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Best time for whale watching
Best time of day for whale watching
Best places for whale watching in Sydney
Whale watching tour companies review in Sydney

Tours

Check this list if you are keen to go on whale watching cruise.
Choose your departure point from prices and time table:
Darling Harbour | Circular Quay | Manly | Sans Souci

Darling Harbour departures

* – 10-20% discount for online bookings
** – up to 45% off for online booking

Circular Quay departures

* – 10-20% discount for online bookings
** – 15% discount for online booking

Manly departures

*** – 16% off if you buy 2 tickets
**** – 5% off if you buy 2 tickets

Sans Souci departures

There are no Sans Souci departures any more. Let us know if you know any cruises departing from San Souci.

Here is a list of whale watching tour operators in Sydney with their no sightings policy and links to their websites:

So which company to choose? It depends on you – do want only whale watching or to do something else too, like speed boat ride? Do you stay in the city or in Cronulla or Manly?

My personal choice was – Bass and Flinders Cruises. They are longest period in this business and also participate in whales research program with Macquarie University, has shore based whale spotters which helps them faster to spot whales. In the sea it looks like all other companies just follow their boats.

One important thing – lower your expectation if you go on whale watching tour.  Sometimes whales are more active, sometimes they are not. I was reading some reviews there customers were complaining – they saw not enough whale breaches because ship went back to harbor as the tour time was out.  How you can complain about that? Some people won’t be lucky to see a breach even once and it is not the show where you command whales what they should do. So it is better to have low expectation and you definitely will enjoy whale watching – coastal or on boat tour.

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What is whale shark

One of the first appearance on big screen of this fish was in documentary about Kon-Tiki expedition from South America to South Pacific. Kon-Tiki was the raft used by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. In his book about this expedition whale sharks were mentioned as sea monsters.  I can just imagine what they were thinking when they met this fish similar to shark and which can grow more then 10 meters long.  But despite its size, the whale shark does not pose significant danger to humans, feeding on plankton and small fish. Only thing people should be careful – unintentional blows from the shark’s large tail fin.

Check this video if you are wondering what is that whale shark and should you take a swimming with whale sharks tour.

Are you interested? This video shot in Cenderawasih Bay in Indonesia, but one of the best places to swim with whale sharks is in Western Australia, Ningaloo reef.  It is not a cheap attraction, but is really worth it and you would love to go again and again.

Best places for a swim with whale sharks in Australia

I hope I didn’t scare you and you are ready to jump into water Next question would be: where can you do it? There are couple places in the world you can do it. Occasionally whale sharks can be seen by scuba divers in Thailand, but nobody can promise you will see one. There are whale shark snorkeling tours in some Caribbean countries and also in Mozambique, but probably best place to swim these giants is Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.  At Ningaloo Reef tour operators use whale spotting planes and it makes big advantage comparing with other places in the world as it gives you more chances to see whale shark.

Best time for swimming with whale sharks in Australia

Whale shark season in Ningaloo Reef starts in April and last until July. The time frame can slightly vary each year. Whale sharks can come in late March and stay until August, so it is better to contact operator of your choice to check what is situation.  Thought all tour companies have very high rate of whale sharks spotting, but sometimes weather conditions are not the best to go out to the sea, so it is good to have couple spare days in case tour will be canceled on particular day. Make sure you have some sea sickens medicine to make sure you have good day out in the sea, as otherwise it can ruin your swim with whale sharks experience as it did happen with Jade.

Whale sharks tour prices in Australia

Most tour operators located in small town Exmouth and couple of whale sharks tour operators are in Coral Bay, 150km (100 miles) South of Exmouth.

Here is a list of whale shark tour operators in Exmouth (for tours in Coral Bay go to Coral Bay whale shark tours page) in alphabetic order:

All prices are in Australian dollar. Now most companies offer repeat tour voucher valid for the next three years. Before you could use that voucher only during current season in case you don’t see whale sharks on your first tour.

* there is no published prices for the current season yet.

