sfgirl3

We are also using our United Miles to go to Australia (in November), and was debating b/t the same thing, since we ended up on a Air New Zealand flight that has to stop over in New Zealand. We only have one week, so are spending half of it in Sydney, and half on Lizard Island.

I would take a closer look at the Port Douglas area, if your wife couldn't stand to be on Lizard Island (everyone describes it as paradise though). From there, you have access to the rain forest which sounds pretty cool. They also have day trips to Lizard Island, which is supposedly very pretty, and you could get a little snorkeling in, and get great views from the plane. Good luck.

pat_woolford

You cannot fly from Port Douglas to Lizard Island, PD has only a miniscule landing strip and its too far for a seaplane. Daintree Air will pick up at Port Douglas and take you (about an hour's drive) back to Cairns where there is a light aircraft terminal.

Lizard Island in October would probably be hot and very sunny, which sounds about the last thing Richard J's wife wants.

There is easy access to rainforests (World Heritage) from north of Townsville in the south to Cooktown in the north, not just from Port Douglas.

cynstalker

Richard:
I'm glad to see you chose to stay in Australia for the entire trip. As other posters have said, each country needs a lot of time! You might consider Kangaroo Island for the second part of your trip. It's south of Adelaide, and, if you like animals, is really a lot of fun! It's NOT a hot place - depending on when you go, it could be chilly.

sfgirl3:
Hubby and I spent 5 days on Lizard, and it's really great. The rooms are elegant and comfortable. That said...hubby was there for the black marlin fishing in October, and we chartered a boat for 3 days. I went with him for 2 days, and spent the other day on the island by myself. (days 1 & 5 were travel days). If we hadn't done the fishing, I fear hubby may have been bored. The lizards are neat, and the island is nice (surprisingly arrid), and the staff is great. Enjoy!

Cyn

LN

Hi Richard

We've also been to Australia and New Zealand twice. I absolutely love Australia and Sydney is very special. If I were to choose another area for a sun-shy wife then I might choose Melbourne as it's a delightful cosmopolitan city with much to be enjoyed.

Kiwis2

I think you have made the right choice to stay in Aus for the two weeks.

I think it is a pity that you are passing on the GBR but if your wife is going to be miserable, it's not worth it.

I would endorse LN's suggestion of going to Melbourne. I would spend a week in each but would also spend at least one night in the Blue Mountains. You have got the time to do it more leisurely and there is heaps to do in the Blue mountains.

You could do 6 nights Sydney, 1-2 nights Blue Mountains and 5-6 nights Melbourne.

RichardJ

What about Kangaroo Island and the drive west of Melbourne toward Adelaide? It sounds quite breaktaking. We are free to go any time but would prefer Sept, Oct, Nov before it gets hot. Is there an ideal time to visit?

stevew

Richard, if you are in Melbourne and wish to drive - take the Great Ocean Road. We did that last year, we took the expressway from Melbourne up to Warrnombool. Stayed at a lovely B&B, and drove the GOR back to Melbourne. There is a whale nursery just off of the beach with a very scenic look out. It's a natural nursery that the whales have picked out, the only human intervention is the scenic look out. And you can get a long black coffee from a nice vendor who sets up in the morning. We can email you some pictures of the GOR if you would like. We saw a lot of posts of how bad the roads are with the weather, but found the roads to be in excellent shape and the weather nothing like what we have here in Florida. So if you can drive in a Florida thunderstorm, the GOR is easy, even on the left side of the road

Cheers

Steve and Andrea

RichardJ

The GOR was listed in the book of the top 1,000 places to visit in the world. The description sounds like it could an the Amalfi Coast in Italy or US 1 near Big Sur? What time of year is best? Here's my email: [email protected]. I would love to see some photos. Thanks

LN

If you can include the Great Ocesn Road and the 10 apostles then, please, do it!! It's a great drive - we completely enjoyed it as well as our time in Melbourne. Can you believe we even took in a show while in Melbourne.

RichardJ

Here's the latest itinerary:
Day 1 Leave Denver
Day 3 arrive Sydney
Day, 3,4,5,6,7,8 Sydney
Day 9 Blue Mountains
Day 10 fly to Melbourne
Day 10, 11 Melbourne
Day 12, 13, Great Ocean Road
Day 14 fly back to Sydney
Day 15--fly home
That is the exact amount of time we want to be on vacation. If we are missing something, we could extend a max of 2 days more. What do you think?

stevew

Hi Richard

The only suggestion I might make is to move the Blue Mountains to the middle of your Sydney stay. With it being your last day, if you decided that you wanted to spend a second day there, it would be too late. It also makes your travel days a bit rushed, you get back to Sydney have to pack and then head to the airport the next day.

Cheers

Steve and Andrea

pat_woolford

Strewth, if LizF finds Auckland boring, surely she's entitled to her opinion. She gives an enormous amount of good advice here, and shows remarkable patience from people who can't be bothered looking up a bus or train table on the Sunshine coast to those who are looking for somewhere as obscure as Mt Augustus, WA. And I do know if a tourist happens to be near the area where she lives, which also happens to be one of the most sought after in the country for both residents and tourists, she's only too willing to take the time to show them around.

I do happen to have lived in Sydney, Auckland briefly and indeed Hong Kong, although that hardly has anything to do with the above. Aucklanders are quite capable of slinging off at Sydney, but as Liz says, in the long run we're both antipodeans and we can take it.

walter_h

Pat, Of course it's good to hear what people think about places, isn't that why we all use this site? And of course Liz F is entitled to her opinion on Auckland. Anyone can claim that somewhere is the "most boring place in the world", but she didn't leave it at that. Her remarks in subsequent messages were over the top. My question was simply, why such hatred for Auckland?If Fodors wants to remove such an anodyne question for fear of upsetting Liz F, then fine. But let us all have an opinion.

pykiwi

RichardJ, think you've made the right decision. You should give NZ the time it deserves and save it for next time. Aust itinerary looks good.

airportbabe

The GBR is okay to see, but nless you really like snorkeling, skip the GBR. Go to the Sydney Aquarium instead and get a really good look at what the reef looks like. But you shouldn't miss the Daintree and Cape Tribulation while in that part of the country. I'd do a whale watching tour in Hervay Bay instead of spending all my time at the GBR. Aukland is kind of boring (just another big city) but the area surrounding it is nice. The south island of NZ is really really nice.