Need suggestions for things to do in Australia
Apr 1st, 2015, 09:26 AM
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Need suggestions for things to do in Australia
We are touring Australia for about 14 days in May 2015. Our flights are booked (including internal flights within Australia), and also our hotels. Have a rough itinerary of things to do every day, and need suggestions about specific things to do. Rough proposal is as follows :
Day 1 (Sunday): Arrive at Melbourne in morning. Hotel on Collins Street. Visit Federation Sq and Arts Centre Makers Market.. After lunch, visit Queen Victoria Market, and then take a tram to St Kilda (specific things to do at St Kilda ?).
Day 2 : Take ferry trip to Wiliamstown and Docklands (things to see ?). Afternoon, roam around the by-lanes of central Melbourne to see the street art, and Chinatown. Round off by roaming on the South Yarra promenade at night.
Day 3 & Day 4: Take car and drive on Great Ocean Road. Day 3 night at Port Campbell, and Day 4 night near Melbourne airport. Need specific things to do on GOR. What are the highlights, and must see spots ?
Day 5: Morning flight to Cairns. Transfer to Port Douglas, where we stay for 4 nights. Afternoon stroll around PD on Macrossan St, Four Mile beach and Flagstaff Hill.Any suggestions ?
Day 6: Wavelength snorkelling tour of GBR.
Day 7 : Day trip to Kuranda, one way by skyrail and one way by rail. Considering taking a tour by portdouglasbus tours. Suggestions please on specifics.
Day 8 (Sunday) : Visit Wildlife Habitat. Visit PD Sunday market ? Take tour to Mossman Gorge. If time permits, take Aquarius sunset cruise at PD ?
Day 9: Take early morning flight to Uluru. Stay at Yulara. Rent a car. Visit Cultural Centre. Do Kuniya Walk. See sunset at Uluru.
Day 10: Sunrise at Uluru. Walk around Uluru rock. Afternoon, drive to Olgas and do Walpa Gorge walk. See sunset at Olgas and do Astro Night Sky show.
Day 11: Sunrise at Olgas. Do first stretch of Valley of Winds walk. Take afternoon flight to Sydney. Hotel near Haymarket for 4 nights.
Day 12: Stroll around the Rocks area. Ferry to Manly, and walk around (where ?). Catch a show at Sydney Opera House ?
Day 13: Visit Sydney aquarium and Paddy's Market. Go to Bondi beach and do walk to Congee beach. Night at Kings Cross area ?
Day 14: Day trip to Blue Mountains. Must sees there ?
Day 15: Fly back home.
Need suggestions on must do things for any of the above days, keeping in mind that flight tickets within Australia are frozen. Everything else is flexible.
Day 1 (Sunday): Arrive at Melbourne in morning. Hotel on Collins Street. Visit Federation Sq and Arts Centre Makers Market.. After lunch, visit Queen Victoria Market, and then take a tram to St Kilda (specific things to do at St Kilda ?).
Day 2 : Take ferry trip to Wiliamstown and Docklands (things to see ?). Afternoon, roam around the by-lanes of central Melbourne to see the street art, and Chinatown. Round off by roaming on the South Yarra promenade at night.
Day 3 & Day 4: Take car and drive on Great Ocean Road. Day 3 night at Port Campbell, and Day 4 night near Melbourne airport. Need specific things to do on GOR. What are the highlights, and must see spots ?
Day 5: Morning flight to Cairns. Transfer to Port Douglas, where we stay for 4 nights. Afternoon stroll around PD on Macrossan St, Four Mile beach and Flagstaff Hill.Any suggestions ?
Day 6: Wavelength snorkelling tour of GBR.
Day 7 : Day trip to Kuranda, one way by skyrail and one way by rail. Considering taking a tour by portdouglasbus tours. Suggestions please on specifics.
Day 8 (Sunday) : Visit Wildlife Habitat. Visit PD Sunday market ? Take tour to Mossman Gorge. If time permits, take Aquarius sunset cruise at PD ?
Day 9: Take early morning flight to Uluru. Stay at Yulara. Rent a car. Visit Cultural Centre. Do Kuniya Walk. See sunset at Uluru.
Day 10: Sunrise at Uluru. Walk around Uluru rock. Afternoon, drive to Olgas and do Walpa Gorge walk. See sunset at Olgas and do Astro Night Sky show.
Day 11: Sunrise at Olgas. Do first stretch of Valley of Winds walk. Take afternoon flight to Sydney. Hotel near Haymarket for 4 nights.
Day 12: Stroll around the Rocks area. Ferry to Manly, and walk around (where ?). Catch a show at Sydney Opera House ?
Day 13: Visit Sydney aquarium and Paddy's Market. Go to Bondi beach and do walk to Congee beach. Night at Kings Cross area ?
Day 14: Day trip to Blue Mountains. Must sees there ?
Day 15: Fly back home.
Need suggestions on must do things for any of the above days, keeping in mind that flight tickets within Australia are frozen. Everything else is flexible.
Apr 1st, 2015, 01:51 PM
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Day 1 - there is usually a market at St Kilda on Sundays so may be best to do that earlier in the day, rather than later. And if you are into yummy cakes, wander down to Acland Street for the cake shops.
There is a great collection of Australian art in the Ian Potter gallery in Fed Square.
Day 2 - there isn't much to see in Docklands - lots of apartment blocks and factory outlet shops. If the weather is good, perhaps a walk through one of our lovely parks would be nicer. The Fitzroy Gardens are very close to the CBD or you could take a taxi to the Botanical Gardens and walk back to the city. Re your promenade, I think you may be thinking of Southbank, (on the south bank of the river) rather than South Yarra which is a suburb a few kms out of the city.
