Australia itinerary - please give opinions
 

Hello~<BR>Thanks to all who have answered my numerous questions regarding my vacation to OZ/NZ this (American) summer. I have the OZ part of the itinerary nearly finalized, and I wanted to get some opinions before making all of our reservations.<BR><BR>We are a couple (ages 29&amp;30, and will be traveling for 6 weeks).<BR><BR>This is what we were thinking so far:<BR><BR>1. Sydney (5 or 6 nights)<BR>2. Ayers Rock - Lost Camel (2 nights)<BR>3. Kings Canyon Resort (1 night)<BR>4. Alice Springs Resort (2 nights)<BR>5. Darwin (1 night)<BR>6. Kakadu (2 nights)<BR>7. Katherine (1 night)<BR>8. Litchfield (1 night - or back to Darwin)<BR>9. Mission Beach (1 night)<BR>10. Dunk Island (5 nights)<BR>11. Port Douglas (3 nights)<BR>12. Rainforest hotel (2 nights)<BR>13. Cairns (1 night - before flying home)<BR><BR>Prior to this, we will have been in NZ for 16 days (itinerary in the works).<BR><BR>I am still unsure of the QLD/GBR part of the itinerary. We have quite a few days to spend in that area, and I want to make the most of it. <BR><BR>Thanks for any advice.<BR><BR>Sincerely,<BR>Keri

Your itinerary looks awesome! I would take small carrier out to the reef for snorkleing/diving. I would make sure to go on David Ambursts tour while in Port Douglas. Reservations through www.anhs.com.au<BR><BR>In PD, I would make a reservation for Nautilis -- very nice restaurant!<BR><BR>Also in PD you can arrange to go up to Kuranda via rail and do the skytram car. The best part about that is that I have heard in the Heritage Zoo/Park like place you can actually hold a koala if that interests you. <BR><BR>Enjoy this trip -- it looks like it will be fabulous. <BR><BR>Dawn

Some thoughts.<BR>Are you planning to visit Katherine Gorge - if so, you really need two nights in Katherine. You can take a boat trip on the gorge (13 actually) or hire a canoe.<BR>Where are you planning to stay in Litchfield? The nearest hotel accommodation is at a small town called Batchelor (between the main highway and Litchfield) which has a hotel and a camping ground with cabins. There are also one or two other camping grounds in the area. There are some good swimming places in Litchfield so make sure you have swimsuits. <BR>Two nights would be better in Darwin if you can allow the time - one won't give you any time to look around. If Mindil Beach market is on, make sure you go there - great food and atmosphere. Take an night off Sydney if necessary.<BR>If you are driving between Cairns and Mission Beach, take time to visit Paronella Park - really interesting and quite unique.

Dawn and Marg,<BR>Thanks for the responses. <BR><BR>Marg,<BR>Do you think this would be better:<BR><BR>Darwin (1 night - Thursday)<BR>Kakadu (2 nights)<BR>Katherine (2 nights)<BR>drive from Katherine to Litchfield &amp; drive to Darwin for the night?<BR><BR>Or stay in Batchelor, drive to Darwin the next day &amp; stay the night in Darwin before flying out the next day?<BR><BR>In order to do this, I would add 2 days (one in Darwin &amp; one in Katherine).<BR><BR>I would probably take a day off Sydney and a day off QLD area.<BR><BR>The Red Centre part is set because it is part of a 5 night package (which we got a pretty good deal on compared to the regular prices).<BR><BR>Thanks!

Any more opinions?