Swim with whale sharks tour prices are very similar so probably main factor of choosing tour operator will be seat availability on preferred day. Or it depends where you are staying and do you want to do any additional activity. Because these tours are not very cheap read carefully refund sections as all companies have different policies. But most companies start offer voucher for another tour valid for three years in case of no sighting of whale sharks that day.

Also you can check some operators reviews on Tripadvisor. Personally I was on tours with Three Islands Whale Shark Dive (they had best price in Exmouth) and Ningaloo Reef Dive in Coral Bay. I was happy with service I got and can recommend both companies.

All prices are good on time of publishing of this post. I tried to contact each tour company for latest information, but please visit page of each tour operator for up to date prices as it can be changes done at the time you’ll read this post. Let me know if you find any incorrect or outdated information here.

Can you scuba dive with whale sharks

Unfortunately you can’t do it.  Occasionally in Thailand scuba divers can see whale sharks, but these are rare cases. The swimming with whale sharks tours is the best way to see these creatures and Australia is one of best place in the world to go on these tours.  So check tour prices above.

But if you still keen to dive with whale sharks you can do it in Atlanta aquarium which has diving with whale sharks program.

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Koalas are not so widely populated as kangaroos and it needs more effort to see them. Closest place to Sydney I found was The Jean Shaw Reserve at Hawks Nest. I wasn’t lucky when I was visiting that place in hope to see koalas and locals were smiling asked about were I can find these animals. I understood I can’t expect to see them hanging on any tree in the town.

Next place I hear is good for koalas spotting is in Victoria on Great Ocean Road.  It is called as one of the best places in Australia to see koalas in the wild.

You may be will need turn into Grey River Road in Kennet River in case you won’t be able to spot koala on Great Ocean Road. But first you should check the place on the right in this map:

View Koalas in Australia in a larger map

There is parking on the side of the road (switch to satellite view and you’ll see cars parked there).  Scroll along the road and may be you will see the same koala pictured in the above picture. When I was there I could spot 5-6 koalas eating, sleeping on trees.

For the best chance of seeing some koalas, stay overnight at Bimbi Park. The park is about an hour away from the 12 Apostles, making it the perfect place to sleep after making the drive from Melbourne to see this natural wonder.

At Bimbi Park, the koalas will come right up to your tent or cabin, making it one of the best places to see these animals up close and personal.

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Do you wonder how to get to Batu Caves?

There is no need of any buses or taxis any more.From 29th of July, 2010 KTM komuter train runs from KL Sentral train station straight to Batu Caves.

Train runs every 30 minutes. Ticket costs 4MYR return. For further information and any changes please check official KTM Komuter website.

I am not sure why they decided to publish schedule in MS Excel format which can’t be read by everybody. You can check it here or you can just look to the schedule bellow. I converted it to html format readable by everybody. This schedule is valid as of today date (7th of February 2013). Please inform us if will be any changes.

PDF version is here.

Historic changes log:

Until  January 2012 the train ticket price was 2MYR return and train was leaving every 15 minutes from KL Sentral towards Batu Caves.

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The post How to get to Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur appeared first on Vi Travel Tips.

So I wanted to see both these landmarks and to climb to the top of the largest rock in the world. At least at that time I thought it is largest.

I saw Opera House on my first night I landed in Sydney, but it took more then 2 years till I get to Red Center.

I did probably all possible hikes around the Rock, but I wasn’t thinking about climb it anymore.

Why? I am keen hiker and for people who know me it could sound very strange decision. But after living for two years in Australia I heard so much controversial information about this climb.
“Uluru visitors face climbing ban for safety reasons”,  it was first news I heard. “Oh,no!”. I was very disappointed because of that. Of course this ban never was carried into effect, but then I read that safety was not primary reason for climb ban plans. It was more concern about cultural reasons.
So I started research this issue and find out that it is a really important sacred place for people and traditional owners ask people not to climb Uluru for cultural reasons – Wanyu Ulurunya tatintja wiyangku wantima – but there is no law that requires people to obey their wishes. So what should I do? It was dilemma for me.  But it didn’t take too long to make decision. I am tourist here and I must respect owners wishes. They don’t climb, why should I do that?
After all I was thinking Uluru was biggest rock in world and that was one of driving ideas to climb it.  I was wrong. As a lot of people are wrong too.  It was big discovery for me that in the Western Australia there is another rock – Mt. Augustus – twice and half times the size of famous Uluru.  Because it is so remote not so much people know it exists at all.  Then I thought, why should I climb most pretty rock (Uluru) then I still can climb largest rock in the world and don’t have to do any negotiations with my conscience? Decision was made and implemented. You can check this post how to reach Mt.Augustus and the trails there. For now enjoy the view of Uluru.

