Eyeflare - Travel Articles and Tips

Posted: 12 Dec 2011 01:00 AM PST

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival began in Melbourne in 2004. It was the brainchild of Jerome Borazio and Danny Rogers to create a music festival that would find what was new and great in music and bring it to unique settings. The lineup is mostly indie rock and combines Australian bands with international acts. The unique atmosphere and sound environment was designed for small crowds with the first one only getting 1400 attendees.

It originally started at St. Jerome’s, which was shut down in 2009. Melbourne was the birthplace but the show soon began to grow. Sydney was added to the bill in 2006, followed by Brisbane in 2007, Adelaide in 2008, and Perth in 2009. The show was then became international with the announcement of an added stop in Singapore in 2011. Today, the St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival is considered Australia’s most insurgent and unique pop music event.

The 2012 festival is scheduled to begin in Brisbane on January 28th. It is scheduled for Auckland on January 30th, Melbourne on February 4th, Sydney on February 5th, Adelaide on February 10th, Perth on February 11th and will hit Singapore on February 12th. Just a few of the acts include Active Child, Chairlift, Austra, DZ Deathrays and Girls, just to name a few. If you’re in Australia, it’s definitely worth it to take a peek at these incredible acts.

Photo by Michael_Spencer on flickr

This is originally posted at http://www.eyeflare.com/article/st-jeromes-laneway-festival-australia/

Big Day Out festival, Australia

The Nazca Lines, Peru

Posted: 12 Dec 2011 01:00 AM PST

The Nazca Desert in southern Peru is home to some of the most interesting discoveries of Ancient Central American cultures, the Nazca Lines. These “lines” are actually large areas of desert that have been dug out to carve giant artistic structures into the desert landscape, which cannot be seen from ground level. When flying over the Nazca Desert however, it becomes apparent what these lines are made to create; stunning carvings of monkeys, spiders, birds and other interesting animals.

These were created by the Nazca civilization around four hundred AD, and were thought to please the gods, who would look down and care for their civilization from the heavens. There is also speculation to the religious sacrifices that may have taken place around these carvings. Even so it is apparent that these areas were really special to the ancients, and were designed to please the gods.

There are now tours that will fly planes over these carving so that one can view them as the gods might have. These are a must see for a trip to Peru. Plane tours can be found in the town of Lima, which is about 200 miles north of the carvings. The best time to see these carvings is during the summer, when the land is at its driest.