16 days Cairns,Daintree, Alice, Syd?
Mar 23rd, 2004, 08:14 PM
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16 days Cairns,Daintree, Alice, Syd?
Hello Friends,
My wife and I plan a trip to Australia in July,2004 for around 21 days.
Here's my first idea for a plan
One day Sydney (jet lag recovery)
Three days in Cairns (maybe short cruise to see GBR---can't swim need glass bottom boat!)
Three days in Daintree(see rainforest)
Four days Alice Spring/Uluru (see outback &Uluru)
Three days in Sydney (return to tour fly back to states)
We want to "eco tour" (in comfort--no more camping for me) and like visiting a site fully without bouncing to "48 highlights."
Any suggestions on the itinerary or special accommodations are gratefully accepted.
K. S. Chan
My wife and I plan a trip to Australia in July,2004 for around 21 days.
Here's my first idea for a plan
One day Sydney (jet lag recovery)
Three days in Cairns (maybe short cruise to see GBR---can't swim need glass bottom boat!)
Three days in Daintree(see rainforest)
Four days Alice Spring/Uluru (see outback &Uluru)
Three days in Sydney (return to tour fly back to states)
We want to "eco tour" (in comfort--no more camping for me) and like visiting a site fully without bouncing to "48 highlights."
Any suggestions on the itinerary or special accommodations are gratefully accepted.
K. S. Chan
Mar 24th, 2004, 08:24 PM
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Are you planning to hire a car or take tours whilst you are in Queensland and NT? A car would certainly give you flexibity. Alice to Uluru takes about four hours driving. With four days you could even diverge to Kings Canyon.
We have driven to Cape Tribulation (Daintree area) from Cairns as a day trip so you could certainly do this easily in two or three days. There is also plenty of rainforest to see without going so far north - around Mossman and Port Douglas for example. There are plenty of trips out to the reef from both Port Douglas and Cairns so you could wait and book when you get there.
You certainly don't need a car in Sydney - just a parking nightmare as any big city is. Use public transport there.
We have driven to Cape Tribulation (Daintree area) from Cairns as a day trip so you could certainly do this easily in two or three days. There is also plenty of rainforest to see without going so far north - around Mossman and Port Douglas for example. There are plenty of trips out to the reef from both Port Douglas and Cairns so you could wait and book when you get there.
You certainly don't need a car in Sydney - just a parking nightmare as any big city is. Use public transport there.
Mar 24th, 2004, 10:40 PM
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There's plenty of rainforest just south of Cairns too - Wooroonooran National Park contains the 2 highest mountains in Queensland, numerous rivers, waterfalls, swimming holes and some of the world's lushest and most ancient rainforests. You can take a guided day trip - www.wooroonooran-safaris.com.au
Mar 27th, 2004, 06:32 PM
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You don't need to swim!
We took the "Reef Magic" boat to the reef. They offered snorkeling as an option (pretty much all do). You can wear a life jacket and stick one arm through a lifering flotation device; so you're not going to sink or anything. Just wear the mask and snorkel and stick your face in the water, wear flippers to get you where you want to go. No problem!
They park within a few yards of the reef; the tour my wife took included a guided tour with the marine biologist on board, who explained what they were seeing as they snorkelled past.
The reef is something to see. To my mind, it was the highlight of our Australian trip. Don't miss it. The glass-bottomed boat doesn't do anywhere near as good a job.
If for some medical reason you can't hop into the water, look for a tour that has something better than just a flat glass bottom. Some brochures showed little boats that were quite deep and have vertical sides - better view.
We took the "Reef Magic" boat to the reef. They offered snorkeling as an option (pretty much all do). You can wear a life jacket and stick one arm through a lifering flotation device; so you're not going to sink or anything. Just wear the mask and snorkel and stick your face in the water, wear flippers to get you where you want to go. No problem!
They park within a few yards of the reef; the tour my wife took included a guided tour with the marine biologist on board, who explained what they were seeing as they snorkelled past.
The reef is something to see. To my mind, it was the highlight of our Australian trip. Don't miss it. The glass-bottomed boat doesn't do anywhere near as good a job.
If for some medical reason you can't hop into the water, look for a tour that has something better than just a flat glass bottom. Some brochures showed little boats that were quite deep and have vertical sides - better view.
Mar 28th, 2004, 11:38 AM
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KsC2003 - "little boats which are quite deep with vertical sides" are actually semi-submersibles and certainly afford far superior viewing opportunities than looking down through a glass bottom boat. As MD says, you don't need to be able to swim to snorkel - your fins will keep you afloat and if you're still worried use a flotation device or a life jacket. All you need to do is remember to breathe through your mouth, lie in the water and kick your feet now and then. You'll experience so much more - some fish are curious and will swim right up to your face and you'll actually hear the very colourful parrot fish crunching on the coral. Reef Magic is a great trip, especially if you want to avail yourself of their free introductory scuba dive, however in your case I'd recommend Ocean Spirit to Michaelmas Cay out of Cairns. Very easy snorkelling off a sand cay rather than straight off boat or pontoon as well as their own semisub. The Cay is also a seabird sanctuary.
