Canon

I am in the beginning stage of planning a trip to Australia from the US in mid October for myself and my husband. So far I have booked our airfare to arrive in Cairns on a Sunday and depart 12 nights later on a Friday from Sydney. I am trying to figure out how to divide those 12 nights to see as much as we can without being on the move too much. The GBR is a must do and we are wanting to see other wildlife (kangaroos, koalas, etc) and landscapes ("the outback") that can only be experienced there. We don't want to rent a car so we will be depending on public transport and tours to get around.

My thoughts right now are to spend 4 nights in Cairns for the GBR, the Rainforest and ??
Then fly up to Darwin, 1 night in Darwin then take a 3 day 2 night tour with Wayoutback tours to Kakadu and Litchfield Parks. Then back to Darwin for a night for a total of 4 nights in the Top End. Then fly down to Sydney for 4 nights before flying home. I'm not sure if we need 4 nights in Sydney though. Thinking maybe 3 nights in Sydney and add a night to Top End area or GBR area.

Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

longhorn55

While I love the Top End, if your goal is to see kangaroos, koalas and other iconic Australian animals in the wild, that's not the place to go. You can see crocodiles and lots of birds at Kakadu and flying foxes (big bats) and wallabies (if you're lucky) at Litchfield, but that's about it. The scenery will be amazing, however, and swimming in the natural pools at Litchfield is a fantastic experience.

Before you book anything, take a close look at the internal flights in Australia. It can take a lot of valuable sightseeing time just to get from anywhere to Darwin and back again.

Canon

Thank you longhorn55. So what area would be the best to see the iconic Australian animals?

Patty

The Atherton Tablelands just south of Cairns is an excellent wildlife watching area.

eliztravels2

Given your interests, I would suggest you reduce your time in Sydney to 3 nights, which would give you two full days plus your day of departure. If you want to see the Blue Mountains, however, the 4th night would allow time for a day trip. (easily done on your own by train, or any number of day tours).

northie

as one of your goals was to see landscapes I would certainly leave in Darwin-this part is just so different and whilst you wont see Koalas etc you can see loot sof birdlife and maybe animals in Kakadu eg on the yellow River cruise.

Canon

Thanks for all the suggestions.

FrankHodges

You can also visit the Great Barrier Reef which is in Cairns.You can stay dry and observe it or dive in and experience it all.