We are in the very early planning stage for extended trip that will include some time in Australia. We will have some set arrival/departure dates based on flight/train schedules. We plan starting the trip early 2009. I would love to have holds on hotel space through Amex so I can book flights as soon as they open.

We love train travel, to drive, scenic areas, staying in nice places, good food and wine, and shopping (special experiences). We like laid back and scenic settings, not to so keen on big cities. Don’t really like to stay longer than maybe 3-4 nights in any given place. My knees are a big pain so try to avoid stairs and do only easy walks. We are both certified divers and dive regularly, but I need to slip off the boat dive platform as apposed to the giant stride-this is not a problem in other parts of the world, but may prevent diving at GBR, but we want to spend some time in the area.

Locations with proposed dates based on current schedules so these dates could vary some in 6-7months when we can actually book:

Wed(also runs on Fri or Sun) Feb 25-Auckland, New Zealand to Cairns. Air New Zealand. Shangri-La Marina.
Thurs, Feb 26- Cairns Sightseeing?. Rent a car
Fri, Feb 27- Great Barrier Reef- Round trip heli transfer from Cairns to Reef Encounters. Two days one night on Reef Encounters.
Sat, Feb 28- Great Barrier Reef to Cairns rent car for sightseeing. Shangri-La Marina.
Sun, March 1- Cairns area, sightseeing?- the above is one idea and order of the days is flexible: the other is doing the day trip with DaintreeAir?? out to Lizard Island instead of the reef trip.

Mon, March 2 - Cairns to Sydney, morning flight, Qantas. Quay West Suites or Four Seasons full harbor view or Shangri-La Premier Horizon Club harbor view.
Tues, March 3- Sydney usual big sights
Wed(also on Sat), March 4- Train Sydney to Adelaide, depart 2:55, Golden Kangaroo Service.

Thurs(Sat), March 5- Arrive Adelaide (3:05pm) rent car, tour wine areas, coast and Kangaroo Island. Weekly apartment rental in Adelaide Hills, do day trips & private wine tours?? Or move around to various B&Bs??
Fri, March 6- Adelaide
Sat, March 7- Adelaide area- Kangaroo Is, 2 nights?
Sun, March 8- Adelaide area
Mon, March 9- Adelaide area- Orangerie 3 nights?
Tues, March 10- Adelaide area
Wed, March 11- Adelaide area

Thurs(also on Sun), March 12- Train to Adelaide to Perth. Depart Adelaide 6:40pm.
Fri(Mon), March 13- Train across Australia. Husbands dream trip.

Sat(Tues), March 14- Perth, arrive 9:10am, rent car drive to Margaret River Wine Area 3 hrs. Cape Lodge.
Sun, March 15- Margaret River area sightseeing
Mon, March 16- Margaret River area sightseeing.
Tues, March- Perth Drive back to Perth, checking out Frenmantle and Perth. Parmelia Hilton.

Wed, March 18- Fly Perth to Seim Reap, Cambodia. Singapore

I am looking for special experiences of others who have been to these places and some input on accommodations especially in the Adelaide area. There seems to be so much that appeals to us in that area.

Thanks for any suggestions and any special places along the way!

You will love the Reef Encounter. And how cool that you are doing the helicopter to get there! We took the boat and it is rather slow. The platfrom is so easy for getting on and off. My husband has bad knees and he didn't have any difficulty getting into and out of the water. We did one night on the Reef Encounter and I could have stayed longer. We had pretty rough weather but I still loved it (take ginger pills with you just in case - they work wonders).

I'd spend longer in Sydney, but that's just me. One thing that some friends recommended (and we did and now recommend) is instead of just doing a tour of the Opera House - go see a show there. We saw Mandy Patinkin on our first night (after the flight from the US) and it was fabulous. Seeing the facility in use was the best way to experience the magic of the building. We also did a side trip from Sydney and went down to Huskisson and Jervis Bay. Very quiet and charming. We stayed at the Jervis Bay Guest House for a night and had a wonderful time.

Enjoy your time in Australia - it is wonderful. I gather that you are from New Zealand? We also spent 10 days in New Zealand (mostly on the South Island) and LOVED it. Can't wait to go back.

Thanks for your info on Reef Encounters.

The GBR and my husband's train trip is sort a driving our time in Sydney. I do like your idea about actually going to something at the Opera House- will add to my notes-that is the kind of thing we don't think of till to late!

We will be coming from New Zealand on this trip, but we live in the US.

