Australia Trip August 2006
 

Hi, I'm new here. My wife and I are planning one last big trip before our family expands beyond the two of us. We've both always wanted to go to Oz so we are. We have 3 weeks this coming August and here is a proposed iteniary. Comments are welcome:

We have 21 days only due to the restriction on our Aussie Air pass so here it goes:

Day 1 - Depart Canada for Sydney
Day 2 - Arrive Sydney
Day 3 - Full day Sydney
Day 4 - Full day Sydney
Day 5 - Spend full day getting to Canberra
Day 6 - Full day Canberra
Day 7 - Spend full day getting to Melbourne
Day 8 - Full Day Melbourne
Day 9 - Full Day Melbourne
Day 10 - Great Ocean Road to Warrnambool
Day 11 - Return to Melbourne - Fly to Uluru
Day 12 - Full Day Uluru
Day 13 - Fly to Cairns
Day 14-18 - Drive down coast to Brisbane
Day 19 - Full Day Brisbane/Gold Coast
Day 20 - Full Day Brisbane/Gold Coast
Day 21 - Depart Brisbane for Canada

Does this look reasonable? Am I spending too much or too little time anywhere?

Also, my wife and I are not luxury type folk, when we travel we don't spend a lot on accomodation (we're just sleeping there). Are there many Motel 6 type places in Australia that are clean rooms with private bath? How about gas prices? Here in Canada we are just less than a CDN dollar a litre.

Thanks!

I have to shave a day off Melbourne as the flight from Mel to Ayers Rock only goes direct on the Monday. I figure I can see the highlights of Melbourne in a day, plus it is the middle of winter so the weather will be not as great.

Am I wrong?

Hi DasFX
Welcome, I am fairly new here too. I am plaining my Italy trip with the help of other Foders comments.
I live in Australia and pop in on this forum to see if I can assist anyone.

I don't want to sound negative but you will spend your whole time driving and you won't get to actually enjoy anything. The distances you are planing on taking are very vast. We have covered just about all the places your planning on driving and we did this over many trips.

Can I sugguest you tell us what your interested in seeing and doing and we can help you from there.

We to are like you, don't like to spend much on accommodation because it's just somewhere to sleep and shower. I don't know what Motel 6 is but we have plenty of 3 star motels that are clean and comfortable, prices depend on location of course. Fuel prices here is Aus are expensive at the moment around $1.20 aus a litre again depends on location.

Love to help you some more .. cheers

"I don't want to sound negative but you will spend your whole time driving and you won't get to actually enjoy anything. The distances you are planing on taking are very vast"

Thanks for the comments, I understand the distances are vast. Living in Canada I can relate to having to drive great distances to reach anywhere.

Sydney to Melbourne is about 1000 km, that is a piece of cake, especially over 3 days. Cairns to Brisebane is about 1700km. Over 5 days, that should be easy. I mean that is less than Toronto to Halifax which I have done in a day, so doing it over 5 will be quite easy. I'm not worried about driving, I quite enjoy it.

Do you think Perth is worth going out to, if I had more time? I read a lot that it isn't worth the trouble.

No Motel 6 in Australia but you could try the Budget Motel chain - their website is www.budgetmotelchain.com.au
You could also check out the camping/caravan parks as most have self-contained cabins which are quite comfortable. Two websites to have a look at are www.big4.com.au and www.toptouristparks.com.au
I have driven in Canada so can understand your comments re driving times etc. However Australian roads are not as good as Canadian/US roads, for example the road from Cairns to Brisbane is two lanes nearly all the way and I mean one lane going south and one lane going north. The road carries quite a lot of traffic so you may not be able to travel as quickly as you think.
Let us know what your interests are and I'm sure we can suggests lots of places to visit.

