Amy

My husband, two kids 13 and 15 and I are considering going to Australia next summer, but aren't quite sure if there's really enough to see that we'd be interested in. We are really interested in wildlife and are wondering if there are many oppotunitites to observe it? (especially in the Daintree) We are also interested in the Barrier Reef, but are wondering what there truly is to do in Australia that we'd be interested in. (such as sights in Sydney, Melbourne, etc.) I know this message has been pretty broad, but I also would like to know how other people would rate Australia to places in Asia. We are also considering Thailand, China, or Indonesia, or somewhere in that area but aren't sure how much or what there is in those countries either, and it is making us have a hard time narrowing our choices down to where we'd like to go. Any help would be very much appreciated.

tina

my thoughts are based on a recent trip in january. i think at the very least, sydney has things to keep you and your kids entertained. they have a great aquarium and toronga zoo has all the cute native australian animals, plus the zoo offers up an incredible view of the city. it was fun taking the ferry around to different places. plus there's all the beaches that sydney is famous for (i didn't go, not much into laying around in the sun). <BR>the daintree/gbr area is also great. they'll love snorkeling on the reef. there's such amazing sights under water. in daintree, try to take in a night hike - you might be lucky and see some fun critters and possibly some crocs. you may also spot some crocs on a daintree river cruise. if you don't (as we did), head over to the daintree wildlife center. they'll have everything you didn't get to see in the wild and more. although we didn't go, it would probably be fun for your kids to take the gondola at kuranda too. <BR>i think australia has more to offer children of your age than going to asia. i admit when i took my first trip to taiwan & hong kong at age 17, i was just a bit too spoiled with all my creature comforts and was a bit bored. <BR>tina <BR>

Mike

G'day Ami, <BR>don't forget Melbourne. <BR>Have a read of the posting "Just back from Melbourne". <BR>There is also the Healesville Sanctuary only an hours drive from the city - the kids will love it.. <BR> <BR>Enjoy, <BR>Mike

Amy

Thanks for the info, however my family has been to so many zoos here in the US and we were hoping to see the wildlife in the wild rather than another zoo. But besides the zoos, what else is there to see?

becky

Amy- in Sydney...you can do a climb on the Harbor bridge...You wear special suits and radios and climb attached to a safety line. Your kids are the perfect age. You can go to the crocodile farms near Cairns. In kuranda (a cable car or historical train ride from Cairns)you can visit an incredible Aboriginal center, open markets, a noctarium (animals at night), a butterfly center, or take a hike down the mountain on aboriginal trails. You can take a 4wd or boat cruise in the Daintree rainforest (lots of possibilities for wild animal views), go out to the Great Barrier reef on a day trip or stay on an island in the reef. Get yourself a good guide book and you'll find lots of things to do. If anything, Australia has more wildlife sights than historical sights. We've taken our kids to japan, korea, Thailand. While we loved all of them, Australia has plenty to make it a very fun trip. in addition, there is a lot to be said about a country where teenagers can speak the language to make their own friends, and it is safe enough to let them loose a little.

Kay

Amy, <BR>the best place in Australia that I have ever been for wildlife in it's natural habitat is the Grampians (the very small town is Halls Gap). We always see kangaroos, cockatoos, rosellas, galahs, and if you look hard enough, koalas and emus. At night you would see possums if you look carefully. The Grampians are about a 4 hour drive west of Melbourne near Stawell. There are also some fantastic bushwalks there. <BR>Kay

Amy

Thanks for the information. We've been doing a lot of research and are pretty sure that we're going to go to Australia. It's sounding great! We were thinking of going to Sydney, Kangaroo Island, Ayers Rock/Alice Springs, and Port Douglas. How's this sound and how many days for each? Anyone with suggestions for accomodations (nice but not super expensive) would be much appreciated as well as any other tips. Thanks.

Rhonda

Amy, this trip is during YOUR summer? Remember it's winter here. It'll be COLD on Kangaroo Island, but refreshing. Queensland and Northern Territory will be milder. <BR> <BR>Wildlife can be seen in the wild in many many places throughout Australia. I'm from Sydney and even in the suburbs we have possums, flying foxes, cockatoos, lorikeets, magpies, kookaburras, huntsmen and red back spiders; it's all a matter of knowing where and when to look. Search through this forum there are lots of web sites listed to help you preview the myriad of possiblities for activities and accomodation. Good luck. <BR> <BR>Rhonda <BR>PS How long are you planning to be here?

Amy

Rhonda- <BR>We will be travelling during our summer. (June-August)We plan to travel 2-3 weeks. Thanks for your information.

cindy

don't forget the penguins. check out <BR>penguins web-site. do a search for Phillip Island, <BR>http://www.penguins.org.au/

marilyn smith

Hi Amy, <BR>I would have to vote Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Great barrier reef, and the Daintree as the best places to visit.We have great B& B's near Moreton Bay,(half an hour s.e.of Bris) koalas & wallabies you can see in their natural habitats, rainforests,most gorgeous coral especially from a snorkelling trip as well as a helicopter flight out from the Whitsundays. Visit Brisbane first as you will be pleasantly surprised.

