SYDNEY: Australia’s tourism minister made a shameless pitch to entice Prince Harry to celebrate either his stag night or honeymoon in Australia, offering a James Bond-style “helicopter crawl” or seclusion in the Outback.
The prince is all set to marry American actress Meghan Markle next May, and Steve Ciobo said on Thursday that he had written to Clarence House with a list of adrenaline-packed suggestions for a buck’s party, as well as “slower, contemplative” honeymoon options.
“Australia can provide the perfect pre-wedding party and an amazing romantic honeymoon after the wedding,” he said in a statement.
The minister said the prince and his friends could replace the traditional Aussie pub crawl with a helicopter crawl of Outback drinking venues, or go fishing for barramundi in the Northern Territory.
“We also have suggested they could come to the Gold Coast and go dune buggying,” he told Channel Nine television.
“Then for the honeymoon something a little slower and contemplative. They could visit some of the magnificent parts of Australia.”
He suggested the Longitude 131 Lodge near giant red monolith Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, where his brother Prince William and wife Kate previously stayed, or the Great Barrier Reef.
“I told Prince Harry Tourism Australia stands ready to work with him and Ms Markle to design an itinerary to their tastes,” Ciobo said in the statement.
It is not known whether Markle has visited Australia, but Harry was in the country in June this year to promote the Invictus Games.
The next version of the event for injured and sick service personnel is in Sydney in 2018, with local reports saying it could be the newly married couple’s first official overseas engagement.