Just a few comments--
1. It should only take you 3 hours to drive to Canberra, so you can actually have 1 1/2 days there if you get an early start. I would not shave any time off here as Canberra is a fascinating city and worth as much time as you can spare.
2. Melbourne is not that interesting to me, especially if you have already been to Sydney. So I don't think it will matter that you shave a day off here.
3. Can you get the AirPass that allows you three flights within Australia? That's what we got last August and it worked out great. If you can, you might want to consider this itinerary:
Fly from Canada to Sydney
Drive one-way to Canberra
Fly from Canberra to Melbourne
Fly from Melbourne to Uluru
Fly from Uluru to Cairns
Drive from Cairns to Brisbane
Fly from Brisbane to Canada

This would eliminate the drive from Canberra to Melbourne which isn't particularly scenic. (I've done it several times.)
As for your question about Perth--if you had time (which you realize you won't on this trip), I would definitely go to Perth. I loved Western Australia and Perth is a lovely, laid-back city.
Now a question from me--any reason you are chosing the Gold Coast as opposed to the Great Barrier Reef (Cairns or Port Douglas)?

RE: " last big trip before our family expands" I can't think of a better place to visit for your big trip. My first trip to Oz was to visit our last "family expansion" when she decided to live in Sydney (Bondi) for a year after college. I agree with other posts that you are spending too much time driving. I suggest also that you stay a few days in Cairns (Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, Rain forrest, etc.) and fly to Brisbane. As for Melbourne since you have to lose a day, you can do the great ocean road as a day trip (several tour companies) save the day driving back from Warnambool for time in Melbourne which is distinctly different from Sydney. Two days in Sydney, btw, is way too little time, I wouldn't suggest missing (as day trips) the blue mountains, the ferries to Taranga zoo and to Manly, Hunter valley (if you're into wine) all this in addition to the things you wanted to see in the city. I better stop, I can't wait to go back in May, it is one of my favorite cities.

DasFX
"Sydney to Melbourne is about 1000 km, that is a piece of cake, especially over 3 days. Cairns to Brisebane is about 1700km. Over 5 days, that should be easy." As Marg has pointed out the roads here in Australia are not like America or Canada, they are mainly single carriage road ways. I assure you that driving from Cairns to Brisbane will not be easy and nor will it be interestingas you won't have time to stop off and see anything that is worth seeing . As for Sydney to Melbourne, wake me up when you get there, 10 hrs of solid driving and nothing worth seeing along the way. I just don't see what your trying to achieve by doing so much driving.

Also curious as to why you're flying into Cairns and immediately driving south to Brisbane. August is winter, the further north, the better the weather at that time of year. In fact you'd think half the population of Melbourne is in Cairns area in August, here to escape the chilly southern winter. Think you'd be far better off allocating those driving days south to Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Daintree, etc (where the daily average high is 79F and nights are quite cool) then flying Cairns-Brisbane.

Gold Coast is only a short drive from Brisbane, but its 1750km south of Cairns and significantly colder in August, not beach weather.

"As for Sydney to Melbourne, wake me up when you get there, 10 hrs of solid driving and nothing worth seeing along the way."

- Only true if you take the most direct route, the Hume Highway, which is indeed boring. However, with 3 days to spare there's no earthly need to do that, and there's a choice of alternative routes taking in coastal scenery, mountains and farmland.

However, like Pat I can't see the sense in flying all the way to Cairns, where you really should spend several days, and then getting into a car to drive long stretches of unrelieved tedium. If you had more time it wouldn't matter so much, but three weeks is not all that long and I don't see the sense in spending a quarter of it doing that.

By the way, if you're a member of a Canadian car club with reciprocal rights you can get free maps and accommodation directories from the National Roads & Motorists Association (NRMA) - head office 388 George Street, Sydney. (As a fine example of state parochialism the "national" in their name is a misnomer, their Queensland and Victorian counterparts being the RACQ and RACV.)

Hi DasFX,
Unless you're absolutely fixed in Bris & Gold Coast, I'd leave them out and fly home from Cairns. That way, you'd have time to explore the Great Barrier Reef, the hinterland and north to Daintree & Cooktown if you wanted to do some decent driving. (As opposed to short hops where you don't really get the "feel" of the place).

I'm used to long drives too (lived 600 miles N-W from Sydney), but the OP's are right about allocation of time:opportunity to see/do in your somewhat limited timeframe.

You might like to check out local "country pubs" for accommodation. Often it's surprisingly good and will give you a different experience to budget motels.

