I will be travelling to Australia January 2005 for the Frangipani Fest on the Gold Coast and would like suggestions for reasonably priced places to stay in Sydney (4 days) and things to see in Sydney and on the drive from Sydney to Surfer's Paradise.

Our primary interests are Frangipani, botantical gardens, fishing and the beautiful outdoors.

We will also be travelling to Fiji (5 days)and would like to include a stop over in New Zealand (2-3 days). We have approximately 3 weeks for our trip.

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

You are certainly trying to pack in as much as possible in 3 weeks.
Frangipani's are a common plant in Australia, especially on the coastline, away fromt the frosts.
I am sure there any members who will advise on accommodation at both Sydney & Gold Coast, so I will only talk about the drive from Sydney to Surfers.
Try to make this a 3 day journey. It can be done in 2 days, but why rush, there is a lot to see along the coastal highway, places like, Port Stephens, Manning Valley, Coffs Harbour & Hinterland, South West Rocks, Nambucca Heads, Grafton (Jacaranda trees), the scenic coastal drive between Ballina & Byron Bay, then the Tweed Valley hinterland, and Mt.Warning.
Coffs Harbour has a small Botanical Garden, just off the road leading to the Jetty. (well signposted)
Hunter Valley has the "Hunter Valley Gardens".
The hinterland countryside around northern NSW, eg. Mt.Warning is well worth visiting. There are other National Parks and good rainforests on the Mt.Lindsay drive, but then that is not on Highway 1.

PS. I should mention that the Jacaranda trees in Grafton, flower late October/early November.

You're not really leaving yourself any time to enjoy New Zealand. I'd leave it off your itinerary and spend more time in Australia.

Lee Ann

I love frangipani too! The best display I have ever seen in Australia was up in Cooktown (all colours). Until then I had thought they only came in white!

Re Accomm in Sydney - what do you define as reasonably priced? $30 US, 60, 100, 200!!

Hi Sue,

I must concur with Troppo, especially when it comes to Port Stephens. This is such a beautiful location and the fishing there is great. There are a number of fishing charters that leave from Nelson Bay and they are very reasonably priced at around A$90.00 per person for a good 6 hours or more of spectacular fishing off places like Broughton Island. Be prepared for good catches of Snapper and Mulloway. I have even been on a charter there when we hooked up a black marlin, which was tagged and released. Another great fish that can be caught is the Cobia or black kingfish, they are just superb fighters and exceptional table fish.

I think you will be suitably impressed with the Hunter Valley Gardens their website is:

http://www.hvg.com.au/home.asp

I recommend staying at Peppers Convent in the Hunter Valley although you may find this too rich for your budget. There are numerous B&B's in the Hunter Valley that would suit for more budget conscious travelers.

Port Stephens can cater for all levels of accommodation you can find them listed on this website:

www.portstephens.org.au

The only thing I would highlight to you is that you are contemplating visiting during the peak Australian school holiday period and as such accommodation can be as scarce as hens teeth anywhere along the east coast of Australia, especially between Batemans Bay in the south to the Sunshine Coast region in the north. It would be advisable to plan and book your accommodation ASAP otherwise you may find that you have missed out on places you may have liked to stay at.

Regards

Paul_S