补充阅读 Facts for the Traveler in Australia

Facts for the Traveler in AustraliaVisas: Every nationality except New Zealanders need visas. Tourists visas are generally valid for six months and cost US$22. Visas for less than three months are free.Health risks: Sunburn, spider bites, snake bitesTime: There are three time zones: Eastern Standard Time is UTC plus 10 hours; Central Time is UTC plus 9.5 hours; and Western Time UTC plus eight hours.Electricity: 220-240VWeights & measures: metricWhen to GoAny time is a good time to be in Australia. Summer (December-February) can get uncomfortably hot just about anywhere, except Tasmania. If youre in the southern states during these months, its great beach weather and great melanoma weather. Up north, this is the wet season, when its very, very humid and when the sea is swarming with box jellyfish. On the upside, the Top End is beautifully green and free of tourists at this time.From June until August things have cooled down a little and dried up a lot up north. This is a good time to visit Queensland or the outback. If youre here for the skiing, nows the time to head for the snowfields of Victoria and NSW. Overall, spring and autumn are probably the safest bets - the weather is reasonably mild wherever you are, and spring brings out the wildflowers in the outback, while autumn is particularly beautiful in Canberra and in the Victorian Alps. If you want to avoid holiday road chaos, dont arrive in Australia at Easter.Events Christmas is part of the long summer school vacation and during December and January you can be forgiven for thinking that half of Australia is on holiday. This is when accommodation is almost always booked out. National holidays peculiar to Australia include Australia Day (January 26), which celebrates the arrival of the First Fleet, and Anzac Day (25 April), which commemorates the landing of Australian and New Zealand armed forces at Gallipoli in 1915.Australias arts festivals attract culture vultures from all over Australia to see mainstream and fringe drama, dance, music and visual arts. The huge Festival of Sydney, which takes up most of January, is the umbrella for a number of events from open air concerts, to street theatre and fireworks. The Adelaide Arts Festival takes place at the beginning of March in even-numbered years. In odd-numbered years, Womadelaide, Adelaides outdoor festival of world music and dance, takes care of February. Melbourne has a Comedy Festival in February and the fabulous Melbourne International Festival in October, which includes the worlds biggest Writers Festival.Sporty fun includes Darwins Beer Can Regatta in August, when a series of boat races are held for craft constructed entirely of beer cans; the Sydney to Hobart yacht race (from Boxing Day); the Australian Open tennis championship (Melbourne in January); the Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne in March); Australian Rules Football (around the country from March to September); and the country-stopping Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November.Gay f