Thanks to everyone who's posted comments. Many of you think I'm crazy for doing so much driving, but with such a large country and only 3 domestic flights, I figured driving was the way to go. I've updated my itinerary as well, adding another week. Some of you may think my wife and I are crazy, but we like to move really fast and cover as much as possible. I realize I may be skimming certain things and missing others entirely, but seeing an entire continent in a month is near impossible. I honestly believe this will be our one and only trip to Australia as we usually never go to the same place twice. Too much planet to see to be going to one place multiple times.

Day 1: Depart LA
Day 2: In Transit
Day 3: Arrive Sydney early morning,
Day 4 & 5: Full Days in Sydney
Day 6: Drive to Canberra via Jervis Bay
Day 7: Full Day Canberra
Day 8: Drive to Melbourne via Wagga Wagga and Bendigo
Day 9: Full Day Melbourne
Day 10: Great Ocean Road – drive to Mt. Gambier, SA
Day 11: Mt. Gambier – Adelaide (early start) Check out Adelaide
Day 12: Fly Adelaide to Uluru in the early morning, check out Ayers Rock and Olgas
Day 13: Fly to Darwin mid day, check out Darwin
Day 14: Organized Day trip to Kakadu
Day 15: Fly to Cairns in morning
Day 16 – 25: Queensland Coast (Including, Cairns, Port Douglas, GBR, Rainforest, Fraser Island, Brisbane, Gold Coast, etc..)
Day 26: Fly out of Brisbane to LA

I've allocated almost 11 full days to see the Queensland coast. If I focus my time near Cairns, how long should I allow to get down to Brisbane? There must be things to see in between Cairns and Brisbane. Is this too much time?

As for Kakadu, I know one day isn't enough, but I'm sure there are some good organized tours out of Darwin, or should I stay two days?

Other folks who have been to Uluru have told me that a day is all one needs, see the Rock and the Olgas and leave. I'm not too keen on Kings Canyon or Katherine Gorge near Darwin. I was at the Grand Canyon last March and that was enough canyon for me. Is Alice Springs worth going to (not that I have the time)?

Finally (for this post), what are your thoughts on Kangeroo Island near Adelaide? Is it worth spending another day in SA to go here?

On your drive from Cairns to Brisbane, can I recommend some of our favourite places to visit.
The Boulders - turn off the highway about 60 km south of Cairns at Babinda and head inland for about three km. Lovely little spot with a few short walks and good for a morning tea/lunch break.
Paronella Park (between Innisfail and Mission Beach) - unique and interesting - their website is www.paronellapark.com.au
Mission Beach - this is a typical tropical beach with palm trees, beautiful beach and islands in the distance.
Eungella National Park and Finch Hatton Gorge are inland from Mackay - about an hour's drive. Beautiful scenery and a good chance of seeing platypuses.
Cape Hillsborough National Park - just north of Mackay - beautiful beach in a natural setting.
Turn off the highway just north of Rockhampton and take the road to Yepoon (about 30 minutes) and then take the coastal road to Emu Park and back to the highway - beautiful scenery and a good place to stop overnight.
Eumundi Market (Saturday and Wednesday) on the Sunshine Coast is great, both for the food/goods on sale, and people watching. Also take the road to the Sunshine Coast hinterland through Mapleton, Montville and Maleny for great scenery and pretty little villages.
Hope you have a great holiday.