Yes, apart from Kakadu I would leave open my options for the other areas because some years there is not a lot of water and that effects the enjoyment of Katherine Gorge. There is also the Mataranka hot springs area which is &quot;down the track&quot; and which can be an awesome stopover. <BR>The last time I went to Litchfield Park I was very disappointed 1/ there was very little water 2/ the Termite mounds area was over-run with grass and boring. I did take a bus tour which I would never do again as we were forced to sit for 2 hours doing nothing but just wait for the driver to take us back to Darwin. <BR>If you leave your options open then you are not stuck in the middle of nothing and can enjoy your holiday to the fullest. The areas outside Darwin with the exception of Kakadu will be OK for accommodation as will Darwin so don't worry too much about last minute things. <BR>Also I think I would go potty on Dunk for 5 nights, its a small island and unless you are thinking of just lazing about in the water there is not all that much to do there. I would prefer Hinchinbrook although there may not be a lot of activities put on for you there. Depending on your budget the Islands off Port Douglas are far better.<BR>Before you take any notice of what I said about Dunk I would ask the board about it because it is some time since I was there and it has probably changed a lot since then. Perhaps look at a boat trip around the reef for a few days and see what the price comparison is. Also there are trips to the top of Cape York - used to be able to do that by boat which was absolutely wonderful and fly back. <BR>Anyway those are my ideas for what they are worth.

Liz, I think your comment about &quot;islands off Port Douglas&quot; might be a bit confusing as there aren't any -or at least none with resorts on them! Do you mean the Whitsundays?

You are right Daff - I was thinking in terms of Lizard Island and Bedarra and forgot my geography when I grouped Bedarra in with Lizard. Bedarra is south of Cairns and Lizard is north east of Cairns and PD I think. I should wait a few hours before writing until my head clears in future. <BR>I the reason that I like the Whitsundays is that there are lots of different islands to see and places to go and you are not on just one little one if you run out of things to do. However you can get to Hinchinbrook and other islands from Dunk Island too so I guess that would balance it out. If the price was good and they have what you want then go for it.

Thanks for the reply Liz~<BR>Your ideas for the Top End area are good. I will consider booking in the Kakadu area, but might leave open the other days between Katherine &amp; Litchfield. It's not hard to find hotels in these areas in July?<BR><BR>As for the islands, I was concerned that 5 days on Dunk might be too long, but the package is very good. I am still considering Hinchinbrook as well, but have not heard much about it (not even mentioned in some guidebooks). Also, I was thinking that Dunk would be toward the end of a busy 6.5 weeks of travel, so we might just need some lazy R&amp;R. Unfortunately, we come no where near being able to afford Lizard:(<BR><BR>I still have a lot to think about, I guess!<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Keri

Here is a web site that you may not have seen about Hinchinbrook. I will post another one if I can find the one that I want. <BR>Liz<BR>http://www.hinchinbrookresort.com.au/

and this one about the National Park itself.<BR>https://www.epa.qld.gov.au/parks/iap...0.do?parkId=82

Thanks for the websites Liz. I am going to check them out right now.

Re your comment on hotels between Katherine/Litchfield - there isn't a great amount of accommodation once you leave Katherine. We spent 6 weeks travelling in Northern Territory last year. From memory, there are only the little towns of Pine Creek and Adelaide River (population each is around 400)between Litchfield and Katherine, and my guidebook lists two motels in each of those towns. Don't expect 5 star accommodation. Litchfield has a few camping grounds with some cabins in the area, plus a hotel and two camping grounds in Batchelor.<BR>We drove from Katherine to Cooinda easily in one day. Jabiru to Darwin was only half a day driving.<BR>Incidentally check the mileage to the next roadhouse/town before passing a petrol station and don't leave it to the last minute to fill up your gas tank - we got stranded overnight at one place as they had run out of petrol completely. We weren't able to fill up with petrol until the tanker came in overnight.<BR>Katherine Gorge is well worth your visit - there was stacks of water in the gorges when we were there last year.<BR>If you decide to detour to Mataranka, there is a camping ground/motel called Territory Manor which I can recommend. There are two hot springs at Mataranka - Bitter Springs and the springs at the homestead. The homestead springs tend to be very crowded - Bitter Springs is quieter.<BR>Hope you have a great time. Email me on [email protected] if I can offer any other advice.