Melissa5

Ok we aren't really winos...I just love trying good local wines, and I'm hungry for the best fresh local food when I travel. (-; Hubs likes red wine or beer but I mainly drink white wine because it doesn't cause me heartburn. WHERE to go in Australia for a gorgeous spring for a biologist and a dreamy poetic soul? (September/October trip for up to 17 nights.) Visiting wineries is NOT essential if we can just taste good wine at dinner.

Hoping <b>Melnq8</b> and other Australia or Cook Island experts will see this question! My hubs and I want to experience a gorgeous SPRING in Australia (or Cook Islands) in September or October. I'm stuck! Have planned nothing yet! Our preferred travel style is to minimize the number of flights (I HATE FLYING), and to stay in each accommodation for a minimum of 4 nights, and do day-trips using each accommodation as a base. We usually rent a car, and I don't like to drive further than 6 hours in 1 day. TASTY FOOD & WINE and inspiring scenery is a huge priority for me! (-;

We are adventurous diners and enjoy spicy foods and all types of creative cookery. Veggies? Sefood? Salads? Meats? Sweets? Yep yep yep!

Last year in September/October 2013 we enjoyed an amazing incredible spring in South Africa. Yep I'm still writing the trip report by hand so I can post it online. So behind... (I did post a hotel review of Oulap in de Rust, South Africa on fodors though!)

September/October is the fall in Southern California where we live, and it becomes dry at that time of year and brown. So we LOVE to escape our "fall" and journey to someplace where it's spring in September/October. My husband loves spring because it means new life to a biologist.

Have never been to Australia or Cook Islands! Have been to New Zealand 3 times, love it, adore it. (New Zealand was a January/February trip.)

Australia is so huge and varied that it baffles my brains. Have looked at the fodors guidebook but it seems to baffle me and doesn't help narrowing things down.

So...Perth and the south of Western Australia for a beautiful spring trip in September/October? Or the Great Barrier Reef in September/October? Cook Islands? I'm open to suggestions, please. Hoping for nice warm sunny weather, but not too hot for nature walks. A little rain is ok.

Yes I mean September/October 2014, and yes I'm way behind on planning this trip! I would really appreciate some advise, thoughts, help and inspiration.

The hubs is a biologist who enjoys exploring different areas of the world in the spring. I'm a dreamy writer/poet who loves to eat fresh foods made from local ingredients, drink good white wine, and be inspired by beautiful scenery. We both enjoy meeting the locals and cultural experiences, music, history, etc. We take nature walks, snorkel when possible although that's not at all essential...

We will have about 2 weeks, or up to 17 nights for this trip. Thanks in advance for your help!

Melnq8

Hi Melissa -

September/Oct is the perfect time to visit Western Australia - it's wildflower season!

http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/T...ldflowers.aspx

The nearest wine regions to Perth are the Swan Valley (I can recommend some good wine and food there) and the Perth Hills. There are a few other small regions nearby, but opening hours are quite limited and some don't have cellar doors.

Three hours south of Perth is the renowned Margaret River region, and there are loads of wineries there, as well as breweries, distilleries, caves, beaches, forests, cheese producers, berry farms, lovely fresh produce and fabulous food.

Even further south are the wineries of the Great Southern - Pemberton-Denmark-Mt Barker-Albany - this is my favorite region for wine, towering forests and coastal scenery - the gem of WA.

The drawback of WA is its isolation - we're not close to anywhere (except Bali). This means a very long flight to get here or more accurately, two to four flights, depending on routing. The best for you coming from CA might be Air NZ from LAX to Auckland, where you can get a direct flight from AKL to Perth. Two flights, 13 hours and 7 hours.

You'll have an 8-9 hour layover in AKL, but there's a Novotel right at the airport, which is quite convenient for day rooms.

The water will be quite cold in Sept/Oct, but OZ water is pretty cold here year round, like CA. You might want a wetsuit.

Distances in WA are vast, so you'll really need to narrow your options. If it were me and I had 17 nights to work with, I'd spend a night in Perth to recover from the trip and then head south. You absolutely cannot go wrong with WA's southwest.

eliztravels2

As usual I second Melnq8's recommendation for WA. but I wouldn't stick to the southwest, although it probably is best to spend most of your time there. With that amount of time you could fly north to Exmouth for the fabulous Ningaloo reef, or take the train east to Kalgoorlie for the gold rush history and a taste of the outback.

The Bibbulmun track website offers some great short getaways with bed and breakfast accommodation, maps and a guide to help you choose a route and get you to the trailhead. It will be the perfect hiking season when you are there.

dreamon

Glad you're not a wino - a 'wino' in Australia is generally thought to be someone who sleeps under a bridge and sips on turps. Not someone who considers themselves a wine connoisseur. No doubt you'll find lots of terms like that - same word - different meaning. Our wine is amongst the world's best so hope you enjoy it (as much as I do!).

