Hello,

Interested in visiting Australia, so I am doing some long range planning. What is the best time to visit? I am trying to stay away from high season, however travel during a time when the weather will permit beach activities, in the south. I have read that April and Sept. is nice?

Thanks

turbokid

For the southern part of Australia, ie. NSW & Victoria, I would choose our Autumn....March/April/May is a nice time of the year, and still swimmable.

turbokid,

I had a nice swim ( my first from the west side of the Pacific) at Palm Beach, north of Sydney, on April 15 instant.

AndrewDavid

To tag onto turbokid's question-How would the weather in June, July, August be like for Sydney and Canberra. This is my only vacation time and I'm coming from NYC. Thank you for your time.

Sue, if you were coming from LA, I'd say that the weather in Sydney will be fine but windy in August, and Canberra will be cold. That's how Sydneysiders, who are used to the same kind of warm, sunny weather that fuelled the exodus to California a century ago, would describe it to you. But, honestly, I don't think a New Yorker would complain about what Sydney people refer to as "winter". For the last few weeks, there hasn't been a drop of rain or even a cloud, and the temperature range in Sydney has been around nine degrees celsius at night up to around twenty-two degrees celsius in the day. The winds of August haven't hit us yet -- last year they didn't arrive until September, by which time the weather had turned into spring anyway.

Of course, you could just be unlucky and find that your time here coincided with rainy and blustery days (to make up for the fact that we haven't had anything like that for months), but, on the whole, I think your chances of being pleasantly surprised by the weather are good.

Sue, I'll answer for Canberra. June/ July/August is of course our winter and most Australians, who are a bit wimpy about these things, think Canberra is cold. I call it bracing. By NYC standards it's not a winter at all, minimum temps a bit either side of 0 deg celsius, days crisp and mostly sunny, still or with light breezes and with maxes usually between 9C and 14C. You'll need warm clothes but you won't be trudging through snowdrifts. The worst case is probably what we've had the last few days (8-10C, minus a wind-chill factor). Canberra has a drier climate than the coastal regions and is about 600 metres above sea level. Air pollution is practically non-existent, especially when Parliament is not in session.

Hi Alan & Neil
Thanks for answering. I really have no option since I am a teacher and this is my summer vacation. This is a trip I am thoroughly planning out. How far north would I need to go in July for example, to go swimming? Surfers Paradise? The Great Barrier Reef? During my stay I would like to visit Fiji-I know that will not be a problem. I just didn't want to hear that I had to pack both summer AND winter clothes for my trip.Turtlenecks and a bathing suit-now that will be a heavy suitcase to lug for 23hrs of travel, lol.

A question-given that I finish classes 3rd week of June and resume in 2nd week of Sept, for my case, when is the best time to go during that time frame? From what you are telling me-it sounds like, the earlier the better, so in June. Am I correct in saying that?

BTW-What is so special about Bateman's Bay. My cousins in all the above mentioned cities mention that town. Thanks a lot.

Sue, I'll let someone closer to the action suggest how far north you'll need to go to swim comfortably.

Batemans Bay? It's a pleasant little fishing/tourism town on the NSW South Coast surrounded by nice country. There are good beaches in the vicinity, they breed excellent oysters, and you can take a boat ride up the Clyde River and contemplate the jellyfish as you down a glass of whatever takes your fancy. And I guess that's about it.

"The Bay" is a couple of hours' drive east of Canberra and if you've got wheels there are many scenic places north and south of it. It's a very pleasant part of the world, relatively unspoilt, no shortage of beautiful beaches and low-key in character. It really depends on what kind of experience you want to have while you're in Australia. One thing I wouldn't be doing is swimming there between June and September, though.

The area appealed to me enough to buy a block of land in the vicinity, and I'll probably know more if I ever find the money to put a house on it.

Hi,again, Sue (fellow teacher!)

