GapYear2009

I am a middle-aged American man working independently in the health field and I am burned out! I recently realized that I have been working, nearly continuously, since I was 12 years old. I've finally learned that life is short. So, I am planning to take a calculated risk and take a year off from work. During that time I would like to travel to several places -this intro may appear on a few different forums - and work on self-enrichment and reflection before the next chapter.

I have travelled quite a bit in my 50 years, from throughout the USA to Europe (over 50 times), North and West Africa, three cities in Asia, and part of South America. I have never been to Australia or New Zealand, and would love to visit while I have the time (and no ambulatory impediments!). The Great Barrier Reef has been a life-long dream. I love the outdoors, and enjoy hiking, as well.

I have been successful in my career. As a result, I have upgraded incrementally over the years from staying in youth hostels to the Four Seasons. This needs to change; I am eager to reconnect with my original lust for travel and wandering the world. The fancy hotels don't really matter, except for the fact that these properties often pick the most desireable locations. I am willing to adjust my expectations and be comfortable travelling in a less high-falutin' style.

So- here's the deal- - - I can't go for more than about 2 weeks because I have a partner at home who will have to work and will be unable to join me. I have friends in Sydney (not sure yet if I can or should stay with them) to visit. I am asking for good, clean, modest, well-located budget hotels in Sydney and Cairns or Port Douglas. For years, I've salivated over Lizard Island, but I just won't be able to stay there. Seeing the Great Barrier Reef is to be the highlight. I've read a little about LiveAboard travel- any recommendations? Also, any tips on traveling inexpensively in Australia and moving cheaply from place to place would be greatly appreciated, along with suggested itinerary flow and recommended duration in each place. I am assuming the best time of year for GBR (weather and visibility) is October or November.

Thanks so much!

GapYear2009

ttt

afterall

Dear belated GapYear,

Well the concept of a "gap year" didn't exist in the 70s did it? Forgive me if my definition of middle aged is different from yours. Perhaps for you it is the '80s. No matter. I hear what you are saying.

If you are thinking of coming to Australia then you have picked a good place - not only for the amazing natural wonders (and some excellent culture too in the cities) but because it is possible to travel here quite cheaply.

Don't restrict your down-market move to hotels. Look at the hostels which are of a fantastic standard, and/or the pubs.

There is a terrific network here for people travelling on a small budget. Excellent hostels and a plethora of day trips/overland trips, etc, etc.

Post again if my input has any value and I can point you to some good websites.

Cheers.

Bokhara2

Afterall's right. If you try some of the local hotels in cities & towns, rather than the usual 'motel/hotel' route for accommodation, you'll drill down to the real people quite quickly.
We're probably in the same age bracket and, after 30 something years in corporate life, it is refreshing and renewing to walk the different path.

Doesn't matter that you only have 2 weeks. Matters what you do with them .... stepping off is easier than you might think ... and then you can go back with a new perspective.

Just hop on a flight - get here & then say "yes" to the opportunities that present themselves. One caveat: Do not hitch hike. Just do not do it.

We have some fantastic Youth Hostels. Don't be put off by the "Youth" bit ... there are lots of 70 somethings wandering around the world staying in them, so you could well end up being in the "younger set"

The fantastic thing about being somewhere on the opposite side of the world to 'home' is that you don't need to lug the persona of others' expectations of you along.

Enjoy

lanejohann

hey there
i have just booked a trip to port douglas ..its more expensive than cairns but a good base to do cape tribulation from
we are staying at the mantra aqueous for 300 aud a night..just missed out on ratestogo ..it was offered for 190 a night..so you have to be quick
we are going in august
october is the start of the wet season so id not be too crazy about getting into the water ..stingers about!
and the weather starts getting rainy and very humid

