Americans backpacking in Australia can now earn enough there to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Photo: Courtesy of the BridgeClimb Sydney

by Brook Wilkinson

If you or someone you know is hoping to pick up some casual work while backpacking around Australia, there's good news: A new agreement between Australia and the U.S. will let Americans do just that. When I backpacked around Oz back in 2001, I ran into hundreds of Brits, Canadians, and Kiwis who were working their way around the continent. Americans who wanted to do the same had to pay more and work less. Now, the same rights that have been granted to British Commonwealth citizens are being extended to us Americans. Fair dinkum!

The visa will be available, starting October 31, to Americans between the ages of 18 and 30. It will allow holders to travel in Australia for up to a year and work for one employer for up to six months. If you're thinking of taking advantage of this new option, here's some advice from a "Sheila" who backpacked around Australia for three months:

Naomi Watts, in a death-defying stance atop a gargoyle on the 61st floor of the Chrysler Building. Check out the slide show of our cover shoot with Naomi.

by Beata Loyfman

A little birdie told us (okay, it was The Superficial) that our September 2006 cover girl and actor Liev Schreiber are hastening their upcoming nuptials. It seems they want the baby to have an official family unit at birth. Despite the fact that children with unmarried parents are more common in Hollywood than nose jobs, the expectant couple will legalize their union with a small ceremony in Sydney, Australia, this summer.

Thumbs up on the wedding locale, Naomi. We could hardly dream up a better spot: Our readers have voted your hometown of Sydney their favorite city in the world for 8 of the last 12 years.

Now, Naomi, I realize you've probably already nailed down the particulars for the ceremony (or you have a kick-ass wedding planner who would put Super Bowl Halftime organizers to shame), so I won't step on any toes, but I do have a few suggestions for how to entertain your out-of-town guests who fly in before the Big Day:

He's less cuddly than a bunny, but the Aussies love their "Easter Bilby."
Photo: Queensland gov. EPA

By Tara Kyle

In the spirit of Easter, I thought I'd highlight a few of the stranger ways the holiday is being acknowledged around the world.

Mexico City: The middle and upper classes in landlocked Mexico City typically spend Easter fleeing for the coasts,  but this year the city hosted the grand opening of a fake beach, according to Worldhum.  The idea of a spit of sand alongside a noisy road junction sounds pretty bizarre, not to mention that Reuters reports the government spent $200k on it. But I felt more sympathetic when I read Mayor Marcelo Ebrard's justification: "There are those upset by the artificial beaches. Perhaps they can get to other beaches, but this was built for the majority, and it's free."

Australia: TreeHugger reminds us that in Australia it's time to "get hopping" for the "Easter Bilby." This little furball is sadly endangered, and since 1999 has been the subject of a passionate "Save the Bilby" campaign.

London:  Chocolatier Thornton's built an 860-pound chocolate billboard for Easter week, Jaunted reports, only to watch passersby devour it within three hours of its Tuesday opening.

What are some other Easter traditions you've encountered?

By Wendy Perrin

Now I get it.  The reason Mr. Lifeasdaddy (see my last post) was drawn to Brook Wilkinson's patrolling-Sydney-Harbor experience and not my finding-a-lost-civilization-in-Mesopotamia experience: He lives in Sydney! He wrote in to explain:

"I was excited to see the spectacular photo of the Surfwatch helicopter above Sydney Harbor on page 175 when I cracked open my latest copy of Conde Nast Traveler. I knew many of the buildings in the immediate background and worked in a hotel for five years on that Manly beachfront.  Many of the locations Brook mentioned are quite close to my home in Killarney Heights, Australia.  Some of my readers are also volunteer Surf Life Savers, and I wanted to make the point that we live a life here in Sydney which can be the envy of many.  I had not yet read your write-up about Rumkale and the modern-day Mesopotamia, but you are right to mention that ancient wonders can be revered just as much as our everyday wonders here in Sydney."

By Wendy Perrin

Each year for the December issue of Conde Nast Traveler I and my team, fellow staffers Brook Wilkinson and Kathryn Maier, compile "The Fabulous 50" -- a list of 50 of the best insider-access travel experiences worldwide.  "Insider access" means access to places, people, and events that are off-limits to the general public -- from museums and monuments to archaeological digs, royal families, indigenous peoples, and traditional festivals, all of which give you special insights into a foreign culture.  You too can have these experiences . . . IF you know the right sources to contact (which, of course, we provide).

I'm amused to see that the blogger behind lifeasdaddy seems ready to book himself on the experience Brook tested for this year's feature article accompanying the list. She patrolled Sydney Harbor by Jet Ski, helicopter, etc., tracking down sharks with Australia's ace Surf Life Savers.  Mr. LifeAsDaddy expressed zero interest whatsoever in replicating MY experience.  Then again, all I did was discover a lost civilization in ancient Mesopotamia.