Mucky

Hi everyone.
Me and Mrs Muck are planning to return to Australia.
September fits nicely for us and we are now considering locations.
We want to go back to Sydney and Melbourne and maybe Queensland areas this time too but traveling out of the city and staying somewhere interesting.

Now what interesting is I am not yet sure.lol

This will be our 3rd visit to Oz and we won't have the Jnr Mucks with us as they are no longer very Jnr.

Our locations are not yet 100%.
What weather and temperatures can we expect in Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne in Sept?

I understand Sept is the wet period for QL, correct me if I am wrong.
We were there before in late October and December which was perfect weather for us.

If we decide upon Syd and Melb, could you suggest areas to visit? We will hire a car.

My wife wants to visit Port Stephens and I want to get to Bowral. So far that's all we have planned.

So its an almost blank canvas, any suggestions appreciated.

Muck

Melnq8

Well, it's not on your list, but September is a great time to visit WA.

moonrise

Sydney and Melbourne have very unsettled weather in September and quite unpredictable. Usually it is cool to mild with the odd very warm day.
Both Sydney and Melbourne have masses of great things to see and do. Sydney surrounds has the Blue Mountains, Central coast area (masses of perfect beaches) and the south coast area(a rougher and more unspoilt area of beaches).Canberra our capital city is a three hour ride from Sydney and full of amazing things.
Queensland would be warmer in September with lots to see and o too. there are many fantastic islands off the coast to visit for a day or three.
It all depends on your interests and what you have seen before.

Bushranger

Yes Mucky
"I understand Sept is the wet period for QL, correct me if I am wrong." - you've got that bit wrong and normally very little rain in Qld. in September, it being an ideal time to visit.

Sydney and Melbourne are not so bad either that time of year and I'd say far from very unsettled as it can be in more October/November.
Sydney Olympic Games were in September and it was glorious weather and that is par for the course though you can get variations year to year and especially if the long running drought changes.

You can expect to get some cooler and wet weather down south that time of year.

Melbourne lends itself to doing a great loop kind of tour out to Dandenong Ranges/Yarra Valley Wine country, across to Latrobe Valley Gourmet Food trail/Walhalla old Gold Mining town and through Coal fields area to Strezlecki Ranges and beyond to Wilsons Promontory and back through South Gippsland via Phillip Island and the around to Mornington Peninsula and across on ferry Sorrento to Queenscliff for GOR and then return to Melbourne via the Golden Triangle - http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/ ,something like 6 days would be a minimum.
If that sounds like the sort of thing you'd be after then say so and I can put up more detail.
http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/ meanwhile will get you started.

Sydney has huge national parks on its southern, western, north western and northern door steps and their very nature of ruggedness lends less to a loop tour of the Melbourne version, but still doable and a 4WD hire for some back roads would have you seeing some delightful country.

You could head south down through the Royal National Park to Kangaroo Valley or beyond to some delightful less touristry seaside villages and then from Kangaroo Valley head up to Bowral, a delightful southern highlands village [where did you hear of Bowral?] and then there is a back way across to the Blue Mountains via http://www.jenolancaves.org.au/

You could head down to Windsor, home of mainland Oz's oldest hotel and then take another back way through to Hunter Valley and onto Port Stephens, also another lovely area [ and no 4WD needed from Blue Mountains on.

Again, nothing less than six days.

For both Vic and NSW you'll find plenty of great B&Bs and good quality motels about.

LizzyF

G'day Mucky and Happy New Year! Go to both Port Stephens and Bowral though swimming may be a tad cool in Port Stephens at that time of year. Bowral and surrounds will be in their glory as it is spring there and if you drive from Port Stephens through the Hunter Valley to Singleton and take the Putty Road from there down to Windsor you miss the congestion of Sydney and have a nice drive en route to Bowral. Last time I did that drive I neally ran into a fawn which had decided to take on the car. Also you can go to the northern side of the Blue Mountains through Bilpin and around to Mt Victoria and back down again and visit the gardens at Laura.
Melbourne's weather is unpredictable at most times of the year and September is no different but you have some ideas from Bushy to go on. As for Qld what about an outback trip to Riversleigh and Lawn Hill National Park for something entirely different. This will require a 4 wheel drive but you could get that in Mt Isa. If you have not been to Carnarvon Gorge then that is another suggestion with some other drives and interesting things around that area.
Will leave it at that for the present until we hear back from you.

Bokhara2

Hi Muck & Happy New Year!
That's great news ... September's the beginning of our Spring and Bowral will be an absolute picture with the Tulip festival towards the end of the month.

This link also has some info on Port Stephens, which might be useful for you.

http://goaustralia.about.com/od/even...ltuliptime.htm

Cheers,
Bokhara

Mucky

Hi everyone and a Happy New Year to you all !!!
Thank you so much for the information so far.
As you may know my planning for the last two trips was focussed upon info gained from this forum and we were not disappointed.

Our trip is by no means cast in stone and we have not discounted WA, by any means, so Melnq8 if you have some ideas for me I would love to hear them.
In fact flying into Perth may be a cheaper option.

Just to fill you in on previous trips, we spent time in Sydney did the usual Sydney stuff, including the NYE fireworks, bridge climb etc. Almost met MargoOz.

We caught the train to the Blue mountains using Alan's advice and met him there (Where is Alan??)

Tried in vain to get to Bowral, but we simply ran out of time. I have a couple of reasons for going there.
1. I read a bit about its history and it seems to be a good example of a nice traditional Aussie 'new town'.

We are 'empty nesters' so I reckon the town would be a nice place to visit for us as lots of the folk that live there are in a similar situation to us and have moved from the city, which is just what we are in the process of doing too.
2. I love Cricket and want to visit the Bradman museum, a match at the oval would be nice too,lol
Mrs Muck can hit the boutique shops.

So overall this coupled with the springtime beauty of the area will be something not to miss for us.

We have been to Melbourne, hired a car and travelled to Healseville sanctuary, Soverign Hill,Bendigo areas and around that way, although we would have liked to spend time in the wine making areas that we passed through.
We said hi to marg and even got to see the set of neighbours lol

When In Qld we stayed at Palm Cove and visited the surrounding areas, spent Christmas at Tangalooma on Moreton island and had a couple of days in Brisbane too. So we love that area too !

So we have definately dipped our toes in Australia.

So this time, we would love to go back to the Blue mountains, see some more and the Jenolan Caves would be interesting too. But simply taking in some of the less traditional areas to visit and I think using a hire car, some good tips and a good map will be good.
So I am going to take all the info you guys have given me and do some digging.

I will be back,

Cheers

Muck

Melnq8

Well, Mucky, if you do decide to give WA a try there's certainly plenty to keep you busy here.

Perth is a beautiful city, yet easy to get around in and the public transport is extensive and easy to use.

Here's a link to the city't attractions to whet your appetite:

http://www.perthtouristcentre.com.au

After a few days in Perth, you might consider hopping in a car and heading south. There are many diverse National Parks on offer and more wineries than you can shake a stick at (Margaret River region, Pemberton, Denmark, Mt Barker, etc). The wildflowers will be in bloom, so the drive south will be colorful too.

Some more sites for you:
http://www.margaretriver.com/pages.asp?code=500

http://www.australiassouthwest.com/e...s/default.aspx

My personal favorite:

http://www.denmark.com.au/en/default.htm

There's a whole 'nother world north of Perth, but I've yet to visit there, so can't give any firsthand info (Broome and the Pilbara sure look interesting).

I can provide a site though:

http://www.australiasnorthwest.com/en/Pages/Home.aspx

Happy planning.

Melnq8

Oh! And TAS! You gotta visit TAS!

Just a short hop from Melbourne.

http://www.discovertasmania.com/

PS - I have several trip reports posted here on Fodor's for trips to TAS and WA. Let me know if you're interested and I'll post the links.

marg

So glad you haven't forgotten Australia - it will be nice to see you again.
So many places to go to so it's hard to start making suggestions. Western Australia in September is brilliant - good weather and the scenery and wildflowers are so beautiful. Have you considered the Kimberleys, the Bungle Bungles, Karijini National Park. You could fly into Darwin, pick up a car or motor home then fly from Broome to Sydney or Melbourne. I guess it all depends on how much time you have.
If you are doing the trip between Sydney and Melbourne, you could drive south to Bowral, then through Kangeroo Valley (Fitzroy Falls), to the coast, have a look at some lovely coastal scenery then back inland from Batemans Bay to Canberra (Floriade will be on mid-September to mid-October), then down the Hume to Beechworth and Bright (little old towns, wineries) and into Melbourne.
Neighbours is still being filmed in the same spot. I regularly see the 'Neighbours' tour bus doing it's thing around the area. Andre Rieu was in Melbourne recently and has taken part in an episode (or hasn't the Andre Rieu hysteria hit Britain yet?)
Let us know your time frame and your possibilities and I'm sure we can all tell you about our favourite spots.

islandhopper2

How long do you plan on staying in Australia? With Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne on the list, there's quite a bit to do!

