Antonio

Hello everybody
I will be in Australia from the middle of November for 3 weeks. I plan to arrive in Adelaide and leave from Cairns after 21 days, going along the coast through Melburne, Sidney, Brisbain and so on.
Are this 21 days enough for that long trip ? What are the "must see" and the "leave alone" things on the way ? Thanks everybody for an answer and if someone needs any kind of infos on Europe please ask.

Rita

I hope you are not driving as it is over 5000 kilometers, if you are driving I can help you with sights in Victoria, you must see the Grampian mountains which are off the main highway from Adelaide to Melbourne about 400 kms from Adelaide and 30 mins of main highway, but you would
need a full day to see the beauty of this area.
You also cannot miss the Great Ocean Road which is
a diversion from Ballarat but some of the best scenery in Victoria, from there you can drive direct
to Melbourne only about 3 hours. You would then need
around 3 days to see the main sights of Melbourne including Philip Island and other attractions. You can drive to Sydney direct on Highway 1 which will
take about 9 hours. You will need at least 4 days in
Sydney to see the Opera House, Harbour, Queen Victoria Centre and its other many attractions.It is
then another 12 hours to Brisbane if you do not stop, but there are many beautiful coastal towns on the way to Brisbane.

Antonio

Hi Rita and everyone else who's reading
thanks for the answer. i could manage with my boss to have some more days of holiday so I changed a little bit my trip. Here there is:
we will arrive in Melburne the 16th of November at 6 am., stay there until the 21st then with the car we will drive to Adelaide (I think that 2 days are enough). The 23rd we will fly to Ayers Rock, stay one night there to see sunset and dawn and then fly back to Melburne, we will arrive there the 24th late in the afternoon. From there on we can arrange our trip however we want. The important date is the 11th of Dicember when we will fly back. So let's say that we leave Melbuorne the 25th morning to arrive in Sydney the next day, stay there for 4 days until the 1st of December when we will drive to Brisbane (1 day). Spend 3-4 days there to see Fraser Island and the beaches and then leave for Cairns, we have 5 days to see the Barier Reefs.
This way we are also very flexible, so if we decide to stay one more day in Melburne or Sysdney we only have to shorten the trip in the last days. And since we do not like very much sunbathing at the beach that will be ok. If you or any other people have any suggestion I will really appreciate.

Antonio

Dotty

I would highly recommend a 3 day cruise on the Coral Princess on the Great Barrier Reef. This was the highlight of our trip to Australia. I'm not much of a water person (can't swim), but tried the "mini SCUBA" program and got to dive about 5 times (all done with the master diver). It was beautiful. It's a small ship-maybe 54 passengers-with naturalists aboard who give lectures. The cruises go back and forth between Cairns and Townsville. Also the aquarium at Townsville was really nice.

Peg

Hi Antonio, what a wonderful trip you are going on, I am sure you will enjoy it. I would like to make some suggestions that will help you make the most of some of your destinations. 1. Buy the Lonely Planet book "Australia" as your travel survival kit. 2. Check out the site www.travel.com.au it has links to every part of Oz that I am mentioning and you will be visiting and lots of other tips. You will find hours of information there. 3. If going by car from Melbourne to Adelaide go to an RACV office and ask for the maps for the coastal route taking in the World Heritage Great Ocean Road, the Shipwreck coast to Warnambool and then the Heritage Drive through Portland on to Victor Harbour and then to Adelaide, it will take a couple of days, but worth every moment.4. When in Sydney, buy a three or 4 day travel pass that will take you on all transport, incl. ferries, buses and trains this will get you to most tourist sites without huge costs. Go to the Rocks, Manly, PowerHouse museum at Darling Harbour, and Blue Mountains. 5. The Gold Coast or Surfers paradise is much more fun than Brisbane. 6. There are heaps of cheap packages incl accommodation to Queensland, check out some of them on the travel.com.au site. 7. Don't stay in Cairns go a little further north and stay at Port Douglas a delightful place that still retains it's charm "where the rainforest meets the reef". I hope this helps, feel free to ask for more detailed info. Peg.