Just some insights based on a family trip to Australia in August 2004 which involved a drive from Cairns to Sydney over 11 days.
a) You should be aware that this is Australia's winter, so daylight is not terribly long. You will be in the daylight from roughly 8 am until 5:30 pm. You won't see anything in the dark if driving.
b) We spent the first two nights on this drive in Townsville, with the day between including a wonderful day on Magnetic Island (a short and reasonable ferry trip) swimming, picniking and relaxing on 3 different beaches. We then drove to Mackay (found accommodation near the water and walked along the shore for about 3 hours evening and next morning). Next stop was Rockhampton (an interesting and inexpensive zoo), followed by Bundaberg, then Brisbane. We were pushing it after Townsville, with 6 to 8 hours of driving each day.
c) You will see more sugar cane than you ever imagined existed, but not much else for large portions of this drive. Don't expect to see the ocean except for brief glimpses. The road is two lanes and slow in spots. Since your driving will take most of the daylight hours, you won't see much scenery between Townsville and Brisbane.
d) Other postings have recommended staying longer in Cairns area -- this is great advice. You would be foolish to miss opportunities to view the reef and rainforest. You should try to spend at least 4 nights in north Queensland before heading for Brisbane.
e) You may regret your short stay in Sydney at the start of your trip. Sydney is the most interesting city I have ever visited. Try to spend some time just absorbing Circular Quay and the Rocks area, and try to book tickets for an Opera House production weeks before you leave for Australia. The Sydney Aquarium is superb. Expect to do a lot of Sydney walking, and use the fine transit system to your advantage.

Enjoy your trip.

Finally booked my tickets with the Qantas Airpass. Have a good idea of what I'll be doing inbetween my flights. I have a few questions still though.

Day 1: Fly Toronto – LA via Calgary
Day 2: Depart LA for Sydney
Day 3: Arrive Sydney @ 7:30 AM, rest of day in Sydney
Day 4 Full Day in Sydney
Day 5: Full Day in Sydney
Day 6: Blue Mountains and onto Canberra
Day 7: Canberra
Day 8: Drive Canberra to Melbourne
Day 9: Full Day Melbourne
Day 10: Melbourne with Phillip Island
Day 11: Great Ocean Road – Overnight in Mt. Gambier, SA
Day 12: Drive Mt. Gambier to Adelaide, rest of day in Adelaide
Day 13: Fleurieu Peninsula or Barossa Valley
Day 14: Depart Adelaide for Alice Springs @ 9:30 AM, rest of day in Alice
Day 15: Escorted day trip tour to Ayers Rock and the Olgas
Day 16: Depart Alice Springs for Darwin @ Noon, rest of day in Darwin
Day 17: Escorted day trip tour to Kakadu National Park
Day 18: Depart Darwin for Cairns @ 6 AM, Cairns and onto Port Douglas
Day 19: Great Barrier Reef
Day 20: Daintree Rainforest
Day 21: Drive Port Douglas to Townsville
Day 22: Drive Townsville to Rockhampton
Day 23: Rockhampton to Hervey Bay
Day 24: Fraser Island
Day 25: Australia Zoo
Day 26: Dreamworld / Movie World
Day 27: Gold Coast
Day 28: Brisbane
Day 29: Depart Brisbane for LA @ 11AM

Questions:

Regarding Sydney:

Are 3 full days in Sydney good?
I have incorporated the Blue Mountains with the day that I head out to Canberra. Should I rather do the Blue Mountains on one of my Sydney days (leaving more time in Canberra as I currently have only one day) or should I skip the mountains all together?

Regarding Canberra to Melbourne:

Is there anything to see along the inland route? What about Wagga Wagga and Bendigo? Sounds like cool places?
What are the must sees in Melbourne?

Regarding South Australia:

Fleurieu Peninsula or Barossa Valley?
Are there any must sees in Adelaide?

Regarding Queensland:

Is there anything worth seeing in Cairns itself or can I land and head straight to Port Douglas? If I go to Daintree, can I skip Kurunda?
Is the drive from Cairns towards Brisbane that bad? I have split the bulk of the drive into three days, making stops in Townsville and Rockhampton. I’ve found that PD to Townsville is about 420 km, Townsville to Rockhampton is 730 km and then Rockhampton to Hervey Bay is 400 km; it all sounds reasonable.

Is there any must does or sees in Brisbane or Gold Coast?

