I am planning a honeymoon to Austrlia - coming from NYC. We planned with the idea we would come back again - in other words, not too much running around.<BR><BR>Here's the itinerary.<BR>Sept 25-30 - Hayman Island (after flying from NY - LA - SYD - Hamilton)<BR>Sept 30-Oct 1 - Beach Club, Hamilton Island (to avoid having to take a 6AM boat to make the nonstop flight to Cairns)<BR>Oct 1-4 - Silky Oaks Lodge<BR>Oct 4-10 - Sydney<BR><BR>Any mistakes?<BR>Questions I had were:<BR>(1) We'll probably do a day trip scuba diving from Hayman - would we want to add another trip to the GBR from Pt Douglas? Has anyone done a day trip scuba diving from Hayman? Is it much different/ better at Pt Douglas?<BR><BR>(2) Given were we will have been first, would we be better off with a trip to the Blue Mountains or Wine Country from Sydney? How will the weather in those areas be at the beginning of October?<BR><BR>(3) How's the food at Silky Oaks? They are only allowing pricing that includes breakfasts and dinners and I usually like to avoid places that make you include meals, but Silky Oaks otherwise sounds great.<BR><BR>(4) I know they was some related discussion of this before, but how far of a drive is it from either Silky Oaks or Sydney to see some of the "Outback" - I don't need to see the best part or whatever, just to get a glimpse. Only time I've ever seen desert was as I was landing/taking off from Las Vegas.

You are in luck Steve. I had planned to go to Hayman Island. The reviews were great and I 'm sure it is top-shelf. I wanted to explore more without paying quite the price that Hayman charges. I went to Silky Oaks. From there, tour operators pick you up and take you anywhere. On our second day there, we had advance reservations for the Australia National Safari Tour with David Armbrust. You can book him directly with Silky Oaks. He usually takes 4 passengers in his 4-wheel drive but he only had the 2 of us booked that day. He offered us as long a trip as we wanted. He spent 10 hours with us, including a visit to the outback, only 30 minutes from Mount Lewis. I am sure he can spend more time there than the other two spots on his itinerary if that interests you. Silky Oaks and david Armbrust were the highlights of our trip. You may also want to visit the Rainforest habitat where you can pet a koala. It is in Pt. Douglas. My wife of 17 years thought Silky Oaks was very romantic. Trees and birds everywhere, and the BEST buffet breakfast ever. Great thick bread (3 or 4 varieties) for toast, pastries, fresh and exotic fruits, yogurts, cereals, etc. It is definitely not the Hamton Inn buffet. You can also order off of the menu if you prefer cholesterol-laden products. Their chef makes great lunch and dinner selections, but while the quality and presentation is outstanding, the portions are small, and you have to order appetizers or dessert to feel satisfied. The lamb and fish are good but Australia's beef and chicken are not up to snuff (true everywhere...not just Silky Oaks). I'd only eat half my luches/dinners at Silky Oaks. I'd consider a few excursions to Port Douglas for meals (try the garlic-pesto garlic bread with cheese at Salsa...also we never got into Nautilus, as advance reservations of a few days may be required). <BR>

You are in luck Steve. I had planned to go to Hayman Island. The reviews were great and I 'm sure it is top-shelf. I wanted to explore more without paying quite the price that Hayman charges. I went to Silky Oaks. From there, tour operators pick you up and take you anywhere. On our second day there, we had advance reservations for the Australia National Safari Tour with David Armbrust. You can book him directly with Silky Oaks. He usually takes 4 passengers in his 4-wheel drive but he only had the 2 of us booked that day. He offered us as long a trip as we wanted. He spent 10 hours with us, including a visit to the outback, only 30 minutes from Mount Lewis. I am sure he can spend more time there than the other two spots on his itinerary if that interests you. Silky Oaks and david Armbrust were the highlights of our trip. You may also want to visit the Rainforest habitat where you can pet a koala. It is in Pt. Douglas. My wife of 17 years thought Silky Oaks was very romantic. Trees and birds everywhere, and the BEST buffet breakfast ever. Great thick bread (3 or 4 varieties) for toast, pastries, fresh and exotic fruits, yogurts, cereals, etc. It is definitely not the Hamton Inn buffet. You can also order off of the menu if you prefer cholesterol-laden products. Their chef makes great lunch and dinner selections, but while the quality and presentation is outstanding, the portions are small, and you have to order appetizers or dessert to feel satisfied. The lamb and fish are good but Australia's beef and chicken are not up to snuff (true everywhere...not just Silky Oaks). I'd only eat half my luches/dinners at Silky Oaks. I'd consider a few excursions to Port Douglas for meals (try the garlic-pesto garlic bread with cheese at Salsa...also we never got into Nautilus, as advance reservations of a few days may be required). <BR><BR>We also spent a week in Sydney. David Armbrust told us not to miss the Blue Mountains, but we skipped it because it appeared somewhat similar to Mount Lewis near Daintree. Just got back 5 days ago, and I think the weather in October is comparable to what we had. Sunny and hot in Port Douglas area and mostly sunny and mild in Sydney. E-mail me if you have any questions and I can give you my phone # if you want it. Have fun. <BR>

