marly528

We will be going to Queensland next November to visit our daughter who emigrated 3 months ago. We will be there for 5 weeks.Our daughter lives just outside Brisbane and whilst we are there we would like to see some places of interest.
Our daughter knows some of the places to see, but obviously she has not been there very long herself.We will have some time alone as her and her partner will not be able to get so long off work, so we hope to take our 14 year old grandson to see places of interest.(he will be on school hols).
We would love to see Sydney, would we have to take a flight? also we would like to visit the GBR and Lizard Island. Would that be another flight? Are we being too adventurous? We would be happy to see as much as possible on the East coast, but want to spend time with our daughter and her partner at weekends, seeing local beauty spots. Any advice would be welcome. We love the beach, great scenery, good shopping,good food, theme parks and lively nightlife.

Bokhara2

Hi Marly528,
As you want to be home on the weekends; yes - fly to Sydney.
It's only 90 mins & there are lots of cheap flights. www.qantas.com.au
www.virginblue.com.au
Have a look at the "flights & accommodation" packages, too. These can often be very good value.

You will need to fly up to the GBR also.(It's about 1600 km to Cairns)

One of my favourite day trips from Brisbane is Mount Tambourine - about an hour north towards the Gold Coast.

You might also like to take a drive up to the Sunshine Coast - great markets at Eumundie on Wednesdays & Saturdays. Also see Montville & the other hinterland villages. Interesting stop at the Ginger Factory at Yandina. As a rough guide, it's about 90 mins from Bne airport to Noosa. Your grandson may be interested in Australia Zoo, also on the Sunshine Coast.

In 5 weeks, you have ample time to see lots and by the time you arrive, your daughter will have been here 13 months so will have no doubt have a list of "to - do's" for you

You will be here at a great time - summer and just before the NSW & Vic School holidays which begin end of December.

Bokhara2

What WAS I thinking??????
Mount Tambourine is of course SOUTH of Brisbane!

(I've got my Sydney hat on

Sorry ... re-set the satnav!

marly528

Thanks so much Bokhara2. We have noted down the places you have mentioned and will tell our daughter about them, she is a nurse and has been working long hours since emigrating, so is not really familiar with the area herself yet. They have already visited Noosa and the Australia zoo which they loved and both places are on our itinerary for Nov.(cant wait to hug a koala!)
Amazingly some friends who emigrated years ago live just outside Yandina. We have not kept in touch, but could incorporate a visit to the Ginger factory with a visit to them.Thanks again.

Saltuarius

Maybe when you go north to Cairns, GBR and the Atherton Tablelands your family can take a week's break and join you. That way you can spend plenty of time for an introduction to the area. I've lived here thirty one years and am still exploring it. So much to see and do. Carins can be warm at that time of year but usually only one degree warmer than Brisbane. The Tablelands is cooler than either.

SnRSeattle

marly, one place we really wanted to go but didn't because of logistics was Carnarvon Gorge National Park. You can take a train, bus or drive out of Brisbane, or even fly if you have the money. From my research, it sounds like a garden of Eden in a desert, a gorge with flora and fauna that is only found there and Aboriginal rock art, to boot. You have to be able to walk a ways to get to the end, but they also have night animal spotting, ranger led hikes, etc. Right outside of Brisbane is a great area for bird watching, Lamington NP. See Toucan2's trip report for an overview, and read the responses for a suggestion by I think Lizzy of where to go that doesn't cost so much.

In the Cairns area, I would definately recommend you go to the Atherton Tableland and also the GBR and Daintree. You can search this forum for trip reports.
Happy planning!
Sally in Seattle

LizzyF

Its Mt TAMBORINE ( note the spelling Bokara ) if the poster googles it there will be a lot of things that come up around there. Also google Gold Coast, Morton Island, Sunshine Coast.
There is no way you can fly to Carnarvon Gorge it is a drive only - you can get there by train from Brisbane - Rockhampton then Rockhampton to Emerald and from Emerald rent a car. However the better way would be to drive from Brisbane via Miles and Roma and stopping off at Bunya National Park north of Dalby and then turning north from Roma via Injune to Carnarvon Gorge

johhj_au

It's MORETON island.

tropo

Marly528 - if you are staying near Brisbane, might I sugget that without taking a long flight up to Cairns, just to see the GBR, why not fly from South East Qld, to Lady Elliott Island, on the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef in the Capricorn/Bunker Group...closer & more pristine.

LizzyF

OOOOPs " Moreton Island " - I am still suffering from a 3 day and 2 night whirlwind driving trip around Tasmania.
Just wanted to add to Tropo though that I think that when people mean the GBR it is not just the reef that they want but the whole experience of the Daintree, Cape Tribulation, Atherton Tablelands and why wouldn't they because all of it is beautiful. If diving was the only wish then there are lots of diving spots just of MORETON Island which are also very nice too. I got it right this time.

speckles

If you're looking for cheap flights, in addition to Bokhara2's suggestions of Virgin Blue and Qantas, there is also Jetstar, which is the discount arm of Qantas.

marly528

Thanks for the further suggestions, we have noted them down and hopefully will try to visit as many as possible.
The Atherton Tablelands is a must, it sounds beautiful and Atherton is my maiden name, so must go there! LOL. Never know, maybe it's named after an ancestor!! It's a good old North of England name.
Reading these suggestions is making us look forward to the trip even more, as we will be so familiar with the region and what it has to offer. Thanks again.

Saltuarius

G'day fron the Tablelands.
For a little more info on John Atherton
after whom the region is named go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atherton,_Queensland

This site also has some information
http://www.tablelands.org/history.html

When researching for your holiday I suggest www.yungaburra.com is a good place to start.

SnRSeattle

And Yungaburra is a great little village with registered buildings and elusive platypuses (is that the plural??) a short walk away. And a short drive away from lots of interesting places. Click on my name and look for the trip report I posted about our time there if you are interested in learning about our experience there. We loved it.
Sally in Seattle

marly528

Thanks Saltuarius for the web site of John Atherton.It was interesting to read that he was from Lancashire England, as, so am I.
I intend to go on the internet to find out more about my ancestry.
Yucaburra sounds good, well worth a visit and would be good to see the elusive platypus.

markop

Hi Marly,

You could go to Byron Bay. It is on the north coast of New South Wales and is a natural therapy and gourmet food hang out.

The beach there is great, the lifestsyle is very relaxed and there are some gorgeous but very expensive homes there too.

It's one of Australia's favourite destinations. The local council has fought very hard to stop massive property developments in Byron Bay to ensure the place does not get out of control.

It's about a 2.5 hour drive south of Brisbane.