1st time visit - Sydney, Melbourne, & Cairms
 

We are planning a trip to Australia in May 2001 and just have a few questions. <BR> <BR>1)Weather at that time of year. Cool? Rainy? Or just right like our Fall weather in USA. <BR> <BR>2)Must see places, or your most memorable experience. <BR> <BR>3)Day trips around Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns. <BR> <BR>4)Pubs & restaurants in the area. We are not fussy, butlike a good meal. Plus we always found the pubs in other places to be a great way to meet the locals and learn about their country. <BR> <BR>5)Should we rent a car for any day trips to see the countryside? <BR>

Here's a few suggested answers <BR>1) Sydney weather will be pleasant, but possibly with some rain(avge abt 20 celsius), Melbourne cool, but mostly dry (avge abt 17 degrees), Cairns will be warm to hot (avge abt 28 degrees) and with a fair chance of storms, being the tail end of the wet season. <BR> <BR>5) I wouldn't bother too much with a car in Sydney or Melbourne, but around Cairns you can visit the Atherton Tableland, Mossman, Daintree and Cape Tribulation. You can hire a car or get an organised tour.

Thanks, Matt for the information. <BR> <BR>We were thinking around the 2nd of May. Would it be better to plan towards the end of May, beginning of June. If it rains, does it rain all day or like where I live in the states, just for about 1hr or 2. <BR> <BR>

Sounds like a great trip. Would like to join you. Message on New Zealand sounds good to..

Welcome to Australia - I hope you have a great time. <BR>Here's some suggestions for Melbourne - Southgate on the river has great restaurants - from expensive to cheap. Try Little Bourke Street for Chinese food, Lygon Street for Italian. If you have time, the drive along the Great Ocean Road is beautiful but you'll need to allow two days for the return trip. The Yarra Valley wine region is about an hour's drive from the CBD. If you go there, consider going a bit further and seeing Healesville Sanctuary specialising in Australian animals and birds. The Melbourne Zoo is also excellent. The Rialto Tower has great views over Melbourne. Take a ferry along the river to Williamstown and have a wander through the shops and restaurants. The St Kilda Esplanade has a great craft market on Sunday - only a tram ride from the CBD. Use the free City Circle trams (brown trams) around the city. Queen Victoria market is good shopping for souvenirs, clothes and great food. We also have some lovely parks around the city. Wrap up warmly and bring an umbrella. <BR> <BR>Re Cairns, bear in mind that Cairns does not have any beaches - it is on mud flats. A nice place to stay is at Palm Cove - between Cairns and Port Douglas - about 20 minutes drive from each. A good range of accommodation and restaurants, nice beach, quiet pleasant atmosphere. Make sure you go to Port Douglas - very nice place. The rail/sky car trip from Cairns to Kuranda is well worth doing. <BR> <BR>When you are Sydney, consider doing a boat trip around the harbour, taking the ferry to Manly and having a walk and lunch. Take the ferry to Taronga Park Zoo for the great animals and views across Sydney. Go up to the Centrepoint Tower for views. Walk to Darling Harbour - great aquarium. Spend time walking around the Rocks. A good day trip is to the Blue Mountains. <BR>Email me if I can help with any information.

We just returned from 22 days in OZ. One week was spent in Cairns/Mossman area, One on the GBR and the rest in Brisbane (business) and Sydney. <BR> <BR>While I cannot comment on Melbourne, I would concur with the posts suggesting a car in Cairns. Our 8 day rental of a Toyota Camry was 245.00 US after the exchange rate. We rented from HERTZ but noticed many smaller local rental agencies that might have been cheaper. We found the convenience of a Car to add significantly to our time in Cairns. For instance, we had planned a half day in Kurunda, but ended up spending a lot longer. A tour would have required us to return much sooner. Most of the folks I saw on the tour busses were retired folks who wanted just a taste of things. If that describes you and your wants, then the local tours were all well operated and very professional..We however traveled with our 10 year old daughter and wanted the flexibility of saying...lets check this beach out, or how about seeing if we can get closer to that neat waterfall we see in the distance. <BR> <BR>Mossman gorge is stunning, the Daintree river and valley worth an explore. Cape tribulation is splendid, tho we did get rained out when Cooper Creek was a full meter above the bridge. (BTW lots of tour busses stuck on the wrong side). <BR> <BR>Port douglas is nice..but fairly busy. A very young crowd in the pubs and on the beaches. Lots of apartments for folks who want to rent with a kitchen. <BR> <BR>We stayed at Silky Oaks in Mossman...A streach for the bank account but worth twice what we paid. Splendid cabins, solitude and excellent staff/service. Again, having a car really helped here as well. (How many 5 star resturants do you know that are visited by Bandicoots and green tree frogs at meal time?) <BR> <BR>Sydney...no need for a car, in fact you would probably be dangerous on the roads. We stayed on Darlington Harbor...next time I would stay closer to the Rocks...or Circular Quay...just easier to access transportation. <BR> <BR>We did not purchase the Explorer pass, as we had pretty firm destinations in mind (Manly, Taronga Zoo) and it was cheaper to buy 10 trip tickets. However, if I were to do the sights, I would definately use the Explorer bus as we spent a lot of time figuring out were things were on the day we roamed Sydney. <BR> <BR>Individual trips to the GBR are probably better booked once you get to OZ. Quicksilver is a big fast stable boat, but not the best for snorkeling as too may folks go out at a time. (If you are an independent swimmer) Other smaller companies, many mentioned in earlier posts are smaller and more personal. Port Douglas has several as does Cairns. If you take Quicksilver out of Cairns, be aware that it actually goes up the cost to Port Douglas, picks up more folks and then goes to the GBR. Convenient, but a lot of time on the water if you are prone to motion sickness. <BR> <BR>email me if you want more info