Some small towns in Australia worth visiting

While big cities like Sydney and Melbourne may be the most well-known places to visit in Australia among international travelers, some of the country’s best tourist destinations are small, out-of-the-way locations.  Here is some information on some of the best small towns in Australia.

Sometimes referred to as the “Silver City” and the “Oasis of the West,” Broken Hill is an isolated mining town located in the far west outback of New South Whales.  Though small, the town has much to offer tourists and visitors.  Among its attractions are a visitor’s center, historic buildings and walking trails, galleries of local artists’ work, a Sculpture Symposium, coach and wagon rides, Silverton Camel Farm, Stephen’s Creek, the Mundi-Mundi plains.  Broken Hill is also home to several quarries, lakes, and numerous mining operations, some of which are open to the public.

Visitors tend to enjoy a peculiar architectural feature that is unique to Broken Hill—that is, the houses built with walls made of corrugated iron, a material commonly used throughout Australia for roofing, but almost never for walls.

Though the population of Broken Hill has shrunk by a third since its peak during the 1970s zinc boom, the town has a surprisingly up-and-coming nightlife.  There are many clubs, and after watching one of Broken Hill’s dazzling sunsets, locals and tourists can be found intermingling with one another at venues like the Musician’s Club and the Democratic Club.

About 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of Cairns in Far North Queensland, is the small town of Port Douglas.  Though the town is home to only about 3000 residents, the population can swell to more than twice that during the peak tourism months between May and September.  There are two specific periods of time every year in which hoards of tourists flock to Port Douglas to get a feel for the region’s unique tropical island lifestyle.

The first occurs near the end of May, when tourists and locals alike gather for the world-famous Port Douglas Carnivale festival.  The festival takes place over the course of ten days and two weekends and draws huge crowds.  Over 10,000 people have been known to attend the Macrossan Street Parade, one of the festival’s main events.

The other big Port Douglas festival and major tourist attraction is held over two weekends in October.  This festival is more like a group of festivals, and includes the Go Troppo Arts Festival, Footprints Music Festival, and the “Porttoberfest” beer festival.

At 6:38 a.m. on November 14^th, 2012, Port Douglas will be one of the handful of locations worldwide from which people will be able to glimpse the Total Solar Eclipse that will take place at that moment.  Thousands of people are expected to assemble in Port Douglas for this event, and the Solar Eclipse Marathon is being arranged to coincide with the eclipse.

Founded in 1806 by a group of European settlers, Launceston is one of the oldest cities in Australia, as well as home to the biggest collection of nineteenth century buildings in the country. Among these historic buildings is the Launceston General Post Office, which dates back to the 1880s and has a clock that still chimes every quarter hour.

Located in the northern part of Tasmania, Launceston is both a commercial hub for the state and a burgeoning tourist destination, welcoming more and more visitors every year.

The town’s primary tourist attraction is the Cataract Gorge, which boasts the world’s longest single span chairlift, carrying visitors 308 meters (1,010 feet) from Basin 1 to Basin 2. In addition to the Gorge, Launceston is also home to numerous parks, including City Park, which houses an enclosure of Japanese Macaque monkeys.

Other Launceston tourist attractions include a regional aquatic center and the Country Club Casino, a hotel, casino and golf course complex and one of the oldest casinos to be built in Australia.

Located 2,200 km north of Perth in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Broome is an historic pearling town and popular tourist destination. The small town of less than 15,000 residents more than triples its population throughout the summer tourist season.

One of Broome’s main draws is the beautiful white sand Cable Beach. The clear, turquoise water is great for swimming, though swimmers should be cautious of box jellyfish during the months of November through March. Visitors can rent four-wheel drive vehicles and take a camel ride at sunset.

Roebuck Bay is another important spot for Broome visitors, with millions of migratory waders and shorebirds stopping in the area to feed on the extensive mudflats there. To learn more about these birds, tourists can stop at Roebuck Bay’s Broome Bird Observatory.

Mount Leura is an inactive volcano located outside the town of Camperdown.  Thought to have last erupted between 5,000 and 20,000 years ago, the volcano is situated within the “Lakes and Craters” region of western Victoria.  There is a lookout point on the top of Mount Leura, accessible by private vehicle or bus, from which, on a clear day, visitors can catch glimpses of other nearby mountains.