November trip-- Sydney/Cairns/Melbourne
 

My wife and I, two American 30-somethings who have never been to Oz, are going to be spending two weeks there in early November for the honeymoon that's been delayed 8 years!

Arrive in Sydney on Monday morning and stay until Friday early afternoon. Then head for Cairns and get there Friday about 3 p.m. Stay in Cairns until Tuesday at noon. Then off to Melbourne, arriving about 5 p.m. Tuesday and staying until noon on Saturday when we fly back to the US.

SYDNEY—The only thing we have planned is a bridge climb on a Wednesday late afternoon. Currently booked at the Rendezvous Stafford, which I’m told is a good location. Probably spend Saturday just getting acclimated, walk around a bit. I’m sure we’ll do a lot of sightseeing to the typical places. The one “tour” we’re interested in is the Blue Mountains. I’d appreciate any suggestions on doing that right—good companies, features to look for, etc (I’ve seen it mentioned that it’s best to wait until arrival to book when the weather is good?)

CAIRNS--- Initially, our main interest was snorkeling on the reef. From what I’ve gathered, it’s best to wait until we arrive to make a booking for that. Now that we’ve read many of the posts on this forum, we’re going to see if Pete Baxendell is available when we’re there. So those would take two of our three full days. Might spend the other day relaxing and lounging around. Currently booked at The Lakes Resort, but we’re tossing around the idea of Palm Cove.

MELBOURNE—currently at the Holiday Inn Flinders. Here’s the thing…..we’d like to do the Penguin Parade AND the Great Ocean Road. Would it be feasible, upon arriving in Melbourne on Tuesday evening, to rent a car and drive directly to Geelong (where we have friends), perhaps have dinner and stay there overnight, then drive the Great Ocean Road on Wednesday and be back in Melbourne on Wednesday night. Then spend the first part of Thursday in Melbourne, the last part of Thursday doing the Penguin Parade (probably via a tour company). Then we’d have Friday for Melbourne with our friends. Or is that too much and we need to pick the Road or the Penguins?

Any and all suggestions are very appreciated. Thank you!!

re Melbourne. I would not reccomend trying to drive from Geelong along the GOR and back to Melbourne in one day. The GOR is a slow twisty road with many scenic points that you'll want to stop at. Depending on how far along you go, you're looking at least 3 hours to then get back to Melbourne. I'd stay in Geelong, drive perhaps to Port Fairy & stay overnight and then drive back to Melbourne the next day.

The Lakes at Cairns is a lovely resort, nice big rooms, good swimming pools. The Gardens next store are well worth walking through, they really give you a feel for the rainforest. However Cairns itself is not that great a destination. If you wander to wander along the beach and stop at a cafe or two then Palm Cove is a better choice.

In terms of Melbourne I think you are being too ambitious trying to fit in both GOR and the penguins. It would be extremely tiring. If you went with maryk's suggestion of staying at Port Fairy there is a possiblility of seeing some penguins and seals at Lady Julia Percy Island just offshore. The penguins won't be in anything like the numbers you would see at Port Phillip Island though. There is also a chance of seeing the whales at Warrnambool from the viewing platform of Logan's Beach. If you want to see wild kangaroo's there is a good chance of spotting some on the Anglesea Golf Course. Anglesea is halfway between
Torquay and Lorne. To get to the golf course turn right immediately after you have crossed the small bridge just after you have entered the town.

By the way I like the idea of driving straight to your friends house in Geelong on arrival instead of going into town for the first night. As the airport is on the Geelong side it makes sense. It will probably only take you an extra half an hour to get to your friend's then it would into town.

I think you'll find a far larger choice of restaurants and cafes in Cairns than Palm Cove. The newly developed foreshore area, especially the restaurants on new Boardwalk looking over Marlin Marina is world class.

The Lakes is only a short taxi ride to two of the best restaurants in the area, Garden Room and Lemongrass at Stratford. These are extremely popular with locals so bookings are advisable, especially Friday and Saturday night.

PS, meant to mention that November is box jelly fish season in north Qld, so if you decide to stay at Palm Cove you will only be able to swim at beach in small netted area. Beach walking is OK but locals don't even paddle in the sea at that time of year. Its OK on the reef, be guided by the crew as to the need for wearing a provided stinger suit.

