We will be driving from Cairns to Sydney in late January 2002 and would be grateful for any advice on how long we should allow for this? We were anticipating around a week however can extend/shorten as necessary <BR>Also,is it advisable to pre-book accomodation en route or can we wing it and stop when we see something we like? <BR>Also,how many days shoild we allow in Sydney & Melbourne? <BR>Any advice gratefully received!! <BR>

Cairns to Sydney is about 2700km by road. Be prepared for large distances between places of interest, especially in Qld. Its a lot of travelling in just 1 week, especially in the heat of mid-summer. <BR>School holidays generally finish in the last week of January so after this time you shouldn't have too much trouble getting accommodation.

Cathy, <BR>Cairns to Sydney is a heck of a long way, why not fly part of the way? You could drive Cairns to Proserpine and that way visit the Whitsunday Islands area or you could fly Sydney to Coolangatta (Gold Coast) then drive to Brisbane, stopping at the Gold Coast. There are many options. Late Jan will still be the wet season in the far north and often roads are impassable due to rain so bear this in mind. <BR>Accommodation should be easy enough to find without pre-booking. 3 days each in Syd and Melb should be enough to see just the city area, depends if you want to do any day trips outside the city. <BR>Hope this helps. <BR>Kay

Thanks both for your replies <BR>Kay,is it possible to get a train/bus between Prosperine and Brisbane and?

Cathy, <BR>Greyhound and McCafferty's both run buses on the route Cairns to Brisbane, stopping in Proserpine or Airlie Beach. (Proserpine is the town where the airport is, Airlie Beach is the touristy mainland area of the Whitsundays.) <BR>Not sure about the train, you could do a search on Queensland Rail. <BR>Kay

My husband & I drove from Brisbane to Airlie Beach and would not do it again. Although the drive was nice enough the "Bruce Highway" is only two lanes and if you get stuck behind a cattle truck - a long drive. Also the scenary is pretty bland once you've seen it for a day or two. If we were to do it again we would definitely be flying parts of it!