Helen - in the unlikely event that there's no-one here that knows about connecting from the international to the domestic terminals in Sydney, here's the airport website:

http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/find/airport-maps.aspx

Swimming with cuttlefish! Wow! I would not even dream about such thing... Sounds amazing, but cold!

I am looking forward to your feedback on this boat tour.

Peter, Annhig, thank you so much again! For so many years, I live on this forum, but still amazed how much I can learn here. This is greatly appreciated!

Swimming with cuttlefish was amazing as it was not a commercial tour (there is/was none) I hire gear from a local dive shop ($60 for min two days).

You just walk in off the beach. It was not a good year for them and there is some controversy about whether local industry and desalination is having an impact. Anyway I saw about fifty of more, normally you could expect three to four times that. I saw them doing everything except squirt ink.

It was simply brilliant to watch one change before my eyes to match the rock it was sitting on.

Back to the topic at hand. We are glad to help.

that diving with cuttlefishes is the sort of thing that DH used to do here in Cornwall, Peter. In the end he got fed up with the cold water and even colder air temps even in the Spring and summer.

in fact the best time for swimming is now - the sea and air temps are about the same!

Unrelated topic.... I booked my first domestic ticket today on Jetstar from Adelaide to Cairns departing at 6:20 am.
This was the only non stop flight.

I do not have much experience dealing with a budget airline, so it was interesting to buy everything a la cart, so at the end, that price was not so budget :)

Jetstar suggests we arrive to airport 2 hours (!) prior to departure. Really? For a domestic flight? This means we need to be at airport at 4:00 am.

I also paid extra for exit seats, and read that Jetstar does not guarantee reserved seats. Is this true even for seats we paid for?

Does anyone have any personal experience flying Jetstar?

Don't be late checking in.

helen - they may recommend arriving 2 hours in advance, but what is the latest check-in time?

given that you have paid extra for exit row seats, and the time of day, I would add 30 mins to the latest check-in time and work to that.

They say they will close check 30 mins prior to boarding. So, one hour prior to boarding - this is how we normally plan for domestic flights.

Thank you!

I know that that time of day, every minute in bed makes a difference. We had an early morning flight out of Brisbane to Auckland so we got up at sparrowfart, took a cab to their airport as it was too early for public transport and arrived with 2 hours to spare - and of course all we did was sit around and look at each other.

We once flew from Perth to Adelaide on Jetstar. All went well, despite a much delayed flight.

We recently considered flying Jetstar from Perth to Adelaide again, but their online booking system frustrated us so much that we booked on Virgin Australia instead. I've since flown VA from PER-ADL return and PER-SYD - much preferred VA over Jetstar.

As you've already booked Helen, don't fret, but do allow sufficient time to check in and make sure yourluggage isn't overweight.

<<How far is international terminal in Sydney airport from domestic one?>>

I recently flew via SYD to New Zealand so had to do the airport shuffle in SYD - it was easy enough, as VA had given me a voucher for free transport from domestic to international, but the two terminals were further apart than I expected and I found the international airport poorly signed and a bit confusing. I had a couple of hours between flights, and was surprised how quickly that time went.

Yes, I booked it. I would book VA instead, but this was the only non-stop flight from ADL to Cairns, and this is a morning flight, so leaving us more time at destination (given it depars on time).
I guess, this will be a very early morning for us :)

I will try to leave about 3 hours between arrival to Sydney and a connecting flight.

Melnq8, Annhig, Thank you again!

I have done some bookings... I booked all internal flights, a Kangaroo island 4WD tour for 2 days with EKI (Exceptional Kangaroo Island), and two days with Alan Gillanders for Atherton Tableland... So thank you so much again for your suggestions so far!

Now, I am looking for advice how to spend time in Uluru (2 days). I was thinking of renting a car, but not sure if we need it or not. I have booked a hotel.
Can we do sunset/sunrise viewing without joining a tour? Is it a good idea to drive by ourselves or better book tours.

What are some of the activities you enjoyed? I am thinking of helicopter ride (sunset, sunrise, during a day), a walk around a rock, Silence and Sounds dinner... Wanted to hear you recommendations.

I think the best thing is to climb the rock and explore the top. I spent five hours up there, most of that alone. It is one of the best things I have ever done.