1. I would not try to do the Blue Mountains and drive to Canberra in one day. I've been to the Blue Mountains a couple of times and they are nice, but I am sure you have seen much more spectacular mountains in Canada. I think Canberra is fabulous and I would spend the extra time there. The museums are great, but the don't call it "The Bush Capital" for nothing. If you have a car and enjoy hiking, go out to Namadgi National Park just outside Canberra and do the Yankee Hat Hike. You will see hundreds of kangaroos out there, no people and at the turnaround point for the hike (6km RT) is a rock with Aboriginal drawings that you can see up close.
2. As for Adelaide, you can book a great day trip to Kangaroo Island that flies you over there, takes you on an escorted tour and then flies you back that night. I've done that and it was great--you see so much wildlife and neat scenery. I would consider that as opposed to the Barossa Valley unless you are big wine aficionados.
3. Finally, don't miss the "Dog on the Tuckerbox" outside Gundagai when you drive from Canberra to Melbourne!

Some quick suggestions for Melbourne. If you are into art galleries, the Ian Potter gallery at Federation Square is full of good Australian art, and the Victorian National Gallery just across the road has another good collection. If you like walking and gardens, there are some good parks in and around the CBD. Queen Victoria market is good for clothes, souvenirs and food.
If it's a nice day, take a ferry down the river to Williamstown - old port area, lots of places to eat and wander.
St Kilda esplanade is another good place to eat and wander, particularly on Sunday for the art and craft market, and if you do go to St Kilda, check out the cake shops in Acland Street.
There is a free tram around the CBD - look for the brown vintage trams.
Melbourne Zoo is a few minutes by tram from the CBD and has a good range of Australian and overseas animals.
Further away, Healesville Sanctuary (Australian birds and animals) and the Yarra Valley winery area can be done in a day trip.
Try Little Bourke Street for Chinese food, Lygon Street for Italian food, and Southbank for a good range of places to eat.
Hope you have a great trip. Don't envy you the flights - last time we flew Toronto to Melbourne and boy! was I glad to get off that plane!

I live behind the Gold Coast up in the hills. I would not, under any circumstances, drive from Cairns to Brisbane 1/ is about as boring as the drive from Edmonton to Winnepeg, 2/ its about as safe as doing the E - W in the middle of winter at -40. Most of the roads are single lanes and are taken over by trucks and/or caravans and it actually gets worse from Townsville to Rockhampton with the exception of a detour to Eungulla Gorge and/or the Whitsundays. From Rockhampton to Hervey Bay there is absolutely nothing to see and as Pat said previously it will be winter and therefore colder the more south you go. Fraser Island in winter would not be be choice of destination and there are NO roads on Fraser Island. You have some of the most interesting rainforest areas around Cairns, Savanna country, islands etc etc that time wasted on the road south is a crying shame.
Dream World is near where I live and it is really for kids/teens who love scary rides and as for Movie World it is the biggest waste of money imaginable. If you have been to Universal Studios then you are in for a big let down. I would be flying everywhere and spending the time seeing the interesting things in each location.
I have driven the trip to Cairns many times there and back but that was because I had to and not from choice.
I would change things by staying around Cairns for a while then fly to the Whitsundays - get a car and have a look around that area then fly to Brisbane. Australia Zoo is only 40 mins up the highway from Brisbane so that is doable either by driving or save your money and go on the train.
Also check out pubs for accommodation which is usually very cheap and also clean. They always let you check out the rooms first anyway.
As someone else has said, the Blue Mountains for Canadians should be renamed Blue Hills as they are not mountains per se in comparison to yours in Ca and the US. They are beautiful for other reasons but those reasons and not really that wonderful in the middle of winter.
There is heaps to see but not on the road you want to drive on. If you are going to do the drive the detour from Mackay down to Emerald - then to Carnarvon Gorge then Injune - Roma, Mitchel, Toowoomba Brisbane. That way at least you are going somewhere different and interesting.

Hi Everyone ,
I need your ergent help
I'll be with my wife for honeymoon in Australia for about 13 days.We'll start with Sydney and want to get to Whitsundays islands by car and back to Sydney by plane .
How would you suggest me to plan the trip? How many days are enough for Sydney and How long will it take us to get to the Islands with stops of course during our trip,where to stop?What are the highlights on the road to the north ?

Thanks for your help I need it realy as soon as possible

bye for now .

Koby--
You need to start your own thread if you want some immediate help on your question as more folks will see it. Also, it helps to be specific as to what time of year you are going and what your interests are.