I agree (as so often) with Pat. Cairns is a better option if you are looking for numbers and variety of restaurants and entertainment. Palm Cove is a more quiet area and as there is no swimming in November, you might as well skip that.
If you go up to the Daintree with Pete, you will see lots of beautiful beaches anyway. Make sure to contact Pete ahead, just to ensure he is available during your stay. He books up early, even in the more quiet times like November.

For the Blue Mountains, I did the "Wonderbus". It was a great tour and I had a great time.

I did the Great Ocean Road in two days, we stayed overnight on the way. Guess you can do it in one day, but you will have to do it in a hurry. Follow the advise in previous posts and cut it in two days. You will enjoy it much more.

For Sydney, take the Sydney Explorer Bus and the Bondi Explorer. These buses take you to the best places in and around Sydney. Great value for money and you can do it at your own pace.

For more info you can visit
www.wonderfulaustralia.com

Myaustralia, where did you stay overnight while on the Great Ocean Road? We will be starting off in Geelong.

We actually rented a campervan and stayed at a nice campsite near the 12 Apostels (sorry, cannot remember the name of the site). We decided to do this because it gave us the freedom to really go at our own pace and stay where ever we wanted to.

Everyone has given sensible advice. However if you are prepared to forego travelling the length of the Great Ocean Rd and only go as far as Lorne then you can make the return trip in a day . From Anglesea to Lorne is very pretty and is about a 1 hour drive from Geelong . The drive to Philip Island is about 1.5 hours from Melbourne CBD and most of it on a combination of freeway/ tollway if you do not want to take a tour.

As for Cairns v Palm Cove I prefer PC even in stingers season. The white sand beach framed by coconut palms at PC (as against the Cairns Mud Flats )has a patrolled beach with a large area with stingers nets.I have been there in stingers season and safely swum behind the nets. Under no circumstances swim outside them . Some good places to stay are Angsana or Sea Temple .Some nice cafes and breakfast at Cockys.Yes it is quiet but it is 15 mins drive to Cairns. As for Sydney , think about a night in The Blue Mountains .Stay at Lillianfels . As for the weather it is always a risk with mists etc but it is lovely at any time of year .Do a ferry trip to Mosman and back if you want a short trip and /or to Manly for long trip down the middle of the harbour .Catch a bus to Watsons Bay ( great trip through the leafy / rich Eastern suburbs) and then walk out on the pier and buy some seafood from Doyles and have a leisurely lunch or go to David Jones Department store food hall in the city (and near to where, from memory ,you get the bus ) and pack a picnic beforehand . Cheap but very nice things to do when the sun is shining , as it tends to do in Sydney .Of course if you are in Melbourne in the first week of November it is the Spring Racing Carnival and the Melbourne Cup . The place is mad and hotels heavily booked . Cup Day is a public holiday . The horse races attract everyone from English Royalty to Paris Hilton !Happy travels

I've found that getting picked up in Cairns for the Baxendell bushwalk would cost us $90. Between that and the fact that we'll spend a day on a reef trip, thereby taking up two of our three full days, it would seem logical that we stay in Port Douglas instead of Cairns. Would the experts agree?

If so, we'd appreciate any suggestions on accomodations (around $200AU/night, with a washer/dryer if we can find it), as my head is swimming after reading past Port Douglas hotel/apt posts :-)

midwestcoup,

I agree with you, Port Douglas is the place to stay. I actually prefer it over Cairns. It is closer to the reef and the Daintree. It has all the conveniences you need (shopping, restaurants and of course a great beach - 4-mile-beach).
There are tons of new accommodation places in Port. A great website to search is:
http://www.pddt.com.au/accommodation.jsp

You can search by accommodation type, price range and area.
Always contact the hotel/motel directly, often they have specials on during the low season (starts November). Last time I stayed 10 nights and payed only for 5.
Most apartments have washer/dryer in each apartment or they have a coin laundry.
Have a look at their list ($100-200 and 200 - 300, remember it is AU$) and maybe post which ones you would like feedback on.

The ones that have caught my eye so far are Outrigger and Hibiscus. Dreamcatcher seems interesting, but a bit too far out of town.

My other concern would be what is the best way to get from Cairns to Port Douglas (and back) if we choose to not hire a car?

Thanks to everyone for your replies-- they've been very, very helpful.