now ...i have done oodles of research on portdouglas and have been there twice but not stayed
ill tell you what i know
macrossan st is the main st and it can be noisy so do check if youre near a pub..or at least get a room at the back
be careful with streets behind macrossan too..because they can be close to the noise too
we chose mantra aqueous (davidson st)because its new ( 2003) and its for a birthday getaway for my OH
we looked into villa san michele which was reasonable ( 185 a night)thats in macrossan and has had good reviews ..its mediterranean style apartments but no elevator
..many places do not have lifts ..so check that one out if you have trouble with stairs
theres also cher du monde...google that one for reviews..we decided against it
there are only three places that are close to the beach and to town centre ..one of them is peninsula boutique the other two are beaches and beach terrace..beaches isnt nice apparently
if a place says its close to the beach then it will be a bit of a hike to town and it will be humid ( 15 - 20 mins ..there are shuttle buses however
latitude the mowbray by the sea had good reviews..its 500 m to the sea but it was booked out when i tried..not cheap but not outrageous
pink flamingo looked interesting
the martinique apartments seemed ok but lots complained about the construction going on next door
theres the best western lazy lizard but it came in at number 42 out of 49
ill be going in august so i guess it might be a bit late for you to book after i come back..never know you could check on all the last minute deals
in cairns go up to kuranda markets and see the bird sanctuary ..amazing tame parrots just flying free in this giant gorgeous aviary jungle...you can do the skyrail too ..nice views
its easy to book all the reef tours when you get to your accommodation so dont do it before you go
oh about the reef
its not that colourful..looks great in the brochures..ive seen it twice and im glad i did but be prepared
and you have to wait til its calm so make sure you enquire straight off and they will ring you when the boats can take you out..dont just expect that you can go any day ..winds can be quite high
we are doing 4 nights / 5 days in portdouglas
one to explore the town of port
one or two to get up to cape tributlation and one to get back down to cairns
we are hiring a car from cairns airport and its about an hour to port
if you want cheaper accommodation and still want to do portdouglas and further on then stay in cairns as your base
id not stay on lizard myself...i dont like being on an island...and if its bad weather youre stuck with nothing to do ...unless youre honeymooning id avoid islands..but im really active and cant sit around for longer than half an hour when im touring]
good luck! if you want..i can email you after my trip

lanejohann

silly me
forgot to tell you i live in sydney and i can check anything out for you..or at least tell you about locations
do go see palm beach lighthouse ..the view of the peninsula is magnificent ..one of the best in the world yet not advertised..the lighthouse isnt open every weekend...so google and see when its open
sure you will do all the sydney sights but dont forget this one
do the bondi to clovelly beach walk too...easy to get bus from city

as for staying in sydney..look in the north sydney area...not so much in the centre of the city ...better value///still close but over the north side of harbour bridge and very accessible by train or bus....
try to go to our capital ..canberra too
its known as the bush capital..its pretty...rural setting ...easy trip by car...3and half hours by car from sydney on great roads,,its different from any other capital..nice views from telstra tower..good cafes..
id recommend a trip to kiama to see the blowhole..such pretty beaches around the wollongong area and easy day trip
if you like caves go to jenolan caves for a day or at least to the blue mountains

afterall

GapYear2009 - you've not been back.

That's a shame.

Re that post about staying in Port Douglas for 300aud a night - it doesn't have to be like that unless you want it to be. Plenty of alternatives.

Hope to hear from you again.

GapYear2009

afterall- I was out of town this weekend. Yes, I would appreciate your directing me to the websites you mentioned.

Thanks to everyone so far. Any other suggestions?

Saltuarius

When in the Cairns area do not forget the Atherton Tablelands. Yungaburra has some great inexpensive accommodation. The backpackers has tours if you do not want todrive yourself around and there are night tours and other wildlife opportunities. see www.yungaburra.com

Ceidleh

I hear you, brother! I did 20 years in corporate America, got burnt out and took my gap year at 38 to do a round-the-world trip. Did 3 months in Australia in '07 - could have spent another year and still not seen it all!

Being middle-aged and taking your gap year can work to your advantage. You can stay in hostels and cheap motels, but you can generally afford to mix in a few upscale hotels or resorts when you want a splurge - it's your platinum VISA card, not Daddy's!

$300 AUD for Port Douglas seems very excessive. My friend accompanied me for 2 weeks to Great Barrier Reef last year and she won't do budget hotels or hostels and she likes to stay beachfront. We spent about $200 AUD/night for the Mandalay Shalimar Luxury Beachfront Apartments (www.mandalay.com.au) and I thought that was a splurge that was worth the money as it was a full size apartment with fully stocked kitchen and our own washer/dryer, private patio and a great pool and hot tub. That said, there are many cheaper options available in Port Douglas.