WA would be great at that time of year. So would places like the Clare Valley and Flinders Ranges in SA and the northern NSW coast. In fact, it's a great time to visit Australia. The only thing to consider is that stinger season in far north Queensland starts in October. This isn't a problem out on the reef but can be along the mainland coast. It shouldn't be enough to put you off but just be aware.

Have a wonderful visit.

Melissa5

I'm excited! Thanks for the info and I'll happily pester you all with more questions very soon!

Melissa5

Melnq8: Oh my gosh, I didn't realize Western Australia is such a long flight from California! I'm actually in San Diego, and can fly out of San Diego, or fly out of LAX. Hadn't looked at actual flight times yet. We've flown to New Zealand 3 times, and we've flown once to South Africa. But wildflower season in Western Australia sounds very enticing!

dreamon: LOL we're definitely NOT planning on sleeping under a bridge nor sipping on turps. Not sure what turps are...

eliztravels2: Thanks for all the ideas.

I guess we'd better look at the flight times first. And I'll ask the hubs if we can have longer than 17 nights...

sartoric

Hi Melissa

Turps is the abbreviation for turpentine spirit, usually used for removing paint from brushes, a cheap way of getting a hit if you're a real wino (sleeping under bridges)

Perth is nearly 6 hours flying time from Sydney, although the Margaret River region is very beautiful and makes some great wines.

The Clare valley and Barossa Valley in South Australia also make great wine and have fab food. Flight to Adelaide (the capital of South Australia) from Sydney is about 2.5 hours, then a few hours by car to Clare, less to the Barossa.

Another region to consider might be the Hunter Valley, only an hour or two drive north of Sydney, again great wineries and food.

Enjoy your planning, and of course our fantastic country.

Melnq8

The flight from Sydney to Perth is actually only 4:15...not that it makes much difference, as it's still a heck of a long way over here from CA.

If the flight time deters you (and believe me I understand why it would!), the eastern states of AUS are probably the way to go Melissa, although those flights aren't exactly short either

sartoric

Oops, sorry to misinform, I recall a flight from Brisbane to Perth that took nearly 6 hours, maybe it was a slow jet

Melissa5

Melnq8 and Aussie experts: Thanks for all the info! I'm focusing on a reasonable flying itinerary for getting from San Diego, California to Perth, Australia. This will help us decide whether it's reasonable for us to take a trip in the spring (September or October) to Australia, when we will only have between 17 or 21 days total for this whole trip.

I prefer nonstop flights because I hate flying and get anxious in airports. But now I'm willing to consider taking more than 1 flight if it makes sense, or even several flights if necessary...

What if we fly San Diego to Sydney, Australia, and spend 5 nights in Sydney, with day-trips from Sydney? Then we could fly from Sydney to Perth, rent a car, and spend 2 weeks in the Western Australia area nearby?

Then we would have to fly home from Perth to San Diego...awfully long flight, so might need a sleepover on the way home.

Can anyone help with suggestions for airlines, flight itinerary? Flight times? I like nonstop flights when possible because of my "airport anxiety", etc. But as I said, I might have to be more flexible for this trip.

Thanks so much! I should mention...I prefer flying only on the 4-star airlines such as Air New Zealand, Quantas, etc. Having a better flight experience tends to calm me down. I also enjoyed flying British Airways in their upgraded section when we had a very long trip to London & South Africa. Sometimes we just book the economy seats if the airline is pretty good.

Melnq8

There's no way to get to Perth from the US w/o multiple flights Melissa (maybe by boat), but you can fly direct from LAX and SFO, no stops until you reach Australia (or New Zealand if you opt to fly that way). I'm assuming you'd fly from San Diego to LAX or SFO, which would make it a total of three flights.

Visiting Sydney first would work. I believe you can also fly in from CA via Brisbane, but I'm not sure.

As mentioned earlier, Perth to Auckland on Air NZ is a good option, and involves a long layover in Auckland which would give you plenty of time to rest up between the flights from/to CA. You could also arrange a long layover in Sydney on the return to get some sleep.

Another option, if you're looking for say, a stopover in Asia, is to fly from SFO or LAX to Narita (Tokyo) or Incheon (South Korea) or even through Hong Kong, and then on to Singapore and Perth. You could rest up in Changi, at the Transit Hotel, before the flight to Perth the next morning, or just spend a few days exploring Singapore. The flight from Singapore to Perth is about five hours. This routing involves three flights, plus the one from San Diego, so may not work for you.

This is the routing we usually take when we fly to the US. It's more time in the air and takes a bit longer, but if you're a frequent flyer with Star Alliance it's a good option.

NOTE: There is a direct flight from LAX to Singapore on Singapore Airlines, but the whole flight is Business Class - I've flown it and loved it, but you'll pay dearly for Business Class on SIA unless you've got mega award miles to spend.

Are you a member of any airline frequent flyer program?

