Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Australia & the Pacific
Reload this Page >

10 day trip to Australia...beginning and ending in Sydney...

10 day trip to Australia...beginning and ending in Sydney...

Old Apr 4th, 2009, 05:00 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
10 day trip to Australia...beginning and ending in Sydney...

Hello!
My husband and I are planning a 10 day trip to Australia in mid-May. We are very active people and enjoy hiking, biking, etc....

We are also possibly interested in wine country...suggestions?

Cheers!
nikkioz is offline  
Old Apr 4th, 2009, 05:16 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,018
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Nikkioz, I think you might have accidently made this look like a trip report rather than a query, if you don't get much of a response perhaps post without that designation.

It would also be good if you indicated what part of the country you are interested in, Australia is a very large country and you can hike and bike practically everywhere. Similarly there are lots of wine regions (Hunter Valley, NSW, Mudgee NSW, Lake George ACT, Yarra Valley Victoria, Tasmania etc.). For me the best wine comes from Margaret River, in Western Australia or Barossa Valley, South Australia.
Susan7 is offline  
Old Apr 4th, 2009, 06:20 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 911
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
As you only have ten days and are in and out of Sydney, I suggest the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley and some of the walks in and around Sydney will keep you busy. There is a huge variety to choose from in terms of length and difficulty as well as the type of country you'll go through.
Saltuarius is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2009, 05:53 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well it certainly wouldn't make a lot of sense to go rushing off to Adelaide, say, for instance. If that's where you wanted to go you'd fly directly there in the first place.

An exception would be Tasmania. But then if your trip is a research-free zone you won't know if it would suit you or not; or whether you would prefer it to the current suggestion of Sydney area. And I certainly don't.

There are many hikes and areas of great natural beauty in Tasmania - why don't you do a little hunting around for Cradle Mountain, Bay of Fires, Freycinet, Maria Island. You might find the idea of 4 days in Sydney area, and the rest in Tassie irresistable.

Of course, if you had a little longer ....
afterall is offline  
Old Apr 5th, 2009, 07:34 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I've done a lot of hiking in Australia over the years so can make suggestions for places to go...here's an itinerary that incorporates some of them

From Sydney, head inland to spend a day in the Blue Mts. There are beautiful hikes along the cliffs and down into the valleys. Then head north, visiting a winery or two in the Hunter Valley wine district. Follow the New England Hwy north to Tenterfield or Stanthorpe. Spend a night or two there to enjoy the fantastic hikes up Bald Rock and up the Pyramid in Girraween National Park - guaranteed to see kangaroos and other Australian wildlife about. There are also several wineries in the district, the so called "Granite Belt". (We have friends in Stanthorpe who operate the a great B&B there..see http://www.whiskeygullywines.com.au/Beverley/index.html ). From Stanthorpe follow the Mt Lindsey Hwy (unpaved for the first 20 miles or so), a beautiful drive through the ranges to Woodenbong (love that name!) and Beaudesert. Be sure to take the short loop off the main road that heads to Mt Barney - great views plus some good walks around the base of the mountain. (Mt Barney can be climbed, but it is a major full day effort.)

From Beaudesert head to Canungra and then up into the mountains to Lamington National Park. Spend a couple of nights here - O'Reilly's Guesthouse perhaps. Lamington NP has the most extensive system of trails of any park in Australia. Rainforests, waterfalls, lovely views and lots of wildlife, particularly birds.

Next, head back to Canungra and head toward the coast. You can avoid the glitzy urban Gold Coast, by taking the road that goes through Advancetown and Numinbah to Murwillumbah. This road is very scenic as it climbs up to the border crossing between New South Wales and Queensland. And do stop at for the walk into Natural Arch - well worth it. If you have time, (and the energy) detour from Murwillumbah to Mt Warning, a very popular walk through rainforest to the top of this mountain, a very prominent landmark in the region. A spectacular view of the ranges and the coast.

From Murwillumbah, continue down the coast to Byron Bay. Enjoy the beach there. Provided the sun is out, it should still be warm enough in May for sunbathing. And take the beautiful walk from the lighthouse along the sea cliffs - not to be missed. You'll see Mt Warning off in the distance. And you might even spot a whale or two out at sea. Cape Byron is a top whale watching spot.

From Byron, head back down the coast to Sydney. The main road will get you there in about 11 hours. But if you have any time left, there are various nice places to stop and explore en route, like Yamba, South West Rocks, Port Macquarie, etc.
RalphR is offline  
Old Apr 6th, 2009, 03:29 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,908
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The type of routing Ralph suggests will certainly get you through some lovely and diverse countryside with anything on the downside being that it'll certainly use up that ten days pretty quickly with not a great deal of wineries further north.

I'd just suggest if you wanted more in the way of wineries you could look at a shorter loop, more in vineyards about the Hunter and Mudgee and on as far as Armidale before taking the http://www.waterfallway.info/ or alternately head from Hunter/Mudgee to http://www.barringtons.com.au/ to north of Hunter Valley, some superb rugged country with farm stay and more vineyard options and from there it is a fairly short drive to Port Stephens and a few more Vineyards about there.

You could round of your trip with a couple of days on a Hawkesbury River houseboat.

Another option would be to use a few days doing some Blue Mountains and Sydney region coastal/NP walks and then fly down to Melbourne.

You have plenty of hiking/walking options right close to Melbourne, even able to get up several hours worth through parks/botanical gardens adjacent to city centre and then Dandeong ranges beckons only about 30 km. away.
The other advantage of Melbourne is that you have some good vineyard areas a lot closer than what the Hunter/Mudgee is to Sydney - Yarra Valley [some damaged by bushfires but still plenty of area not affected], Mornington Peninsula and Mt. Macedon to west of Melbourne - http://www.visitvictoria.com/display...880C476A90000/ having info and www.parkweb.vic.gov.au also being a great resource.

Another more travelling option for the south could be to still allow three or four days for Sydney and then say three days driving to head down the south coast to about as far as Bega and then cut inland to Cooma and use Alpine Way across into northern Victoria wine region before hitting up on the wines closer to Melbourne, spend your days about Melbourne and then get a flight back to Sydney.

So really quite a few options depending on balance of wineries walks and driving you want.

www.travelmate.com.au is a site on which you can do some planning re routes, distances and times ; www.drivenow.com.au will scan vehicle hire rates.
Bushranger is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
suzyq90
Australia & the Pacific
8
Oct 20th, 2016 03:13 PM
itspat
Australia & the Pacific
7
Sep 22nd, 2011 07:46 PM
MrsD_2B
Australia & the Pacific
4
Mar 3rd, 2009 04:29 PM
whereabouts
Australia & the Pacific
10
Feb 2nd, 2009 08:56 PM
ieCork
Australia & the Pacific
7
Jun 7th, 2004 04:17 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -