Cruising AUS & NZ 2018
 

My husband & I are both retired, and have traveled extensively in the past. This will cross off one of our bucket list to-do's. We start the cruise early Feb/2018 in Perth and end early Mar in Aukland. We have friends in Brisbane who have suggested we spend a week in Perth - seemed like an overly long time to me. We plan to return to AUS after the cruise. I have looked at train travel, which seems to take a considerable amount of time, or driving which has the same time issues, or flying from place to place. From all the reading I have done, it appears that not too many tourists consider train travel.We're trying to maximize time in AUS without sacrificing too much sightseeing. We are hoping to see: (in no particular order at this time) GBR; Brisbane; Alice Springs; Ayers Rock. Any tips/info anyone would like to share will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Maybe a week entirely spent in Perth is more than necessary if you're in a hurry, but a week traveling from Perth down to Denmark (really!) near Albany, criss-crossing that fabulous part of Australia, is certainly not too much time spent. You would need a rental car of course.

The trip by train across the Nullarbor is something a lot of visitors cherish - use Google and this here website to bring up many trip reports and other sources of information, incl. https://www.greatsouthernrail.com.au/rail-australia

If it doesn't appeal (it's long and pricey), then simply fly.

Overall, fly the long distances and cover regions by rental car, except for the cities themselves where public transport is the way to go.

Your targets are worthwhile, Brisbane being a bit less exciting maybe than GBR or Sydney or Melbourne or Uluru; don't overlook Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road.

A loop from Sydney down the coast to Batemans Bay and inland to Canberra and up to the Jenolan Caves and other Blue Mountain targets, then past Mount Victoria and Mount Tomah and Bilpin and Putty to the Rothbury/Pokolbin Hunter Valley wine country and back down into Sydney would be a week well spent.

Australia is a big place that's why travel takes so long! Chose places in the same state to maximize your sight seeing but it's too big to see everything in a short time.
I'd do the Ghan or the Indian Pacific as they look pretty amazing.
A week in Perth sounds great. My sister in law lives there and we would love to visit one day and I'd plan on 10 days to 2 weeks there. Have a look at Margaret River and see if that appeals.
Brisbane is fine but other places offer more. Sydney is a very beautiful city with all it's harbours.

A week in Perth is nothing...there is so much to see and do.

The SW of WA is absolutely stunning - within 3-4 hours of Perth you can experience the best food, wine and scenery in the entire state - forests, deserted white sand beaches, rolling countryside - you cannot go wrong.

Well...except for FEBRUARY! I lived in Perth for seven years and February was the month I hated the most. It's incredibly hot and sticky. Too hot to move, let alone explore. Make sure your accommodation has air con, which is easier said than done.

I have many trip reports posted on this forum from our seven years in Perth - we loved visiting the SW - Pemberton, Denmark, Margaret River...just click on my screen name and scroll through my reports if you want some ideas on what to see and do. It's endless, it really is.

lots do the Ghan train - you can fly one way and train the other - that way you get Alice Springs , Katherine and Darwin in - which just adds more to your trip.

Uluru (Ayers Rock) - you can fly to via Alice Springs - expensive to fly there . We're paying $660 from Melbourne for April.

Inland Australia and many other parts are at the hottest (wet season/summer) in Feb. - as Mel says .

My recommendation is also to head south after a short stay in Perth. So much to see even if you only go as far as Augusta. It will be cooler there too.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. You have mentioned areas we had not considered (south of Perth), which we definitely look into. Thanks again and I will reach out again with questions.