Day 3 - Loch Ard gorge and the Twelve Apostles are the must-sees on the GOR. You can usually see koalas around the Cape Otway lighthouse area and if you want to see kangaroos, there are usually plenty around the golf course at Anglesea. Port Fairy is a pretty little old fishing port but a bit further than Port Campbell. If time allows, I'd go back to Melbourne via Ballarat - once one of the wealthiest towns in the world with it's gold mines. The folk museum there (Sovereign Hill) is well worth visiting and there are lots of nice old buildings around the city area.
Hope you have a great time here.
There is a great collection of Australian art in the Ian Potter gallery in Fed Square.
Day 2 - there isn't much to see in Docklands - lots of apartment blocks and factory outlet shops. If the weather is good, perhaps a walk through one of our lovely parks would be nicer. The Fitzroy Gardens are very close to the CBD or you could take a taxi to the Botanical Gardens and walk back to the city. Re your promenade, I think you may be thinking of Southbank, (on the south bank of the river) rather than South Yarra which is a suburb a few kms out of the city.
Day 3 - Loch Ard gorge and the Twelve Apostles are the must-sees on the GOR. You can usually see koalas around the Cape Otway lighthouse area and if you want to see kangaroos, there are usually plenty around the golf course at Anglesea. Port Fairy is a pretty little old fishing port but a bit further than Port Campbell. If time allows, I'd go back to Melbourne via Ballarat - once one of the wealthiest towns in the world with it's gold mines. The folk museum there (Sovereign Hill) is well worth visiting and there are lots of nice old buildings around the city area.
Hope you have a great time here.
Apr 1st, 2015, 10:13 PM
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Also don,t forget to do shopping in Australia. Australia is one of the leading shopping market. For more details, visit http://www.camilla.com.au/
Apr 1st, 2015, 11:06 PM
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Great suggestions marg. Thanks. Just the kind we are looking for.
longhorn55, although I can book the Wavelength tour in advance, what happens if the weather outlook for that day is not good, and we want to switch dates ? Do they allow that ? How busy are these snorkelling tours around mid-May ?
longhorn55, although I can book the Wavelength tour in advance, what happens if the weather outlook for that day is not good, and we want to switch dates ? Do they allow that ? How busy are these snorkelling tours around mid-May ?
Apr 2nd, 2015, 12:25 PM
#6
indiacouple, the sunday market at PD is very good so it would be a great place to look for souvenirs of your trip.
the food is pretty good in PD as well - we liked the Surf lifesaver's club on the beach and the Tin Shack and on the inlet on the other side of town by the harbour. Even better though was Mojo's at Mossman - on the main street just after the turning for the gorge. Well worth the trip!
http://www.mojosbarandgrill.com.au
it's closed sundays so you might want to think about changing your itinerary round so you can eat there.
the food is pretty good in PD as well - we liked the Surf lifesaver's club on the beach and the Tin Shack and on the inlet on the other side of town by the harbour. Even better though was Mojo's at Mossman - on the main street just after the turning for the gorge. Well worth the trip!
http://www.mojosbarandgrill.com.au
it's closed sundays so you might want to think about changing your itinerary round so you can eat there.
Apr 2nd, 2015, 08:06 PM
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Thanks annhig, you always offer excellent advice to me. Have heard about Mojo's a lot. Did not know it was closed on Sundays. My Sunday schedule was already looking too tight. Am considering shifting Mossman Gorge to the afternoon on Thursday, the day we arrive at PD.Is the Visitors Centre at Mossman Gorge open till the evening, or does it close down early ?
Apr 3rd, 2015, 05:38 AM
#8
http://mossmangorge.com.au/the-centre/the-centre>>
the website says it's open till 6pm, indiancouple and mojos opens at 6 so you should be able to co-ordinate the two:
http://www.mojosbarandgrill.com.au
I would book - it's very popular in the evenings I believe.
Thanks for the thanks - likewise. your TR of your tour of NZ was invaluable when we were planning our trip a couple of years ago.
the website says it's open till 6pm, indiancouple and mojos opens at 6 so you should be able to co-ordinate the two:
http://www.mojosbarandgrill.com.au
I would book - it's very popular in the evenings I believe.
Thanks for the thanks - likewise. your TR of your tour of NZ was invaluable when we were planning our trip a couple of years ago.
Apr 3rd, 2015, 01:57 PM
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Two other Melbourne things that just came to mind - the Royal Arcade (between Collins and Bourke Streets) and the Emporium (between Little Bourke Street and Lonsdale Street (new shopping centre, very up-market, lovely shops and places to get a quick meal). I know you're not in town to shop but sometimes it's nice to see what's around.
And while we're on the subject of shopping, make sure you see the Queen Victoria building in George Street, Sydney. Excellent recovery/renovation of a beautiful old building.
If you are driving from Cairns to PD, do a small detour off the main road to visit Palm Cove - palm trees, wide beach, small township - one of our favourite places in Queensland.
And while we're on the subject of shopping, make sure you see the Queen Victoria building in George Street, Sydney. Excellent recovery/renovation of a beautiful old building.
If you are driving from Cairns to PD, do a small detour off the main road to visit Palm Cove - palm trees, wide beach, small township - one of our favourite places in Queensland.
Apr 11th, 2015, 12:33 AM
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Just my thought. The Queen Victoria Market isn't really all that fabulous. It has knock of clothing, souvenirs, fruit an vegies, meat. If you are in Melbourne for a short time maybe think about t. Just my opinion.
