northie

Elvtee have lived in Melbourne most of my life and have never worn a coat in December!!!

Suzy_Q

Pat, thank you for the the recommendation on who to use - much appreciated. We do know that we won't be in Cairns. I will look into both those providers. One friend did recommend Quicksilver to us and they are right down the street from our hotel. Any thoughts on them?

My next question was actually going to be on weather northie! Obviously, I've looked up the average temps on several internet sources, but I feel that it's always better to ask someone who's actually lives/been there. How will the weather (day and night) be in Sydney and Melbourne at the end of Dec/early Jan. Any surprises? I can tell Cairns will be very humid and hot.

Definitely not going to the Outback, but thank you for the reiteration ivenotbeeneverywhere. I have no idea why that came up!

ivenotbeeneverywhere

Weather in Sydney and Melbourne at that time of year is a bit like it would be in LA - most of the time its wonderful in summer BUT you can get very hot periods. Generally speaking December and even into January can be the more standard temps i.e. 28deg C and its mainly mid-January and February that I find are the hotter months BUT having said that things have been more than a little strange regarding weather for the past couple of years and nothing can be taken as the norm any more. To give you an instance - it is Spring here in Hobart and we have had two Antarctic blasts during the last 2 weeks with heavy snow falls down to 200 mtrs and the coldest weather, the heaviest rainfall etc etc. Cairns has had the most rain in many, many years in September ( the dry season). So you can rely on it being very warm to hot I think and that means that you don't have to pack a lot of clothes as a pair of sandles, shorts, T-shirt will get you just about everywhere.

Suzy_Q

Thanks that is helpful! And we'll have packed some cold weather clothes for our week in New Zealand's South Island anyway.

northie

summer clothes as for New York -have had some use of cardigan , light long sleeve top occasionally. have you checked the weather for South Isalnd cuase I don't think it would be cold weather as in NY winter but I don't know the temps in SI

cathies

suzie, I'm glad you wlll be bringing some warm clothes. Sydney summers typically have periods of hot, humid days and then suddenly a 'southerly buster' will blow in to cool everything down for a few days. It can be REALLY cold when this happens, it's delicious, but cold, so a warm jacket may come in handy.

Can your Sydney friends help you plan your New Years Eve celebrations. The fireworks are fabulous and in my opinion a 'must see'. However it is a chaotic thing to do as the trains end up packed, as you can imagine. There are two fireworks sessions, one at 9pm and the main event at midnight. They are both great, but the midnight ones are a bit more special. The trick is to then stay where you are until about 1.30am and by then the worst of the crowds heading to the trains will have thinned out. Of course, if you are staying in the city then it won't matter at all. Make sure you book that accommodation soon, if you haven't already done so, as it is a popular thing to do.

I hope you have a great holiday in our beautiful country!

Suzy_Q

Northie, yes from what I can tell online, the weather is more chilly than frosty in SI around that time, so we'll be prepared with layers and a light jacket. Definitely don't want to get sick at the end of our trip!

Cathies, I have a friend in Syndey, who I will be reaching out to as it gets closer to our trip to help us plan our NYE. We're staying at the Sheraton Four Points, Darling Harbour, so I believe that we will be in the city. Hoping to work it out so we get to see the show at midnight. Thanks for the tip!

cathies

Suzy, you will be right in the heart of the city so the fireworks will be a breeze. You should be able to work out a good vantage point and then just stroll back to your hotel afterwards! Sounds fabulous! Come back with other questions if you need more help. You could also do my favourite walk which run from Mosman to Manly Beach - it hugs the coastline and is absolutely beautiful - it's about a 10k easy walk. I can tell you more about it if you are interested. cheers, Cathie

AlanJG

northie,
I slept with an electric blanket on, one December night in Melbourne and the next night lay naked under a fan trying to get cool enough. No I was not ill at the time.