Whether to come at the beginning or end of your holidays is a hard call.... I guess either one would be okay, or, at any rate, better than the middle! In June you might just find weather like I described above (that seems to have come to an end about a half-hour after I wrote your reply, by the way... I went outside and it was quite cold and there were clouds coming in FAST!), whereas in September you will probably find it quite spring-like as long as you don't get those winds. I think, on the whole, that as far as Stdney is concerned, I'd vote for LATE rather than early... remember that the 2000 Olympics were held end September-early October because the weather gurus figured that that was the time of year in Sydney least likely to experience rain. However, with the weather it's hard to be definitive, and I wouldn't like you to change your plans around on my advice alone.

Like Neil, I am unsure about swimming at that time of year.... I think you'd have to go well north of the Tropic of Capricorn, but I'm sure there are some options up that way. People even swim in Sydney in the middle of winter, and they seem to live through the experience (don't know how!). I do think, however, that you WILL be packing both summer and winter clothes for this trip, but my feeling is that by September you won't need much of the winter ones. Can you come out in late August, do the Reef FIRST and then finish in Sydney/Canberra in September? That would probably be a smart move -- what do you say, Neil?

Sue, just to give you an idea of what the temperatures are like in the Hervey Bay region at the moment (2nd Month of winter), I am still wearing short & t-shirt during the day, warm sunny days, around 22-24 degrees celius. People are still swimming in the Bay, water temps are probably around 20 degrees (which is not cold to a Sydneysider, but the locals wont swim in the bay, until the water reaches 26 degrees in the summer)
I must admit, the nights have cooled off a little in the last few weeks. The TV people weather staff say its a bit unseasonal at the moment, and should be a lot warmer during the night. Last night the temperature dropped to around 6 degrees. Still haven't put the heaters on yet, the locals tell me that when you first arrive in the sub-tropics, you think its warm, then after 2 years of living here, you acclimatise, then start wearing jumpers on days with 25 degrees.
A lot of people in H/Bay close up their house & go to Cairns for the winter, gosh here I am escaping Sydney and enjoying the Bay, and some locals are following the sun north.
Sue, Sydney's winter day can sometimes be very nice, cool mornings, then clear sunny days, sometimes reaching 19-20 degrees.

How often does Sydney and Canberra get snow? Now that I think about about it, it may be better to sight-see in Autumn weather conditions.

Usually when people ask me when people they should visit NYC, 1st thing I say is NOT in the summer (June, July, August)because no joke, you don't want to be in a NYC subway in the summertime. It is too hot to appreciate anything. Nov and December is cold but NYC is at its' best then.

Since I would like to visit my family now I am thinking I guess it may not be such a bad idea to visit Sydney and Canberra when its cooler. I'd be going to Fiji anyway. NYC winter is harsh and my family tells me that you guys don't have such a harsh winter.

I can't get over the fact that it's hot during Christmas in Australia. To us in the northern hemisphere its very different. I am sure that you feel the same about us.

Alan's suggestion of leaving SYD/CBR to September is a good one, albeit Canberra's spring can arrive late.

Sue, it never snows in Sydney - doesn't get remotely close. Its western suburbs can get frosty overnight, that's all. It can snow in the Blue Mountains 2-3 hours to the west of the city, but only above 800 metres or so. But even there snow is the exception, not the rule. In Canberra light falls of snow have been known, but very rarely (a handful of times in the 20 years I've lived here).

Nowhere in the whole continent of Australia experiences the weather extremes of the northeastern (or for that matter most) of the United States. It's hot and dry over much of the country in summer, hot and sweaty in the tropical and subtropical parts, and cold in the southern latitudes in winter, but the most populated areas in the lower half of Australia generally experience temperate conditions, certainly by comparison with NYC.

Believe it or not, a lot of our Christmas cards continue to depict the snowy northern hemisphere scenes of our ancestors (well, the European ones, anyway). Old images die hard.

Can you create a time line for Syndney's Seasons to put everything into perspective? Thinking "upside down" is getting me a little confused, lol. Thanks! You've all been such a great help.

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE (NYC)
June, July, August=Summer
Sept, October, November=Fall
December, January, February, March =Winter
April, May=Spring

We typically have a longer winter. The further south you go, the shorter the winter is.

