KEC

Hello,<BR>I am in the process of planning an itinerary for a month in Autralia (July-August). We will be starting in Sydney and ending in Cairns. I have been reading guidebooks, and it seems like one of the best places to view wildlife in a natural habitat is on Kangaroo Island. My concern is the season when we will be there. <BR><BR>Has anyone been there in July and can give me a description of the experience? I would greatly appreciate any adice...it seems like the guidebooks focus on what to do in the warmer months.<BR><BR>Thanks for your help,<BR>Keri

Debbie

Hi Keri,<BR>I was in Australia this past July and KI was one of my stops. I'm glad you're considering it b/c KI was one of the highlights of my trip! Get ready to see few tourists but many koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, fur seals and more!! I spent 2 days/1 nights there in mid July and it was a bit chilly; I was happy I made the last minute decision to pack my ski jacket w/a fleece zip-out lining. The first day was rainy and cold--probably in the high 40's (F) but the dampness and breeze made it feel colder. The next day was drier and partly sunny so I think I only wore the shell w/a light sweater underneath. Wear layers and you will be fine! Australian winters are nothing like what most of N. America or Europe get. <BR><BR>The only other time I needed my jacket was in the Blue Mtns. It was much colder there than Sydney! Sydney was really pleasant during the day and night-- mid to high 60's(F) during the day, a bit cooler at night. Some Sydneysiders were wearing wool coats but I found it unnecessary--and I had just flown in from steamy Hotlanta, Georgia!<BR><BR>Consider staying in Pt. Douglas as opposed to Cairns. I spent 2 nights in Cairns and liked the 6 days in Pt. D. much better. It's only an hour north of Cairns but is just a nicer town. It is smaller but has a beach (Cairns doesn't!) delicious restaurants, a cute little downtown and a range of lodging in all price ranges.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!<BR>Debbie <BR><BR>PS I used Adventure Charters of KI for my tour. I highly recommend them. Very personal--there were only 2 others on my tour, food was DELISH, and the guide, Debbie,(great name, eh?) was terrific.

Christina

KEC,<BR><BR>We went to KI in August. Although cold, we still had a great time. It drizzled in the morning & cleared up by noon. Just bring your jacket. It's an experience not to be missed & you will never forget!<BR><BR>Christina

KEC

Thank you Debbie and Christina,<BR>I was hoping to get responses like yours! After everything that I have read, I think that I would really love KI, and I am glad that I got some advice from people who have been there in the winter.<BR><BR>Another question: how many days do you recommend? Did you also stay in Adelaide?<BR><BR>About Port Douglas: I was definitely considering staying there instead of Cairns. Did you go to the GBR from there?<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Keri

Debbie

Hi Keri,<BR>I did the 2 day tour of KI and felt it was the perfect amount of time to be there. Some people go for one day but they don't see everything. <BR><BR>To answer your question about staying in Adelaide, I had 2 full days there before going to KI and one night afterwards (I was headed to Darwin and couldn't get a flight 'til the following AM). I would've liked being in Adel. one more day, but 2 days was ok. I spent the 1st day being shown the city and N. Adelaide by my friend who's lived there his entire life. The following day, he and I took an organized tour of the Barossa Valley.(Sorry, can't remember which company we used.) We had fun tasting all the lovely wines and enjoyed hanging out w/the others on the tour.<BR><BR>You can fly from Adelaide to Cairns but not direct. I think you have to go through either Sydney, Melbourne or Sydney. It's pretty expensive...Check out qantas.com and virginblue.com and see what's the most ecomomical routing. Qantas' Boomerang is another option but when I booked last April or May, it was not a good deal for me.<BR><BR>If you have any more questions, either post or email me directly.<BR><BR>Debbie

Debbie

Hi--<BR>I meant to say you can fly to Cairns via Melbourne, Sydney or BRISBANE!<BR><BR>Deb

KEC

Hi Deb~<BR>Thanks for your quick response. I was thinking about flying from Sydney to Adelaide, then to Ayers Rock (or Alice Springs), then to Cairns. I would have to price it all out though.<BR><BR>My thoughts are:<BR>Sydney - 1 week<BR>Adelaide + KI - 6 days<BR>Ayers Rock - 4 days<BR>Port Douglas/GBR/Rainforest - 13 days<BR><BR>This is all still very tentative though. I am just in the very beginning stages of planning.<BR><BR>I would really appreciate any advice that you could offer.<BR><BR>How long did you go for?

limerick

I think that you are spending too much time in Adelaide actually and although KI is nice there are much better areas in Australia where you can see and experience all the animals which you see on KI. Diverting to Adelaide just for KI is expensive and I would have suggested that Victoria/Tasmania would have been a better option. Particularly if you go to Cradle Mountain area in Tasmania. You will get a chance to see many animals in the wild around Cairns and the Daintree too so make sure that your max time is spent up in North Qld, 5 days in Sydney and perhaps the rest of the time in the south. <BR>

