Sarvowinner

Hi Pituxa

I'm reposting this for you as the link to google maps made the post unreadable.

Just a hint - when you have a very long URL link - go to www.tinyurl.com and it will be shortened into a usable length

Cheers

Sarvo


Fine tuning plan for Australian adventure in October 2008
Author: pituxa
Date: 09/07/2007, 06:47 pm

Hi all

Having read many postings and taken advice on earlier plans I have had a major rethink and now prepared the plan below for a 25 day (first trip other than 3 nights in Sydney on the way to NZ in 2000) in October 2008 and would really appreciate critical appraisal and comment. I well appreciate the danger in underestimating the distances involved and have looked at flight times/schedules etc in coming up with this plan.

I have tried to build in rest days and other than Tasmania have tried to have a number of nights in one base. In Tasmania I have tried to restrict each day's drive to no more than 4 hours to allow time for stops. My mum who is coming on the trip cannot walk great distances and driving is ideal way for her to enjoy the scenery. (She also may not do all the day trips planned and take more rest days). Uluru we have reluctantly left out as I think it would not be the ideal place for my mum to walk about at and it will be very warm, as would Darwin and the north. I have also left Tasmania until nearer the end of the trip as weather should be warmer.

I would also welome any ideas for improvement. I have indicated where we are thinking of staying and tours we may do and any recommendations on these, or better ones to go on/places to consider staying, would also be helpful. We are looking for 2 bedroomed apartments wherever possible.

I would also be interesting to hear from anyone who has done a similar trip


I look forward to your comments.

Day 1 Leave UK

Day 2 O/night Changi airport (at Ambassador Hotel)

Day 3 Arrive Melbourne at 19-20 on 27 Sept- 5 nights (Quay West suites or Medina Grand)

Day 4 Melbourne city tour

Day 5 Melbourne (evening tour to Penguin Parade on Philips Island)

Day 6 Melbourne at leisure

Day 7 Full day trip along Great Ocean Road http://www.melbournetours.com.au/great_ocean_road.html

Day 8 Tour of Yarra Valley

Day 9 Fly Adelaide -3 nights (Horizons Adelaide or Medina Grand Treasury)

Day 10 Adelaide city tour

Day 11 Tour to Barossa Valley OR full day trip over to Kangaroo Island

Day 12 Fly Cairns, arrive 15-55, hire car and drive to Port Douglas for 5 nights (Shalimar and Mandalay)

Day 13 Rest day

Day 14 Barrier Reef cruise with Reef Magic. Scenic helicopter ride back. http://www.reefmagic.com.au/

Day 15 Daintree and Cape Tribulation rainforest tour http://www.daintree-specialised-tours.com/

Day 16 Day trip driving to Atherton Tablelands -Waterfalls/Yungburra/Kuranda

Day 17 Fly Hobart, arrive 20-30 on 11 October -2 nights (Grand Chancellor)

Day 18 Day in Hobart

FULL PRPOSED ITINERARY FOR TASMANIA AT LINK BELOW*

Day 19 Collect car and drive to Port Arthur/Tasman Peninsula and on to Coles Bay
(approx 200 kms/ 2 hours-30)-2 nights Freycinet Lodge

Day 20 Explore Freycinet Peninsula area

Day 21 Drive through Tamar Valley (wine area) to Launceston (approx 173 kms/2 hours-20 -1 night

Day 22 Drive to Cradle Mountain (approx 200 kms/2 hours 40) -1 night at Cradle Mountain Lodge

Day 23 Drive to Derwent Bridge (approx 200 kms/2 hours 32)-1 night

Day 24 Drive to Hobart (approx 163 kms/2 hours 17) and fly to Sydney, Arrive 18-50 -4 nights at Quay West Suites with harbour view

Day 25 Sydney

Day 26 Blue mountains trip

Day 27 Sydney

Day 28 Leave Sydney at 12-45 for Singapore-3 nights

http://tinyurl.com/2cq33w

RalphR

pituxa: It would be too much city time for my liking. At the very least, I would cut out one day in Melbourne and use it elsewhere - an overnight tour on the Great Ocean Rd maybe? Are there one-way Great Ocean Rd tours between Melbourne and Adelaide?

oliverandharry

I applaud your fine effort to see a good bit of Tasmania, but I can't tell if you are actually going to stop and see anything or just drive around. The Hobart-Port Arthur-Coles Bay day seems way long to me - I don't care if mapquest says 2 hours - that's an entire day's travel especially if you will actually tour Port Arthur. There is no way Cradle Mountain to Derwent Bridge is two hours, and that road particularly from Queenstown is narrow and full of twists, think Ireland without the stone walls. I can't think where you'd stay in Derwent - we had lunch in a sort of primitive lodge there with no heat, but it was August! Just my two cents!

wlzmatilida

Hi Sarvowinner,

I agree with Pituxa and OliverandHarry as well.

Too much time in Melbourne, and I would take out the penguin tour there (overcrowded w/tour buses and tourists) and do that in Tasmania instead where you they're brushing by your legs.

Pituxa, yes there are one way tours from Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road; they leave early in the morning, go part way, turn around and head back to Melbourne.

As mentioned in O&H's post, you're not allowing enough time for travel, especially in Tasmania. I would allow at least a half day to tour Port Arthur and driving to Coles Bay afterwards would make for a long day.

Perhaps you may want to find a local Aussie Specialist in the UK to help you?
Just a suggestion.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

JohnInMiami

We were in Tasmania and Port Arthur a few weeks back. You can get from Hobart to Coles Bay in one day with a side trip to Port Arthur. However, you better start really early, don't stop to see anything and plan on arriving very late!

Roads in Tasmania are very narrow, winding and did I say very narrow? You can ignore the posted speed limits since there's no way you could safely drive that fast anyway.

There's a lot to see in the Port Arthur area. Eaglehawk Neck, Dootown, Tasman Blowhole, the historic site, Ghost tour, harbour cruise and the Remarkable Cave are some of the things to do & see there.

We spent two days in PA and I'm glad we did. We learned a great deal about an important time in Australian history.