Queensland is beautiful, beaches, great barrier reef, etc with a very laidback west coast vibe. I'm sure you've already noticed the slower pace of life having been to Australia twice already, but Queenslanders seem to be even more relaxed. I've been to Brisbane a few times and once to the Gold Coast, so I haven't ventured outside the cities much. If you're in the Brisbane area though, Mt. Cootha is easily accessible by car and you can take in the view of all of Brisbane. There is a cafe up there so you could easily watch the sunset from up there.

Sydney and Melbourne are both great cities, but I always find more interesting things to do in Melbourne. There's always a variety of different events and festivals going on so you can always check the local newspapers online. One thing I definitely recommend is going on a Yarra Valley wine tour if you're staying in Melbourne.

They pick you up in the morning from one of a few easily accessible locations and drive 45 min to Yarra Valley. I felt like I was in a postcard the entire time because the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. The tour I went on visited 4 wineries and included lunch. It is possible to taste 40-50 wines, but most people taste about 30. Basically it's a full-day tour inclusive of lunch for AUD$90. Definitely the best $90 spent!
Here's a link for more info: http://www.affiliate.viator.com/broc...&AUID=4682

In Melbourne itself, definitely have a meal along Southbank. There's tons of restaurants and cafes along the river and the weather should be alright in September for al fresco dining

Mucky

Hi islandhopper2
The list of possibilities is immense, however with a week in Thailand we will realistically have 2 weeks in Oz.
So we need to have no more than 2 main locations.

Still planning and hoping to get flights booked within the next few weeks.

Thanks everyone for the info so far, it's all in the melting pot.

I will return !!

Muck.

margo_oz

Yikes! The Mucksters are coming!

September, you say? Will I have enough leave saved up to get out of town? Where to go to be safe! Panic!!

I think September is a great time to travel in Australia (well, I usually try to get to Europe in September - but not this year!)

Around Sydney, the weather's usually good, the wildflowers are surfacing, and the bush is interesting.


It's the time of the football finals, League and AFL (rugby finishes much earlier).

In Melbourne, however, things can be variable. I actually went to the AFL Grand Final a couple of years ago, accompanying my 80-y-o aunt, for whom it had been her life's dream. We left Sydney on a beautiful day, t-shirt weather, and when we got on the plane the weather report for Melbourne in 9 degrees and hailing (and that was the good news!)

I have never been so cold and miserable (and bored) in my life. The stand at the MCG was bloody freezing, I didn't have every item of clothing I owned with me, and.......

Someone called me as we left the ground, and I couldn't talk to them because my hands were too cold to take out of my pockets, and I couldn't stop shivering. Welcome to the end of September in Melbourne!

It's wildflower season in WA, too - and that can be pretty spectacular.

Waiting to hear your plans (so I can make mine!!! )

Mucky

LOL
Margo would you really go to all that trouble just to avoid buying me the drink you promised me 5 years ago??

I remember you pretended you were unwell last time we came. In fact when you called me at the famous Waldorf, I reckon I spotted you across the road hiding behind a car. lol




Muck

pat_woolford

Hi Mucky

Good to hear your returning to Oz, somewhere up there you asked about Alan; its a great shame he no longer posts here with his invaluable Sydney information and his spot-on sense of humour.

But Fodors' loss is Trip Advisor's gain, you can find him there under AlanJ in their forum section under Australia and South Pacific. Alan's also become an expert on India, a country which is very dear to him and his family.

Mucky

Hi Pat,
Thanks for that I found him there lol

I have to say that forum is a bit too messy and clumbersome for my eyes, I like Fodors its uncomplicated look is what I like.

Cheers

Muck