Jo-Ann Palmer

Greetings and Gidday Antonio!

Sounds like a great trip, mak sure you have your accommodation covered. You are travelling during our main school holiday season, so prebooking maybe wise, unless you're camping with your own gear.

Although you *could* drive from Sydney to the Gold Coast in one day, I don't advise it. Stop overnight in Bellingen on the mid north coast instead before you continue north.

You say you're not interested in beaches, yet you're heading for Fraser Island (the biggest sand island in the world!). You may find that 3-4 days is a bit much, so I'd suggest you consider stopping in the Wollumbin World Heritage Region just south of there.

Covering from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast, it has FIVE world heritage listed national parks, great rainforests full of unique flora and fauna and traditional aussie farming communities just a short drive from the glitz and glamour of the Gold Coast, where you could fly out to Cairns and the GBR.

For more info on the region check out www.bigvolcano.com.au.

Cheers and Hooroo for now

Rufus

Hi Antonio, You're seeing a lot of Australia, which is great. One thing the others haven't mentioned is visiting Canberra on the way from melb to Sydney - afew good buildings to see, the Parliament House, the War memorial - and if you're into art, the national gallery is very good. And as for brisbane, its boring as anything. AVOID! The Gold Coast is OK if you like themeparks, some of them are quite good. The Sunshine Coast (Noosa - 100kms north of brisbane) is well worth it.

Harry

My friend three weeks is no were near enough time to do this long trip if you realy wan't to see anything more like three month would be more like it how are you traveling by car or bus coach, <BR>there is so mutch to see along the east coast I have drove by car the same trip my self some years ago and I misssed so mutch my self if you only have 3 weeks to do this trip my advice is to do it by bus with stop overs along the way try grayhound pioneer bus line check for a guided toure with campe out on the way good luck take the time and injoy our lovely country email me if you need more addvice yours Harry <BR>

Grace

Ciao Antonio, <BR> <BR>I would have to agree with some of the other replies and say that 3 weeks is not very long to do everthing you want to. What if you cut out some of the places you plan to visit. I think Sydney is worth 3 days, Melbourne 2 days and north Queensland about 4 days. Port Douglas is a nicer place to stay than Cairns, quieter and more attractive. Brisbane is not very exciting. Go to Noosa which is about 1.5 hours drive north of Brisbane which is a lovely town with a great beach, national park, excellent restaurants. You can go on a tour of Fraser Island from Noosa. Make sure you stay close to Hastings Street. As you drive north from Sydney Byron Bay is a fun place to go to. There are great youth hostels there to stay at. Why don't you look up these places on the net. In that 3 weeks I would stay on the east coast and forget Adelaide and only go the Ayres Rock is you really are keen. The Great Ocean Road as mentioned by a previous reply is a very scenic drive from Melbourne. Do go to a RACV office when you get here and pick up some maps. There will be one in every city. <BR>Good Luck and enjoy your trip. <BR> <BR>

Linda Silver

I concur with other people that 3 weeks is not enough to "see" Australia. Also, don't stay in Cairns. The beaches just north of Cairns are much nicer, and all the day trips to the Reef or Rainforest will pick you up right from your hotel. The Amaroo in Trinity Beach is nice and not too pricey. ANything is Port Douglas is good too. Try to schedule 3 days to visist the Daintree rainforest and Cape Tribulation. Many of the resorts up there do a 3-day package which include a night trip on the river to see crocs, and 4-wheel drive up to Cape Trib. I recommend the Daintree Ecolodge, www.internetnorth.com.au/ecolodge. The rainforest is a truly unique and diminishing ecosystem. P.S the Box Jellyfish (very poisonous) will be near shore in November which limits the beach swimming activiities. Have a great trip. <BR> <BR>