You might want to think twice before crossing the street on a red light in Australia. TravelPoster jeffcoe got busted for doing just that in Melbourne. You can read about his adventure in the blog post Caught by the Fuzz.

This shot of pied currawong birds taking flight from tree limbs caught my eye when I saw TravelPoster SHowemBOU’s blog post Misty Blue Mountains about his trip through Katoomba, Australia in 1988. Incidentally, SHowemBOU is very likely the most well-traveler TravelPoster. Or at least the most avid travel blogger. He’s posted over 2,200 blog entries to date. Many of his pictures are from years ago, like the one above.

American Airlines wants its AAdvantage members to head west (or east, depending on how you look at it) this spring. Travelers to Osaka, Shanghai and Australia can earn big bonuses for flying American. For example, fly on the airline’s new Chicago-Shanghai route and earn 7,500 bonus miles (that’s in addition to regular miles accrued) for economy class and 15,000 for business and first class seats. For flights to Australia via Qantas, travelers receive a minimum of 20,000 miles - that’s bonus miles and regular miles grouped together. According to published award travel info on the airline’s web site, most domestic U.S. and Canadian flights can be booked with approximately 25,000 miles.

American Airlines AAdvantage Program offers

If you’ve got South African Airways frequent flyer miles, the last day you can use them for travel on Qantas is May 8, 2006. The two companies have had a joint frequent flyer program agreement that allows members to swap miles for flights on either airline, but South African Air is ending the agreement on April 9, 2006. So redeem your miles now or lose them forever….

South African Airways Ends Qantas Frequent Flyer Program Partnership

Got the land down under on your mind? The Quantas Air Pass includes roundtrip transportation from a U.S. city and three flights within Australia once you’re there. The passes are only good for up to 21 day stretches, so this is an ideal option for travelers who want to get the most out of the country in a relatively short amount of time. Between now and the end of June, passes start at $999 for travel originating in San Francisco and stopping in Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne first.

Quantas Air Pass

I’m putting out my feelers today, seeing what everyone else is talking about. From the lovelies at Gadling, I found The Guardian (UK) travel round-up of 20 Urban Adventures - you know, wacky fun and semi-daring stuff you can do in big cities around the world. Like ice climbing in London (who knew?), hand-gliding in Rio De Janeiro or braving the Skywalk in Sydney. Check out the links below.

Gadling Urban Adventures
The Guardian 20 Urban Adventures

Where does Pam Anderson stay when she visits Sydney? LoveTripper reports that Pam recently rested her head at the 5-star Shangri-La Hotel, an upscale property offering views of the Sydney Harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opra House and easy access to lots of restaurants, shops and bars. The 563-room hotel recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation project.

Shangri-La Hotel Sydney official site

TravelPoster denzer04 tries to prove his strength during a vist to the Devil’s Marbles landmark in Australia’s Northern Territory. The giant boulders look like they were placed on the ground in highly unstable positions, but are actually rock formations that remain after thousands of years of erosion from wind and water. You can view more photos of this area and read about denzer04’s adventures in his blog post Friends, Rocks and Travel.

Earlier this week, Luxury Link announced its World’s Best 2006 round-up of high-end hotels. The 50 winners were determined by Luxury Link’s editors. Pretty interesting selection. Check it out below.

The award winners are:

1. Amandari; Bali, Indonesia

2. Amankila; Bali, Indonesia

3. Ana Mandara Resort; Nha Trang, Vietnam

4. Arizona Inn; Tuscon, Arizona

5. Bellagio; Las Vegas, Nevada

6. Biras Creek; Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

7. Blackberry Farm; Walland Tennessee

8. Bora Bora Lagoon Resort; Bora Bora, French Polynesia

9. Burj Al Arab; Dubai, United Arab Emirates

10. Charleston Place; Charleston, South Carolina

11. Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul; Besiktas; Turkey

12. Cliveden, Berkshire; England

13. Fairmont Kea Lani; Maui, Hawaii

14. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai;, Kona, Hawaii

15. Four Seasons Resort Nevis; Nevis; West Indies

16. Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris; Paris, France

17. Grace Bay Club; Turks & Caicos, British West Indies

18. Grand Hotel du Cap-Ferrat; Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, France

19. Halekulani; Honolulu, Hawaii

20. Hayman Island; Queensland, Australia

21. Hostellerie de Crillon le Brave; Crillon le Brave, France

22. Hotel Bel-Air; Los Angeles, California

23. Hotel Danieli; Venice, Italy

24. Hotel Gritti Palace; Venice, Italy

25. Hotel Monasterio; Cusco, Peru

26. Huka Lodge; Taupo, New Zealand

27. InterContinental Le Moana Resort Bora Bora; Bora Bora, French Polynesia

28. Keswick Hall; Keswick, Virginia

29. La Samanna; St. Martin, French West Indies

30. Las Mananitas; Cuernavaca, Mexico

31. Las Ventanas al Paraiso; San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico

32. The Little Nell; Aspen, Colorado

33. Lizard Island; Queensland, Australia

34. The Lodge at Pebble Beach; Pebble Beach, California

35. Mala Mala Main Camp; South Africa

36. Mandarin Oriental, Miami; Miami, Florida

37. The Mansion on Turtle Creek; Dallas, Texas

38. Mount Nelson; Cape Town, South Africa

39. Oberoi Rajvilas; Jaipur, India

40. Peter Island; Peter Island, British Virgin Islands

41. Sabi Sabi; Saxonwold; South Africa

42. The Peninsula New York; New York, New York

43. The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco; San Francisco, California

44. The Ritz London; London, England

45. The Dorchester; London, England

46. The Observatory; Sydney, Australia

47. The Oriental, Bangkok; Thailand, Bangkok

48. The Peninsula Hong Kong; Kowloon, Hong Kong

49. The Point; Saranac Lake; New York

50. Villa d’Este; Cernobbio, Italy

Luxury Link World’s Best 2006

Many beaches along Australia’s Gold Coast have been closed this weekend due to hundreds of sharks feeding in the waters close to shore. Read details in Shark Frenzy Closes Australian Beaches.