Winston

Mt wife and I just returned from a 2 week visit to Australia. We stayed in Sydney at the Sir Stamford Circular Quay Hotel, Lizard Island on the GBR, and Daintree Eco Lodge in the Cape Tribulation area. If anyone would like to know more or get our opinion, let me know.

Vicki

Would love to hear your comments on all Winston! My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon (either Australia or French Polynesia - we are so torn!), and we are looking at doing a very similar itinerary to yours: 5 nights on one of the Whitsundays, 2 nights at the Daintree Eco-Lodge (do you think that's enough time there? We are limited to 2 weeks,and we are flying from New York), and then ending the trip with 7 nights in Sydney. <BR> <BR>Thanks a million for the help and advice! <BR> <BR>Please reply either

marija

Heading to the same places in September. Please tell us your experiences. Thanks.

Winston

Vicki and Marija, <BR> <BR>Here is a breakdown of our opinions of our Australia trip: <BR> <BR>SYDNEY: We spent 4 days in Sydney and loved it. We stayed at the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay Hotel which is a top notch place (formerly Ritz Carlton). It is a small luxury boutique hotel in a great location and convenient to everything. In Sydney the highlights were the BridgeClimb (a must) and a 2.5 hour Captain Cook harbor cruise. Our best meal was at a restaurant called Aria, which is at Circular Quay on Macquarie Street. Great food and great views of the harbor. One day we did a day trip out to the Blue Mountains. While beautiful, I think most mountains in the US are as stunning. In hindsight wish we can cut out the Blue Mtns tour and added another day at Lizard Island. <BR> <BR>LIZARD ISLAND: The best! Absolutely wonderful island. I would have been happy spending the entire two weeks there. The resort itself is understated and laid back, but still very classy. My wife and I described Lizard Island as a high-end camp: separate duplex cabins, separate quarters for the employees ("Counselors cabins"), daily activity sign ups, and a main lodge. Food was consistently good and inventive. The best thing about Lizard is the isolation. Every day we would get one of the dinghies packed with a picnic lunch and head to one of the many beautiful and deserted beaches. Many times we would be on a stunning beach and never see another human or a boat for 3-4 hours! Snorkeling right off the beach is very good at 6-8 of the beaches . Watson's Bay has the Clam Gardens right off the beach - not to be missed. Also you must do a full day outer reef cruise which takes you to reefs and that are really hard to describe they are so spectacular. If you tire of the beach scene, the island (which is a national park) has have a dozen or so good hiking trails, the longest of which is a 2-3 hour trek to the peak in the middle of the island - stunning views. We really hated to leave. <BR> <BR>DAINTREE - We spent 3 nights at the Daintree Eco Lodge and one night in Cairns prior to our 6 am flight to Sydney. I think three days minimum is required to get a good flavor of the area. We did an all day 2WD safari to Cape Trib (very interesting), a half day horse ride through rainforest and on a beach (through Wonga Beach Trailblazers), and did the Skyrail/Scenic train to and from Kuranda. Kuranda itself is really cheesy and touristly, but getting there and back was worth the half day. We also went to Port Douglas and walked around as well as went to Mossman Gorge. You definitely should rent your own car in the area. There's also white water rafting that we didn't do but people we met loved it. Daintree Eco Lodge is located in a spectacular setting - right in the rainforest with various "jungle noises" at night. The lodge is itself is pretty basic and doesn't offer a lot of amenities. We were slightly disappointed, especially given the room rate. One night we drove to Silky Oaks Lodge for dinner and decided we wished we had stayed there. It's a larger resort (40 vs. 15 rooms) and seems more polished and has more amenities (bigger pool, tennis court, better restaurant, etc.) I thought the setting on the edge of the Mossman River was almost as good as Daintree. Also its a little closer in to civilization and thus closer to Cairns and Port Douglas. Silky Oaks is owned by P&O, who also own Lizard. I know they have a "Reef and Rainforest" package that includes stays at both resorts. Daintree Eco Lodge was different but I think my wife and I have been spoiled by more full-service resorts. <BR> <BR>That's my two cents worth. Please email with any other questions. <BR> <BR>You'll love Australia. <BR> <BR>

jill

Vicki & Marija <BR>If you do stay up in the Port Douglas/Daintree area, please look into taking a tour with David Armbrust. He takes only 4 people per day on tour, you can choose between 1/2 day or full day. 1/2 day is rainforest only, full day is rainforest and outback. It is an incredible personal tour. Look at his website at anhs.com.au for more information. Have a great time.

