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Essential Knowledge
Essentials
O
FFICIAL
D
OCUMENTS
Vital facts to help VISA REQUIREMENTS
Brits do not need a visa f
or New
ensure a safe and
Zealand or the South P
acific
islands. But f
or Australia the
y
need to apply f
or an ETA, which is
successful trip for
an electronically st
ored authority
for short-term visits t
o Australia of
up to three months. F
or 18-30
your clients
year olds who w
ould like to sta
y
longer than three months, sugg
est
the Working Holida
y Visa, which
enables them t
o stay up to 1
2
months and w
ork in any job.
To train online, register at
www.ttglive.com/knowledge
Australian animals
Quarantine
Australia is a saf
e place t
creatures about. Of the w
o visit – but there are dang Quarantine items include
eight are f
orld’s 1 fresh or packaged f
ood, fr
uit,
ound in A
0
erous
most v
coastal w
ustralia.
enomous
eggs, meat, vegetables, seeds,
a
Sharks
snakes
ters.
Saltwater crocodiles
inhabit all A
,
ustralian
region’s beaches and riv lurk in the northern
skins, f
eathers, wood and plants.
people when cont
ers – it’s important t The A
ustralian Quarantine and
emplating a dip.
o ask local
The lethal
Inspection Service X
-rays all
box jellyfish
Queensland w
is found in luggage and uses snif
fer dogs to
aters, and w
ailure to
other poisonous swimmers such as the
atch out f
or
find high-risk products. F
blue ring octopus
declare f
ood, plant and animal
stonefish
, scorpion fish
material could result in serious
. And don’t underestimat
and
kangaroo
fines so make sure your clients are
. “Skipp
e the friendly
y” can cause serious damag
a car and its occupants in the e
forewar
ned!
e to
vent of a collision.
Climate
Time zones
Australia’s seasons are opposite to the
northern hemisphere. Summer runs from
New Zealand leads the world time-wise.
December to February and winter from
Its Standard Time is 12 hours ahead of
June to August. In the north the summer
Greenwich Mean Time. Australia spans
is wet and hot, so winter is a good time
three time zones: Eastern Standard
to visit Queensland and the outback.
Time (Queensland, New South Wales,
New Zealand has a temperate climate
Australian Capital Territory, Victoria
but its latitude and wide ranging altitude
and Tasmania) is GMT+10. Central Time
mean the weather can change quickly
(Northern Territory and South
– warm windproof jackets are recom-
Australia) is GMT+9.5 and
mended for all seasons. Both islands
Western Time (Western
see snow in winter.
Australia) is GMT+8.
The Pacific islands are tropical in
Pacific islands vary:
climate, typical daytime temperatures are
Fiji for example is
24-31°C. The dry season in Fiji, Tonga,
GMT+12, while the
Samoa, the Cook Islands and Tahiti is
Cook Islands clock
between May and November.
in at GMT-10.
25
TTG Knowledge AUSTRALASIA December 2008
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