carljw

Hi:

I'll be coming to Australia and Fiji for 1 month in June-July '08. It will be myself, my wife and our 2 sons, ages 11 and 14. Are there any places that we should definately not miss on the trip? This includes interesting shopping or restaurants. We will definately be visiting the GBR, Sydney, Melbourne, Uluru and Kangaroo Island. We will have free time in all of these areas and 3 free days in Fiji. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Carl

ms_go

We visited for almost three weeks in June/July this year and spent time in many of the same locations--Sydney, North Queensland/GBR, Uluru, Melbourne. You might find some of our trip report helpful with respect to what our 14 year old enjoyed most--well, perhaps not her favorite thing: bungy jumping

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35028342

mel1

At Uluru do the night/star gazing dinner, I can't remember what it's called but maybe dinner under the stars, or something like that. They serve kangaroo and crocodile and give great talk on the night sky. Our kid loved it
Sydney - Can't help much with shopping for boys, but the queen victoria building in Sydney is lovely in itself and has good shops..... Go down to Darling Harbour for stroll and restauurants (the Malaya in King St is fabulous if you like spicy food). Oh, the Aquarium at Darling Harbour would be perfect for your boys - sharks and all - walls of fish, it's great. Takes about 2 hours or so. Also go to Taronga Zoo, fantastic day out. Take the ferry from Circular Quay (near the Opera House) to the Zoo, take the cable car to the top, then walk down in zig-zag to get ferry back. That is a whole day outing. It's a wonderful zoo - don't just do the small version at Darling Harbour. The Powerhouse Museum has some hands-on stuff for kids; ... will post again when think of more! Good luck

farrermog

There's good advice here, but whatever you do in Sydney take the ferry (the 'Manly Ferry') from Circular Quay to Manly (crossing the Sydney Harbour Heads, the rougher the better), and walk along the pedestrian plaza at Manly, the Corso, to the ocean/ surf beaches.

If you like walking and the salt air, consider the harbourside Taronga Zoo to Balmoral Beach walk, and the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk.

It's been a long time since I've been myself, but Uluru accommodation now has a reputation for being very pricey (I slept under the stars - you'd be surprised how cold it gets in July - with a gaggle of young backpackers from overseas and dingos circling).

The day cruise and snorkelling trips from Cairns to the outer reef aren't cheap, but most think they are very good value. You can easily forget where you are when snorkelling and can get quite a surprise to say the least when you raise your head and see nothing but choppy water, and no land, boat, or pontoon ... but I'd be surprised if these activities are not very well supervised now after a few unfortunate episodes some years back.At Cairns, take the train to Kuranda and consider a road trip to the Daintree and Cooktown and back by boat perhaps.

You should have a great time.

pat_woolford

farremog - If you're talking about the major, and very isolated, unfortunate and tragic diving event concerning the Lonergans, that happened out of Port Douglas, not Cairns. Millions have visited the GBR before and since, the Queensland dive/snorkel regulations are the safest in the world.

Day reef trips out of Cairns are from about $80 to about a bit more double that, so there's something for every budget. You get what you pay for in terms of the vessel, crew/passenger ratio, meals, but passengers' safety is first priority with all of them. And still cheaper in most cases than a walk over the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Would be curious to learn of boat which will transfer you back to Cairns after a Daintree or Cooktown trip? If you're thinking of Quicksilver which only ran Cairns-Port Douglas (a far shorter run) and in reverse, that service ceased operating nearly two years ago.

carljw - June-July is winter in both Australia and Fiji; tropical FNQ and Fiji are about the same latitude so expect sunny days, and low humidity. It's a good time to visit Red Centre, although cold at night, chilly on KI and probably Melbourne.

farrermog

Pat - thanks for updating - I wasn't sure whether there'd be a boat back from Cooktown, hence my 'perhaps', but I did just that in 1988 on a Wavepiercer cat, I think it was, so I'm a little surprised there's not one now. Then again, the road was only sealed as far as the Daintree back then and very rough in sections thereafter (we had to pile out of the battered minibus which did the run 2-3 times a week, weather permitting, so it could get up one particularly difficult hill). We took the Quicksilver out to Agincourt Reef and had a great time (and lunch).

