Queensland in February?
 

Hey everybody,

I'll be in Singapore on business for a few days in early February.
And I still have not made up my mind if or rather where I could spend some extra time.
There are obviously many options in nearby Malaysia or Thailand, but since I've never been to Australia before it's tempting.

I don't have a specific number of days to play with, but thinking about 2 weeks - more or less.
I'm quite aware that Australia is too huge to "see it all".

While Sydney and Melbourne seem to be everybody's darling, my first - very rough - research made me think that I'd rather explore Queensland - not only because there are very cheap flights from Singapore to Brisbane (but not to Cairns). I still need to explore the options to do an open jaw flight Brisbane/Cairns. Due to my company's travel policies I'm forced to start/end my extra days in Singapore.

I like beaches, tropical rainforests, any kind of nature/national parks and don't mind a (humid) heat of around 30C.
I want to do seriously touristy stuff like seeing koalas and kangaroos.
My first idea (and that's far from a concept) would be to fly into Brisbane, acclimatize myself for a few days, pick up a rental car and follow the coastal route to Cairns - allowing some 10 days to make the 1700kms trip to Cairns. With some possible inland detours where feasible. Drop off car in Cairns and fly to SIN.

So my first set of questions would be:
Is it a reasonable amount of time (10d) to drive from Brisbane to Cairns?
Is it reasonable to drive? Or should one rather do one flight in between to shorten the route (without flying over too many sights)?
What about the weather? I learned that February is the rainy or monsoon season in Queensland. How "bad" is it - compared to the monsoon/ rainy season in Singapore or Thailand where it's really disruptive? Or is it just some heavy afternoon rain showers for 2 hours or so?

Any input is, as always, highly appreciated. Also any extra information you find I should know.
Thanks!

Hi Cowboy, nice to see you here,

You could have a great holiday in Queensland in February. School holidays are over, so you have more flexibility to wander & wing it as far as accommodation goes.
https://www.queensland.com/

The big wet is really more in the north of the State, generated by tropical cyclones, but lighter as you come south. There could well be rain, but it’s not days & days of unending deluges like the Asian monsoon seasons. That said, there can be flash flooding from rivers, so you do need to pay attention to radio & web based warnings.

If you “ride loose in the saddle” & be flexible according to the prevailing weather, you will be fine. http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/

I would think SE & Central Queensland, probably up as far as Hervey Bay & down to the Gold Coast hinterland, would give you a good variety of “Beach & Bush”.

If you wanted to do some diving, Lady Elliot Island, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, might be an option for you. https://www.ladyelliot.com.au/conten...and-eco-resort

Start in Brisbane, an attractive city on the Brisbane River. It has an interesting mix of architecture, from the beautiful & iconic “Queenslanders” to some great innovative design - and everything in between ;)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quee..._(architecture)

Make sure you visit the Art Gallery - I can spend 1/2 a day there & last time I visited, had a very good lunch in their restaurant. https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/

There’s no shortage of good eateries & bars in Brisbane. I’ll ask my nephew who lives there & knows the hot places for some recommendations, but here’s a start.
http://www.traveller.com.au/brisbane...hotspot-gw27pj

http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/info...?sc_lang=en-au

A bit about the Brisbane River https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane_River#Course
Ferries, riverside walks incorporating abseiling, cliff climbs & exercise equipment are used & enjoyed by locals & those visitors in the know. I had an apartment in Kangaroo Point for a few months & it was a great way to start the day.

The Story Bridge is one of only 4 in the world that you can climb ( one of the others is the Sydney Harbour Bridge)http://www.sbac.net.au/

Lone Pine Sanctuary for kangaroos, emus, koalas & other native animals. Brisbane is an attractive city on
https://koala.net/en-au/

There’s a National Park near you, wherever you are in Queensland!
https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/

O’Reilly’s is a good spot for a couple of days https://oreillys.com.au/

Moving north, the Sunshine Coast is gorgeous. More laid-back than the Gold Coast, beautiful beaches, charming hinterland towns, another National Park, Noosa Heads.
https://www.visitsunshinecoast.com/

You might like to have a couple of days on Fraser Island. http://www.fraserisland.net/

These Random Ramblings might give you a start.
Excellent Trip Reports by Songdoc & a current one “ 30 days downunder” ( and others I’ve read, enjoyed, but can’t recall at the moment ) give visitors’ perspectives & insights.

You might also check out Trip Advisor. It has a much more populated & vibrant Australian board than Fodors.

Great advice from Bokhara .