We have status with Star Alliance, so we generally fly Singapore Airlines, United and Air New Zealand. If you're a member of another alliance, a good starting place is to see which of their members fly to Australia - Qantas, Virgin, etc.

Melnq8

PS - take a look at Air New Premium Economy - that's what I'd recommend (and exactly what we're doing later this month - PER-AKL-LAX).

Melissa5

Melnq8, thanks for the advice. We do have some points that can be used for flying, but I'll ask my hubs, as it's his job to keep track of those.

Melissa5

<b>Melnq8:</b> You wrote: <i>"Even further south are the wineries of the Great Southern - Pemberton-Denmark-Mt Barker-Albany - this is my favorite region for wine, towering forests and coastal scenery - the gem of WA."</i> If you think it's the gem of WA, then I would love it too, as your advice for our New Zealand trip worked out very well...and I think you advised us about Switzerland as well? How far is the drive from Perth to this gem of WA?

My trip-planning brain is working like a stalled car...I'm stuck! Here are the options I'm considering for this year's trip, and I'd value the opinion of experienced fodorites. We will have a max of almost 3 weeks for the entire trip, including flights. Options:

--September or October: Fly LAX to Auckland NZ to <b>Perth</b> Australia. Spend the entire vacation in <b>Western Australia</b>. (Overnight in Auckland to break up the flights?)

--September or October: Split our vacation between <b>Sydney</b> & <b>Perth</b> areas...try to fit in <b>Blue mountains</b> near Sydney, and wildflowers and scenery near Perth.Freak out about the deadly funnel web spider of Sydney, with fangs so powerful they are capable of penetrating soft shoes. Sorry, can't help it, this is creepy! (Not a bit worried about snakes...I'm used to them, as hubs is a biologist and is fond of herpetology.)

--December: Head to <b>New Zealand</b> in early December (or late November/early December to avoid NZ school holidays). 3rd trip to NZ (instead of Australia).

--September: <b>Switzerland</b>...return to the Swiss Alps, which I love. (Berner Oberland?) But our 1st visit was in the spring with flowers blooming in the alps. September is early fall?

--<b>Paris, France</b> in September.

We can only do 1 international trip this year, and it's my turn to choose. (We take turns). I'm stuck! Somehow, Australia isn't quite clicking into place. I usually spend about a year planning international trips, and book well in advance. Somehow life has gotten in the way this time. I'm getting anxious about being so far behind this year.

Any thoughts? Advice? Cheering me on? Prodding me forward?

My favorite trips combine these passions:
--fantastic fresh food (especially love locally owned spots)
--Sauvignon blanc (at dinner or at winery...my fav white wine)
--slow, relaxing pace
--inspiring scenery
--music
--culture
--meeting interesting people
--interesting b&bs or small boutique hotels with great breakfast

Wow, my brain is all over the globe...

Melnq8

Hi Melissa -

The most direct route from Perth to Albany is five hours via the Albany Highway. From there, it's ~40 minutes to Denmark, a wee bit further to Walpole (Valley of the Giants), then about ~90 minutes to Pemberton. Mt Barker is just north of Albany.

From Pemberton, you can reach Margaret River in about two hours. Margaret River is WA's best known wine producing area, but there's loads to do there other than sample wine.

This route encompasses the best of what WA has to offer IMO, and it's a loop, with no backtracking. This is an area rich with national parks, stunning coastal scenery, incredible trees, and excellent food and wine.

You can do the route in reverse too, heading to Margaret River first via Busselton, then on to Pemberton, etc.

Keep in mind that the Berner Oberland is extremely busy in September. That alone would be reason enough for me to pass on Switzerland...and this from someone who loves Switzerland.

Have you considered the Engadine instead?

Melnq8

PS -

I see you've found one of my Aussie trip reports - here are a few more covering WA.

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...aret-river.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...ustralia-road-
trip.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...rk-getaway.cfm

Melnq8

That second link is screwed up, but can be found under my screen name if interested.

Melissa5

Melnq8, thanks so much for the reply! I'm going to get a good map and highlight the route you suggested for seeing the best of the gem of Western Australia. The internet is great, but it sinks into my brain better if I have a highlighter and a paper map in my hands.

BEST GUIDEBOOKS for Australia? I have the new National Geographic traveller 2014 guidebook. The fodors Australia guidebook is a couple years old, and I tend to like the newest guidebook. (I also have an old fodors Australia guide

As for Switzerland, we didn't visit the Engadine on our spring visit to Switzerland a few years ago. I"m curious about it, since you recommend it for a September visit, so I'll look at my old Switzerland guidebook and read about it.

Thanks for the links to your Aussie trip reports.

Melissa5

bumping for bill

margo_oz

C'mon, Melissa, what's happening?
Mel will be sending you a bill if you don't get yourself over here pronto!

She's absolutely the best advertisement for Australia (and New Zealand)