March 2018

Australia’s Waltzing Matilda Centre (50 Elderslie St., Winton, QLD, Australia; phone +61 07 4657 1466, www.matildacentre.com.au) is scheduled to reopen in April 2018, almost three years after being completely destroyed by a fire. 

The museum is dedicated to the song “Waltzing Matilda,” written by Banjo Paterson in 1895 and considered Australia’s unofficial national anthem. Also housed at the center will be the Qantilda Pioneer Place Museum, which displays artifacts pertaining to the area’s pioneer history.

Before visiting Barcelona, Spain, you can purchase a Gaudí Pass that provides entry to, and allows you to skip lines at, La Sagrada Família church and La Pedrera building. The pass also includes an audio guide at La Pedrera; a one-day ticket on Barcelona Bus Turístic with city guide, and free access to the top of the Columbus Monument, near the port of Barcelona, with wine tasting.

ITN subscriber Carol Greene asked readers for their suggestions for lengthy foreign tours, writing, “When taking a tour to another country, one thing I don’t like is going through airports and spending a whole night or more on a plane and then being in the new country for just one or two weeks.

After the article “Building Your Travel Bucket List” appeared in Contributing Editor Randy Keck’s column (Jan. ’17, pg. 56), ITN asked subscribers to each send in two lists of international destinations, excluding locations in Europe (which is so popular among travelers) and in the United States (which ITN does not cover).

In our essay contest on the topic “I’m Sweet on Sweden,” our winner — with an unconventional submission — is Rosemary McDaniel of Trenton, Florida. She wins a 3-year extension to her subscription to ITN, and her essay is short and, well, you’ll see. 

In Oamaru, New Zealand, an underpass was built under a busy road in November 2016 to allow penguins to return to their nests from the ocean without the risk of being hit by cars. 

A 30- to 40-minute day tour run by Blue Penguin Colony (2 Waterfront Rd., Oamaru, New Zealand; phone +64 03 433 1195, www.penguins.co.nz), offered once an hour between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., takes visitors to the penguins’ nesting site in a converted rock quarry while most of the penguins are away in the ocean. NZD15 (near $11) adult and NZD8 child.