WOW - thanks a LOT, Bokhara!
That's a wealth of extremely helpful advice and information.
Thanks again for your time and brains - and happy holidays!

We say happy Christmas in Australia Cowboy 1968 - don't ever hear or see the term happy holidays !

You’re most welcome, Cowboy.

If there’s anything you think we might be able to help with as you start to pull a few ideas together, just ask.

You’ll need a Visa/ETA. Apply now, if you don’t already have one.
This is the official Australian site to use: http://www.immi.gov.au/

This is a fun map to get a perspective on our “ Great Southern Land”
https://www.buzzfeed.com/simoncrerar...ustralian-maps

If you’re looking for accommodation, www.booking.com is a good resource.
I usually just use it to find a property & then book direct, using their price as a reference if it’s better than the property’s advertised rate.

We have a good range of self catering apartments & that’s what I usually use. More space, kitchen & laundry facilities & usually at a better rate than hotel rooms.

Airbnb is popular here too.

Prices of many things are more expensive than in most of Europe & the US, but the price you see is what you pay. No extra taxes at the cash register as in the US, and no tipping required. Of course, you’ll also get the FX advantage.

If you go to the Sunshine Coast, you might like to call into Australia Zoo. It’s only about an hour’s drive from Brisbane, has a good range of Australian natives, as well as imports.
http://www.australiazoo.com.au

At the risk of being a bit parochial, I do think Sydney is worth a couple of days if you can squeeze it in. It’s only 75 mins flight from BNE &there’s zillions of daily flights
A city is a city is a city ... and then there’s Sydney! :)

If it’s too wet in Sunny Queensland, hop on a flight - we’ll soon find you some gorgeous walks, national parks & beaches...

www.sydney.com

Frohe Weinachten und Gesundheit, Gluck & Wohlstand im Jahr 2018 fur Sie und Ihre.
(sorry - can’t find the umlauts on my iPhone)

I wouldn't dream of contradicting Bokhara but I would suggest that you also look at flying up to Cairns and spending some of your time up there - as well as the GBR there is the Daintree forest area, Port Douglas for the beach and touring that area, and if you like birds and wildlife, the wonderful Atherton Tablelands to the west of Cairns.

[Bokhara, to find keyboards for different languages on your iPhone, go to
Settings - general - language and region - and look under "preferred language order" which will allow you to select a number of different languages including German which will magically give you a, o, and u complete with umlauts].

Cairns & surrounds could certainly be a great option for all the reasons Annhig mentions, if the weather is ok. One of the advantages is the broad variety of landscape & environments within a relatively small area ( by Australian standards).

You’ll be able to monitor the FNQ ( Far North Queensland ) weather forecasts from Singapore & drive up, as per your original thoughts if it’s ok. Many people think it’s a better use of time to fly up from Brisbane & use your time exploring the region.

Thanks for the tip, Annhig.

Many thanks again for your thoughts and recommendations, annhig and Bokhara.
I'll try to add some flexibility to my trip to take into account the weather conditions in Far North Queensland - a "relatively small area" but only by Australian standards LOL.
From checking out the many links I can say that choosing from the many things to see and do seems to be the hardest task.
And Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones, too (now that I know the correct phrase - but we often say something like happy holidays in German to also include Happy New Year).

Do hop over to Trip Advisor, Cowboy.

The locals & frequent visitors there have great experience & current info.

In particular, GW knows The Great Barrier Reef & environs like the back of her hand & I would think has been there in all 12 months over the years she’s been going.

Whilst no one can predict exactly what the weather will be like, the frequent visitors & locals will have a better idea than most. Someone mentioned recently that long stalks on mangos indicate the likelihood of a cyclone. That sort of thing & experience with weather patterns - although cyclones can & often do veer off course, or blow themselves out before hitting land. And sometimes they are vicious brutes that wreak awful damage. Like Debbie, which whacked the Whitsundays earlier this year - Cairns was untouched.

You’ll need to wear stinger suits ( like Lycra tights & tops) in the ocean because of the marine stingers in February.
That’s not the end of the world at all & “rashies” ( sunscreen impregnated Lycra suits designed for sun protection ) are worn by lots of people these days anyway. These suits are much better for the marine life & coral, too. Studies are now thinking that part of the destruction of the coral in highly tourists areas may be due to the chemicals & microbeads in sunscreen. Makes sense, when you think about it.

While we’re on the subject - you will need good quality 50+ Australian made sunscreen on land, and on your face & neck when you’re in the water. A good, wide brimmed hat and sunglasses, too. I wear loose, light cotton gear

There may be mosquitoes- so use Rid or Bushmen’s Tropical strength. Don’t mess about with the “natural” stuff. You need DEET, and lots of it. An expert on the radio recently said the reason most people still get bitten ( and sunburned) is that we don’t use enough of the product or re-apply it often enough.
With both, we need a good slathering & make sure there aren’t any missed patches, because that’s where the mozzies / sun will sneak in.

The sunscreen, hat & sunglasses note goes for anywhere in Australia when you’re outdoors. We are the melanoma capital of the world.

Here are a few links that might be useful for FNQ ( Far North Queensland)

http://www.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au/

https://www.travelonline.com/tropica...d/weather.html

http://qldbeaches.com/stingers.html

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/ID...4.latest.shtml

Your fauna is truly amazing.
At least malaria or dengue don't seem to be a problem.

I'll bring the DEET I use in SE Asia. It's the tropical strength, and so far I've never had any bites in Indonesia or Thailand.

And will heed the advice on sun screen. Though I've never got sunburned in tropical regions so far (with proper sunscreen applied).

But before I squeeze myself into lycra tights and top, I rather swim at those beaches with stinger nets. Or rent a surfboard with the stinger suit to make it look less weird. Or get higher life insurance :-)

OTOH, if you were in Germany in February, you'd have a good chance to freeze to death if you stayed outside at night.

I'll try to add some flexibility to my trip to take into account the weather conditions in Far North Queensland - a "relatively small area" but only by Australian standards LOL.>>

what brought home to us the size of Australia, Cowboy, was the fact that it took 2 ½ hours to fly from Brisbane to Cairns, they are both in the state of Queensland, and there is still a lot more of it besides. If you fly for 2 ½ hours from say, LGW, you end up in Bulgaria. We were there for 2 ½ weeks and we saw very little of Australia, even though we covered what for us felt like quite a lot.

I like the plan of waiting to see what the weather forecast says, and if you are applying sun lotion, don't forget your feet.

The sun is a lot sharper, for want of s better word, in Australia than in SE Asia, Cowboy. But you’ll be well used to the humidity if you’re coming from Singapore & Thailand.

We don’t usually have dengue fever, but Ross River is a real concern with mosquitoes - and you seriously don’t want to twkw a dose of that home as a souvenir.

http://conditions.health.qld.gov.au/...ss-River-Virus

I’m having s chuckle at he image of you dodging the stingers on a surfboard ;

My grandchildren aged 7, 6, 4 all wear rashies- one in Melbourne the others in the Kimberley . - great protection along with sun cream and hats .

I live in Brisbane and due to the heat, Queensland is the last place I’d want to have a holiday in February. My choice in this terribly hot month would be to fly south to Tasmania. There can still be the odd hot day but generally weather in February is lovely there and it has some spectacular scenery.

I live in south east Queensland and dread February, usually the hottest and stickiest month. An ocean breeze always helps, as does a swim.

There’s some great advice above, I would add Mission Beach and second Fraser Island as possible stops if you choose to road trip (a great summertime Aussie tradition BTW).

There’s a website for relocation camper hires if that suits you, https://www.transfercar.com.au/ Having a camper can be a fun way to travel, with some beautiful camp grounds right on the beach all along the coast.

My husband got Ross River fever, (ironic, as I’m the mossie magnet), I can vouch for it being no fun. Bushmans tropical strength is a local brand of repellent if you need to replenish your supply, but be aware it dissolves paint on rubber footwear (thongs here, flip flops elsewhere).

Thanks again for all the information and advice.
I was a bit busy during the last week, so apologies for being late in replying.

I must admit that I am a bit confused about the weather.
I do understand that the sun is very powerful and one can't be too careful.
Nevertheless, the official Bureau of Meteorology of Australia says that the mean maximum high in Brisbane is 30C in February.
As with any statistical mean, it can be bit less or bit more.
That's not exactly terribly hot on my personal thermometer, to be honest. Acceptably warm starts at 25C, nicely warm is 30C, and 35C would be the upper end of my comfort zone.
So I assume that Queensland should be well within my comfort zone.

Cowboy, it’s the humidity that affects my comfort zone. The tropic of Capricorn bisects our state. South of the line is considered sub tropical, and summer is the rainy season. While 30 C in a dry heat is very pleasant for me, add 90% humidity and I’m miserable.

Don’t let that put you off though, it won’t be nearly as bad as Singapore, there’s nearly always a sea breeze, and plenty of aircon as a last resort.

Thanks for the clarification.. I think I got it now :-)