The views from the top are sublime.The water holes on top are amazing, as is the patch of bushland. The plants clinging on to life and the feeling of isolation. It is a fantastic place to connect with your god. I walked the entire length and around the edge of about a quarter of the rock. Think of a giant P.

Many on this site will vehemently disagree about climbing the rock. But remember the choice is entirely yours (assuming the climb is open). Do not feel pressured one way or the other or guilty if you do. Even just climbing about 50m up the rock gives a spectacular view of the Olgas.

Having got that out of the way, there is a shuttle bus (Uluru express)that runs to and from the rock and the Olgas, so you don't need a car unless you want full independence. They will even pick you up half way around the base walk if you want.

The Olgas are well worth the effort. The long walk is not nearly as hard as they make out. There is one section that involves walking up a rock face (so it looks hard, but isn't) and the rest is just gravel track. I enjoyed this walk as most of the time I saw no one else on the track.

Do take plenty of water on your walks. Probably twice what you would normally.

We didn't do any of the commercial activities so can't comment. But I do regret not flying over the rock.

But with limited time on that trip we thought we could do it when we were "old" and did the summit walk instead. (The whole purpose of that trip was to climb the rock before a permanent ban was put in place and we were lucky the walk was opened the day we got there.)(Insert rants of disgust here...)

I can't see the joy in the silence dinner as I can't see that being with that many other people will be silent and I suspect the food will be overpriced for what you get given the "gimmick" and the distant food has to be transported. Bah! Humbug! But again it is a personal choice. Obviously it is a personal choice. (Speaking of money, everything at the resort is expensive due to the tyranny of distance and the captive audience.

I would suggest hiring a car and having a picnic would be more romantic and more silent.

The information centre in the Resort is a must see. Apart from the fact that it is the only place that gives a decent description of how Ayers Rock actually formed (you will if you look carefully find one small information panel about the geology in the actual park). It is full of stuffed animals and other information about the desert and the history. Worth about an hour of your time. It is also where you get your postcards etc. and info on the shuttle bus.

The cultural center in the Park is exactly that, it is entirely focussed on the aborignes. Fantastic, if you like that sort of thing. We have no interest in cultures wherever we travel - we simply aren't interested in people or social history. We are hermits.

Enjoy, it is a marvellous place.

I would definitely rent a car to sightsee at Uluru. The roads are good and the traffic is light-to-none, so driving is easy around there, even for someone not used to driving on the left. As Peter has said, there is a shuttle, Uluru Express, to Uluru and Kata Tjuta (which you should not confuse with the free shuttle that just goes around Yulara Village), but it's pretty pricey and you are tied to their schedule. Since there are at least two of you, having your own car will be cheaper than the shuttle or organized tours and will give you much more flexibility. Just be sure to book the car well in advance of your visit as they do not have a large inventory of cars there.

We've been to Uluru twice and I would say that walking around Uluru and the Valley of the Winds walk at Kata Tjuta were the highlights for me. My spouse did the climb of Uluru while I stayed below with the kiddos and he said it was spectacular. (I agree with Peter that this is entirely a personal choice.) Just be aware that the walk up Uluru is somewhat strenuous. (But the walk AROUND Uluru is not difficult.)

Viewing Uluru at sunrise and sunset can easily be done on your own. You can see it from afar at certain places in Yulara Village or your can drive to the sunset/sunrise parking areas at Uluru for a closer view. Take your own bottle of champagne and save a bundle over what they charge for the same thing on the organized tours.

Like Peter, we did none of the commercial activities while we were there. Some people rave about the SOS dinner, but I found the price to be exorbitant and the menu not to my liking. We just walked out to a quiet spot in Yulara Village on our own to look at the stars.

One thing you might enjoy doing is the cook-it-yourself BBQ at the Outback Pioneer Hotel. It's good food and good fun at a good price. Here's a description from Lonely Planet: "For a fun, casual night out, this lively tavern is the popular choice for everyone from backpackers to grey nomads. Choose between kangaroo skewers, prawns, veggie burgers, steaks and emu sausages and grill them yourself at the communal BBQs. The deal includes a salad bar."

Peter, Longhorn, great information!!! Thank you!
Will rent a car, and try to do both walk - around Uluru and at Kata Tjuta.