Hi Tropo - Even in Cairns where I live it's pretty cool at night - maximum daytime temps are around 26C, but there's been that persistent SE trade wind for a couple of months now. Some guests from Washington DC were on the reef yesterday and said it was "freezing" OK, that's an exaggeration but she said she'd sign an affadavit to say it was too cold to swim without a wetsuit.

Travelling Sue - ours goes something like this:

Dec.Jan.Feb - Summer
Mar.Apr.May - Autumn (your Fall)
June.Jul.Aug. - Winter
Sept.Oct.Nov - Spring

Northern Australia which includes Cairns, Darwin, Broome are affected by sumer monsoonal trough which brings heavy tropical rain (usually in late afternoon and evening) in late summer and early autumn - this is known as "wet season" in the north.

It occurs to me that I might have undersold Canberra in the spring. There's a good chance that it will be mild and the city will be looking great, with the yellow wattles (acacias) in bloom along with the swathes of white and pink prunus blossoms throughout the inner areas of the city. And the many deciduous exotic trees will be putting out their pale green spring growth. If we get any decent rain the surrounding pastoral landscape will also be nice and green.

If you're interested in Australia's history and culture, Canberra's national institutions and galleries are a good place to start. An often- overlooked attraction is (are?) the National Botanic Gardens, where (improbably) Australian native plants from all over the country flourish. These gardens will also be looking great in spring. You can find out more at www.canberratourism.com.au.

Sue - All of Australia (except for Tasmania) is above 39 degrees S latitude. If the US were at a similar latitude, Maine would be where Virginia is, NYC would be in Georgia and Miami would be close to Panama. Being closer to the equator makes them warmer overall than we are.

As for trying to figure out the seasons, I just add 6 months to the month of the northern season to get the southern season.

Another tip - if you're not familiar with celcius temps, just remember that 40's are unbearable, 30's are hot, 20's are comfortable, teens are sweater weather and anything under that requires a someone to cuddle with, a nice bottle of wine or both

I'd love to go in the Spring Neil It's just that I have students to teach(school starts in Sept). This trip will not happen this year. I have come to the realization that if I will visit Oz between June-Aug, I won't mind the cool weather. Like I said if I do the sight seeing thing, I am the type of person who HATES to sweat while touring the town. I tolerate cold a lot better than I do heat for touring purposes. From what everyone is telling me NYC cold is not what I am going to get down there (AMEN). Canberra and Syndey is a must-my cousins will give me the tour and provide the accomodation (AMEN). I would like to get to Surfer's Paradise, but not sure how feasible that is. I have a cousin there too. I don't know if the Great Barrier Reef is worth my trip if I don't scuba, I just snorkle. Fiji would happen after that. So I'm thinking working my way south to north. 2week time period maybe a little more. I am not sure of any details. This is what I am doing during my vacation this year-planning for this vacation, so pardon me for being sketchy. In a few weeks I'm off to the Caribbean!

BTW-JohnInMiami-Hey who told you that secret about the months, I thought I only knew about subtracting 6 months, lol Atleast I understand the temperature since I visit Europe every summer.

Pat, yes those winds from the south are certainly keeping the temperatures down a little bit. But I must admit...its so nice to wake up each morning to clear skies, with reasonable warm sunshine. I keep telling everyone down south, that whatever, temperature Brisbane is having, we in the Bay, should be around 1-2 degrees warmer. Those breezes you spoke of, are great for windsurfing, with a wet suit on, of course.
Travelling Sue, I have noticed over the years, with lots of my Canadian friends, that because they have lived in cold winter climates, they find it hard to handle our heat & humidity. I guess it just comes down to where you were born, and over the years got used to. There are lots of overseas backpackers in the Bay almost all of the time. A lot work on the farms up near Childers and Bundaberg, or the citrus farms near Murgon, etc. Just about everyday one sees these young people either swimming in the Bay, or going over to Fraser Island. They certainly enjoy themselves.
I read somewhere, that "backpackers" bring in more tourist dollars to this country, than any other form of tourist.

Rememer Mark Twain said " The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco" apropos of something?

A/D