Camel Cup, Alice Springs
Every July, Alice Springs holds the Camel Cup- a race that’s about as surreal they come! It’s as confusing as it is wacky, with up to 15 camels and riders in one race, all competing for the prestige of lifting the coveted trophy! The camels are temperamental, the crowd vocal and the riders presumably slightly bonkers. Additional camel races include the 'Imparja Television Honeymoon Handicap', in which riders dressed as 'grooms' race camels half way round the arena to pick up their 'brides' before racing to the finish line.

Aside from the camel races (as if that isn’t enough!) there are stalls, rides, belly dancers and rickshaw races that anyone can take part in. For the fashion-minded, you can also compete to be the ‘Mr. and Miss Camel Cup’. What an accolade!

All proceeds from the day are distributed by the Lions Club to local charities

Garma Festival, Arnhem Land
The Garma Festival takes place in August and is often considered Australia’s major indigenous cultural exchange event. It’s a five-day celebration of one of the oldest living cultures on earth, the Yolngu. Around 2,000 visitors, including neighbouring Aboriginal groups, gather to see traditional Yolngu song, ceremonial dance and hunting. ‘Garma’ is a Yolngu word describing a ‘two-way learning process’, and bush medicines or spear-making are just two of the skills visitors can learn in this fascinating event.

Henley-on-Todd, Alice Springs
The Henley-on-Todd is an annual sailing and rowing regatta held in Alice Springs. Nothing strange there, you may think. Except it’s held in a dry river bed. On the last Sunday in August, the town holds a mock regatta with teams of ‘rowers’ building boats and running them down the sandy river bed in a series of races. Participants race in bathtubs, bottomless yachts, sand skis, human-sized mouse wheels and just about anything else you can imagine. The day sees Vikings, pirates and water cannons being fired from trucks converted into battleships - so you’d better have your wits about you! Anybody is welcome attend as a spectator or competitor.

Surprisingly enough, it's the only dry river regatta in the world. It’s probably also the only one ever cancelled due to wet weather, as it was in 1993 when there was water in the river after floods.

Ord Valley Muster, Kimberley
The annual Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster is a two-week celebration of East Kimberley life, which sees a whopping 50 events taking place in the spectacular landscape over two weeks. Events include mountain biking along the Gibb River Road, a Rodeo, 4 Wheel Drive Rally and swim across Lake Argyle. There are also opportunities to taste the regions’ finest produce, see aboriginal dancing and get involved in the annual street party. One of the highlights is an outdoor live music concert at Kununurra's Community Amphitheatre on the River Ord's banks. And if you like a bit of bling, you could even try your luck with digging for diamonds!

New Year’s Eve celebration, Sydney
While getting ready for our own New Years Eve celebrations, we’ve all seen the pictures on TV of fireworks illuminating Sydney Harbour. And it’s difficult not to be impressed. Sydney is world-famous for its New Years Eve extravaganza, where fireworks explode from the iconic Harbour Bridge and six barges around the harbour. There will be all kinds of ticketed events taking place on harbour islands, harbour cruises and waterside restaurants, and there’s a smaller firework display on Bondi beach- but wherever you are the atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric. So why not be among the first to see in 2011?