Vicki

Dear Winston and Jill, <BR> <BR>Thank you so much for your advice and suggestions. Winston, after hearing you describe Lizard Island, and doing more research on it, I am really leaning toward Lizard over Hayman and Bedarra. <BR> <BR>Everything I have read says the snorkeling is top-notch at Lizard, and while we absolutely want a luxury resort, we are in the Great Barrier Reef, and want the best it had to offer! <BR> <BR>Jill, I checked out David's website - we will definitely be booking a tour with him. That is exactly what we love, and what we wanted to go do. <BR> <BR>Thanks again, and I look forward to speaking with you more in the future! I will have many more questions!!

Martha

Winston - <BR> <BR>How long does the Sydney Harbor bridge climb take? I only have 2 days in Sydney the end of August. While I would like to do the bridge climb, I'm afraid that with just 2 days, I don't have enough time. Any recommendations on how to spend 2 days in Sydney would be welcome. <BR>Martha <BR>

Lucian

Hi y'all <BR> <BR>Throwing in a couple more cents... <BR> <BR>We honeymooned in Australia in January and loved it. Just to throw a twist into your GBR plans, we flew into the Whitsundays and were going to stay on Hayman, but instead did a three days and nights trip sailing the Whitsundays. Hayman was pretty and part of me wished we stayed there, but we had never slept on a boat, so the whole thing was an adventure and much less expensive, too. <BR> <BR>Then we drove up the coast to Port Douglas for three days. We did an ecotour in the rainforest with Wait-A-While Tours, involving driving up the mountain in the afternoon, then eating dinner at the top and then driving back down at night to see nocturnal animals. The guide was exceptional and we saw several kinds of kangaroos and possums, various plants and birds and reptiles, a water rat, and most special, a platypus in the wild. It was great and there were six of us in a Land Cruiser. <BR> <BR>We also spent two days at Uluru and found Ayer's Rock and the Olgas very spiritual and beautiful. There was also that disastrous Sounds of Silence dinner in the desert, punctuated by rain, wind and a sandstorm. <BR> <BR>Next, we went to Kangaroo Island from Adelaide and highly recommend it for seals and sea lions and koalas and lots of kangaroos and wallabies, as well as beautiful and strange landscapes. <BR> <BR>In Syndey we stayed at the W Hotel to start and Simpson's of Potts Point to end our trip and very much enjoyed both places. <BR> <BR>Finally, we flew Qantas from JFK to Syndey and found it comfortable with good service, even in coach. If you have any questions, just email. <BR> <BR>Lucian

jill

Vicki and Martha, <BR> <BR>Vicki: I just know you'll LOVE David's tour; please tell David I "sent" you. <BR> <BR>Martha: The bridge climb takes 3 hours. That includes filling out forms, putting on overalls, explanation of how the climb will take place, alcohol test, pass thru metal detector, etc. It's about 1 hour prep.; 2 hours to climb - they take pictures for you up there. Then allow time to view your pictures, get out of the overalls, gather your personal effects. No cameras, jewerly, etc. allowed on the bridge. My family really enjoyed it. IF you don't have time to climb to the top, then you can climb the support pylon and that gives an almost equally good view. It costs $5 Aust.

Winston

Vicki and Martha, <BR> <BR>I echo was Jill said about BridgeClimb. Takes around 3 hours total. But it was THE highlight of our 4 days in Sydney, so I would do it even if you only have 2 days in Sydney. We did the climb midday, but someone I know did it late in the afternoon. They got the daytime view going up the bridge but as they came down the bridge, the sun set and they got the nighttime view as well. <BR> <BR>Winston

Martha

Thanks everyone for the information about the bridge climb. You've convinced me to do it in my 2 days in Sydney. Now I only hope the weather is decent the last few days in August when I will be there. Thanks again. <BR>Martha <BR>

Lindsey

I Am also plannig a two week honeymoon in Aust. this Sept. Right now we are certain about Hayman and the Park Hyatt in Sydney. <BR>Regarding the Rainforest, we are trying to decide b/t the Eco Lodge and Thala Beach Lodge. Keeping in mind that we are only spending two nights in the rainforest (just before we leave for Hayman), which resport would you recommend?