beazor

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. we will be going for 3 1/2 weeks sometime around October. We would like to see the Blue Mountains, Cairns area, Monkey Mia, Ningaloo Reef, Perth, Kalgoorlie, Tasmania. Had wanted to also stop in Darwin area but think that's going to be too much.
Any help with travel info to get to some of these places would be great. In a perfect world we'd like to fly to Ningaloo then on to Monkey Mia then drive to Perth. We have done a lot of driving on our other vacations but can't get an idea if it's feasable here. Are one-way rentals possible? How do you figure out which airline flys where and when?

Anyone been to Monkey Mia? Is it worth the cost and time? Ningaloo? Rent a motorvan or a car? Are there motels or such to stay in?

Help!!

johbot

Goodness Me, Help is indeed what you will need.

I think that is all far too much for the time you have. Why not concentrate on one part and save the rest for later.

Hire a camper from Perth, drive Kalgoorlie then north via Leonora, Laverton heading somewhat west as you drive north to get to Karajini National Park, hit the coast at Karratha, then left down to Ningaloo, south on to Monkey Mia and back to Perth. If you have time to spare after that I'd be surprised.

First time I went to Monkey Mia was in the late '70's and it was a bone shaking, dusty experience of an extremely remote area. I loved it. I went back in 1995 on the bitumen as thousands of others do and hated it.

But I like the area. I camped at Hamelin Pools and drove out to Steep Point and swam in pristine waters and fabulous white beaches along the way.

Bokhara

Beazor, please don't take this amiss ... but do you actually have a scaled map of Australia? If not, may I suggest you get one ASAP so you have some idea of the size of the place and the distances you're contemplating.

One way rentals: Yes - depending on the locations. Can be quite reasonable or horrendously expensive - again depending on locations.
www.rentnewcars.com.au

Australian airlines:
Qantas - www.qantas.com.au
Jetstar - www.jetstar.com.au
Virginblue - www.virginblue.com.au

Suggest you subscribe to their email alerts for specials.

All will have route maps on their website and Virgin has specials daily "HappyHour" Noon - 1 or 1-2 (sorry, can't remember which)

fuzzylogic

Agree that a map is an essential tool when planning a trip like yours. I also sort of agree with Johbot. More is frequently less.

You could probably do what you want if you take Monkey Mia and Kalgoorie out of that list and fly everywhere. Assuming Sydney is port of entry - fly to Tassie, fly from there to MLB and over to PTH, fly up to Exmouth return to PTH; Fly to Cairns and home, or back to SYD and home.

But I wouldn't recommend it - you'll never really 'be' anywhere just permanently en route from here to there.

WA is a fantastic destination. Perth is a long way from anywhere but relatively easy to get to. Once you move away from that SW corner of the state then you are taking a journey you will probably never take again - so give it the time it deserves and come back and do the rest later.

As for MM - and the dolphins - sure they are fascinating - but I hated the place. The Shark Bay area as a whole is something else. Amazing landscape; sea and land wildlife; great stories - and one of the best day tours I have every done in Australia. Local guide, 4WD, just 4 other pax. Perfect - we did the stromatolites and the beach that is made up of millions of tiny shells; we saw all sorts of creatures and had a pretty good time. Just being there, really.

Cheers.

beazor

Thank you Johbot, Bokhara and Fuzzylogic.

Well, you all made me laugh. I must sound a bit nuts. I do have a map, more or less to scale. I know it is quite a lot I have listed. Believe it or not, Ayers and Darwin used to be on the list too!

We are slowly removing places from the list. I'm now thinking MM and Ningaloo maybe just to far out. Is Kalgoorlie worth the time?

What would you all think if we spent 3 days in the Blue Mountains then split the rest of the days between Perth area and Tassie?

We really appriciate the comments. Australia is huge. I know if someone were coming to the states I would be hard pressed to tell them what to visit if they only had 3 1/2 weeks.