Should you climb it? It is up to you. My decision was  not to.

The climb to the top of Uluru rock is not prohibited as of January, 2013, but I think you just watch this video of the climb and don’t climb your self

I think a lot of people who decided to climb that rock underestimate their fitness.  It is tall rock and it is hot out there, so even if you take aside cultural reasons think twice before you start to climb it.

The post Ayers/Uluru rock. Climb it or not appeared first on Vi Travel Tips.

Do you know what is longest bridge in the world now? Here is the list of top 5 longest bridges in the world at this moment. I didn’t see them yet, but love to see one day.

#5 Beijing Grand Bridge

Located  in Beijing and it is a 29 miles (48 kilometers) long railway viaduct on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway.

#4 Bang Na Expressway

Burapha Withi Expressway (official name of highway) in Bangkok, Thailand.

It was considered longest bridge in the world until 2010, but was excluded from the list because it doesn’t cross any water (except Bang Pakong River) of the most of its length. But still it is great 34 miles (54 kilometers) long structure.

#3 Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge

When The Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge was completed in 2008 it was the longest bridge in the world, but it was holding that title only for two years. The bridge is 49.5 miles (80 kilometers) long. It is part of high speed railway connecting Zhengzhou and Xi’an.

#2 Tianjin Grand Bridge

Tianjin Grand Bridge is also a railway viaduct bridge as most bridges on this list. The bridge is recorded in Guinness World Records book as second longest bridge in the world in year 2011. The length of the bridge is 71 miles (114 kilometers).

#1 Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge

And the longest bridge in the world for today is Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge. It was opened last (2011) year and it is 102 miles (165 kilometers) long and it crosses the second longest Tianjin Grand Bridge viaduct.

p.s. it is so hard to find right pictures of these bridges. May be it is because they are relatively new.

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But what is best time to go where?

It depends what you want to see and how many things you want to see.

If you are up for cherry blossom viewing, so it is much easier to find out what is best time to visit Japan.

Of course the time can be different each year, but usually cherry blossom bloom from late March until end of April.

Here are average dates from previous years to make your planning easier http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_when.html.

The time also can vary depending to which place you are going because Japan is not such small country after all. Here is a list of top 5 most popular places for cherry blossom viewing with best time to do it in that place. Have a nice viewing. It is really wonderful experience.

The post Best time for cherry blossom (sakura) viewing in Japan appeared first on Vi Travel Tips.

It made me start thinking what was most dangerous creature I met during time I lived in New Zealand. I love New Zealand’s safe nature – no poison snakes or grizzlies in the woods, there are no deadly animals in New Zealand at all. But there are some not so friendly species and here is mine top 3 :

3. Kea – mountain parrot. It won’t hurt you (at least I didn’t hear any accidents), but need to be careful and not leave any bags unattended in the mountains. Bird can open your bag and take anything from it. In the above picture you can see kea checks my backpack. Also it is better not allow get too close to your car as it likes to rip rubber parts. It is funny to watch some bus drivers running around the bus and trying to keep keas away from it. You definitely will meet these birds in Southern Alps.

2. Mosquitoes. Is anywhere in the world mosquitoes free place? In new Zealand they can be met anywhere.

1. Sandflies – probably most painful species in New Zealand. At least I didn’t see anything worse then it. It is so itchy. Somewhere I read they shouldn’t be active after sun set, but most bites I got then it was starting getting dark. Or may be it was time of day when I wasn’t moving enough? By maori legend the god Tu-te-raki-whanoa created sand fly to make people move and work instead of admire the beauty of Fiordland.

West coast of South Island is the worst. So be prepare for it.

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