iindiamth

We arrived into Sydney late on a wet windy evening. We chose the Crown Plaza Hotel at Darling Harbour because of the close location to the Darling Harbour Aquarium, Powerhouse Museum and Chinatown, all things we wanted to visit. The Cab ride from the airport took us around 30 minutes. The driver was not good with English but was very good with our native language of Hindi so was very helpful to us.
Sydney was for us a big highlight. We really enjoyed the restaurants and cafes. The ferry to the Zoo gave us beautiful views of the Sydney Harbour and the bridge. We chose not to do the bridge walk but we could see people walking along the bridge from the waterfront below. We joined a coach tour to the Blue Mountains which was very busy and touristy but at the same time the day was relaxing and we did see some spectacular scenery. We spent four days in Sydney and were sad to leave but excited about the next leg of our adventure to Adelaide.
We flew with Qantas to Adelaide and stayed at the Hilton near Victoria Square which again was well positioned for shopping and restaurants. We planned Day Tours out of Adelaide to the Barossa Valley the Clare , and the McLaren valley and to Kangaroo Island. Kangaroo was a beautiful place to interact with Australian animals. The McLaren Valley was our favourite wine district but the Barossa was a close second. In saying that we would not have missed the Clare Valley either. We chose Escape Wilderness Tours for Kangaroo. They organise private 4wd tours and are exceptionally good. We recommend them highly. We came face to face with seals, sea lions, Koalas, kangaroos, and several large gonnas as well as visiting many other places of interest such as remarkable rocks, sheep shearing farms , soap factories etc. Kangaroo Island has something different around every corner.
After 3 full days in South Australia we flew to Alice Springs where we connected on Qantas yet again to Uluru. We were amazed to see this huge red rock from the window of the Jet as we circled to land at Uluru. We spent two days at Uluru which included an early morning drive to watch the sun rise after which we then toured the Olgas . We rested on day two before flying out to Cairns once again with Qantas.
We touched down in Cairns 5 minutes early at 06.25 in the evening. We were pleasantly surprised with Cairns and surrounds. Cairns is bordered on one side by rainforest clad mountains and by Ocean on the other side. We stayed at the Trade Winds on the Cairns Esplanade and enjoyed gorgeous views out across the Coral Sea. There are tidal flats in front of the Hotel which were alive with many birds each morning and evening. We had been advised not to miss the botanical gardens so set a side a half day for the visit which in the end was not really long enough. The Orchid house was worthy of much more time than we had. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the gardens restaurant. There were rumours of a baby crocodile in the lagoon which is part of the gardens however we were not lucky enough to view it. I am surprised we do not read anything about the gardens in Cairns as it was one of the highlights of our tour and it is free of charge. The main reason for our Cairns visit was the tour to the top of Australia which my husband really wanted and the Lizard Island Day Tour which I really wanted. Both tours are conducted by Daintree Air from Cairns. As things went I enjoyed the Tour of the top more than he and he enjoyed the tour of Lizard Island more than I. Both experiences were unforgettable; the top of Australia tour was a cultural lesson for us as well as an amazing sightseeing adventure. Greg and Tim were our pilots. The knowledge and tales shared by them kept everyone entertained for the day. Others have outlined the tour here so I will not go into it any further other than to say the tour is worth every penny spent.
We will not ever look at a map of Australia in the same way again now that we have actually been to that pointy bit on the top. The highlights of the tour were meeting indigenous Australians from the Injinoo Tribe on the top , seeing the wreckage of WW11 aeroplanes along the beaches which have sat on the sand since 1943, and of course standing under the sign saying you are at the Northern most point of the Country.
We had read much about the Lizard Island Day Tour and were not in any way disappointed. The quality of the reef, the marine life, the beautiful beaches, the low flying along the reefs and the rainforests was just perfect. Greg was again our pilot for this tour and acted as the guide on Lizard as well. He really must have the very best job in the world.
We were sad to move on from Cairns but left in the early hours of the morning for Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast is very busy and touristy after being in Cairns and Cape York. Two completely different worlds. We stayed at the Sofitel Gold Coast and once more chose to conduct day tours from the one base rather than move around. We took a 4 wd tour to North Stradbroke Island in the hope we would be lucky enough to see whales. Unfortunately we were apparently a couple of weeks too early and missed out on the whales but enjoyed an informative fun day in any case with Gold Coast Beach Trekkers .
On day 3 we ventured out to the Hinterland of the Gold coast to Oreilly’s which again was an enjoyable day. We walked through the rainforest canopy listening to a choir of different birds , we visited Mount Tamborine and enjoyed the arts and craft stalls. On the way back to the Gold Coast we also visited the Canungra Valley Vineyard. Nice wine but a long way to go to catch up with the South Australian Vineyards. We were lucky enough to spot a platypus in a small creek in the same area with the help of our guide of course.
We had one more day to visit a theme park and decided on Australia Zoo. Greg from Daintree Air had told us a wonderful story about meeting a family of Dingoes on Cape York. After hearing such a story we really wanted to have a face to face experience with these animals and again were not disappointed. There is something about these dogs which is very special. It’s difficult to identify exactly what it is, but like all of Australia this encounter was an unforgettable adventure.

pat_woolford

iindiamth

Thanks so much for posting your fascinating report. You've seen more of the country than most Australians, am so glad the Cape York trip proved worthwhile for you.

Its also refreshing to learn that you enjoyed Cairns and appreciated that the rich tidal mudflats outside the CBD sustain migratory birdlife, and indeed are on international birdwatcher's lists as a "must see". And the mangrove lined waterways of nearby Trinity Inlet help to sustain marine life on the Great Barrier Reef. So many complain about the lack of a sandy beach in Cairns city, I'd rather have areas which sustains wildlife too. Plenty of beaches just north of the city anyway.

I also can't understand why the Flecker Botanical Gardens, 4km out of Cairns CBD rarely rates a mention either. There were a couple of croc sightings at Centenary Lakes, just over the road from the gardens some months ago, but nothing lately.

The Gold Coast is often treated with derision too, I wonder how many of these complainers travel into its magnificent hinterland as you did, or bother to investigate its beaches other than the heavily touristed areas before passing judgment. I was at a southern Gold Coast beach a couple of months ago, it was lovely, not at all crowded, sunny weather, and brilliant surf.

LizzyF

Some wonderful tales of experiences in Australia several of these posters. I too have had the chance to see some areas of the Cape that many people have not and it is extrememly beautiful and varied. If there were more people and infrastructure up there there would be much more tourism going on it that area I am sure because the countryside, the nature and the history is quite remarkable but for now it is just beautifully pristine and natural that I hope it stays that way. Also all too often Cairns has been given short change because people do not give it the time it deserves. The beautiful Crystal Cascades, the gorgeous Botanical Gardens and the mud flats that attact such a variety of wildlife also the little waterways ( creeks) around that area are amass with life - all people seem to see is that there is not a bathing beach which is what there are all around Australia in the thousands, so being a bit different is not a bad thing. Apart from a short stay in Port Douglas I have always stayed in Cairns and I have visited that region about 18 times over the years. That part of Australia, the Atherton Tablelands and the Cape to the north remains one of the most diverse and gorgeous places on earth.

prue

We have just returned from a tour up to Thursday Island from Cairns.
It was run by Outback Spirit and covered the area from the Daintree right up to Cape York and beyond, taking 11 days and returning to Cairns by air from Horn Island.
We travelled in a 4WD vehicle with 16 passengers and could not have enjoyed it all more.