Stop Over to Australia

When QANTAS first began its kangaroo flights 50 years ago it took 94 hours to get from London to Sydney. Nowadays it takes about 20 hours and the stopovers are a lot less of a practical evil than they were once.

Here is a list of some of the possible stopover destinations you may have on your adventure downunder:
In Asia: Kuala Lumpur / Hong Kong / Bangkok / Singapore / Tokyo / Osaka
In the Pacific: Hawaii / Cook Islands / Tahiti / Fiji
Other stopovers include: Cape Town / Dubai / Los Angeles
These last three are the coolest of all the stopovers mentioned and hold the greatest chance of real adventure on your journey to Australia.


CAPE TOWN

Cape Town in South Africa is the future of the world in a microcosm. Outliving its apartheid past Cape Town is a wonderful blend of the mountains and the sea. So if you want to step over for a couple of days than you would be doing well to stay in South Africa.  Cape Town is a 13 hour flight away from Perth and was voted recently by readers of the Sunday Times (UK) as being one of the top holiday destinations in the world
Here is a list of the five coolest things to do in Cape Town: the Penguin colony at Boulder / Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela the first black president of South Africa was imprisoned / the South African museum / Camps Bay Beach / The oyster lagoons of Knysna and Hermanus.

DUBAI

Another out of the way place is Dubai. Many years ago a stop in Dubai was merely a pit stop that was endured until you could get on your way to wherever it was you were going. But, now Dubai is a destination in itself. Dubai has some of the finest shopping in the world and has a lively dance scene that hires British DJ’s of calibre of Fat Boy Slim to host the rave’s that are common nowadays in Dubai.
The five coolest things to Dubai are: Stay at your hotel because the pools are usually large and it is always sunny / go ‘wadi bashing’ in a 4WD / play golf at one of the championship golf courses / view the old town of Bastakiya with its impressive early Muslim era fortifications / spend the day at Wild Wadi Water park.


LOS ANGELES

Is a fantastic place to visit for a young traveller, but it is a big place and you can find yourself in the wrong neighbourhood. Although most people wherever you go are quite friendly and will help a stranded visitor to their country. But, LA is a place where keeping your itinerary in check and up to date in handy. So, do not go anywhere before you know how to get there, if you have to take public transport while you are there.