But we really do hope to go to more than one area. Hope to hear more from you all.

Melnq8

You can't go wrong with WA or Tassie - loads of things to see and do. We've been to Tas twice; we're making our third trip to WA next month and we have yet to venture north of Perth!

Whatever you decide, be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to thoroughly enjoy all that these wonderful places have to offer.

Have a good trip.

beazor

Melnq8-
Do you have any suggestions of things we shouldn't miss around Perth or in Tassie? Have you been to Kalgoorlie?

Thanks for your comments. This is all putting things inperspective and really helping.

Melnq8

No, haven't been to Kalgoorlie (yet).

Not sure of your interests, but things to consider in Tassie:

Freycinet National Park - Wineglass Bay - lots of nice hikes, penguin viewing in nearby Bicheno

Cradle Mountain - nice hikes, plenty of wildlife

Mt Field National Park - hikes, scenery

Hobart area - city of Hobart, Mt Wellington, Huon Valley, Bruny Island, Tahune Forest Airwalk, fruit growing area with pick-your-own fruit in season, wineries, gorgeous scenery, plenty of walking opportunities, etc.

Tasman Peninsula - Port Arthur penal settlement, tasmanian devil park, blowholes, rock formations

Launceston area - Tamar Valley wine route, Cataract Gorge, lavender fields

Binalong Bay/Bay of Fires - gorgeous beaches, walking opportunities, etc.

This barely scratches the surface, but gives you an idea anyway.

If you're interested, I have two TAS trip reports here on Fodor's:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34790967

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34540728

As for WA, well, there are loads of things to do there as well, once again, really depends on your interests:

Perth city - Kings park, Hay Street Mall, wildlife park, Swan River Cruise, wineries in Swan Valley, nearby Fremantle, etc

South of Perth you'll find the wine region of Margaret River - lots to do here, especially if you like good food and wine. Nice coastal walks down this way as well as beaches, caves, etc. In Augusta you can view whales in season, visit the lighthouse, etc.

Pemberton - home to massive karri trees - some of which you can climb (fire lookouts), more hikes, more wineries, fishing, etc

Further south is Valley of the Giants where you can walk amongst enormous tingle trees on the world's longest tree top walk, take the Ancient Empire walk, great forest scenery.

Albany - many national parks not far from Albany - beautiful coastal views, nice hikes, no shortage of things to do if you like the outdoors, Albany windfarm, whaleworld museum, etc.

October is wildflower season in WA, something I've yet to experience first hand (yet) but it sounds wonderful.

Here are the links to my two WA trip reports if the first two didn't put you to sleep:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34838163

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34657096

beazor

Melnq8-

Thanks for the info. I read your trip reports, very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

We love the outdoors. We live in a small, very small, town in the wine country of Northern California. The closest town has about 125k people and that's a lot for us. We do not like tourist type venues. Not too interested in wineries since we're surrounded by them.
The forests and such you described sound perfect. think we'll do more research in those areas.

Bokhara

Hi again Beazor,
I've been thinking (rare for me ...
unless you want to do some hiking etc., you could cut 1 or 2 days out of the Blue Mountains and add it/them to Tas or WA.

I think you could drive up one morning,(Via f4) have a look around, perhaps take a walk/hike and overnight somewhere nice. Then, next day, perhaps come back via Mount Victoria, Richmond, (Bells line of road). There are some really lovely B & B's and restaurants (from quaint to uberstylish .. $$'s to match).

Not to stay - but interesting glimpse into the 1920/1930's - the Hydro Majestic at Medlow Bath. Used to be a very stylish spa resort in its heyday. Unfortunately none of the successive owners, including the Mercure group which owns it now,has put the $ into it to restore it to it's former glory and it's a bit of a mix between boarding school & Butlins as far as the accommodation & food goes ... but worth a visit for the building & location. Good for a coffee & cake.

