Help me decide!
 

I will be visiting Australia next month. I will be in Sydney 4.5 days, Cairns 3.5, Alice springs an Uluru 2.5 and Melbourne 3.5 days. I will like to visit one zoo and one aquarium and I am trying to decide if going to Taronga Zoo or Royal Melbourne Zoo, and to Sydney aquarium or Melbourne's. Wich options are the best. I someone can give me advice on what to do in Cairns in 3.5 days I will appreciate it.

I highly recommend the Taronga Zoo. The views of Sydney Harbour alone are spectacular. As for the Sydney Aquarium. I give it a big thumbs down. I haven't been to Melbourne, so I comment on that cities attractions.

As for Cairns..do yourself a favor and drive a hour or so north to Port Douglas, it's a much better place to stay.

I have not been to Melbourne but I was just in Sydney. We loved the Sydney Aquarium and consider it one of the high points of our trip. There were some wonderful exhibits. Best of all, the aquarium was not overly crowded so you could really enjoy the exhibits. So many aquariums I've been to are wall to wall people. (We were there on an August weekday.) And the Taronga Zoo was lovely, with beautiful views of the harbor from the zoo and a fun ferry ride to get there.

Much smaller but also excellent is Rainforest Habitat on the road into Port Douglas - all native - no lions and tigers. You can drive either from Cairns or Port Douglas or Trek North out of Cairns take it in on a good little trip to Daintree River

Although the views from the Sydney zoo are spectacular - the actual zoo in Melb. has more to offer, in my opinion. Aquarium is a toss up...Melbourne's is newer & seems to have more of an educational spin but Sydney's is more fun?? Don't know how to explain it, but it seems to have a better feel to me. Just a personal choice.

Greetings Edgar

Tough questions and choices. We liked both the Taronga Zoo and the Rainforest Habitat. I would lean toward the Rainforest Habitat if I could only attend one.

The Sydney Aquarium is nice, but I guess we expected something more like the aquarium in Baltimore Harbor. So while very nice, it was a bit less than we had hoped for.

We have not stayed in Melbourne (yet) so cannot offer advice their.

If you have time in Port Douglas/Cairns you should treat your self to a trip with David Armbrust's Australian Natural History Safari (web site is at http://www.anhs.com.au/)

What ever your choices, you will have a fantastic time

Cheers

Steve

Hi, Edgar G!
As you can see, everyone's opinion is different, so who is taling the truth? I don't know, but this is what I think you should do: definitely do the Sydney Taronga Park Zoo, as, regardless of which zoo has the best animals (a hard one to judge at any time, as there are always some exhibits closed for "refurbishing"), a day at Taronga Park is a day looking at the sights of Sydney. You can travel over by ferry and see a nice stretch of the inner harbour.
For the aquarium, do Melbourne. I don't know who has the best fish, but I do know that aquariums are indoors, and, frankly, with only a few days in Sydney, you wouldn't want to be stuck indoors for half a day. Melbourne has a lot of drizzly rain, so an "indoor" day might be a smart strategy, regardless of the relative quality of the exhibits.

Hi Edgar_G,
In addition the the great Cairns area suggestions, I suggest the following for consideration.
These are all within 30 mins North of Cairns
Kuranda: plenty of posts on this forum.

Wildworld: Quaint wildlife park/zoo on the main road from Cairns to Palm Cove.
Hold a Koala and feed the Kangaroos.
Even race Cane toads.

Palm Cove: Beautiful tranquil peaceful resort between Cairns and Port Douglas.
A lot smaller than PD but has the most beautiful beach. I read somewhere on this forum that it's been voted best beach in Australia? or Queensland?? Can't remember which.

or when you get to Cairns pick up leaflets. There is heaps to do there if you have the time.

Have a great time


Muck

Hi Muck - Agree - Palm Cove is a delightful beach - recently received Australia's "Cleanest Beach" award. There are wonderful old melaleuca trees on foreshore, some gorgeous accommodation and good restaurants. About 25 minutes drive north of Cairns airport.