New places to discover in Oz
 

We've been coming ot Aus for about 5 years now, and next January will be our fifth time. We have family there. We will see Sydney once again (cannot wait!) but then we don't know what to do. We have seen the red centre, Perth, Melbourne (x2), Cairns and Hayman Island, as well as day trips ino the Blue Moutains and Hunter Valley. Earlier this year we spend 6 days in and around Byron Bay.
So, where next?
We like good hotels (not big and fancy, but comfy. Anything from the Medusa to a nice b and b), good food, wine, beaches, local history, good shopping, wildlife.
Would Adelaide and its environs be a good idea? What about the far North (Broome and around) or the north of Queensland.
We will be in Oz in the 2nd and 3rd weeks of January.

Would suggest you skip anything too far north (both WA and Qld) as it will be the wet season. Adelaide is a lovely little city with great wineries nearby if you are into that. The Adelaide Hills are a lovely spot and there are some wonderful B&B's up in the Hills. Would warn that you might find the weather in Adelaide in January too hot depending on what sort of climate you are used to. The Adelaide Hills would be not as hot as the city itself. If you think the heat might be an issue, consider Tasmania instead. January is a great time to go there. It has a lot of history (for Australia)and plentiful B&B's. Cradle Mountain and Freycinet are wonderful destinations if you are into a bit of walking and marvellous scenery. Both have excellent accommodation. I think Tasmania has more world heritage listed areas than any other state in Australia. Because it is so small you can basically do a circumnavigation of the whole state in a week if you really want to, or just choose two or three spots which intersts you. To give you can idea of how small it is, if you look at the map and see the two major towns, Hobart in the south and Launceston in the north - it is only a two hour drive between the two if you take the most straightforward route. Hope this gives you some ideas to think about.

Tasmania for sure - you could even take the ferry direct from Sydney. Or the coast of WA north or Perth (though good hotels might be thin on the ground!) or south of Perth - Margaret River wineries and lots else. Rottnest Island is lovely - though will be school hols so busy.

I like Adelaide too.
Just more food for thought!

I have two suggestions - 1st. a three day driving trip from Sydney, going through the Southern Highlands, Kangaroo Valley, Fitzroy Falls, Camberawa Mtn, Kiama, Gerroa, then down to Jervis Bay. If time permits a short visit to Narooma.( a great little restaurant built on a jetty around the back of Narooma...food was great & inexpensive, and sitting there sipping a nice wine, and eating seafood, with the water lapping under the restaurant...this place was a real gem)
2nd Trip...like the others I too would recommend Tasmania, but fly there, this will give you extra time on the apple isle. Spend 2-3 days in Hobart, but leave plenty of time to visit, the world heritage sights, such as South West Wilderness area, Port Arthur, Strahan and the cruise up the Gordon River, Cradle Mtn & Dove Lake (nice walks in the park). But my favourite place is "Bay of Fires" National Park, blue water just like the barrier reef, and just great walks & coastal scenery.
South of the park, is a town called Beaumaris (just north of Scammander) where you will find a Budget Motel, which in the evening serves the best seafood for miles around, even guests staying in other more expensive motels travel to dine in this motel dining room. I feel that the Tassie Wines are to die for, yes a bit more expensive than the Hunter wines or Sth.Australian wines.....you must try the Bay of Fires Riesling wine, or a Bream Creek Riesling. Tassie is a real gem of a holiday destination....low on traffic & people, big on scenery, fantastic wines & seafood, beaut King Island Beef & cheeses, berry farms, and even world class beers.

I too like Adelaide, which is almost surrounded by wine country. But in January yes, you could strike a heatwave, and the countryside has dried out and lost its winter/spring green.

Tropo's NSW south coast suggestion is a good one, and I'd add that you could easily expand the route a little to incorporate Canberra, which in addition to its "national treasure" attractions offers some very good restaurants and a developing wine industry. www.canberratourism.com.au

I know that great little restaurant at Narooma - it's at the marina, but I don't remember the name.

Neil Oz, yes that restaurant in Narooma is on the Inlet, but I can't remember the name also. Yes, your right, Canberra could be included in a south coast trip, and could be done as a "round trip" from Sydney. When I visit Canberra, I often slip down to Manuka Restaurant area, for a nice meal.

new zealand??

Try the Euramo Hotel at the Tully River Crossing; there's usually a good flood to watch.

AndrewDavid

I totally agree with tropo's suggestions. We fell in love with Narooma and surrounds. Also worth mentioning is Central Tilba - a heritage listed town, Robertson - where the movie 'Babe' was filmed and Berrima, an early NSW settlement. Tasmania would be my recommendation as well, especially for that time of the year. I loved Mt. Field National Park and Freycinet. Cradle Mountain would be a must. A great alternative to a cruise on the Gordon is a seaplane flight over the area. You get a much better perspective, I feel and the plane puts down on the river for a brief stop - very exciting stuff! I don't think you could go far wrong with these suggestions.

I really enjoyed Adelaide and the Barossa this past January. Guess I was lucky...absolutely no heatwave. In fact, most nights I needed a light sweater. My friend said it was oddly cool this past January. Of course, when I left, it started to scorch.

I'm not sure if I enjoyed it because it was his hometown...but wine tasting was really nice on its own merit.

tropo, Dickson is another good restaurant area - about 3 km north of Civic, a block or so east of the main drag incoming from Sydney (Northbourne Avenue). It's mostly Asian - the Ruby (Chinese), Pho Phu Quoc (Vietnamese) and Rasa Sayang (Malaysian/Chinese) are all good. The Ruby in particular has a good Hong Kong chef who does a mean stir-fried kangaroo! There's also a new Indian place, Bollywood Masala, which looks worth a try. I did try a new Sichuanese place around the corner from them but found the food bland.

Kingston, close to Manuka in the direction of the lake, also has a reasonable choice of restaurants but is not as buzzy as Manuka. Both benefit from being close to Parliament and the main embassy district in and around Yarralumla. The best Thai IMO is Sukothai at the Yarralumla shops.

Despite Canberra's large Italian community there are no really top-notch Italian restaurants, but Bella Vista and La Scala in Civic, and Bellucci's in Manuka and Dickson, are reliable.

January can be a difficult month for Australia as it can be so terribly hot in Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and so dreadfully hot & humid in Brisbane, Sydney and Darwin. It can also be ok in all of these places. Queensland and NSW will be lovely and green but the other areas will be brown and dry.
I would opt for Tasmania and be safe and as its such a diverse and lovely place I would guarantee that you would find somewhere wonderful to stay. I also concur with the highlands etc south of Sydney but in January they are not in their prime.
You could perhaps look at renting a house at a beach somewhere in Tassie or just travel around and stay in the "Cottage of the Colony" group which are really lovely and comfortable and quaint - especially in Richmond, Hamilton, Longford, Launceston and Hobart - those are the ones that I know of and I am sure the rest are of the same standard..... very high!