SunPalm Express from Port Douglas to Cairns airport costs AU$50pp return (slightly more than Pete Baxendell's price). We've had some hefty fuel price rises lately, so this is the sort of cost you'll be looking at, in some cases its built-in to price of accommodation, but it'll be there somewhere. Don't think you'd get the value out of a 3-day car rental as two of your days are already occupied. But it is nice to have independent transport, even in Port Douglas, especially if you're staying a bit out of town.

As so often, I agree with Pat. SunPalm is a good option if you wanna stay in Port. They have hourly runs to Port and back or sometimes they go on demand.
You can't go wrong with either the Outrigger or Hibiscus. Outrigger is pretty new and Hibiscus has been extended and refurbished a few years ago. It is lovely and right in town, only about 5 minutes walk from 4-mile-beach. I prefer the setting from Hibiscus.
I would not hire a car for the whole duration as you will be spending 2 full days on tours. You can always hire one on a short notice (shouldn't be a problem in November). Port is pretty small and there is even a scheduled bus going around town regularly.

Hi
we stayed in Port Douglas at The Beaches Apartments right on 4 mile beach. We were upgraded to the penthouse with 2 bedrooms, laundry room etc, 2 balconies, Air con. Very reasonable. Try Beaches@PortDouglas or accommodaton on PD site. Go to the restaurant "On the Inlet" Magic!

The Hibiscus in Port Douglas is great. We stayed a week there and loved it. It's just one block from the main street, very easy to walk to the shops, back to the room for a snooze, back to the shops for a coffee, then back to the hotel for a swim
Don't miss the Cane Toad racing at the Tin Shed, a bar on the main street. Kids session at 5pm, Adults at 8pm, It's a real hoot

Hi midwestcoup,
Hope you will post a trip report - would be interested to see what you decided about the answers to your questions regarding Cairns and Melbourne, and what you would recommend after your experience.

also recommend the Hibiscus, great location and price. Consider doing the rainforest tour with David Ambrust - do a search for him on this board - my rave from April 04 is on here somewhere, as are many others'. a magical day if you are willing to pay.

Dotty,

I certainly will post a trip report.

I wish I could say that we’ve made all the decisions that need to be made. Cairns/Port Douglas is pretty well taken care of, I think. We’re booked at the Hibiscus, using one day for a charter trip with Mr. Baxendell, another day on a Wavelength snorkel trip, and leaving the other full day open in case one of those first two days feature problematic weather. We figure we can easily book something for that third day upon arrival.

Melbourne is still a tough one. Our friends in Geelong have indicated that they’d like to come up to Melbourne and show us around on Friday. So we’ll have them as guides to Melbourne that day. That leaves all Wednesday and Thursday….and we still can’t decide whether we can do the Penguin Parade AND the Great Ocean Road. Currently leaning towards the parade only, as we’d prefer not to hire a car, which we’d certainly have to do for the Great Ocean Road.

Still accepting suggestions, if anyone has them to offer :-)

We just got back from a similar itin. In Cairns, if you have extra time don't miss the Flecker Botanic Garden--if you like unusual plants--it is free & you can spend several hours just wandering around, the walk on the rainforest boardwalk in Centenary Lakes area gave us more of the feel for the rainforest than the one on the way down on the Skyrail from Kuranda. The butterfly Sanctuary in Kuranda was fascinating. We also loved the Rainforest Habitat for Aussie critters. We took tours w/Australian Pacific for both the GOR & Penguin Parade (2 separate days) yes, its a tour bus, but boy were we glad that we weren't driving on the way home when we just wanted to close our eyes.As far as SYD goes, we did the Spit-Manly walk as soon as we arrived after the 14 hr. flt from LAX it was good to get the exercise plus it kept us from just going back to the hotel to sleep. We got the green transport 7 day pass even though we were only there 4 nts. It got us from & to the airport and we used it for many ferries & buses. Nice not to hassle w/correct change etc. Also nice to just get on a bus when your feet are tired. We had lunch at a place in Fishermans wharf, a huge platter of seafood for 2 was $23, one of the best food deals we had. We also ate at many take-out type places & mall food courts. Were rather shocked at the price of food in restaurants & when you're there for 3 wks it really adds up. Also in SYD the Chinese Gardens was a restful interlude in the big city.