I am not sure if I am in a good enough physical shape to climb. We can start and see how it goes, not sure here...
And kangaroo skewers sound so good!

Speaking of kangaroo... Are there opportunities for wildlife around Red Center?

With so many tourists wildlife is a bit thin on the ground, but we did see a herd of wild camel and a dingo and plenty of birds or prey.

The great thing about the climb up the rock is the community spirit. People are very friendly and helpful and will help you on the difficult bits. Take your time an done step at a time and you will get there. We saw people who looked like a walk to the letter box would kill them, climbing the rock and succeeding. It is a great atmosphere.

I may have seen your thread too late for a suggestion I'm going to make, if you're already committed to Kangaroo Island.

But we just returned from several weeks in Australia (going as far north as Cape Tribulation and as far south as Hobart, Tasmania, and we saw an incredible amount of wildlife around the Cape Otway area. There's really no need to fly to Kangaroo Island to see amazing wildlife and beautiful scenery. We saw so many kangaroos around Cape Otway that it almost started to get ridiculous! Many females had joeys peering out of their pouches, although this was spring in Australia, and I don't know how many joeys there might be when you are going. Some kangaroos allowed me to get within 3 or 4 feet, and I got some great photos!

We also saw many koalas, and were able to get quite close to some of them, too, with resulting closeup photos. Such adorable little guys!

And the birds there are amazing! So many different species of brilliantly colored parrots. And of course the cockatoos. The Galah variety as well as several others, including the "classic" white and yellow.

And the drive is amazing, too. We started from Melbourne, but you could drive there from Adelaide. Just look up "Great Ocean Road" to find out more. It is a very beautiful drive.

Also, the area is visited by whales at certain times of year, so you could see if you're trip coincides with their migration.

If you did decide to go, I can highly recommend staying at the Conservation Ecology Centre which is actually in Cape Otway. Included in the stay is a walk with the co-founder, Shayne, who will guide you knowledgeably to the wildlife, and later take you to hand feed their resident Sugar Gliders and visit the Spotted Quoll, both of which were a huge treat for us.

If you'd prefer a less pricey and more self-guided option, Bimbi Park has "glamping" cabins that looked quite nice.

It is helpful to actually stay in Cape Otway if you want to see a lot of wildlife, as much of what you'd see would be in the morning and at dusk. For example, I awoke to find a mob of kangaroos happily grazing not 20 feet from our window!

Also, we found the boardwalk at nearby Mait's Rest to be spectacularly lovely. Think the Enchanted Forest, all moss and tree ferns and magical looking trees.

All of this without having to board a plane.

Of course, Tasmania had incredible wildlife and scenery, too, but that sounds like it would be too much considering your time frame.

If you find this idea interesting, I can provide more detail.

Sorry, I gave the name of the organization in Cape Otway instead of the actual place we stayed. The correct name is Great Ocean Ecolodge, on Lighthouse Road, Cape Otway, Great Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia.

I'm afraid I still have some jet lag left, after traveling for 2 months through Australia and Southeast Asia!

Here's a link to some reviews and photos:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Victoria.html

Thank you Peter and Rje!

Rje,I have booked all flights already including Kangaroo island, so I am committed.

For some reason, in my earlier research, Cape Otway - never came up as a great place to wildlife (or I missed it).

I did consider including Great Ocean drive into my plans, however it did not make a final cut. With our limited time, I was trying to include places that I thought would be unique for us, and my friends mentioned that Great Ocean drive looks similar to the Highway One in California. I know, it is not fare to compare places this way, but I had to use some type of criteria to limit my list of places to see.

So, maybe next time...

Do kangaroo have certain mating season, and then babies around sprig time? I know they can have babies once a year, but I was hoping they have babies year round... :)

Kangaroos don't have a particular mating season, but joeys are often born in the summer.

Gestation is usually about 30 days & doe/flyer has the ability to postpone the progress of the pregnancy in times of drought or if the previous Joey has not left the pouch. They also have the ability to produce two types of milk concurrently. one suitable for new born joeys ( which are hairless & would fit into a match box), the other for older offspring. Smarter genetics than humans - we can only manage one pregnancy & one sort of milk at a time!

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo