Extended Travel in Australia
 

We are planning a three to four month driving trip in Australia beginning in mid July '08. We are outdoors people more than city people. Day hikers not trekkers. We will bird, look for wildlife and definitely take in GBR. Also interested in aborigine culture. Need help in inexpensive, not cheap, places to stay and eat. Thoughts on where to go, what to do and see, good nature guides, maybe a scuba school -- we snorkel, how to break up the trip -- like from Cairns to Darwin, etc., etc. Also, specific Posted Message I should search for that may assist us in our trip.

Below is our first try at an itinerary:

Sydney
Blue Mountains
Dorrigo Nat'l Park
Lamington Nat'l Park
Brisbane
Fraser Island
Heron Island
above in 21 - 23 days

Carnaruon Nat'l Park: 2 days
Atheron Tablelands: 2 days
Cairns & area: 5 days
Daintree Nat'l Park: 2 days
Ft. Douglas
Undera Nat'l Park

Darwin: 2 days
Kakadu Nat'l Park: 3-4 days
Litchfield Park: canoe trip
River Nat'l Park

Kimberley: 8 days
Broome: 1-2 days

Alice Spring: 7 days
Great Victoria Desert: 2 days
Flinder's Range: 3 days

Adelaide: 2 days & rest
Kanjaroo Island: 3 days

Victoria: 14 days
Tasminia: 8 days
New South Wales
Canberra: 1 day
Sydney and
Home

Our plans will change as we drive.

Thanks for your thoughts, recommendations and suggestions.

Nancy and Tom

Hi

Can you give us an idea of what you mean by inexpensive, not cheap in $ terms?

Most people who are doing a driving trip for that time period would stay in caravan parks - either with their own tent etc. but in Australia, caravan parks (and national parks) provide onsite accommodation which can range from a regular 4 berth caravn (trailer) to quite well appointed cabins. There are always reasonably priced motels.

I just took a quick look at your itinerary, but I think you could easily spend more time in Canberra. It's located right on the edge of Namadgi National Park which has some awesome hiking and camping.

Inexpensive vs. Cheap: When I wrote this I was thinking along the lines of hotels and food. We are not going to stay in the cheapest place in Lonely Planet (but have more than once) but neither are going to stay at expensive resorts (but have on occassions). We want a clean room with a bed hopefully with reading lights -- don't need a phone or TV. I would like to avg. say less than $75/night except for some special stays on islands, etc. Keeping expenses down means a longer trip.

Had not thought of caravan parks. Was thinking of buying (& then selling) a vehicle. I think I will look into some kind of small camper vehicle. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Even if I don't find a camper vehicle I will start investigating caravan parks w/cabins, etc. -- no tents.

I will check out Namadgi Park.

Hi

If you are looking at c. $75.00 per night, and given your requirements, I think the tourist parks are a good idea. The State Auto Organisations publish guides to the caravan parks as well as rating them. They used to be free but now charge. The NSW one can be ordered from www.mynrma.com.au

For an idea of amenities etc have a look at one of the chains www.toptouristparks.com.au

Also think about camping - you should be able to pick up a cheap outfit on eBay or at a camping store. You will be able to get into some of the less busy areas of the National Parks with a tent. Some National Parks.

Due to time constraints and the associated dollars have decided to eliminate the trip from Darwin to Boome. Wanted to do the Gibbs Road but have decided to save this for next time.
Any comments?

Tom

If you are spending 5 days in Cairns etc, you probably don't need to do the 2 days in Port Douglas. I would stay at Pt Douglas or Palm Cove and use that as your base to do all the Cairns stuff - reef, Kuranda etc. 14 days is a lot of time for Victoria. It seems a pity to miss out on Broome, since you're up there. Going to Tassie would be more expensive in my opinion.

Sounds like a great trip. Wish I could go too.
Would go to Tasmania if I were you, Tasminia is so over rated.

ight on Tasmania and a bit heavy on Victoria, can you take some days from Vic and and them to Tas? In FNQ on BU

Whoops, something went seriously wrong there, was going to day a say too light on Tasmania and a bit heavy on Victoria. On a budget in FNQ you could easily find Port Douglas and Palm Cove a bit exxy, try Villa Marine at Yorkey's beach, a bit north of Cairns - lots of wildlife in a very low touristed area.

You've decided to eliminate the Darwin to Broome section - any comments?

Well I was wondering how you planned to get from Broome to Alice Springs!

So will you drive direct down the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Alice?

I'm also wondering how you are getting from Cairns to Darwin? via Mt Isa?

It sounds like a fantastic trip and you are probably wise to cut back and skip WA. Leave it for another time.

Personally I found the Kimberley unforgettable and the journey from Broome to Perth too. But it must be said that the distances are huge between places of interest.

You have to choose - East loop or West loop.

"Would go to Tasmania if I were you, Tasminia is so over rated."

sunsurfsand, if that was an attempt at humour, please don't give up your day job.

Thanks for all the comments and here is more info on our thoughts based on your comments.

1)Caines/Pt Douglas 7 days: (1 day) Kuranda; skyrail to & train return (1) Snorkeling (2) Daintree (1) KuKu-Yalang Dreamtime Walk (1)Julatten - more birding/nature (1) Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Walk & beach time.

2)Am going to look into Palm Cove & Villa Marine at Yorkey's beach. The east coast of Australia is wonderful & not inexpensive.

3)Pt Douglas to Katherine/Darwin: day 1 to Hugheden; day 2 to Camooweal; & hopefully day 3 to Katherine - stay 2 nights and on to Darwin and then Kakadu Nat'l Park.

4) Litchfield Nat'l Park to Wauchope - stop for the night & next day to Alice Springs.

5) I agree with everybody that we most likely will decrease time in Victoria for additional time in Tanmania.

6) How difficult is the Gibbs Road from Kunnurra to Boome?
Is it reasonable to allocate 5 days from Kunnurra to Boome on this road?
And another five days in Boome - at least one day for shore birding and back to Kummurra by the highway?
We would really like to see this area but I don't have us leaving Pt Douglas until day 41 +/- and three more days to Katherine. Australia is BIG!

Thanks for all you thoughts and assistance.

Tom

I noticed you mentioned bird watching and Julatten. Are you planning on staying at Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers lodge? Accommodations ranging from camp sites to self-contained units: http://www.birdwatchers.com.au/

We haven't stayed there before, but visited the grounds and are planning on staying there in December this year. They have new owners, who seemed perfectly delightful over the phone(:

Toucan 2 -- you are good news bad news: Good news is we very much like your recommendation. Bad news we most likely are going to add another day to our trip here.

Do you have any other birding recomendations? Web sites, guides, locations, lodges, etc?

Thanks for the recommendations,

Tom

Tom,

When in the Blue Mountains use Carol Probets as a guide.
E-mail Address(es):
[email protected]
Personal Information:
Address:
PO Box 330
Katoomba NSW 2780
Blue Mountains
Phone: 02) 4782 1831
Web Page: http://www.bmbirding.com.au


For guides in north Queensland:-
In the Daintree area, Ellen Terrell
E-mail Address(es):
[email protected]

around Mossman and Julaten, Del Richards
E-mail Address(es):
[email protected]
Personal Information:
Phone: 7 40941199
On the Tablelands, Alan Gillanders
E-mail Address(es):
[email protected]
Personal Information:
Phone: 7 4095 3784

On the Tablelands Chambers Wildlife Lodges is a good place for birders and they have Sugar Gliders and Red-legged Pdaemelons habituated. As it may be out of your price range there are good motels in Yungaburra and the old pub has all its rooms with ensuites.

Tom,

Our last trip we stayed at both Cassowary House near Kuranda, and Red Mill House in Daintree. This year we are staying at Chambers Lodge near Lake Eacham for a few nights, 3 nights at Kingfishers and 3 nights at Red Mill House www.redmillhouse.com.au. Birding should be good in all places.

Trish and Andrew at Red Mill House were great hosts. Haven't met the folks at Kingfishers and Chambers yet, but really helpful on the phone.

Ellen Terrell mentioned above by S. is very nice and we are hoping to use her for guiding at one point. We met her on our last trip.

Saltuarius has mentioned the other recommendations that previously were given to me and which we are checking, so nothing to add there.

We also enjoyed Lamington NP, and you will really enjoy that. We enjoyed it so much we are going back. We also used a birding guide, Bill Jolly who lives at Abberton, sort of near Toowomba. We have booked him for several days of birding again this trip.

North of Sydney, near Newcastle, my husband spent a very pleasant day with a birding guide, whose name escapes me at the moment. If you plan on birding near there I can look up his name. Very reasonable, I think 100 AUD for the day.

Don't miss Royal National Park when you are in Sydney for the Lyrebird! Totally worth the trip to Lady Carrington Drive(:

We did a 4-month driving trip too, but decided to skip WA; not because it shouldn't be visited, but because we decided to try to experience areas more deeply. We did a loop:

Melbourne - Tasmania
Melbourne - Dividing Range - Canberra - Sydney
Blue Mtns - Guyra - Nimbin - Rockhampton/Keppel
Eungella/Finch Hatton - Airlie Beach/Whitsundays
Townsville - Cairns - Barrier Reef - Daintree
Townsville - Pentland - Three Ways - Katherine - Darwin
Kakadu - Nitmiluk - Arnhem Land - Mataranka - Devils Marbles
Alice Springs/McDonnel Range - Watarrka - Uluru/Kata Tjuta
Coober Pedy - Port Augusta - Flinders Range - Grampians
Great Ocean Road - Melbourne

We used a small Mazda campervan and stayed in campgrounds and the ubiquitous caravan parks. We too did lots of day hikes, wildlife-viewing, and more time outdoors than in cities.

Hard to know where to start. It will be easy to get Open-Water SCUBA certification in Cairns or Port Douglas. You should figure out how to see a platypus in the wild (we did in Eungella). There are tons of great wildlife tours in the Daintree area.

There is precious little between Cairns and Darwin, and the driving can be a challenge. The Flinders 'highway' is not really two full lanes wide, so you have to go partially onto the shoulder when a giant 'road train' truck comes at you. These trucks can sometimes be 4 trailers long, and they stop for nobody! Also, there are too many nocturnal animals that choose to occupy the highway at night, so night-time driving is quite risky. The Barkly Highway is more of an improvement, particularly when it crosses into the NT. The only think of note to us was the historic Daly Waters pub on the Stuart Highway; but by then you are almost to Katherine.

As for Aborigine culture, you should consider going into Arnhem Land. There is a tour available at Manyallaluk, south of Katherine. Also, if you are adventurous, you could get a permit in Kakadu to enter Arnhem Land from there. We visited Gunbalanya/Oenpelli, where there are many artists. We purchased bark paintings and other artwork there for far less than one can in city galleries.

Have a great trip!

Al F.

Saltuarius & Toucan 2, thanks for the info on guides and places to stay. I have started researching the web pages and associated links -- some are already saved to my favorites. We are looking forward to the nature/birding portion of our trip.

Alf -- it appears we are taking a trip similar to yours. I am going to do additional research on the Arnhem land and may very well spend some time here.

Our expanded trip plan shows us leaving Coorong Nat'l Park (Adelaide) on day 73 +/- for the state of Victoria.

I am guessing that we will end up with a 100 day trip after our preliminary review.

Anything we "must" do in Victoria and Tasmania on our way back to Sidney?

Again, thanks for everyone's help.

Tom

Your trip sounds wonderful and makes me very jealous since I am planning a very short trip (3-4 weeks).

During my research I learnt that Mt Isa will be hosting their 50th annual Rodeo from 9-11 August 2008.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a place to stay on Kangaroo Island?

Have just begun investigating Tasmania -- any recommendations for day hikes, places to stay, and "must do"?

Tasmania:

Obviously, the Overland Track is not a day hike, but you could hike in on either end just for a day. We did that at both Cradle Mtn and Lake St Clair Natnl Parks.

There is a really fine boat trip out of Strahan, across Macquarie Harbor, and up the Gordon River (a National Heritage site).

You've no doubt heard of the popular Salamanca street marke in Hobart - it would be great if you could time your visit to Hobart to coincide with that. We also enjoyed a tour of the giant Cadbury chocolate factory - if you want to do this, you will need to book it at least a week in advance.

The Port Arthur Historic Site is the most-visited park in Oz, and it is certainly worth looking at. There is another good boat tour here too.

If you don't mind your wildlife in a zoo setting, there is the Tasmanian Devil Park (near Port Arthur) and the Bonorong Wildlife Centre (near Brighton).

One of our favorite areas was the Eagle Neck area, where there are some spectacular sculpted coastal features, like the Tasman Arch, Devil's Kitchen, and Tesselated Pavement.

We went on a nice dayhike along the base of the Walls of Jerusalem, between Ross and Launceston.

Late to join in here and not sure what the current itinerary is but will add a few comments nonetheless. I think it would be so much fun to see Australia this way...you really will get a feeling just how vast and empty the place is. I've seen much of the country in bits and pieces...10 days here, a week there, etc.

Are you planning to rent/buy a 4WD vehicle for the journey? If not, I would seriously consider it as it will give you many more options as to routes and thngs to see. Hire companies are generally very strict about not taking 2WD vehicles onto unsealed, i.e. dirt, roads. And there are a lot of those in Australia.

Out 1997 trip to the Kimberley (including the Bungle Bungles and the Gibb River Road) was perhaps the best of the bunch. Of any part of Australia, I would not miss this bit! But I assume the GRR is still largely unsealed and there are stream crossings in some spots. Better to have 4WD!.

ALF says there is not much to see between Cairns and Brisbane. But if you're still doing this drive, definitely consider a side trip to Lawn Hill Gorge, which, because of its relative inaccessibilty remains an unspoilt Outback gem (havent been myself, but this is what I heard and read).

Carnarvon Gorge is a great place. Definitely stay 3 nights to give you two full days..one to hike up the gorge (with short side tracks) and another to hike up Boolimba Bluff or the Devil's Signpost.

Don't scrimp on SE Queeensland and Northern NSW...this is an exceedingly beautiful part of the country. In some ways the inland route up the east coast from Sydney to Brisbane is more interesting...I especially like Bald Rock and Girraween Nat'l parks with their great short hikes and spectacular granite formations (plenty of wildlife too)

Rental cars also restrict where you can take the 4WD so if you want to go anywhere that has unsealed roads, check with the company (for example, they let you take a rental to Laura but not north of Cooktown to Hope Vale, and many of the tempting unsealed roads a bit away from Cairns--not allowed.) So if you want to do any exploring, buying is the best choice, I think.
Sally in Seattle

Have Gordon River cruise as a "do" from Strahan. Also thinking of visiting Henty Dunes -- but open to other suggestions.

Am going to investigate Eagle Neck. We would like to take the recommended boat trip from Port Arthur -- will see if it fits into time table. Don't think we will have time for Walls of Jerusaleum. Thanks Alf.

Travels in Tasmania looks like:

Arrive on ferry in Davenport at 7:00am
Drive to Asbesto Range and stretch legs
Drive to Freycinet Nat'l Park: 2Day/3Nights
Drive to Port Arthur: 1.5D/2N
Drive/ferry to Bruny Is. 3D/3N
Ferry/drive to Holbart: 3D/3N
Drive to Queenstown: 1D/2N and take West Coast Wilderness Railroad
Drive to Strahan: 2D/2N & take Gordon river cruise
Drive to Cradle Mountain/Lake Clair: 2.5D/3N
Drive to Davenport, take 7:00pm ferry to Melbourne & leave ferry for Croajingolong Nat'l Park.

Ralph R. we wanted to do the Kimberley but have decided to (at this time & subject to change) Western AU a separate trip.

Your suggestion to visit Lawn Hill Gorge is on the list. As we cross the top of AU one of our night stops is Camooweal - almost next door to the Gorge. I also see on the map: Camooweal Caves Nat'l Park. Does anyone recommend exploring these caves?

Per recommendations we have added a day and night to Carnarvon Nat'l Park.

Ralph R & SnRSeattle -- Yes, we are leaning heavily toward buying a vehicle for our travels. Four wheel is our preferance (I own a Jeep).

Anyone have suggestions on buying and selling a vehicle in Sydney -- how long will this take?

Thanks for everyones comments,

Nancy and Tom

Some dealers offer a buyback guarantee provision - if you return the vehicle in the same condition, they will buy it back for $X. It usually not a good deal, but it may be reassuring to know that if you run out of time at the end of your trip, you can sell your vehicle. We did this, and ended up selling back to the dealer, because after a week, we had received no decent offers on selling our campervan. Admittedly, it was no longer tourist season, and it was a bit more expensive than the typical used van.

Can't help you with dealers in Sydney - we bought and sold in Melbourne.

Arrive on ferry in Davenport at 7:00am
Drive to Asbesto Range and stretch legs
Drive to Freycinet Nat'l Park: 2Day/3Nights
Drive to Port Arthur: 1.5D/2N
Drive/ferry to Bruny Is. 3D/3N
Ferry/drive to Holbart: 3D/3N
Drive to Queenstown: 1D/2N and take West Coast Wilderness Railroad
Drive to Strahan: 2D/2N & take Gordon river cruise
Drive to Cradle Mountain/Lake Clair: 2.5D/3N
Drive to Davenport, take 7:00pm ferry to Melbourne & leave ferry for Croajingolong Nat'l Park.

By way of a start with some ideas I would suggest that you scale down your trip to Bruny Island ( very limited accommodation and probably more expensive than the mainland - i.e. nice little beach side caravan park at Snug to name but one, and concentrate on the Channel area and Huon Valley - add time to Freycinet and add Bay of Fires/ St Helens as well which is further north. You could cut time off Hobart as well but try and be there on a Saturday for the Salamanca Markets. If you are interested in the Shackleton expedition to Antarctica early 1900s there is a display of Frank Hurley's photographs of that expedition in the museum which I think is excellant.

For meals without paying mega bucks, just about every small to medium town in Australia you will find a "cafe" and/or fish and chip shop. These usually sell 2 cooked fish fillets and $2 worth of chips for about $14 Au and that makes a great meal. Then they have other things like an Australian hamburger which is about 5 inches high and has everything but the kitchen sink on it. Most places have bbq areas which are either gas/ electric or wood fired where you can make your own meals. It will either cost about 20cents for the bbq or there should be cut wood nearby for you to use. Any bowls club/ Rugby League/ etc in Australia have a dining area where anyone can go for a meal which is usually good value. Same applies to a lot of hotels or rather Pubs which also sell meals.
Check out pubs on your trip for accommodation too as there are many excellant hotels which have cheap accommodation. I notice you are going to the Dorrigo National Park, one of the Pubs in Dorrigo itself has some excellant accommodation both in dormitory style and rooms and at a very good price. My husband rode with his motorcycle club there and the cost in the dorm was $10 per night. Also as you are going to Carnarvon I would suggest staying at Grace's Pub in Injune ( it may not still be called Grace's Pub but it is the only one there) also very cheap but comfortable as well. Stayed there myself when I was showing Australia to English relatives and we enjoyed a darts game with the locals. Even though they removed the feathers from my darts, as sort of a handicap, we managed to beat them. We had invitations to their farms as well which we were unable, due to time constraints, to take up unfortunately. It was a highlight of our rellies trip to Australia as it was such a contrast from their jobs as Merchant Bankers and a really great night. I would perhaps suggest missing out on Heron Island but substituting the Whitsunday Group of Islands instead, because of the beauty of that area and the many ( 73 ) islands in that group to choose from. There is a very nice caravan Park at Airlie Beach - Hibiscus I think it is called which is reasonably priced or you could check out some of the specials which would be advertised on boards around the place. If July next year is anything like this year you would be better to be further north than Heron as it was very, very cold this year.
Anyway hope this helps a bit for you.

LizzyF

Thank you for all the info and recommendations.
I think we will take your suggestion on cutting day out of our stay at Bruny Island. May use this day to stop at Maria Island.

I have 3D/3N in Holbart but want to see Holbart, hopefully on a Sat. plus Mt Wellington for birding and maybe a bike ride down the mountain, the botanical gardens, the city of Richmond, a day at Mt. Field Nat'l Park and who knows: maybe a day to rest.

We do want to spend some time in the Whitsunday Islands. Thinking about a 3D/2N snorkeling boat trip within the islands.

Because of the temperature, we may push our trip out to the first of August. Need to be back home on or about the 15 Nov.

Thank you for letting us know about pub food and more importantly as a place to stay.

Nancy and Tom

When I said to cut down on Hobart, the places that you want to see are just as easily gettable to by staying outside Hobart i.e. Cambridge Caravan & Tourist Park to cut costs. That is only one that I know of but there would be many others.

Actually there is a Pub at Cambridge that charges $55 Au per night for a room. It is clean and homely though not 5 star by any means. Friends of ours stayed there and had the best seafood chowder ever and they thought it was excellant value both for meals and for accommodation. Cambridge is only 15 mins from the centre of Hobart and 8 mins from Richmond.

It is worthwhile buying a cooler and stocking up on drinks and picnic stuff. There are roadside picnic areas along the major roads. These have water and toilets as well as tables. Some also have BBQ facilities. Most towns have public parks as well.

Almost all accommodation will have a fridge and coffee/tea facilities. Just buy ice or ask to put you freezer blocks in the management's freezer each day. This will save heaps. You can also make a thermos of coffee each morning before you leave.