Randy

My wife and I are going to Fiji and Australia in Nov./00. We are staying at the Matamanoa in Fiji, Peninsula Hotel in Port Douglas and the Marriott Surfers Paradise outside of Brisbane. Does anyone have experience with these properties and what about the weather in November? What things are "must do " in these areas?

thomas stilinovich

matamanoa - romantic and very intimate resort. <BR>peninsula - very groovy, chic resort on the beach. <BR>marriott - much like the marriotts everywhere. quality upmarket accom - great "swimming pool" <BR> <BR>at matamanoa there isn't much to do except swim, snorkel - a speedboat trip around the islands is nice. <BR>at the peninsula - day trip to the daintree rainforest and mossman gorge. catch a snorkelling trip out to the reef. <BR>at surfers we have all our "theme" parks if you're into that - movie world, dreamworld etc. the mountains behind surfers are quite beautiful so hire a car and go for a drive. <BR> <BR>november will be hot and humid in fiji - water is warm for snorkelling. pretty rainy I'm afraid. Same goes for port douglas. brisbane same as the other two but to less extent - not quite so humid and rainy. don't despair though as all three are centred on water based activities so a cool swim is just the thing on a sultry day.

merriem

I hope your plans include going to Sydney! Don't miss it.

Dustin Woodard

We spent our honeymoon in Fiji and Port Douglas last August. We did a lot of stuff, but these are the must-do's: <BR> <BR>snorkel in Fiji (take a tour if you must) <BR> <BR>In Australia: <BR>scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef (resort dive if it is your first time- it was ours and it was simply amazing!) We Recommend Habba Dive. <BR> <BR>go to the nearby wildlife park (south of Port Douglas) to pet kangaroos and koalas. <BR> <BR>Play on the beach! <BR> <BR>Take a rainforest trip from BTS tours.

RICK

Randy, My wife and I were in PT D in Nov of 1999 and loved it. I dont know anything about your property but the entire area is great. Kind of a quaint little village, very friendly and helpful people. Not to scare you, the weather that time of year is coming on to their stormy weather (depends on beginning or end of month) and I am sure you know about the box jellyfish (take them serious). We had some rough seas getting out to the reef but worth every minute of it. Enjoy, Australia is awesome, you cant help but have a great time there. I second the other writer about Sydney, it is equally as beautiful and lots to do there.

rick

Forgot, places in PT D, Salsas, The View (best dinner), Poseiden (snorkelling trip), avoid Quicksilver unless rough weather because it is a bigger boat and unless you are somewhat limited on your age and ability (it is somewhat of a cattle boat). Stoll around the village and check out the menus, check out the marina, visit the Sheraton Mirage (its where we stayed so I am biased but it is beautiful). Enjoy.

Nick

Randy, <BR> <BR>I would recommend getting away from the Gold Coast and visiting the Sunshine Coast, (far less tacky) and maybe the Whitsundays. You will be able to find accomodation for A$20 per day in backpackers in these areas. <BR> <BR>Good luck <BR> <BR>Nick O'Neill <BR>Travel Nutter <BR>http://www.BootsnAll.com <BR>The Ultimate Resource for the Independent Traveller <BR>

D

I lived in Surfer's for a semester in college. It is tacky, but in a fun way. It has an active nightlife (Shooters is pretty fun), great beaches and is the vacation spot for Australians. If you want to shop, Pacific Fair ("Pac Fair") is the palce to go. Currumbin Sanctuary is a nice place to visit for some outdoor fun and people seem to enjoy the casino (although I personally think you can do that anywhere). If you ask around, there might be some surf competitions going on as many of the beaches there host them. Speaking of beaches, be sure to soak up the rays (w/ ample sunscreen) as the beaches provide the main attraction. Bond Uni is beautiful and is just 15 minutes on the number 3 or 3a bus going to Robina. There are lots of theme parks close if you like that type of thing. The Australian Sea World is very nice. November will be great weather. If you do decide to do go to the Great Barrier Reef, Lady Elliott Island is fantastic, is not too expensive, and is pretty close. You would have to check, but that might be the time of year when the humpback whales are passing through Lady Elliot. Its wonderful.

Jane

Anyone have an opinion on which medium price outer reef company to use. Haba or Poseidin and why? (going in July) <BR>Thanks

Matt

We used Poseidon last October and were very happy with them. They leave at about 8:30am, take about 1 hour to get to the Reef, and arrive back at about 4:00pm. So you get about 6 hours on the Reef at 3 different sites. The food was good and the people friendly and helpful. They are limited to about 40 passengers so you never really feel crowded and you can do escorted dives at a reasonable additional cost. Haba dive seem to have a very similar service, their boat was about the same size as Poseidon's.