We had to cancel (postpone) trip to Australia because of health emergency. Now trying to decide whether to reschedule for March, May, June or next October. We were headed for The Reef(3 days), Sydney(4 days) and Tasmania(5 days. To sightsee, look for Fairy penguins and whales, and shop what do you suggest for best season? We want to avoid school holidays and peak travel times. Other than rain or impassable snow, We like all kinds of weather. We were looking forward to the springtime trip but if there is a better time please clue us in. Thank you.

With the months you have mentioned the best time to travel would be around March,(aussie spring time). May, june is winter and if you are travelling to Tasmania it will be quite chilly. Tasmania is quite often the coldest state in Australia. I don't know if I'm biased but for shopping the place is Melbourne, with the markets (Queen Victoria & South Melbourne). The bargains in Bridge Road and Chapel St cannot be beaten. Also for Whale watching and Fairy penguins, to me Victoria is the place to go. Phillip Island boasts colonies of fairy penguins and the Great Ocean Road near the town of Warrnambool is great for spotting Whales. Hope this is of help.

What am I saying? March will be autumn (fall) not spring but the weasther will be still warm from summer.

Thank you for your info, Lee. I hope I got the right jist of your response because we are leaning towards another Oct adventure. We were really looking forward to seeing an Australian springtime. My wife likes your shopping ideas also so we might have to look into Melbourne. Thanks again. Take care. Jack

Jack, <BR>March would be the pick of the months you have mentioned as we really are still in the tail end of summer. October is ok but as our seasons are starting to change then you can tend to get unsettled windy weather as we did this year - dont let this put you off it is no where near like what florida gets! Your itinery sounds good , I like Lee's suggestion on the shopping (I'm a Sydneysider and Melbourne does have better shopping), Victoria would give you the penguins etc, do spend the 4 days in Sydney, the reef is definately worth a visit BUT if you are looking for whales dont expect them at the reef you are more likely to find them in places like Harvey Bay. <BR>Rgds <BR>Michael

Jack, i would like to put my 2 bits in and suggest that October would be more likely to be good weather in all places you mention. March would be too humid and wet in the reef area and too cold in Tasmania. October, spring, is the best all round. Melbourne is known to have any or all of the 4 season in one day, so you never know what you'll strike there, but the shopping is great and so are the restaurants. Enjoy your trip!

Dear Michael <BR>Thanks for the reply. The health problem seems to be resolved and we can rebook anytime. Now we have to flip the coin for March or Oct. And can we do Tasmania, Sydney, Melbourne and the GBR in our limited time. If we can find 3-4 more days we may be in luck. Thanks for the input. <BR> <BR>