Thanks

From Baroosa to CWN
The best areas around Adelaide are within a 100km drive, namely the Barossa (excellent wineries), the Adeladie Hills (try Harndorf) and (Mt Lofty for view and Cleland Wildlife Park - for a Koala) , Kangaroo Island (for Seals), the Fleuria Peninsula (Mclarean Vale for wine)(try Port Elliot for Ocean). Travel wise Suggest B&B 2 nights Barossa, 2 nights Adelaide (with day drive to Adelaide Hills), then on drive Kangaroo Island 2 nights(ferry of tip of Fleauria Pensiula) 2 stop by Mclaren Vale. For your Husband may I suggest that the interstae train terminal in Adlaide is not considred flash, but a tour of the National Railway Museum at Port Adelaide is a must.

Thanks so much for the great suggestions for stops!! That is exactly what I am looking for. Any suggestions on B&Bs. I have looked through several listings, but nothing really jumped out.

Thanks again.

For Adelaide and other SA B&B's have you looked at www.BBBook.com.au?

You shouldn't have any worries about difficulty of entering water with Reef Encounter, it has an elevator platform thingie for easy access.

The feeder boat "Compass" mentioned by jcasale is slow, however about to be replaced by a speedier vessel, with Compass becoming a budget backpacker day reef trip.

WOW, that is great. I'm not sure if the Australia diving regs will let me dive. Will depend on the operator I think. Plan to contact them about the issue when we get ready to book. My husband said he won't dive if I can't, we will just see it from the top. I hope he will change his mind. He is just saying it now because it is my dream to dive the GBR and doesn't want to disappoint me too much.

Thanks for the link. I will check it out.

The Daintree and Great Barrier Reef if only snorkeling is most beautiful place in Australia. Cains long way north of Brisbane, let alone Sydney. Australia is really big. Sydney does not need architecture, as it has harbour, the Bridge and the Opera House. Do not drive in Sydney as navigation difficult the Public transport (i.e. trains and ferries) in Sydney is good, catch a train from the Airport.
A good walk is The Rocks, Circular Quay and botanical gardens. Febuary is hot so catch Ferry form Circular Quay to beach at Manly, although there is plenty more to do. Can catch a public train to Central Station (good station) when going to Adelaide. Adelaide station will need taxi. Adelaide is easy to drive in, square mile of Parklands ,(not good public transport), suggest car with air conditioning (Holden Commodore or Toyota Camry (from Avis or Budget) . Suggest B&B’s (all good) in Barossa (wine aplenty) but Novotel if hotel. Much investment in holiday apartments in Adelaide so all nice, but Grand or Playford as hotels (good drive to a Adelaide Hills (Cleland Wildlife park, Mt Lofty, Port Adelaide railway Museum or Bay tram to Glenelg). After Mclaren Vale (wine aplenty) Horse tram to Granite Island at Victor orAustralia’s oldest railway, Cockel train at Victor to Goolwa (W’ends and school hols), then ferry to Kangaroo Island (Seals). . Train to Perth is three days crosses Nullabour (i.e. no trees) and can go 500kms without a bend.
Perth is the most isolated city in the world, very clean, built on sand and very new because mining boom. Many of the residents fly 1500kms to mines for three weeks on off work. Fremantle nice. Drive to Margaret River 300kms.

cwn, sounds like a great trip-you will have a wonderful time. My only concern is that someone will try to talk you out of taking the Indian-Pacific train. I did that last year and it was fantastic: really good food and wine [buy a bottle and they will store it for you if you don't finish it], amazing scenery and the most wonderful/interesting people on the train (ok so I was the only american on the train).

LabRat- Thanks for all the details. I am working them in to our trip plans.

Tampatramp- Thanks so much for the train details. We are really excited about the train ride. I think even if someone told my husband the trip was awfull, he would still do it. He has talked about it for years. Are the riders mostly Australian or is it more a tourist train? We will being doing the Overlander on New Zealand's NI (assuming it runs in 2009) and the Transcoastal on the SI. These are just day trips. The India Pacific being one night to Adelaide and two on to Perth will be really special to us.

Guess with all there is to do and see in Australia, we may be have picked a strange combination, but we can't wait and want to see all we can on our way.

CWN as you taxi onto the runway in Perth (WA) considering how far you’ve been, look out of the port hole and see the non-commercial planes. They are the ones people from Perth use to get to work! Summer in WA and SA are characterized by the whiteness of the light like no other and a brown landscape and perhaps the Indian-Pacific is the best way to see what the Aboriginals call the dreamtime. Adelaide (SA) with a square mile of surrounding parklands and a mediterranean climate is a city which reflects this space.
If you travel further you can see more great wines in SA at Clare of the Coonawarra. There is also the Hunter (wine) to be accessed from Sydney. Whilst France may have history-romance, it is AWRI and Adelaide University, which is accredited in bringing science-technology and quality to wine. A drive in the cool of night or early morning in the Barassoa sees what looks like UFO’s raping the vines of there juice. It will be vintage in SA in Feb-March and perhaps we will be catching these characteristics.
What will be interesting is to what extent all this dreamtime and wine of the Indian-Pacific compares for you with Sydney Harbour and the Great Barrier Reef which are considered to be Australia’s post cards.

