Hello all !!!<BR><BR>Thanks everybody. I read some good advices on this forum. It is very helpful.<BR><BR>I am planning my trip to Australia for next summer (August 03). I am not late... I knwo that I will stay to :<BR>- Sydney<BR>- Ayers Rock<BR>- Cairns<BR>- and Darwin.<BR><BR>I know where to stay and what to do in Sydney (thanks to you guys and my guide). I would like to visit the Blue Mountains for one day. I think the best thing to do is to rent a car for one day and to drive from Sydney. What is the "must see" at Blue Mountains. For your information, we love the nature and animals...<BR><BR>I will fligh from Paris. Do you thing it's better (cheaper regarding the international flight : round trip ticket) to do Paris, Sydney, Ayers Rock, Cairns, Darwin, Paris or Paris, Sydney, Ayers Rock, Cairns, darwin, Sydney, Paris. I read that it's better to book domectic flight by the Web. Do they have special fair in August ? Is it a crownd period like in France !!!<BR><BR>Thanks for your advise again,<BR>Olivier

Yes, rent a car and drive up to the Blue Mountains, there is an interesting site seeing trip on a gondola, or train at sp? Thoomba. Maybe someone on this forum can spell it correctly for me. There are also some caverns you can visit.<BR><BR>For flight I would do Paris/Sydney round trip with an airpass to the other cities for your cheapest ticket price. Call Qantas to get the exact prices. <BR><BR>Good luck<BR>

The previous poster is referring to Katoomba, which is main town in the upper Blue Mtns region. At Katoomba there is a Skyway across the gorge and a near vertical railway. Also nearby are great lookout points around the Three Sisters. Other good spots nearby are Wentworth Falls and the Govetts Leap area around Blackheath. <BR>You probably wont have time in just 1 day, but further west Jenolan Caves are excellent and Mt Wilson is a nice area.

Hi, Olivier!<BR>Here's a suggestion regarding hiring a car and spending a day in the Blue Mountains: instead of driving for nearly an hour through the Sydney traffic before you get onto the open road-- until you reach the M4 at Homebush, the driving really isn't much fun -- why not hop the fast train to Emu Plains, at the foot of the mountains... about forty-five minutes of travel, a lot less than you could do it by car. Right near the station on the northern side, only two minutes' walk, is Budget Rent a Car... telephone<BR>02 4731 5000. You are actually looking into the Mountains from there, it's pleasant scenery all the way, no traffic problems, and you have saved yourself 130 km (round trip) of driving, which must amount to quite a cost-saving. You could even keep going in the train to Leura, just 3 km from Katoomba, where all the best sights are, and rent a car at Thrifty, also just near the station: phone 02 4784 2888. (Thrifty have an office in Penrith, too, on the way back, so this way you could perhaps arrange to see Katoomba, drive back down the mountains via Euroka Clearing at glenbrook, and then leave the car at their Penrith office, returning to Sydney by fast train.)With either of these two options, you are using your time more efficiently, having a more relaxing day, seeing scenery from a train window, and saving a pile of money. Plus, at these tiny regional offices, there is probably no waiting... you'll be on your way in a few minutes. As a Sydneysider who is used to the traffic from the Mountains to the city, I avoid using the car whenever I can on that trip... for visitors, it's really something to avoid. Have a great trip, Olivier!

Olivier:<BR>Alan has given you excellent advice. Were I to do it again, I would do just as he recommends.<BR>John