Robroy

My wife and I are visiting Australia in September/October and would like some recommendations for our plans. We arrive in Adelaide (from Perth) at the end of September and have about nine days with a car to see Adelaide, the Barossa Valley, Kangaroo Island, the GOR, Melbourne and possibly Philip Island before going on to Sydney.

So...are we trying to do too much? Are there suggestions about where to stay (stopping in the Barossa is a favourite)? Is there a recommended route/itinerary? How much time do we need in Adelaide & Melbourne & are there any recommended, reasonably priced hotels in those cities?

We would like to see some wildlife, scenery etc and stay in nice places but not big expensive resorts. Any help would therefore be appreciated!

Robroy (West Sussex, UK)

lancefan

9 days it will be busy to fit all those things in, but you could do it. this is something to think about
day 1 Adelaide, night Adelaide
day 2 day trip to Barossa, night Adelaide
Day 3 drive to cape jervis for morning ferry to KI, night 3 KI
Day 4 KI, night 4 KI
Day 5 early ferry back to Cape Jervis, big day drive from Cape Jervis to GOR, maybe port campbell.
Day 6 GOR sunrise at 12 apostles, loch ard gorge etc, drive via otways (do the fly walk in the trees) to around apollo bay, night 6 apollo bay
day 7 apollo bay GOR to Melbourne, night 7 melbourne
day 8 morning mel, lunch drive to Phillip island, night 8 cowes (phillip island), watch penguins
day 9 melbourne.

I think adelaide for a day is plenty, but you would want basically 2 days in Melbourne. In the first 2 days, you could arrive adelaide, look around and then drive to the Barossa and there that night. it depends how much packing up you want to do. Another option would be if you don't have your heart set on the barossa, you could do mclaren vale instead which would see you in the same area as cape jervis to go to KI. McLaren vale wines are very nice - I think I actually prefer the McLaren Vale shiraz to Barossa Shiraz – personal preference though. If you do McLaren Vale, definitely do the Blessed Cheese trail – www.blessedcheese.com.au. There’s a few to choose from, cheeses matched with wines and you take your little esky along to each winery. I still remember the blue I had with Wirra Wirra Rose … magic!

If you are did spend 2 days at KI, you could probably forego PI, given that it is on the other (eastern) side of Melbourne (even though it too is very nice). If you did that, I’d be tempted to take 3 days to get from ADL to MEL. The GOR itself is very well publicised, but there’s a lot of nice area between ADL and the GOR. Kingston SE, Robe, you could go via coonawarra if you like red wine (township is penola if you’re looking on a map), mt gambier (look at the blue lake), cape bridgewater (very small and sleepy, but lovely little coffee shop right on the beach), port fairy (great fish and chips down on the jetty where they unload the fish).

couple of sites
http://www.greatoceanroad.org
www.greatoceanroad.com.au

zzznnn

I agree with the previous post for one day in Adelaide and also skip Phillip Island. More time on the Great Ocean Rd is better. We also spotted penguins when we were at the 12 apostles. I would recommend Healsville Santuary if you want to get up close to Koalas. You need to remember though they look cuddly but they can scratch and be less than cuddly sometimes. 2 days in Melbourne is a Minimum and also add one day to do the zoo or Healsville. For cheap accommodation try a couple of local websites for last minute deals.

wotif.com.au or lastminute.com.au Don't pay retail prices. Also you can contact the ones you like the best directly and see if they can match the website. If you are around in Melbourne in September the Grandfinal of Australian Rules Football is always the last weekend in September so avoid Melbourne at that time, very expensive. The week after would be ideal. Have fun on your trip. Cheers

Robroy

Thank you for the information guys.

We're now thinking of McLaren Vale rather than the Barossa simply because of it being en route to KI. Looking at various tour sites about KI, it seems best to book a proper tour rather than do your own thing. Our only concern is having a car - if we take it over there it is expensive and the car will be redundant. Do you know if it could be safely left on the mainland at Cape Jervis? From Cape Jervis we would then head towards Mt Gambier etc and the GOR, picking up on the recommendations re Port Campbell/Port Fairy etc.

Thanks for your help with this.

shandy

On Lancefan's suggested itinerary, I would suggest a change to the Phillip Island/Melbourne section.

From the GOR, instead of driving straight through to Melbourne, drive over to Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula and catch the car ferry across to Sorrento (good chance of seeing the dophins in the bay - they like following the ferry) and then drive around to Phillip Island. You would see the penguins that night and the next day drive to Melbourne. This means your two nights in Melbourne are not broken up and you can utilise your time better there. Timing wise, it will take you about three hours to get from Apollo Bay to Sorrento, and then may be another 90 mins to drive around to Phillip Island.

By the way, I recommend that you don't take the cheapest package to see the penguins - there are just so many people. Pay a bit more and choose one of the upgraded packages. I happened to be there last Friday and we saw probably a couple of hundred penguins walk straight past us (within a few feet) and even saw two mating literally six feet away from us. I am referring to penguins mating of course, but humans might have caused even more of a sensation!

caligirl56

shandy (or anyone else who knows!)--do you have specific recommendations for the best ways to see the penguins? Does anyone know what the penguin-viewing is like on Kangaroo Island?