P.S. My mum is doing perth to Adelaide next eweek. Its a tourist train.

LabRat- "What will be interesting is to what extent all this dreamtime and wine of the Indian-Pacific compares for you with Sydney Harbour and the Great Barrier Reef which are considered to be Australia’s post cards"

That is so ture-It will be interesting! But isn't part of the charm and beauty of Australia its great contrasts? I would think so. We are eagar to experience these.

When we fly out of Perth for SEA, it will be interesting to see how our vision of Australia, formed in part from what we have learned for the wonderful Australians we have met on our travels and in part from reading about the country matches what we actually see and experience.

You have so much information on SA, is that your home? Thanks for your help!

I am from the wine country, the Barossa. In SA its Friday and it time for the weekend. Bon Voyage.

cwn, almost everyone on the train (gold kangaroo 3 nights) when I went last year were Australian, only one other from the US.

The advantage of the I-P is not that it contrasts other parts of the country, it is that you can begin to appreciate how Big Australia really is.

LabRat-have a good weekend. We look forward to our time in your part of the world. We are from the US-Texas. Thanks for all your comments.

Tampatramp-Yes that is excactly why my husband wants to ride the I-P.

I think we will get a nice overview of Australia as we work our way across it; beautiful GBR and rainforest areas, gleaming Sydney, wine country of around Adelaide and Margaret River valley, the vast desert area and the modern but isolated Perth. What part of America are you from? Thanks.

cwn,

"What part of America are you from?" you ask.

smart-ass answer #1: the United States
smart-ass answer #2: the Tampa Bay area, duh!
answer #3: The Bronx!
answer #4: San Francisco

the correct answer is all of the above: we split our time between the gulf coast of Florida [laid back and scenic if you like the water] and San Francisco [they think it's a big city, but I'm from NYC].

are you from NZ?

Tampatramp- well I was trying to be...I guess... PC...or at least not just assume you were from the US, got my head bit off one time assuming that.

We love Florida especially the Keys and the Gulf Coast-we will be there in Nov. I also like NYC, but we both love San Francisco- another favorite place of ours to visit. We actually live in Texas outside of Houston which is not one of my favorite places, but the small town where we live is nice.

cwn,
A great holiday. I would find it hard to leave anything out but only one day for the Atherton Tablelands west of Cairns is limiting yourself. Lots of beautiful scenery and easy short walks in a variety of habitats.

I just came back from a month in Australia, and while there I did the Daintree Air Lizard Island day trip. I had read about it on this forum and wanted to take it, but once I got to Cairns and saw how expensive it was (A$590.), I changed my mind. However I stopped by the tour office, looked at the pictures, talked to them, and ultimately decided to go ahead and do it. And I'm SO glad that I did. The plane flies over the rain forest on the way out and over the reef on the way back, and the views are spectacular. When we went, there were only 7 of us on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been on, and the snorkeling was great! I am a beach/snorkeling nut, and so I'm really picky, but I was impressed by both. As expensive as it was, this is one of my best memories of my trip. (And a HUGE thank you, by the way, to those on this forum who recommended it).

I also went on the Wait-a-while Rainforest Tour while in Cairns, which I would also recommend. I chose it because it offered day and night viewing in the same tour, and the groups were small (only 5 people on my tour). Our guide, Clayton, was excellent.

It's been a few years since I've been to the Perth area, but when I went I stayed at Margaret River Guest House, which was a really nice B&B. In Fremantle I stayed at Fremantle Colonial Accomodation, which was a sort of B&B, and also very nice, though my impression is that it fills up quickly, and you must book ahead.

Hello cwn,
I couldn't resist replying to your query.
Just had to mention that it will be mid-summer in Australia and could be extremely hot in Perth and Margaret River.
Don't let this worry you, just be prepared for a couple of scorchers along the way.
Margaret River and surrounds are usually milder than Perth, but the wonderful beaches will be superb for diving at this time.
Has anyone suggested visiting Rottnest Island, a 25 minute ferry ride from Fremantle with excellent diving facilities? Just go to the web and look up Rottnest Island Western Australia for more info.
I am a born and bred West Aussie living in a coastal suburb of Perth, therefore very biased about our fabulous State.
By the way, are saving the best wine region til last. Well done!!
have fun,
regards, Helsylucy