Steve, Mt Lewis in north Queensland is about as similiar to the Blue Mountains as NYC is to Santa Fe. <BR>I will also take to task Ricks comments on steak. If you didn't find the steak good then you were not eating in the right places. I have NEVER had a steak in the USA under $50 that was edible except for that gound beef stuff which in not fit for pigs.<BR> Hayman is nothing like the North either and it is worth the money. It offers a quite different approach to the GBR<BR>Also I hate to tell you this Steve but the Outback that Rick went to was only out the back of Cairns - to get to the real Outback you have to go hundreds if not a thousand miles. I would not like you to be disappointed.

Thanks for both of your comments. <BR><BR>I'd never even heard of Mount Lewis before. I guess the question is in early October, if I only have time for one and given where I will have visited, does anyone have an opinion as to whether I should go to Hunter Valley or the Blue Mountains from Sydney? What will the weather in those areas be like in early Oct.?<BR><BR>Is the trip to the Outback either at Cairns or at Sydney worth the time - I know I won't see the real Alice Springs-type Outback, but will I see anything worth seeing? <BR><BR>Is Silky Oaks worth the money, especially with the forced breakfast and dinner package? (It comes to AU$960 per person for 4 days/ 3 nites with the meals and 1 full day trip - either The "Daintree & Cape Tribulation Experience", operated by Australian Wilderness Experience or a Quicksilver Outer Barrier Reef Cruise --- any reviews on either of these???) The dinner is a 4-course dinner, so we'd get, i guess appetizers and desert (and a side?).<BR><BR>Blinky - I wasn't sure if you were recommending taking another trip to the GBR from Pt Douglas - is the GBR itself vastly different in a day trip from Pt Douglas as compared to a day trip from Hayman?<BR><BR>I will mostly stay out of the steak debate, except to say that as a New Yorker, I assume that it is generally impossible to find steak as good as the top NYC steakhouses. Although, Blinky I assume you meant $50 for a steak and the rest of the meal, not just the steak, but in any event sounds like the next time you're in the US you should ask ahead where to go for your meals...<BR>

Firstly the problem with Americans when they order steak, or see a menu, in Australia is that our cuts of mean are different from the US cuts. Therefore what you get in Australia may be very different from the US because of the cut of mean. I ALWAYS request my steak cut NY "size", however the best bet is to ask the waiter here WHICH is the best cut to eat and then you will get the exact same quality as anywhere else. For your trivia information Australia is one of the world's biggest meat producing nations and particularly eaters of meat. There are many ways to eat it and many different cuts and you won't get better meat anywhere in the world if you do things right. <BR>In answer to another question, yes the whole area around Hayman is very different from the area around the Cairns/Port Douglas/ Daintree area. Hayman is in the top 10 of the World's island holiday destinations. The outer reefs may be similiar but the geography of the areas are different.<BR>I think you could do much better than the price of Silky Oaks - have a look at www. wotif.com for prices you could get when you arrive here, divide by 2 and you will get roughly what it is in $US.<BR>You really have to go a long way to get to any "outback" from either Sydney or Cairns.

Steve,<BR>To second a portion of what Rick suggested, while at Silky Oaks DO take a trip with David Armbrust. It is FANTASTIC. If you want a glimpse of what you'll see, visit his website at www.anhs.com. We visited with David and his little friends on our last day in Australia and it still brings me great joy to think back on that memorable day! P.S. - his wife (and David) prepares a fantastic lunch.