For car rentals in Sydney: (and possibly Perth, depending on what you need.) http://www.bayswatercarrental.com.au/contact.htm

They run Corollas - hatchbacks & sedans and have a CDW of only $200. One of the big issues here is is the cost of CDW waiver, with most of the majors charging around $25/day to reduce from standard Excess of $2750 to $300 or so. They don't publish the CDW waiver cost on their websites usually, so it's easy to think the daily rate quoted is it - whereas it can be doubled in the case of small cars.

With WA & Tas, you'll be experiencing some of our greatest contrasts and, I think, seeing parts of Australia that many don't. I adore Tas. It's lush, green, soft & gentle on the East Coast; wild & dramatic on the West. And, it's SO easy to get around! Unlike WA, it's so compact, you need less time than you might think - 2 1/2 - 3 hours down the middle Hobart to Launceston, for example.

Sorry if I was a bit harsh on you - I just read your post at first & thought "OMG ... Jules Verne on speed!" :0 (LOL)

Melnq8

You might find these sites helpful in your research.

Perth:
http://www.perthtouristcentre.com.au/

OZ National parks/reserves: http://www.naturebase.net/

beazor

Melnq8-

Thanks for the links. I'm learning a lot with your help and the help of the other responders. All good advice and info.

beazor

Bokhara-
Thanks for more imput.
I was looking for imput and yours was good. I really did laugh at the reply, no offense taken.
We have a good idea of the size of Australia but that does not give you any idea of travel times. For example I have made the drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just over 4 hours (380 miles), I'm understanding that you can't travel that distance in the same time in Australia. This is where imput like yours is so valuable.

Thank you for your time and we would appreciate any other tips or advice you have.

Bokhara

Beazor: You're right - in the flatter outback areas, you can travel much more quickly; but if you don't know the country, it's hard to know what's what. I've been looking for a good "directions & times" link for you & Fabio.

This isn't it (and I've got so much rubbish on my "favourites", I can't find my own favourite! ... but it's not bad. It will give you at least a rough idea.

I just googled "driving directions & times Alice Springs to Darwin" & this was one of the better ones that came up.

BTW: My god-daughter's married to a gorgeous Canadian, so I've got to look after you - you might be a "rellie" LOL And, no - you can't have Tim back - we've kidnapped him!

Bokhara

http://www.nowwhereroute.com/travelm...E%20SPRINGS_NT

hidebs

October is a great time of year. Most school holidays have already finished. If you are going to do the Perth corner give MM the flick and consider the pinnacles at Cervantes(http://www.australiascoralcoast.com/...ast/Cervantes/ ) they are very impressive. We did a road trip in this area a couple of years ago and found plenty of bed and breakfasts to stay in. Good sites for flights are ebookers.com and zuji.com or maybe jetstar or virgin blue. The drive to Kalgoolie(http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/towns/kalgoorlie.htm ) is 600km east of Perth so it is a decent drive.

beazor

Bokhara-

Thanks again for the site info. I don't think I have any relatives named Tim so you're safe keeping him. I do appreciate your attention. The insight has made planning the trip so much easier.
Be well.
Beth

beazor

hidebs-

Thanks for the links. I hadn't come across them. Have you been to Kalgoorlie? Still trying to decide if that side trip will be worth the time or expense.

We have decided to forgo MM. The Pinnicles are on the to do list.

Thanks for the imput.

sunsurfsand

Dear Beazor,
Are you aware that Australia has a surface area of 7.5 million square kilometers.
It is very BIG. You need a map.

hidebs

hi beazor, No, we did not do the trip out to kalgoorlie as we decided to spend our time south of perth in margaret river and beyond. We were travelling with our son and decided not to do the drive out to visit the historical mining town. Something of interest a mere 350km east (half the distance of the kalgoorlie trip) of perth is Hyden's Wave rock www.waverock.com.au/ which is very impressive. It just depends what kind of experience you are after.