I_HEART_TRAVELING

I have a ton of questions for experienced travelers and I am going to start scouring the earlier posts for people who've contributed on this. Just curious with a few specifics.

I've wanted to go to Australia since my dad left when I was really little (one of my earliest memories is him being gone) and brought back a platypus hand puppet. Needless to say, it is my favorite animal.

Due to the economy the around the world trip is out that my wife and I were planning, but I plan on maximizing my last summer still with her (both teachers but she is changing jobs). My wife and I were thinking of spliting the summer between Peru, Ecuador for 35 days backpacking, ruins,etc and then northern Australia for two weeks and change with a few days in Sydney for good measure. Is 3 weeks enough for this and could Ayers Rock be included? Is it worth it?

Great Barrier Reef
Mackay for Eugenalla National Park (Platypus!!!!)
Possibly Frazier Island
Brisbane
Sydney
Some sort of trip to outback, koallas, kangaroo,etc

I'd love to throw in Alice Springs but the cost of airfare is scaring me away (we just missed cheapest airfare).

Final pre-lim quesiton...should we just go to Australia for the entire 60+ days? !!!! No Overland Track due to weather but awell (we love backpacking)

pat_woolford

Assume you mean your summer not ours? In ours it would be very hot in Alice Springs, if that is a concern.

Platypus also found on Atherton Tableland, just a little west of Cairns, so if you're seeing the GBR from Cairns or nearby, easy to combine.

MaryD2

Virgin Blue and Jetstar airlines launched another "sale day" today so you perhaps can look at that. From my point of view though I don't think Alice Springs ( Uluru ) is worth it but prefer north west Western Australia which most certainly is. However you cannot do everything and in saying that I hope you are thinking of this in our winter.
Alternatively check with say Qantas airlines and see what the price of the airpass is because that may be a lot better than you buying seperate tickets.
Because I know South America and love going there I would include Peru and Equador, leave out Alice Springs and Uluru and concentrate on the GBR and skip Brisbane but stick with Sydney. That would make for a fantastic trip.
I have a contact in Cusco, Peru who runs a B&B there and who has a travel agency next door. He has done 2 fantastic trips around Peru for me on different occasions and he is an Inca and knows so much about the place. His B&B is lovely and very clean, has a little kitchenette and free Internet next door and all the tours and guides will pick up at his place - he also has someone meet your plane when it arrives and drives you to his place which is very convenient. The last time I was there his daughter was looking after the Lima side of things and she met me at the airport and took me to my hotel in the middle of the night.
Anyway I know that others will think I am being a traitor when I say do both areas but that is what I would do. You can come back another time then as well.

I_HEART_TRAVELING

thank you so much for the advice. I'm all systems go and almost booked airfare without a full itinerary (unheard of for me since I'm compulsive).

Problem is, like a kid with eyes too big for his stomach, I sometimes get carried away...would something like this be too much (cheap Qantas internal airfare has me very interested). I know you said my idea was fine thus far, but could I get a few more in? I'd also like to fit Darwin like MaryD2 suggested in, and Perth for Whale Shark diving but that does seem like too much...

Aug 6 NYC to Cairns (arrive Aug 8th)
Rainforest, platypus watching, diving, snorkeling, beach relaxation. Eugenalla NPark for Platypus as well...

August 20th Alice Springs
Uluru, Kings Canyon

August 23th Adelaide
wine? Drive to Melbourne? Stops along way...wine...
Enjoy Sydney for a few days

Sept 3rd Fly back to NYC

Is this just too crazy? I assume adding Perth and whale sharks would be just 100 percent nuts Plus, I was going to make a new post, but I keep seeing one way car rentals dont incur penalties like they do in the states. Is that accurate? Sorry to be asking such Newbie questions but I'm throwing this together on a whim when I saw airfare prices and my wife just mentioned australia out of the blue.

MaryD2

Will write more later but the whale sharks are not in Perth but about 800 klms away and hard to get to - expensive as well. Google Ningaloo Reef and how to get there.

Melnq8

Whale Shark season is March-June at Ningaloo Reef (Coral Bay and Exmouth)...Coral Bay is a 1,131 km drive and Exmouth is a 1,282 km drive from Perth.

We made this road trip in June and believe me, it's a haul, and something you need plenty of time for.

You can fly from Perth to Learmonth Airport, which is about 36 km south of Exmouth (you can rent a car at Learmonth). Flights are limited and expensive, and there are currently some major changes going on with flights up that way.

One way car rentals are very expensive here...I've been told of drop off fees as high as $800 on the Perth to Exmouth route.

I_HEART_TRAVELING

Well, first off many thanks for answering the questions I usually don't have to ask. So grateful....and Perth is off the list .

Someone said Melbourne is worth it, but Ive read otherwise overall due to the time we are going, what Melbourne is like, etc. Adelaide is another city then I'm questioning going to, although I've been reading older posts and while I enjoy wine and KI seems great, it doesnt seem to be as unique as other places?

East Coast=what's around Brisbane, not Brisbane itself/Cairns for a chunk of time-GBR, parks around it/Parks around Darwin/Uluru/Sydney is where I'm leaning now.

PS I hope to return to Melbourne aand Tasmania during the month of December for treks/animals later in my life Adelaide might be more appropriate then I'm guessing?

Melnq8

I personally loved South Australia. We didn't spend much time in Adelaide, as we're not really city people, but I liked what I saw of it, and I loved the Adelaide Hills. We spent two weeks exploring the Barossa and Clare Valleys, McLaren Vale, Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy and the Fleurieu Peninsula. It was pretty unique for us, especially Flinders and Coober Pedy.

We hope to return someday to explore the Eyre Peninsula and several other places we missed the first time around.

MaryD2

From Brisbane you have the Gold Coast to the south and the Sunshine Coast to the north. The Gold Coast is the Australian's top tourist destination although there are some who will bag it as being to many high rises etc BUT if you look past those comments there are many things to do and here is a website which will give you some ideas - I have highlighted the hinterland because that is special but click on from that and you will find all sorts of fantastic things to see and do.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/gold-coa...ainforest.html
To the north of Brisbane you could take the rail motor up to Beerwah and go to the Australia Zoo which made Steve Irwin and his wife famous. If you have a car then further north are the beach areas of Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, Alexander Headlands etc. There is a wonderful Aquarium at Mooloolaba. Further north is Noosa and further again is the southern part of Fraser Island.