Explore Australia, November 2016

explore

OLENA LEVKIVSKA

AUSTRALIA

November, 2016

In this issue:

WHAT’S SPECIAL? Australia from the space

Melbourne Cup 2016 Canterbury horse racing experience

explore:

PALM BEACH

Sydney’s purple streets

Northern Sydney

SCENIC VIEWS FROM THE PLANE

CONTENTS November 2016 Explore: 8

Northern Sydney

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Palm Beach

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Sydney’s purple streets

Festivals: 4

Melbourne Cup 2016

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Canterbury horse racing experience

What’s special?

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Australia: a view from the space

Cover - Sydney CBD and Rushcutters Bay A view from helicopter p.2-3 - The Sydney Heads, a view from helicopter Photo Credit: Olena Levkivska http://levkovskaya.com

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LETTER from the EDITOR

First of all, I would like to thank you for the support and nice words since October 2016 issue of ‘Explore Australia’ has been published. It means a lot for me, for us!

Our November was full of flights and scenic views so we decided to move further and to include not just our photos, but some great pictures from the space to show you the whole picture of Australia’s beauty which we so adore.

Hope you enjoy, Olena

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Melbourne Cup Day is one of Australia’s most popular social and racing events. The main racing event takes place at the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria. More than 100,000 people usually attend Flemington Racecourse. Local races are held throughout the country on this day and when the main race of the day occurs at the Flemington Racecourse it is televised on screens at race tracks across Australia.

Celebrate

Melbourne

Cup Day

2016

At the races, people dress up – many women wear their best or most colorful hats and dresses, with some participating in fashion parades on the field. Marquees are set up for VIP guests, including local, national and international celebrities who attend this festive event.

Champagne, wine and gourmet finger foods are usually served on this day.

Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday in Melbourne so many people have the day off work.

Other towns and cities in Victoria can have a public holiday or 2 halfday public holidays in lieu of Melbourne Cup Day. 4

Melbourne Cup Day has been observed in Australia since the first race was held at the Flemington Racecourse in Victoria in 1861.

The race was won by Archer, who won it again the following year. The event features races, including the handicap race which is run by about 20 thoroughbreds for a couple million Australian dollars.

The story of Phar Lap, a legendary New Zealand thoroughbred who won the Melbourne Cup in 1930 and was nicknamed “Australia's wonder horse�, was made into a movie. Some people believe he was poisoned when he died.

The first Tuesday in November, Melbourne Cup Day, was officially gazetted a full public holiday in 1877 in Melbourne. This means that Melbourne Cup Day is now o f fi c i a l l y a p u b l i c h o l i d a y throughout the state. There are similar races throughout Australia, as horse racing is popular, but Melbourne Cup Day is still the number one horse racing event in the country.

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Canterbur

horse racin

experienc

Photo: Olena Levkivska

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ry

ng

ce

Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Northern Sydney

SCENIC VIEWS FROM THE PLANE

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Photo: Vasyl Zubach

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Hawkesbury River, Sydney, NSW Photo: Vasyl Zubach

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Mona Vale Beach, Sydney, NSW Photo: Vasyl Zubach

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Des Creagh Reserve, Sydney, NSW Photo: Vasyl Zubach

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Bridge through Hawkesbury River, Sydney, NSW Photo: Vasyl Zubach

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Ku-ring-gai & Brisbane Water National Parks Hawkesbury River, Sydney, NSW Photo: Vasyl Zubach

EXPLORE

PALM BEACH

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Palm Beach Beach, Sydney, NSW Photo: Vasyl Zubach

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Palm Beach, the jewel of the Northern Beaches, is the northernmost suburb of Sydney, less than an h o u r d r i v e f ro m t h e Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the CBD. Nestled on a landmark peninsula, it is blessed with a unique contrast of lush evergreen bushland and beaches of golden sand, enveloped by the pristine blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and the calm sailing paradise of P i t t w a t e r. A u n i q u e environmental awareness blending breathtaking views with quaint cottages and palatial homes, ensures that Palm Beach will forever enjoy a lifestyle of relaxed and casual affluence.

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Landmarks Barrenjoey Headland and Station Beach viewed from West Head Barrenjoey Lighthouse Palm Beach-Boanbong Water Reservoir Palm Beach-McKay Water Reservoir Palm Beach-Squaters Lodge Blueberry Ash

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Sydney’s purple streets

The dream tree Jacaranda, Sydney icon The peak season of November is one of the most beautiful times of the year in the state with Sydney and NSW awash with jacaranda blooms.

Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Photo: Olena Levkivska

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Where to find the best jacarandas in Sydney?

North Shore: The North Shore suburbs of Lavender Bay, Greenwich, Waverton, Hunters Hill, Woolwich, Longueville, Mosman and Wollstonecraft Eastern Suburbs: Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs including Paddington, Woollahra and Double Bay all sport stunning lilac hues during October and November. Oxford Street and Five Ways in Paddington always have a great selection to view.

CBD: Starting at the Royal Botanic Gardens, a jacaranda walking tour through Circular Quay and The Rocks is a great way to see the trees, while taking in the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, harbour views and historic cobblestone streets of The Rocks.

Inner Sydney: Neighbouring suburbs of Glebe and Erskineville are worth exploring for blue hue.

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Photo: Vasyl Zubach

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AUSTRALIA a view from the space

The Great Barrier Reef. Credit: ESA This satellite image, acquired by the Landsat-8 satellite on 23 August 2013, takes us off the east coast of Australia where currents swirl in the water around corals.The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, covering more than 344 000 sq km. The reef’s diversity of life faces numerous threats such as climate change, pollution, fishing and outbreaks of the coral-preying crown-of-thorns starfish.

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The Great Barrier Reef. Credit: ESA This Envisat image features the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia’s Queensland coast. It is the world’s most protected marine area, one of its natural wonders and a World Heritage site. Spanning more than 2000 km and covering an area of some 350 000 sq km, it is the largest living structure on Earth and the only one visible from space. This image was acquired by Envisat’s Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on 8 November 2010 at a resolution of 300 m.

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Saint George Basin, Australia. Credit: ESA This satellite image over the Kimberley region of Australia captures the Saint George Basin along the country’s northwestern coast. The Prince Regent River flows into the basin from the lower-right corner, and the land north of this river is part of the Prince Regent National Park – a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Aboriginal Worora people are the traditional owners of this area, which is one of Australia’s most remote. It is mainly accessed by air or boat, since there are no roads. The Japanese Advanced Land Observation Satellite captured this image on 16 June 2009. In April 2011 the satellite abruptly lost power while mapping Japan’s tsunamihit coastline.

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New Caledonia. Credit: ESA The New Caledonia archipelago, 1210 km east of Australia, is captured in this Envisat image, acquired on 5 July 2011. The main island, Grande Terre, dominates the image, stretching 350 km long from northwest to southeast. A mountain range runs the length of the island – its highest point reaching over 1620 m – and divides the land’s lush east from the savannahs in the west. A coral reef surrounds the main island and stretches into the Coral Sea to the northwest. The reef provides an important nesting site for green sea turtles and is home to endangered dugongs.

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Kimberley Region, Australia. Credit: ESA Western Australia’s Kimberley region, with a coastline along the Timor Sea, is pictured in this Envisat image. Off the coast in the lower left we can see a group of three coral reefs, known as the Rowley Shoals. Near the centre of the image is King Sound – a large gulf measuring about 120 km long and 50 km wide. On the upperright side is Australia’s largest artificial lake by volume, Lake Argyle, on the Ord River.

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Lake Amadeus. Credit: ESA Sentinel-2A captured Lake Amadeus in Australia’s Northern Territory on 19 December 2015.

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Australia’s Red Center. Credit: ESA

This Envisat image highlights the Lake Eyre Basin, one of the world’s largest internally draining systems, in the heart of Australia. White cloud streaks stand in contrast to the Red Centre’s vast amounts of crimson soil and sparse greenery.

The basin covers about 1.2 million sq km (about the size of France, Germany and Italy combined), including large portions of South Australia (bottom), the Northern Territory (upper left) and Queensland (upper right) and a part of western New South Wales (bottom right). This image was acquired by Envisat’s Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer on 3 July 2010 at a resolution of 300 m.

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Uluru Ayers Rock. Credit: ESA Uluru/Ayers Rock in the Australian outback stands over 340 m above the surrounding desert and measures about 9 km around. The rock formation is an Inselberg– German for ‘island mountain’ – a prominent geological structure that rises from the surrounding plain.

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Northwestern Australia. Credit: NASA During an International Space Station flyover of Australia, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams captured a colorful image of the coast and shared it with his social media followers on March 29, 2016, writing, “The unique terrain of the northwestern Australian coast.�

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LET’S BE FRIENDS! http://xploreaustralia.tumblr.com/ https://www.facebook.com/xploreaustralia/ https://www.instagram.com/c.the.beauty/ #cthebeauty (c) Explore Australia, November 2016

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