Incidentally, James Cook's passage up the east coast of Australia can be followed via the digitised Endeavour Journal on the National Library of Australia's website. Go to 'Find' - 'Manuscripts' and then 'Our online manuscripts', which has a link direct to the first sighting of the coast (Part 223). Other passages of interest include Part 231 - the naming of Botany Bay (that final name probably added later in the voyage), Part 241 - the assault on Cook's clerk and removal of the latter's clothes and part of his ears, and Parts 254-255 - the running aground - 'I named... Cape Tribulation because here begun all our troubles'.

carljw

Thanks to everyone for the responses, especially ms_go with the link to your detailed trip report!

longhorn55

Carljw, since you have an entire month in Australia, may I suggest that you add Darwin and the Top End of the Northern Territory. We have visited there twice with our teens, the first time when they were the ages of your sons. We all just love this part of Australia.
In Darwin we enjoyed hand feeding the fish at Aquascene, the Mindil Beach Sunset Market, the Northern Territory Museum (particularly the exhibit of the huge croc Sweetheart and "deadly creatures in Australia&quot, and the aviation museum. The Deckchair Cinema outdoor cinema looked great, but they never had anything playing that we wanted to see.
There are a couple of great day trips out of Darwin. Our favorite is going to Litchfield National Park. They've got some great natural pools there for swimming (our fave being Wangi Falls) and the interesting magnetic termite mounds. Another good day trip is to the Territory Wildlife Park (an excellent small zoo) and to Berry Springs Park next door for more swimming in natural pools.
From Darwin, there are multi-day trips to Kakadu National Park and/or Katherine. We did Kakadu once and it was interesting, but it was pretty full of tourists. We much preferred the two trips we made to Katherine. There, we went to Katherine Gorge National Park and rented canoes for a half-day of canoeing on the river. We also went to Edith Falls NP for hiking and swimming in two of the fabulous natural pools there. We did a tour of Cutti Cutti cave too and had a "private guide" as we were the only ones there for the first tour of the day! A special treat was the Crocodile Night Adventure in Katherine where you go night-spotting crocs and eat a BBQ dinner under the stars. Fabulous and fun! (If you do either the canoe rental or Crocodile Night Adventure, they should be booked in advance through Travel North or through your accomodations.)
The weather in the Top End in June and July is great--sunny, warm and dry!

Saltuarius

carljw,
If interested in wildlife it is wise to include the Atherton Tablelands. Recently I showed visiting friends, six species of kangaroo, three of possum, platypus and many other things in beautiful surroundings. This was in two days.

LoriP

Hi Carljw

June/July is chilly (for Australian standards) especially in the south and central parts of Aus. (Pack layers and a waterproof jacket). Northern Queensland is usually beautiful - mid 20's and clear skies.

Melbourne has many attractions that would interest your family:

http://www.visitvictoria.com/display...01F2/vvt.vhtml

Outside Melbourne you could see the Penguins at Phillip Island; Eureka Stockade and Soveriegn Hill at Ballarat (Historical gold mine attraction); Some of the great surfing beaches in southern Victoria.

Melbourne also has some great food precincts - Lygon Street for Italian; Southbank for great alfresco dining options and people watching; St Kilda road for great coffee and cakes; Chinatown;
http://www.visitvictoria.com/display...0318/vvt.vhtml

Most towns and cities in Australia have at least one great local fish and chip shop - usually good value and quality. Ask the locals for their recommendations - every suburb has their favourite.

Australians really love their sport and while some of the rules may not be familiar, your boys might enjoy a live game of football - Aussie style. In June/July you will be in the thick of the AFL (Aussie Rules) and NRL (Rugby League) seasons - you could catch a game in either Sydney or Melbourne but you should probably book as some games sell out
http://afl.com.au/
http://www.nrl.com.au/
While you are at the footy, dont forget to have an Aussie Meat Pie.

Hope that helps

carljw

Thanks longhorn55 and lorip. I'll work on adding these suggestions into the itinerary.

Everyone here has been such a great help, and ms_go's trip diary and photos are great research!

Cheers,
Carl

mucka

Hi
Just a suggestion for your accommodation if you stay in Sydney. My family (2 adults and 2 children) have spent many weekends in Sydney but a week in a 2 bedroom apartment on the 76th or 77th floor of the Meriton World Tower was unbelieveable - if you cant get these ask for a room ending with .08. We got such a good deal and it is right on the Monorail station. The 180 degree views means you can get your dinner from the many fantastic takeaways downstairs - buy a bottle of wine (also from the ground floor) and sit in your lounge and enjoy the views without spending the money to dine at Sydney Towers (you can see them from your room). Now for Melbourne I have another suggestion. Our family watched the casio flames each night from our spacious apartment in Bourke Street (City Point on Bourke). Couldnt help but suggest some spacious accommodation because I have similar aged kids.