I stayed in Cairns on my own and went back to budget there. I stayed at The Balinese Motel for $50 AUD/night. I found it to be very clean & quiet, the room was large, had my own fridge, air conditioning. Balinese also has a lovely pool and they provide guests with free breakfast, free internet, access to a full kitchen (if you want to cook your own dinner) and there is coin-op laundry on-site.

I do think Port Douglas is much nicer than Cairns as a jumping off point for the Great Barrier Reef, plus easier access to Cape Tribulation.

As the other posters mentioned, do NOT discount staying at hostels. Australia and New Zealand had some of the cleanest, most modern hostels in the world. If you avoid the ones that talk about partying on their websites, you're generally going to find a mixed age crowd (from 18 to 70 - with many falling in the 30 to 50 age range). Check www.bugaustralia.com for reviews of hostels - or www.hostelz.com or www.hostelworld.com for additional reviews. You can pretty much tell which are geared towards more serious travelers.

For Sydney, if you don't want to stay in a hostel, I would recommend the Travelodge chain (www.travelodge.com.au). I stayed at a Travelodge in both Sydney and Melbourne and found them to be really nice budget hotels - clean, quiet, spacious, centrally located. Rooms featured air conditioning, fridge and microwave.

pat_woolford

lanejohnan - whoever told you October is the start of the wet season in FNQ? It starts much later, usually late Jan to March or even April; Port Douglas had 500mm of rain in 24 hours just last week. October is a near perfect month as its after the SE trade winds of winter and before humidity starts to build up around November.

And no-one knows the exact timing of marine stingers appearances on coast, but usually stinger nets on beaches don't go out until early November.

There's a lot more to the area than just Port Douglas, Cairns city, Kuranda and Cape Tribulation - World Heritage Rainforest stretches south of Cairns almost to Townsville. Why not have a look at Mission Beach and its rainforest hinterland, which is basically untouristed.

And you'd be mad not to spend some time on Atherton Tableland if you're interested in wildlife and scenery - check www.onthewallaby.com.au for budget accommodation at Yungaburra and tours of that area.

pat_woolford

Sorry, that should be www.onthewallaby.com - no "au"

afterall

GY,

This is great advice from Bokhara:

"Just hop on a flight - get here & then say "yes" to the opportunities that present themselves."

You might want to choose a couple of areas and arrange internal flights beforehand, but otherwise just go with the flow. There is SO MUCH to choose from.

And it's true what Ceidleh says too - when you are older you do have the option of splashing out every now and then. And, yes, learn to read between the lines when choosing a hostel. One I liked very much in Cairns was Geckos, in an old house with lots of space to meet and talk with other guests (age range again 20-60). You could get a single room there too.

It's not listed on this site but there is loads of other useful info:

http://www.backpackertours.com.au/

Another site for accommo is:

www.yha.com.au

And I'm not suggesting you need to take tours (though you're almost bound to do the odd day trip or two!) - but for more background info, check out:

www.waywardbus.com.au

Cheers.

Ceidleh

As previous poster mentions, Wayward Bus is great if you don't have your own car. I did the 3 1/2 day Great Ocean Road trek with them (from Melbourne to Adelaide - though they run in the opposite direction, too). Totally worth the money - Wayward doesn't use huge coaches and gives you a choice to stay at hostels or upgrade to budget motels. The hostels were great (especially the one in Robe).

The age range was mixed. On my tour the youngest was 18 and the oldest was mid 60s - the average age was late 20s-mid 30s.

GapYear2009

Thanks! That sounds great- will explore.

SnRSeattle

GY2009--I don't know how budget you want, but we stayed at a nice B&B in Yungaburra called Rose Cottage. Under $100. We stayed at Le Cher du Mond in Port Douglas for $135A king bed, kitchenette, AC and on Macrossan St. In Sydney--Lord Nelson Brewery in the Rocks so you can walk or bus everywhere $180A including breakfast. Liveaboard was pricier but SOOOOOO worth it--www.spiritoffreedom.com I loved every minute of it. You can still snorkel Lizard Island for a day--contact www.daintreeair.com for a magical day snorkeling and seeing FNQ from the air. That is one splurge that is really worth it if you want to experience the GBR and see it from the air, plus the rainforest. Best wishes on a fulfilling "gap year"!
Sally in Seattle