Trip to Oz Jan/Feb 2010
 

Hi, we are planning a trip to Oz in Jan/Feb 2010 arriving Sydney 29 December to spend time with our son who lives there. We will be going on to Gold Coast where my brother lives to arrive there by 10 January. After spending time with him we want to fit in a trip to Great Barrier Reef and also Uluru before going back to Sydney to spend more time with our son. Need to spend roughly equal time with each family member so as not to put noses out of joint but also don't want to outstay our welcome. Can anyone recommend good way to fit in GBR and Uluru, do not really want to do a lot of driving but happy to go by coach or fly whichever makes more sense. Also do not have unlimited budget but not on absolute shoestring. Look forward to hearing from anyone who can help.

Well best way to fit in GBR and Uluru would be to fly to Cairns for GBR from there and then Cairns to Uluru and Uluru back to Sydney for you're likely to find more direct flights to/from Uluru from Cairns/Sydney rather than Brisbane.

You could check that on www,qantas.com.au for they are the sole operator in/out for Uluru and while you're at it have a look at the Qantas Aussie Pass for that could provide the cheapest flights but you need to book that at same time in booking your international flight with Qantas.

That said, January is not the best time for heading to Uluru as you can expect to have near or over 40C temperatures and so if you have second thoughts, you'll be able to see the GBR closer to Brisbane than Cairns which will also be getting a tad humid by mid to late January, Brisbane as well.

But in dropping Uluru another option would be to hire a car and drive to 1770, about 500 km. north of Brisbane and fo to Lady Musgrave Island - http://www.spiritof1770.com.au/ , another more expensive option being to fly to Lady Elliot Island - http://www.ladyelliot.com.au/ , have a look under booking for a Lady Elliot/Fraser Islands combo.

Or for somewhere truly spectacular and you could fly there from Brisbane and then back to Sydney, Lord Howe Island, not on the gbr but it has its own reefs - http://www.lordhoweisland.info/ and of course you could do the same with the Whitsundays - http://www.whitsundaytourism.com/

I have been to Uluru in Janurary and while it is hot it is not unbearable. Virtually all of Ausralia is hot at that time and the Outback is a no exception, but it is still worth the trip. As mentioned above, flying is the only way to cover those distances.

thanks for both replies, we will do some more research and check out with family in Oz but this is all interesting information.

Hi again
I have looked into Aussie Pass but it does not seem to be available when booking a trip from the UK - does anyone know of any equivalent that can be booked from this end? Would also really appreciate any info on good places to visit in and around Sydney and also the Gold Coast.
Thanks again

Nope, nothing that I'm aware of re a pass system applying for Qantas from UK and though you'll be in peak season and can expect to pay higher fares to here and whilst here to some extent, there has been some discounting of late in international fares given less people flying about with economic woes and similarly within Australia that applies and so with woes not expected to improve real soon, you could be lucky enough to pick up on some good international flight pricing.

You'll no doubt have some flight marketers over in UK that publicise different specials from time to time with various airlines and other than Qantas you could look at Emirates, Singapore Air, Malaysia Air and any of the other Asian and European Carriers, China Eastern being one that I've heard of doing best prices when people are finding fares high around Xmas time.

You might also want to look at seeing if China Eastern or Cathay Pacific have the cheapest to get you as far as Hong Kong and then www.flyvivamacau.com have a Macau to Sydney service that is cheap, and it's just a ferry ride across from Hongkong to Macau and if you have the time, a few days there on way out and back will help with jetlag.
www.webjet.com.au will show you what fares are between Sydney and the GC, and booking far enough in advance you'll not get a huge ammount off with a sale fare unless it is one of the extra special types that are on from time to time and you'd have to be monitoring regularly and then get one for times that suit you, difficult enough to do here at times let alone from the UK.

I suppose visiting Sydney is a bit like one visiting London, except of course for weather beaches and harbour and you'll even find Sydney rather muggy in January and certainly a lot warmer than what you'll be having in UK and accommodation over at Manly ought to be considered if looking for somewhere as you'll have sea breezes there and the beach to walk/swim if weather is a scorcher.

But Sydney has the Rocks area, Harbour precinct and various trips about the Harbour and/or cruises are a great way to see best part of Sydney, quite a few Museums, most in vicinity of Hyde Park which is main park in CBD with Domain and Botanical Gardens close by going towards the Harbour.
There's National Parks not far away to North and South and a bit further inland to Blue Mountains, all easily reachable by train/bus and ferry.

The Gold Coast claims the reputation as Australias playground and for most people is all about beach but beware the surf there can be dangerous and has claimed many lives over the years.
Main distraction is that a lot of the Gold Coast is framed by high rise apartments right adjacent to the beach and does give something of a concrete jungle look but some reasonable coastal walks in parts at The Spit, Burleigh Heads NP with some interesting geological formations and Coolangatta/Tweed Heads Point Danger headland walk along with plenty of beach to walk, it being a bit like Picadilly Circus from about 5-8am of a morning between Broadbeach and Main Beach.
The other main attraction there for families [and adults] are the theme parks, Sea World with Polar Bears and trained Dolphins, maybe even an Aquarium shark swim possible, Dreamworld has some white lions and the scariest of rides and then Movie world and Wet and Wild if you want to try out some giant water slides and tubes.

If theme parks are not for you there's the more mild experiences of some farm world places like Paradise Country at Nerang and hinterland trips to rain forest and allegedly Australia's greatest glow worm colony at Natural Arch Bridge - it's on a main back road and though there's tours you can just pull in yourself in late afternoon when it's already dark enough and have a look and there has been running for a while a night dinner show, think it's called The Great Outback Experience, supposed to be quite good, and then there's various boat trips you can do, Tall Ships cruise over to South Stradbroke Island to get a way from all the hustle and bustle and if you want to go and hire yourself a little motor boat for a few hours from Isle of Capri and tootle up the Nerang River and around some canals to look in and see how some live!

Both Sydney and Gold Coast have market days and more nights at Gold Coast, Friday night for Surfers Paradise and quite a few local artisans come out to sell their wares, and then a huge day market there is Carrara.
If you are golfers, plenty of golf courses about though some quite expensive there but do a drive up to Mount Tamborine for a great village atmosphere and delightfully cooler on a hot day and a nice golf course there.
Go and have a beer at the big white pub up there, set well back from the road and great cliff top gardens at back, name slips mind at moment.

There's farm stays and horse riding in hinterland too but be a bit warmish for those activities.

thanks for this, lots of stuff to look at and consider. Accommodation not a problem in Sydney or on GC as son lives in Sydney and brother in Currumbin Waters on GC and we are fairly familiar with both areas have visited previously but this is our first longish trip so we want to cover as much as we can in our available time. I am sure I will come back with more queries as I research further but thanks so much for all of the info so far.

Hi
Things are beginning to come together for our trip now but was wondering if there were any discounts for senior citizens on rail travel as we are considering doing the trip from Brisbane to Cairns on the Sunlander.

I don't think there are discounts for senior citizens of other countries on Queensland Rail, but I may be wrong.

The Sunlander trip, in my opinion, is incredibly boring. The railway line doesn't follow the coast, and there seems to be little of interest in the whole trip.

It'll probably also be cheaper to fly. Get on the email lists for the airlines, check out the existing prices, and wait for specials.

Queensland Rail supplies discounts to Queensland seniors & pensioners and interstate Australian pensioners who hold valid concession cards. Economy Sunlander berth is about $270 Brisbane-Cairns, you'll be able to find a Virgin Blue or Jet Star flight for far less.