Australia frst time
 

We are planning our first trip to Australia this September. As seasoned globetrotters we want to make sure we cover the most interesting and memorable places. We plan to be on land for 13 days. At this moment included in our itinerary is Sydney and the Ayer's Rock area. Our dilema is should we cover other areas in Australia or swing over to New Zealand maybe for 3 - 4 days?

Your thoughts and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Ruben

There is much more to Australia than sydney and Uluru, as you probably are aware..................

so depending on what features you want to 'tick' off, you could include:

the most popular nature based sights (ie: the Daintree, Barrier Reef, Wave rock (WA), Tasmania - at least parts of it in the time you have - and the murray)

or stay city focussed (opera House, the harbour (and the bridge), flinders' street (sorry southern cross) station(melbourne), Queen Victoria's Markets, Canberra's cafe scene and parliment)


or off the beaten track - real Australia (the 'less travelled' sights slightly inland of the coast or stop off at the less known sights the Lava tubes in Queensland, be a jack or jillaroo for the day (week or month)NT style, sample the Margaret river wine region (expand to the Hunter and Victorian areas), snowy mountains cherry and apple country.

Look I know I have thrown a lot up in there 'air' to choose from, but thats my point. as with any country sometimes a single trip wont scrape the surface, it all depends on how deep you want to dig, how long you have to dig and what you are digging for.

No, don't try to include New Zealand for 3-4 days. There's more than enough to see and do in Australia for the full 13 days and 3-4 days in New Zealand is not nearly enough time. Besides you'll lose at least 1/2 a day or more just getting to New Zealand when you factor in flight times, waiting at the airport, and the change in time zones.

Since you already plan to visit Sydney and Uluru, I suggest that you add Cairns/Port Douglas and do the popular "City, Rock, Reef" tour. This combo is popular because it does cover some of "the most interesting and memorable places" in Australia.

airnewzealand.com has some nice package sales right now.
Country is vast make more time or just do 3-4 nice
placesin OZ for best experience for me. Have fun!

Ruben please list the two most memorable places on your continent.

Thank you all for this valuable information. I am going to stick to Australia this time. There is plenty to see and do.

How about the wine region. What would you recommend?

I think you should spend some time up north, the rainforests are some of the most beautiful... it can be a long walk though. But as others have said it will be difficult to fit in New Zealand as there is so much to see and do..

My two most memorable places are Cape Town in SA and
Beijing, China

Wow, didn't notice Pangaea reform!

Seriously, it might be worth thinking what made those two places so memorable and then go for similar experiences.

You can visit a couple of wine areas from Sydney. If looking for a third base then I would recommend Cairns and its hinterland if you have an interest in natural history. There is the reef and then the rainforests. The Atherton Tablelands is where the naturalists go because that is where the endemic animals are found. If you are after a more energetic experience there are a variety of offerings from skydiving and white water rafting to forest surfing and hiking.

Id spend a few days in Nth QLD, 5 days in Sydney and then 5 in Melbourne. It'll give you a great variety of what Australia has to offer. Both major cities have some wonderful attractions to offer.
I'm not sure what part of the world you're coming from. But maybe you could fly direct to Brisbane, (Cairns if the airline of choice flies direct) and fly to Nth Queensland. After a few days there, fly direct to Sydney, 5 days there and then fly down to Melbourne for 5 days, then fly home direct from there. Just a suggestion. =)

Don't go to New Zealand in this trip. There is too much to see in Australia and New Zealand to spend only a few days in each. Save NZ for another time.
September is a good time for far North Queensland as it is not too humid or wet at that time. Spring is lovely in Melbourne and Sydney. Each state is completely different.
As an Australian, I have not seen all I would like.
When in Sydney, walk from Coogee Beach to Bondi. It is a lovely 6km walk along the coast and you can stop at beautiful spots along the way. Catch the bus to Coogee from outside Central Station along Eddy Avenue. I do it every time I go to Sydney and never get sick of it.
I went to NZ 2 years ago and spent 2 weeks which only included the south island. It was remarkable and I saw beautiful Christchurch before the earthquake.

Just thought of something else. If you like wine there are many wine regions to visit. I lived for many years in North East Victoria and there are many wineries around Milawa, Rutherglen,Wangaratta and Seymour. You could also do a tour from Adelaide to the wine areas of South Australia. I know there are many wineries in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney but I have not explored those. If you visit the wine areas you will get to see rural Australia, but not the outback which is much further away from capital cities.

Thank you everyone for such valuable info. This will definetely go a long way to plan my trip for only Australia this time.


Fyi I will be coming from Miami, FL.