I'm going to be in Australia from December 16 to January 2 and would like suggestions on what to do. I will be flying into Melbourne & have the resources to travel around so any suggestions are welcome! Right now we are thinking of trying to get to the GBR, Sydney, & Ularu - and possibly Tasmania or NZ. I know it sounds like a lot, but its a once in a lifetime trip!

Heather, <BR> <BR>Coming from someone who lives in Alice Springs and knows the outback of Australia take it from me that you don't want to be going to Ayres Rock at that time of year. It is way to hot to enable any enjoyment and the flies are an abomination of biblical proportions. <BR> <BR>Why not take in the sights of Adelaide and Kangaroo Island or try Port Stephens for the perfect summer location which is only 2 hours by road north of Sydney. If you are into wines then the Hunter regional wineries are easily accessible from Port Stephens. <BR> <BR>Tasmania is a great summer touring location and so is Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. <BR> <BR>The GBR will be hot and humid but bearable. I would suggest maybe a couple of days on one of the Whitsunday Island resorts with a trip out to the outer Barrier Reef. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps

Hi! <BR> <BR>I think that three weeks is quite well to enjoy this wonderful country. <BR>Melbourne is a great city, three days would be enough, there you can go to Philip Island that is like one hour drive, by the way you could visit some farms to have contact with kangaroos, Koalas, etc. It's a little bit touristic but is a nice way to pet and feed this animals. Once you are in Philip Island theres a point of view at the west of the island with pretty views. Just a minutes from there is a place where you could see the penguins coming back at sunset, this is a really nice experience. <BR> <BR>From Melbourne you must go to the great ocean road, there are lots of things to do in this journey like water falls, sight seeing, etc.. Go to the twelve apostols, Apollo Bay. <BR> <BR>Once there you could continue to Adelaide a nice city with a Victorian style, some places close to Adelaide are Kangaroo Island, Victor Harbour, the wineries, etc. <BR> <BR>Ayers Rock is a must to see in Australia, I really don't know how bad is the weather in this season, but I agree with you that Australia is a one in the life, so maybe I would decide to suffer a little just to see this place. There you could visit Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Olgas, King's Canyon and Alice Springs. <BR> <BR>You must go also to Sydney specially now that has been transformed for the olympics. <BR> <BR>All the east coast is also really nice if you are interested in diving, nice beaches, etc. <BR> <BR>There lots of places to go, so you just have to decide which kind of trip are you interested with and if you need some help, just contact me. <BR> <BR>

You should try and make it to western australia, perth, yallingup, margaret river (both 4-5 hours drive from perth). wA has fantastic beaches, good waves from enthusiastic surfers. Perth a bit more relaxed than busy melbourne and sydney, beautiful and clean city.

I live in Melbourne so here are some suggestions for that area. The Great Ocean Road is a must - don't try to do it in one day - I'd suggest you stay in Port Fairy (old fishing port with good accommodation and restaurants) and return the next day or drive onto Adelaide. The Dandenong Ranges (about 45 minutes from CBD are very pleasant particularly on a hot day. A drive to Marysville is one of our favourites - the drive takes you through the Yarra Valley wine region and through mountain ash forests. Healesville Sanctuary can be visited en route so that you can see a range of Australian animals. <BR>Phillip Island has the penguins but you will need to be there on dark to see them. <BR>Ballarat (just over an hour from the city) is an old gold town - Sovereign Hill Folk Museum is excellent and they have a sound and light performance at night. Also see the gold museum across the road from Sovereign Hill. Bendigo is another old gold town with some lovely Victorian building. <BR>In Melbourne, use the City Circle free trams - they are painted brown and you can just hop on and off around the city centre. Our new museum opens next month and a new aquarium opened earlier this year. Wander around Southgate - lots of restaurants and nice shops. Lygon Street in Carlton for Italian food and Little Bourke Street for Asian food. <BR>You will be in Australia in the summer school holidays - it may be necessary to book accommodation ahead. <BR>Hope you enjoy your holiday.

I just returned from a ozzie trip--my one piece of advice is to try to avoid big cities--the GBR was the highlight for me--but I wish I would have had more time to explore other out of the way places --brisbane and sydney seemed too much like america to be very interesting, to me