bmartin42071

My wife and I plan to visit Aus. the first two weeks in Dec. We have been before and are pretty well versed in Sydney but would like to do spend 1 of those weeks outside of Sydney seeing something different..have considered Cairns and North but am not sure that we would enjoy as the beaches in Sydney are good and not as hot and humid this time of year.Was wondering about Melbourne for 2-3days. Anyone have any suggestions.

Alan

Hi, bmartin42071!

I don't know whether Australian cities, such as Melbourne, have much to offer you -- frankly, if you've seen Sydney, you have seen the best city that Australia has to offer -- but you would certainly enjoy hiring a car and driving between these cities, especially if you stayed along the coast roads -- say, Sydney-Melbourne- Great Ocean Road-Adelaide (from where you might just have enough time to squeeze in the Barossa Valley, which is the best wineries area in Australia), or even Sydney-Brisbane (but if you do this leg, be ready to get OFF the main highway and go snooping along the minor roads that lead to the water; the Pacific Highway doesn't look at water much anymore). The big "plus" you have here is that you are JUST ahead of the school holiday rush, so you shouldn't have any problem finding accommodation all along those routes -- and the weather, though warm, will not, by then, have entered its very-hot midsummer phase.
You might, nenotheless, find the inland too hot, so I don't think I'd be quick to recommend Uluru or Alice Springs.
Have a great time!

stevelondon88

I would say Uluru but I'm not so sure now after the recent bush fire (see past posts). It's still an amazing place worth seeing though.

Cairns coast will be subject to stinger jellyfish now, so watch out for that, but how about a cruise around the reef? The rainforest in Queensland is also a great natural wonder worth checking out. If you don't wanna go so far north, how about Surfer's Paradise or the Gold Coast?

Janese

Whats wrong with Brisbane and surrounds? There is heaps to see and do from the islands off Brisbane to the two coasts north and south and the hinterlands of both. It is green and lovely then and the border ranges of Qld/NSW is magnificent. You can never rely on the weather in Victoria whereupon at least you can in Queensland. If it gets hot there is always the beach which is beautiful. I am actually writing this from Port Douglas at this moment which has very cool temps for our stay here. There has not been any rain to speak of for 2 years now and it is not green and lush. However the reef is still magnificent and I am hoping to go out again on Saturday. If you have not been up here then it is very worth while - plenty to see and do and everything is airconditioned and has fans - even our verandah has a fan ( just in case it gets hot).

alice13

Two suggestions - fly up to the Whitsundays. Swimming there is stinger-free (unless you are the 1 in 100,000 who meets of those Irakunji (spelling)!!
things. Else go to Tassie.

Or just hire a car and go south from Sydney - Jervis Bay, maybe.

grootegirl

Melbourne is an amazing city with plenty of things to see and do. I would recommend a trip there - it would be worth it. North Queensland is also incredible, though in December is quite hot and humid...but if you don't mind the heat it is worth the effort of going up to see the daintree, the reef and cape tribulation. A beautiful part of Australia.

Carrabella

Newcastle, just two hours drive or train from Sydney (north) is the centre for the Hunter Valley, and won't take up much of your precious travelling time.
It spreads along one side of the Hunter River to the Pacific Ocean, and is one of the few places in the world, where the business district is in walking distance of two fabulous, uncrowded surfing beaches. It is close to the vineyards of the Hunter Valley, with lots of tourist potential there. Best of all, it is a very friendly, laid back city, still a bit "lost in time", because most development money has gone to Sydney. There is a great pub scene with local live music. Once a steel and coal city,the dirty industries have now closed, the University is the biggest employer.

If you want to see untouristy Australia, you'll love it. The population mix is almost all Anglo-Saxon, so we love the difference of multi-cultural visitors.

Cairns and North Queensland is fine, with lots of Japanese and American tourists. Cairns itself is overrated - it's the surroundings, and the barrier reef which are beautiful.The beach at Cairns is artificial.

Have you been to the Blue Mountains?

pat_woolford

Don't know who told Alice the Whitsundays are stinger free - they inhabit coastal waters from November to May from Mackay north - and Whitsundays are north of Mackay. An English tourist died last year off Hamilton Island from irukandji sting - not box jelly fish but can still be fatal.

vkhunter

Melbourne is OK (Phillip Island was best), but I agree that if you've seen Sydney, you've seen the best.

We found Adelaide very nice as there's lots of things to do on the outskirts(Kangaroo Island, Wineries). The downtown shopping at night (Thursdays, I think) is excellent.

marg

Head for Melbourne, pick up a hire car and drive along the Great Ocean Road. If you are into red wines, try the Coonawarra district in the bottom corner of south-east SA, or head a bit further north to the Barossa (looking really beautiful at the moment) or the Clare Valley. If you don't want to go as far as SA, do the Great Ocean Road, then turn inland to the Grampians, and then back to Melbourne via Ballarat.
It will take you more than 2-3 days but worth it, particularly in early December.

bhuty

depends on what you are looking for. All the ideas so far are great but depends really on what takes your fancy.

Lots of support for blue mountains although you might split that time with hunter valley too. Both of which are not too far from sydney