whatley5

Wow! - what an amazing site this is for information. I've done lots of research, and have an itinerary for my family's trip in Dec. Greatly appreciate any comments you may have.

Dec 21 - 25 Sydney. Will visit the Opera House, Taronga Zoo, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and take a day trip to the Blue Mountains. Maybe try to fit in the Sydney Aquarium.
Dec 26-29 Cairns. Day trip to the reef for snorkeling, and day trip to the Daintree National Park.
Dec 30 - Uluru. Take a walk around Uluru, Sounds of Silence dinner.
Dec 31 - Sunrise at Uluru, then Kata Tjuta. Rent 4WD and drive to Kings Canyon (any comments on doing this yourself??)
Jan 1 - Drive to Alice Springs.
Jan 2 - Alice Springs Desert Park, sunset camel ride and dinner at the camel farm.
Jan 3 - Melbourne for the day
Jan 4 - flight out of Melbourne

My children (ages 16, 14, and 11) are looking forward to a great trip. Thanks to everyone in advance for your feedback.

DownUnder

Looks like an excellent trip. Be prepared for some very hot days in the Outback! Take plenty of water. New Years Eve in Sydney would have been great for the fireworks, but then you can't do everything. Have a wonderful time in this amazing country.

Heidi_Mo

When going to see Sydney Harbour Bridge, you can either climb it which is an amazing feeling and great views across the whole of Sydney (I did it both in the day and in twilight - fantastic both times!) or if this is a little expensive, you can climb up inside one of the support towers. This is only a few dollars each and you get some of the history of the bridge too. You also can take your own camera, unlike doing the full climb, and have as much or as little time as you like up there. Enjoy

TreeRoo

When in Cairns consider the Atherton Tablelands. Great swimming in the beautiful Crater Lakes and the rainforests there have more of the endemic wildlife species than the coast. It will be cooler on the Tablelands but the heat should not be a huge problem on the coast anyway.