Limerick

PS <BR>Of course the best natural habitat to view animals and see something very very different is in the Northern Territory around Darwin and into Kakadu. In winter that would be terrific and then you can fly over to Cairns for the GBR. I think out of everything I would do the NT

Christina

KEC,<BR><BR>We went from:<BR><BR>Sydney<BR>KI<BR>Adelaide<BR>Ayers Rock<BR>Palm Cove<BR><BR>I would suggest cutting down your time in Adelaide. The wine country was ok, but not so pretty in the winter because the grapes have already been harvested. It was still a very nice tour though.<BR><BR>Two full days in Adelaide & two full days in KI are enough for that area. I suggest flying to KI from Adelaide. Emu Airways flys there & it wasn't that expensive. It cuts down on travel time.<BR><BR>All you really need is 2 nights in Ayers...3 max. Lodging is very expensive there. Out of our 2 weeks in OZ, we spent the most for lodging at Yulara..but the price you pay to see beautiful monoliths. I can tell you how to see everything in 2 nights if you are interested. <BR><BR>We then stayed in Palm Cove. It was a nice midway point between PD & Cairns. All the tour companies picked us up from there for a small fee $10/pp. It was a great area away from the hustle & bustle.<BR><BR>I would suggest trying to make it to Kakadu. I heard it was beautiful & really wished we had the time to make it over there.<BR><BR>Winter is a great time for Central/Northern Australia. It's not too hot & the rains/bugs/jellyfish aren't there yet.<BR><BR>Christina<BR><BR> <BR>

Debbie

Hi Keri,<BR>My Australia trip ended being 4wks. I left home thinking I'd be there 3, but couldn't bear to leave! I spent a small fortune changing tickets but it was sooo worth it!!!<BR><BR>I think your idea of a week in Sydney is plenty. I started out there for 6 days and though one can never see everything, felt I did see lots. One day was spent in the Blue Mtns, every other day was in/around the city. I flew to Adelaide next, spent 2 days there and of course, the time on KI. I agree w/Christina about flying to KI (it's just 30 min. by prop plane as she told you--Emu Air)I also agree w/her to shave a day or so off of Adelaide. I didn't go to Alice Springs or Uluru, but the consensus on the board seems to be that 3 days total for the Red Center is plenty. Since you like wildlife and nature, you might like Darwin better. I had 4 days in Darwin and wished I stayed longer--not in Darwin itself but in Kakadu. I made the mistake of prebooking day trips to Litchfield and Kakadu. It may have been long enough to experience Litchfield, but definately not in Kakadu. If you do go to Kakadu, I strongly recommend you do an overnight trip--there are some pretty cool camping adventures where the operator provided the gear...Next time I go, that's what I'm doing! There's lots to do on the GBR, but what about splitting your time and going two different areas (if it's not too expensive) There are overnight boat/dive trips so you could really experience the reef...just a thought...I loved Pt. Douglas but wonder if you could run out of stuff to do in 13 days. From what I hear, Palm Cove would be too small for that length of time...<BR><BR>Have a wonderful, wonderful trip. It was about this time last year that I started planning! I gotta go back!!<BR><BR>Debbie<BR>

Barbara

We spent two days in Adelaide and two days,one night on KI. We loved both. While you can see wildlife in other areas, the remoteness and beauty of nature without all the tourist type stuff was wonderful. Even better than Kakadu where we also spent two days. On a return trip we will defintely spend at least three days on KI so we have more time to hike and explore the areas. We stayed in a B&B in Parndana and it was delightful. Sarah gave us lots of ideas of places to go and things to see. Adelaide was our favorite AU. city. The botanical gardens are beautiful even in winter. We were there in July. The city has a lot of charm and again we enjoyed our host in the B&B we stayed in.The weather was cool and we definitely needed layers to wear, but no colder than Nov. in the N.E. U.S.

KEC

Thank you so much for all of the responses. From what I have heard, it sounds like KI is just the kind of destination that I would like. And being from N.E. USA, I am hoping that the cold will be milder than I am used to in winter here. <BR><BR>I am also now interested in the possibility of adding Kakadu/Darwin to our trip. I will have to look into the price of plane tickets, but it sounds like a wonderful place to visit.<BR><BR>Thanks again,<BR>Keri

Debbie

Hi again, Keri!!<BR>Glad we could be of help! This board really helped me plan a GREAT trip, so am happy to be able to pass on some of my experiences <BR><BR>Keep us posted as the planning progresses. I will live vicariously through these posts til I can make it back to Oz!<BR><BR>Debbie<BR><BR>I grew up in NY and I promise you, an Australian winter doesn't even compare to the NE! I'm now in Atlanta and KI was more like what I'm used to--nah,I take that back, it was still warmer than it typically is here in Jan./Feb.!