Dimple Shah

The sanctuary is a very nice place and you get an hour long conducted tour there and see very many animals. It was a different experience from the Taronga Zoo for us, because we saw it the way everyone else does, moving from section to section, rather than at Taronga where our tour was more the backstage and special experiences kind of tour. I will always be glad I saw Healesville, because it was here that I finally saw the only Australian native that had evaded me up until then, the Tasmanian Devil, and we got some super pictures too. Nice shop with the usual Oz stuff, but more expensive than town or at Queen Vics.<BR><BR>We waited for the coach to return with the budding sommeliers, and started on our way back to the city, arriving around 5.30. On the whole it was a very nice day, quite relaxing and interesting with some new experiences thrown in. If you can though, for example, if you have friends in Melbourne, I think it would be wonderful to do it yourself, away from the restricting routine of the coach tour. If not, this is as good as it gets. You can book with any of the tours, APT, Great Sights etc, finally they all pool in and everyone on one tour goes on one bus anyways. <BR><BR>Given that most other stuff would have closed by now, except for the smaller tourist shops, we decided to head to Southbank to spend the evening. Many others were planning to go the Casino. Southbank is just a 5-7 minute walk from the hotel and most shops in the complex stay open till much later, around 8.30 and even 9.00 p.m. Besides they have a fantastic array of restaurants and cafes where you can dine overlooking the river. We found a lovely shop there called Flaschengeit, which basically stocks different kinds of flavoured oils and spirits, like Walnut Brandy, and Caramel Butterscotch liqueur, which can be packaged in beautiful coloured glass bottles. Make awesome gifts if you can carry them back. The owner of the shop was so kind to us. She recommended dining at a caf&eacute; called the Blue Train, which is apparently very well known for excellent fare and reasonable prices, and in fact walked over with us and spoke to her friends there to get us a table facing the river. An act of kindness that was so above and beyond. The meal was wonderful, the atmosphere terrific.<BR>

Anna

Hi Dimple,<BR>Thanks for a great report. We're going on honeymoon to Australia at the end of March. Your tips and information will be really helpful. I love the waterfall piece where you said that this is what dreams are made of... I'd really like to have a few experiences like that, though we're not going to NT. We have 26 days when you take out the flying time, so we're planning an itinerary now to make the best of it.<BR><BR>Just one question - you mentioned once or twice that it might be possible to do parts of the trip independently of tour groups. We plan to take a Campervan from Sydney to Blue Mountains and down to Melbourne/Great Coast Road to Adelaide. This gives us good opportunity to see the vineyards etc, by ourselves - but are we missing the best of it by not taking a tour? (Same applies to our time around Cairns/GBR/rainforest)...<BR> Thanks again.<BR><BR>Anna

Dimple Shah

Hi Anna, congratulations and best wishes, you are going to have a super honeymoon. My personal opinion is that taking tours when they make sense are a good idea, and tours make sense if you are trying to get an insight into a place that you would otherwise not get on your own. This is especially true for historical sights, or museums or even cultural venues. I would think that the Blue mountains and the Great Ocean Road are natural scenic spots, and doing them by yourself will give you the time to relax and enjoy things more. We did not have the time to drive ourselves, but if we did, that would be the way to go. Nothing is more frustrating than wanting to spend time at a particular spot, but knowing that you can’t because you are marching to someone else’s drumbeat. Having said that, the tours are pretty informative, the Oztrails tour of the Blue Mountains was rather fun, but I would much rather DIY if its possible. The wineries are another thing, it is something I think I would need a bit of guiding on to get a better understanding, but that’s me. I would definitely recommend doing a tour of the rainforest, this is an area that falls into the former category, where you are trying to get an insight into a place, which can only ably be provided by a native, or someone specialised in the region. You will see a lot more and understand how this wonderful ecosystem functions. You do not need a tour for Kuranda however, its DIY. Given the places we went to, I would do a guided tour at Daintree Rainforest, Kakadu, and Uluru. Katherine Gorge is possible on your own but if you are pressed for time as we were, a tour is the only option there as well. I hope this is what you are looking for in terms of a clarification. <BR><BR>Getting back to Melbourne, our next day was a Sunday, which we had decided was going to be our goofing around town day. We wanted to visit the St. Kilda’s Sunday market, and that’s where we headed first. We took a tram there from the tramstop, which is a block away from the hotel. Melbourne tram lines make for a unique traffic system and is the one place you can see the special turn, where a person wanting to make a turn on a street with a tram line has to drive across nearly to the other side of the street past the tram line and then almost make a wheelie. Very entertaining. I think we boarded tram no 16 for St. Kildas and it takes about 25 minutes to get there. It was a also apparently the time there was some Senior Citizen Olympics or something being held and that was the day of the marathon, so we saw lots of very fit looking older people in their running gear at the marathon, which either started or finished at the beach. Made us feel like fat slobs, I can tell you.<BR><BR>The St. Kildas market stretches along the sea face and can be an interesting way to spend an hour. There are excellent cafes and cake shops in the adjoining Acland Street.so it can make for a fine excursion. The shops on the whole are also nice with the emphasis on art and craft, but probably makes most sense for tourists who are passing through, since a lot of the shops are probably there every Sunday. My husband had visited Melbourne before we were married nearly 6 years ago, and he found some of the stalls to be the same as the ones he had seen on that first trip. Worth a look though, and we bought a couple of small things. Most of them also have credit card machines so its easy to give in to temptation. The place is beautiful though, it was a lovely day and the view is breathtaking. <BR>

Dimple Shah

We took the tram back after an enjoyable and relaxing morning and decided to look into the Victoria Arts Centre. Their shop was having a closing down sale, nothing very interesting though, I found the Sydney Opera House shop better. They also have a Sunday market in the basement and on the curb alongside the Centre and this is also worth a look.<BR><BR>The big Daddy of them all is Queen Vic, and we just had to visit this great Melbourne institution, only we had to hurry as it closes around 4.00 p.m. on Sunday. What can I say, it is huge, it is bustling with activity and I was totally unprepared for the scale of the place. There are all sorts of things from tourist souvenirs, Coogi knitwear starting from $60, masses of clothing of all kinds, and household stuff like kitchenware and mattresses and cleaning gear and what have you, and food produce. It completely overwhelms you in terms of size and anyone who wants to do serious shopping here better set aside the whole day. We had a couple of hours and we walked through the aisles, picking up the odd knick knack. We found a lovely small shop on the outside of the market with super stuff for Christmas, and picked up a few things there as well. <BR><BR>We were spending the evening with friends of ours at their lovely place in a quiet green suburb of Melbourne, and it was fun to catch up with them, and even more fun to load up on home cooked Indian food after such a long time. As we sat there in their living room overlooking the lovely garden, all I could think of was that my tryst with this beautiful country was rushing headlong to its inevitable conclusion. Just one more day to go.<BR>

swensley

Thank you for the excellent trip report. I wanted to comment on this to bring the report to the front of the message board. I'm sure it will help others as well.

smchrissy

Thanks for the wonderful report! My husband and I and another couple are travelling to Australia for the first time the end of December and beginning of January. This is better than buying a travel guide! I am sure we will have a wonderful trip. Thanks again.

llee

Thanks for the excellent report. I had been to Australia some years ago, your report brings me back to my memory - I just feel like redoing my holidays and the happy times again! Next time I visit Australia surely I will bring your report with me as guide book. Thanks again.