Diane

Hi, I'll be in Oz in March (travelling solo , female, 40) and would like to travel 4-5 days thru wine country and same to GBR. I will be visiting both Sydney and Melbourne (maybe Victoria or Adelaide also)--need help deciding betwn Hunter/ Yarra/Barossa, etc. Have done some cycing thru wine areas in US, France, and would love to do same in Oz. As for GBR--don't scuba, want nice, friendly area, not honeymoon predominant. Also, love small, elegant hotels/upscale bb's--have checked out sites LizF suggested, but am getting overloaded on info and need to make decisions soonest (leaving next week, nary a reservation). would like to keep $ under $A200. <BR><BR>Kinda new to travelling solo--any suggestions greatly appreciated!!! <BR><BR>

Lizf

I bet you won't stay solo - someone always adopts you at least for some sections. <BR>The Hunter Valley is north of Sydney so if you are coming up to the GBR then you would be going near them, although I don't know if the area will be at its prime at that time of year - probably not really but then again if they have had rain and not too high temps then it should be looking reasonably good. I am not sure if you are intending to cycle all the time or if you are driving. Anyway a nice trip around the wine area of the Hunter could be done and then go through Gloucester and up and across to Uralla on the New England Tableland to the Highway there if you are heading to Queensland. Get directions in Gloucester and head up that way through Armidale and further to the Stanthorpe area which is Queenslands wine belt. Come across from Stanthorpe going through the border ranges and get to Tamborine Mountain which also has some lovely little wineries, not to mention our very wonderful boutique distillery which makes schnapps and liqueurs from local fruits and then Alla paints the bottles. Apart from having 9 National parks here we also boast beautiful waterfalls and water holes which should be running as we have not yet had summer rains but they 'have' to be near soon. Check out my web site Diane on www.tmbb.com.au for information about my area.<BR>I have never thought that any part of the GBR was very honeymoon predominant and I would not worry about reservations as they can be done when you decide what you want to do and where you want to go at this time of year - nothing should be overly booked. <BR>$200 Au per night will not be a problem. Get yourself on a computer somewhere - be it a library or Internet cafe and check out the www.wotif.com site for the cheapest rates in the area you want. Email me if I have given you can't get on that site as I could have made a mistake on the address. <BR>The Whitsundays area ( Airlie Beach in particular) of the GBR will have lots of notices up of specials on and off the islands and you can choose from them. If you go as far as Cairns/PD which I would do if I had a chance then the same should apply there. Out on the reefs it is just nice to swim and stick your head under the water and take a look at the fish. You don't have to scuba to have a great time, all you need are goggles/mask and an underwater throw-a-way camera. If you can be more specific about where you will be going then maybe we can come up with something interesting for you<BR>

Diane

Liz, thanks for your help. 1 night ago, i had just about given up on a last-minute trip to OZ--so much to learn/consider/plan!!--and then i found this travel chat and everyone was incredibly helpful and so enthusiastic about Oz AND Ozzies, i just decided i had to put this together!!! <BR><BR>So...here's my very rough itinerary--I'm biking/hiking in NZ for about 10 days, then heading on to Oz (5 mar to 30 mar) thinking to Melbourne/great ocean road/ barossa valley (3 day biking thru valley). i'll then probably head to gbr, and spend fianl week in/around sydney. i really want to visit gbr, but am concerned about time of year- if weather is really bad mid-march, i'd plan a quick trip, and probably not go as far north as cairns. if it's not monsoon season, i'd probably go to cairns and explore from there.<BR><BR>question--port douglas seems to get alot of press, but i'm not into sheraton/big hotel--would prefer more beachy, intimate--but still people around. am i wrong about pd, or can you suggest alt??<BR><BR>sorry for length, and thanks for help--wotif is great, as is your site! Loved your birds!<BR>D

LizF

Port Douglas is a lazy laid-back very small community of people who are hell bent on enjoying their lives with the least possible stress. The Sheraton Mirage was built some years ago to suit the Luxury Hotel style people ( Sheratons are more up-market here in OZ than in the USA) but there are other accommodations from hostel - B&B's etc that you can find there. PD is a great unwind place and the Sheraton is the only hotel, though there is a Pub there too. To date its been a fairly typically active monsoon season up north so hopefully it will abate by the time you wish to go. However I would suppose that the Whitsundays would be Ok if the far north was not. If not then come further south to the Border ranges and Northern New South Wales and still get to enjoy rain forest etc. I think that Northern NSW is some of the loveliest country in Australia.<BR>You will be fine, that I can guarantee. I hope someone from South Australia answers you as I don't know if this is a good time of year for the Barossa ( dry and hot) but only locals can answer that.<BR>My rotten birds have just thrown their seed all over the floor....sigh!

LizF

PS:<BR><BR>Try this site - its Web Wombat and is one of the Australian search engines. You should get quite a bit of information from it. <BR>Liz

LizF

PPS:<BR>I am going to keep taking the memory pills - here is the Web Wombat site:<BR><BR>http://www.webwombat.com.au/index.htm/<BR><BR>good luck

Blue

Liz,<BR><BR>Ya may give ok advice, but go back to the front page and read the rules about advertising and promotion. Funny how your always on about tourist-trap Tamborine and hey surprise you got a B & B there. Well well.

LizF

Blue:<BR>True I have a B&B on Tamborine Mountain - and if you think that it is a tourist trap you obviously have only ever been there to go shopping at the arts and craft shops. You perhaps would not have taken yourself on any of the walks in the 9 National Parks, tasted any of the wine at the 6 wineries nor bird watched for the 326 variety of birds in this area. <BR>When have I suggested to anyone that I have a B&B? <BR>When I have suggested to people to check out my site it is because they maybe interested in the geological history of this area and I have maps as well of most of the national parks in the area and the main map of S.E. Qld is downloadable. <BR>For your information the Tweed Valley down to Byron Bay and Tamborine Mountain to the north is the largest Caldera in the Southern Hemisphere and the second largest in the world. There are Antarctic Beach trees in the National Park in Springbrook which are over 3,000 years old. There are gloworms in caves in this area. <BR>Blue may I suggest that you get another can of xxxx and mind your own business and I will mind mine you have obviously got little more to do than ply yourself with drink.