penny

My husb and I would like to see Australia and have 2 weeks but no itinary. Starting from usa west coast. <BR><BR>Any ideas how to maximise our trip but not live in airports. Our wish list is the Great barrier reef, sydney, Alice, the top spots...<BR><BR>But would like advise on weather, fares, coverage etc. Many thanks.

Marie

My husband suprised me last January with a trip around Australia.We also only had 2 weeks(though of course we knew Sydney(though orig he is from the Bay area in San Fran.We had 4 days on club Med(lindeman Island)Great Barrier Reef but there are lots of dif islands depending on what you like.We flew to Adelaide and with a hirecar(landcruiser)we travelled up thru Adelaide,all the wineries,followed the Oonadatta track(This is very barren and very hot up to Cooper Pedy(an opal town built mainly underground because of the heat) but what an experience!then thru to Ularu and the red centre,the Olgas and Kings canyon.We then flew to Darwin(rain every day as it is the wet season)and then to Perth where we picked up another car and spent 2 days in the Magaret River Area.<BR>We loved the driving thru South Australia and Northern Territory best.I would skip Darwin only because it was so wet and most of the roads to the best parts of Kakadu and the other National parks were closed.If you drive though you must be prepared for the emptiness and the heat.Please feel free to email me if you would like to hear more.This year we will be driving thru Queensland(though you must remember that the beaches in North Qld are off limits because of the Box jellyfish this time of year(though the Reef is ok)

Alan

Hi, Penny! You certainly want to pack a lot into your two weeks! I can't really tell you what to see, but here are a few thoughts to kick around... let's see what others have to say about them.<BR><BR>1. Australia is a big place and the distances between centres of interest is often massive. This is especially true if you are planning a trip to the Centre, as the roads are not good, there is a lot of nothing to look at before you get to the Alice or Uluru, and travel by plane or train might be prohibitive in cost. Certainly, you would use up an inordinate amount of your time just travelling, and when you get there you will see all you want to see in a few hours. (Uluru is a great rock, but what can you do with a rock?) So my advice would be to stick to the coast, where there is a new centre of interest every few kilometres, especially between the major cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns.<BR><BR>2. January is school holiday time and everybody in Australia is taking a holiday at the same time you are. This means there is a great party atmosphere, but it also means bookings are heavy and there are no bargains to be had.<BR><BR>3. Australia in January is, well, HOT. When you're on the coast you won't notice this too much, as the temperatures there are kept down by the sea air; but go too far inland and it's a different story. You may find that you're spending a lot of time escaping from the heat and the summer insects (do you know about the Australian salute?) This is another reason for you to hug the coast... or maybe head for Tasmania, which is far enough south to escape the summer heat.<BR><BR>4. If you hire a car and do your own thing, you won't be at the mercy of tour operators who book you into already-overcrowded areas. There are lots of motels along the main roads, and even at this busy time of year, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding one in a quiet spot midway between centres. And if you're IN the centres, there is always the local "pub", which is usually overlooked by the tour operators because it isn't "swank" enough to measure up to their glossy brochure promises.<BR><BR>5. You might be able to save time by flying into one centre (eg Melbourne) and out of another (eg Brisbane.) In that case you could use up a fortnight rather nicely by starting in Melbourne, taking the car ferry across to Tasmania, returning the car in the Hobart office, flying to Sydney, renting a second car, and heading straight up the coast to Brisbane. You may find that by that latitude you have had enough of the heat, thank you very much, but if you are still undaunted, you could continue north to one of the lower Barrier Reef centres. But I can't see you doing that AND the centre in a fortnight, and frankly I think I would even leave out the north-of-Sydney segment of this trip, if I were you. There's a lot to see around the Sydney area, and it's such a great city that when you get here you probably won't want to leave anyway! (O.K. so I live here and I'm biassed.) School holiday time is at least good for one thing in Sydney and the other major cities... there are lots of activities all over town: open-air theatres, summer concerts, exhibitions, organised bush walks in the surrounding National Parks. <BR><BR>6. Phew! Have I said too much? Sorry!

sonia

Hi<BR><BR>I always say to Americans looking to come to Aus for a short time - imagin if an Aussie was asking about what to do in the US in 2 weeks? Australia and the US are the same size (in fact aus is slightly bigger) but here in Australia everythinhg is much more spread out as most areas of interest and population are on the coasts.<BR><BR>Saying that, I think that either you have to be prepare to shell out for domestic flights between some areas to save time or you will have to focus on a smaller area...<BR><BR>I had some friends over to visit and in one week they flew to Ayers Rock and then on to the Barrier Reef and then had a day trip to Cape Tribulation!! They came back EXHAUSTED!!!!<BR><BR>I would advise flying in to Cairns and visiting the reef and rainforests around northern queensland for maybe 4-5 days, then fly down to Sydney for 4-5 days. The remaining time could be spent hiring a car from Sydney and driving round New South Wales (hunter Valley, Central CDoast, Blue Mountains etc etc).<BR><BR>When you say Alice, I assume you mean Ayers Rock...Alice Springs is actually a couple of hundred miles form Ayers Rock and I have no idea why people go there other than it has a town..Ayers Rock has its own airport served by Qantas and you dont want to waste time driving 250 kms!!<BR><BR>BUT AYERS ROCK WILL BE STIFLINGLY HOT!!!!! It is in a desert and your enjoyment might be considerably mired by the heat and mossies!<BR><BR>Another idea would be to fly into Brisbane and drive up to the lower Reef and then fly down to Sydney

sonia

Hi<BR><BR>I always say to Americans looking to come to Aus for a short time - imagin if an Aussie was asking about what to do in the US in 2 weeks? Australia and the US are the same size (in fact aus is slightly bigger) but here in Australia everythinhg is much more spread out as most areas of interest and population are on the coasts.<BR><BR>Saying that, I think that either you have to be prepare to shell out for domestic flights between some areas to save time or you will have to focus on a smaller area...<BR><BR>I had some friends over to visit and in one week they flew to Ayers Rock and then on to the Barrier Reef and then had a day trip to Cape Tribulation!! They came back EXHAUSTED!!!!<BR><BR>I would advise flying in to Cairns and visiting the reef and rainforests around northern queensland for maybe 4-5 days, then fly down to Sydney for 4-5 days. The remaining time could be spent hiring a car from Sydney and driving round New South Wales (hunter Valley, Central CDoast, Blue Mountains etc etc).<BR><BR>When you say Alice, I assume you mean Ayers Rock...Alice Springs is actually a couple of hundred miles form Ayers Rock and I have no idea why people go there other than it has a town..Ayers Rock has its own airport served by Qantas and you dont want to waste time driving 250 kms!!<BR><BR>BUT AYERS ROCK WILL BE STIFLINGLY HOT!!!!! It is in a desert and your enjoyment might be considerably mired by the heat and mossies!<BR><BR>Another idea would be to fly into Brisbane and drive up to the lower Reef and then fly down to Sydney...<BR><BR>There are many possibilities!!!!Sydney New Years Eve will be spectacular also!<BR><BR>Sorry if this is vague!

penny

Hello Marie, Alan and Sonia,<BR><BR>Thank you very much for your help, honestly Umm you are right, I would prefer to keep our visit to the East/south east coast. That is only if we get tickets which are vitually impossible in such a short time!!<BR><BR>Thank you again and I will keep checking this site.<BR>