W8S

A few things you can do see in Oz that you can't see do anywhere else. <BR> <BR>1) Snorkel or dive the Great Barrier Reeef. There is a reason it is listed as one of the seven wonders ot theworld. <BR> <BR>2) Visit the opal mines at coober Pedy. Not duplicated anywhere else outside of Australia. <BR> <BR>3) See Australian Aboriginal culture - as it is mythologized and as it actual is today. <BR> <BR>4) See the outback, a land so desolately beautiful that it will sear itself into your mind. <BR> <BR>5) Scores of other more touristy things that be memorable. Barramundi in Queensland. Australian Whiting in Adelaide. Mind-boggling wines in Barossa, Clare or McLaren (especially Coonawara reds) in South Australia. <BR> <BR>It's no Great Wall of China (although there is one in the Flinders Range) but then the Aussies don't execute people for their religious views either. <BR> <BR>W8S <BR> <BR>

jill

Amy, <BR>May I suggest (i.e., encourage) you to check out David Armbrust's Australian Natural History Safari. He tours you through his own nature reserve and the wildlife come right to him. Then he provides a scrumptuous lunch and then it's off to the outback. Exceptional day. Only 4 people per tour. His website is www.anhs.com.au. You won't be disappointed.

Erik Lind

I used a Travel company from San francisco that set me up with the best vacation. They are from down under and pointed me in the right direction at an amazing price. <BR> <BR>here is there address www.nzadventureco.com

monica

amy, sydney is great for many things - so many beautiful beaches, try palm beach, whale beach on the northern beaches also the city beaches such as bondi, coogee - these beaches can have a learn to surf thing n for the boys or they can go on a harley tour of sydney while you and the husband can do your own thing if you like such as have a cocktail at the horizons bar at the top fo the ANA (dress nicely or they won't let you in) the view is worth what you pay for a drink, harbour beaches such as camp cove at watsons bay - there r some wild things to do there too such as bridge climb, get the ferry, or theres a great park called centennial park on the eastern suburbs, go to an aussie rules match at the football stadium (not feral - I promise) or a cricket match in summer. theres a boatride you can take between the heads in the harbour - your kids will love - its fast and you get soaked and its safe. <BR>try Frazer Island - 4 wheel drive and see the dingo's, apparently you can spot dugongs there and you can either stay on the island or at noosa or harvey bay. also - we went to thredbo during summer and walked up to the top of mt koziousco (tallest mountain in australia) - incredible! wine tasting in the hunter valley but may be a little boring for the boys. <BR>there are cattledroving treks you can go on at certain times of the yr in the sth of nsw/victoria border and go for about a week - its very adventurous if thats what your after - sleep outdoors in the sthn mountains! hope you find something to do and some place to go...check out a website called www.getaway.com.au they may have some good things/tips for you to look at to help plan yor trip!

Carrabella

Hello Amy, <BR>1) From Sydney's Circular Quay, take commuter ferry to Manly, rocking as you cross the "Heads", the kids will love it. Walk down the popular "Corso" at Manly to the beach. The old sloganfor Manly was "7 miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care." If you want, you can do a four hour coastal walk back to the "Spit" and get a bus from there to the city. Or catch the ferry back. <BR>There are lots of birds, but the attraction is the prolific variety of plants and wildflowers, the track itself for kids, and the views. <BR> <BR>2) Train from Sydney to the Blur Mountains. Walk or taxi to Echo Point. Go down the Giant's Stairway(1000) steps, 2 hours delightful valley walk, and the steepest rack railway in the world back up again.

pat

Children aren`t allowed to climb the Sydney bridge, but I don`t remember what the age limit was. (We did it in May). Have you read Bill Bryson`s book on Australia(In a Sunburnt Country)? He is hysterical, and I learned a lot. I starting planning my trip when I got through reading. <BR>Enjoyed the Wildlife Sanctuary outside Melbourne. The animals are in large enclosures, and you go right in with them. There were 3 of us and we had 2 guides to ourselves. Your children would enjoy the great barrier reef, too. We went on the Quicksilver boat, which was way too big, so do something smaller. The only negative of the whole trip was the LONG plane ride.

LizF

Here we go again - forgetting the 2 most spectacular areas of Australia - Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Tasmania for its World Heritage listed areas and for its pretty little villages. Its convict built villages and Port Arthur Tassies convict settlement to mention a few things. <BR>The Northern Territory is the Worlds final frontier with so many things to do that you could spend your entire time there and do things that you would never see and do in the USA. Take a safari trip into the World Heritage listed Kakadu. Don't do the bus trips - do the private safaris where you will go to places that the main tourist don't go. You will see so much wild life. <BR>Australia and Brazil have 2/3rds of the world birds. The difference between Australia and Brazil though is that most of those birds in Australia live amongst the population and you don't have to go up some river and sit in a hide for a week to see them. <BR>If you would like to be more specific then we can help you further with more specific things to do - at that time of year my pick would be the barrier Reef and northern Queensland, the Whitsundays and the Northern Territory. As they say here " if you never never go you will never never know" ( what you missed ) This is a big country and it wasn't voted the best place to visit for nothing and Sydney the best city in the world for nothing either.

pat

Don`t forget, they are going in our summer, their winter. Tasmania would be cold, and isn`t that the rainy season in the Northern Territory?

LizF

No Pat that would be the dry season in the Northern Territory. My two boys went on a Safari overland through Kakadu and had the best of times. They camped out at night and had their meals over a camp fire. They saw so much wild life even to the point of swimming ( for a very short time) with 2 freshwater crocs. <BR>A champagne breakfast at Fog Dam to watch the sunrise and the millions of birds taking flight is really something. <BR>In Queensland there is Carnarvon Gorge which is fantastic. Then also Lawn Hill National Park - the one that has the dinosaur stampede marks in the ground with the beautiful billabongs which are seething with wild-life. But the best areas at that time of year of course is North Queensland around the Port Douglas and Cairns area. I could go snorkling every day on that reef it is so magnificent. Take wildlife tours and spot-liting tours at night. There is so much to do that that short amount of time will not be long enough. <BR>I am just sorry really that people overseas are so " unenlightened" about Australia. <BR>