel with Kids in Australia

Explore Australia 2012

Budget Camps and Stops Australia

Free postage to Anywhere in Australia

Brisbane’s Story Bridge

The Story Bridge is an icon in Brisbane that goes over the winding Brisbane River. The bridge was built in the Great Despression to boost morale and employment and it remains to be the largest steel bridge in Australia. It was designed and built mostly by Australians from Australian materials.

Sydney Harbour Bridge has an adventure climb and so does the Story Bridge. The climb takes and 2 and half hours, along the way you will learn about the bridges and Brisbane’s history. At the highest point of the bridge you will enjoy stunning views of the city, the winding Brisbane River and the mountainous landscape beyond Brisbane.
www.storybridgeadventureclimb.com.au/

 
Brisbane Botanical Gardens at Mount Coot-tha

The Brisbane Botanical Gardens are at the foothills of Mount Coot-tha which is about a 8 kilometre drive from the Brisbane city centre. The gardens where started in the mid 1970s and it has over 20,000 specimens of plants. Which include many native Australian plants, exotic herbs, shrubs and trees. the garden has many interesting features to see like a Japanese garden, a Tropical display dome, a lagoon and bamboo grove, a fern house, a National Freedom Wall which celebrates 50 years of peace.

There is also a Planetarium, you will see stunning views of Brisbane, the river, More and Stradbroke Islands, the Glasshouse Mountains, there are also walking trails and picnic areas for a great day out. www.brisbane.qld.gov.au

 
Treasury Casino & Hotel

The Treasury Casino and hotel is in the heart of the city, both the casino and hotel are in beautiful heritage buildings. The Treasury Casino occupies the historic Treasury Building and the hotel is located in the Lands Administration Building.

Both buildings are just a short walk away from the inner city botanical gardens, historic walks and bikeways, department stores, specialty shops and cinemas. Also the airport is only 25 minutes away.

The Casino is open all day and night with more than 100 gaming tables and more than 1,000 gaming machines, with several restaurants and bars to keep all visitors entertained.
www.treasurybrisbane.com.au/
Not everyone can get to a casino easily as they are usually only in the cities so a fun alternative is to try online casinos from home.
www.onlinecasino.com.au and if you want to play on a Mac
www.onlinecasino.com.au/mac   
The Heritage Treasury Hotel is luxury accommodation at its best, the casino is a few steps away and so is the Queen Street Shopping Mall. The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Performing Arts Complex, CityCat ferry terminal, South Bank Parklands, the City Botanic Gardens, the Performing Arts Complex are all very close to the Treasury Hotel.  http://www.treasurybrisbane.com.au

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was started in 1927 is one of Brisbanes most visited tourist attraction. It doesn’t just have koalas, it has many Australian native animals like Kangaroos, possums, dingoes, emus, Australian birds and reptiles. The park has over 100 koalas and you can get your photo taken with a koala for a small fee.
http://www.koala.net/

JANUARY

Hanging Rock Picnic Races, Festival of Sydney, Australian Open, Country Music Festival, Midsumma Festival, Tunurama Festival, Australia Day Concert, Chinese New Year, Cricket Test Match Sydney.

FEBRUARY

Festival of Perth, Leeuwin Estate Winery Music Concert, Adelaide fringe, Adelaide Festival of the Arts,

MARCH

Australian Formula One Grand Prix, Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival, Yarra Valley Grape Grazing, begonia festival Ballarat, Moomba festival Melbourne, Easter Fair Maldon, International Flower Garden Show Melbourne, Bright Autumn Festival, Anzac Day.

APRIL

Melbourne International Comedy festival, Royal easter Show Sydney, Rip Curl Pro Surfing Competition Bells Beach,.

MAY

Australian Celtic Festival Glen Innes, Kernewek lavender Cornish Festival, Torres Strait Cultural Festival.

JUNE

Three Day Equestrian Event Gawler, Sydney Film festival,Laura Dance and Cultural festival, Darling Harbour Jazz Festival.

JULY

Yulefest Blue Mountains, Brass Monkey Festival Stanthorpe Queensland, Alice Springs Show, Cairns Show, Melbourne International Film Festival,  Camel Cup Alice Springs.

AUGUST

 Almond Blossom Festival Mount Lofty, City to Surf Race Sydney, Shinju Matsuri Festival Broome, Melbourne Contemporary Art Fair, Mount Isa Rodeo.

SEPTEMBER

Open Garden Scheme, Mudgee Wine Festival, Festival of the Winds Bondi Beach, Royal Melbourne Show, Australian Football League Grand Final, Tulip Festival Bowral, Carnival of Flowers Toowoomba.

OCTOBER

Melbourne Fringe Festival, Australian Rugby league Grand Final, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Henley on Todd Regatta Alice Springs, Melbourne marathon, Lygon Street Fiesta.

NOVEMBER

Sculpture by the Sea Bondi Beach, Great Mountain Race of Victoria Mansfield, Melbourne Cup.

DECEMBER

Carols by Candlelight Melbourne, Christmas at Bondi Beach, Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Boxing Day Test Match, New Years Eve.