Packing for 16 days in Australia
Feb 2nd, 2009, 09:59 AM
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Packing for 16 days in Australia
How do you pack in one suitcase. We're flying from San Francisco to Sydney, Sydney to Cairnes, Cairnes to Melbourne, driving from Melbourne to Adleaide then home. I think Cairnes is a different climate then the rest, hot and humid. It will be late Fall in Australia when we go, Late April to beginning of May.
I guess I'll also be doing a small carry on as well..
What do you bring. I'm used to bringing everything I own.
I guess I'll also be doing a small carry on as well..
What do you bring. I'm used to bringing everything I own.
Feb 2nd, 2009, 10:15 AM
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I tend to do mix and match for longer trips. I usually bring black, khaki, and denim pants and shorts, and tops that go with all three. A microfleece top in case it gets cold. A black knit skirt for evenings that we'll change and go to a nicer dinner.
Feb 2nd, 2009, 02:50 PM
#3
Dress in layers and use a base color. I usually take more tops and like skirts that can be dressed up with a nice blouse. A raincoat with a removable liner is good.
I use a large tote for my personal item instead of a purse (I pack a small purse for when I need it).
I use a large tote for my personal item instead of a purse (I pack a small purse for when I need it).
Feb 2nd, 2009, 07:29 PM
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Melbourne is sometimes miserable and cold at this time of year too - layers is probably best, with a fleecy top for Melbourne, and t-shirts and sun cream for sunny Cairns. And Victoria used to be known for frequent rainfall (not so much in the last few years as we have had droughts in Australia) so perhaps pack one of those very tiny folding umbrellas as a just-in-case.
Lavandula
Lavandula
Feb 3rd, 2009, 05:34 AM
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Three bottoms, five tops - all mix and match. Two pairs of shoes (a walking shoe and maybe a lightweight sandal that can be dressed up or down). One bathing suit. five underwear and socks. Two lightweight sweaters or fleece that can be layered if needed and an unlined rain coat.
Wear the heaviest stuff on the plane and pack the lighter stuff in your one carry-on.
Limit your bath stuff to two one quart bags one dry stuff and one travel size containers of liquids.
Wear the heaviest stuff on the plane and pack the lighter stuff in your one carry-on.
Limit your bath stuff to two one quart bags one dry stuff and one travel size containers of liquids.
Feb 3rd, 2009, 04:30 PM
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Option- think about buying clothes here. Assuming that you aren't wanting to wear designer label clothes all of the time, there are lots of nice inexpensive clothes shops in the shopping malls here. The US dollar is doing very well against the Aussie dollar, so you should be able to get some good clothes at good prices. Plus if you like them they make nice souvenirs as well.
RM Williams is a local clothes firm that make clothes that are typically "Australian"- the stockman look. It's not cheap, but they are very well made and long lasting.
RM Williams is a local clothes firm that make clothes that are typically "Australian"- the stockman look. It's not cheap, but they are very well made and long lasting.
Feb 4th, 2009, 02:00 AM
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April/May is not such a bad time at all and if it was at all possible I'd reverse your itinerary.
. Fly into Melbourne with a direct connection to Adelaide - all the same airport at Melbourne.
www.tigerairways.com.au do discount flights between Melb. and Adel.
. do Adelaide/Melbourne and Sydney then Cairns.
That way you'll get best of weather, milder down south and less humid in Cairns.
A lot of people also think that GBR=Cairns but you can do trips from elsewhere too and the Whitsundays is a magical area for reef and islands.
Without changing around, yep Cairns will be warm and humid and seeing as they have had a Dengue fever outbreak and there's heaps of water already come and likely more, that outbreak could grow so take some light long sleeved blouses/shirts for late afternoon/evenings just in case you're somewhere there has not been a lot of preventative work done.
Buy yourself some repellant, Bushmans [no relative!] or RID Tropical strength.
Whilst layering is way to go and always sensible to have one warm windcheater type top and a weatherproof jacket, you will not find Melbourne/Adelaide all that cold in May, quite likely to be mid 60sF during days and deopping off to 45-50 of an evening, but every possibility of some even warmer days and evenings.
. Fly into Melbourne with a direct connection to Adelaide - all the same airport at Melbourne.
www.tigerairways.com.au do discount flights between Melb. and Adel.
. do Adelaide/Melbourne and Sydney then Cairns.
That way you'll get best of weather, milder down south and less humid in Cairns.
A lot of people also think that GBR=Cairns but you can do trips from elsewhere too and the Whitsundays is a magical area for reef and islands.
Without changing around, yep Cairns will be warm and humid and seeing as they have had a Dengue fever outbreak and there's heaps of water already come and likely more, that outbreak could grow so take some light long sleeved blouses/shirts for late afternoon/evenings just in case you're somewhere there has not been a lot of preventative work done.
Buy yourself some repellant, Bushmans [no relative!] or RID Tropical strength.
Whilst layering is way to go and always sensible to have one warm windcheater type top and a weatherproof jacket, you will not find Melbourne/Adelaide all that cold in May, quite likely to be mid 60sF during days and deopping off to 45-50 of an evening, but every possibility of some even warmer days and evenings.
Feb 6th, 2009, 04:54 PM
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Doing laundry is the way to pack light. You really do not need that much stuff. You just can't be fussy about wearing the same clothes over and over until you get sick of them. Remember, the people that you meet won't know you are doing that.
Feb 7th, 2009, 10:21 AM
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Mix and match, layers, etc. are all great ways to reduce your load. To give an example of how it would work, here's a 19 day sample:
Day 1: flight - bottoms 1, top 1, overshirt 1, walking shoes, jacket
Day 2 - bottoms 2, top 2, overshirt 2, sandals
Day 3 - bottoms 3, top 3, walking shoes
Day 4 - bottoms 4, top 4, overshirt 3, sandals
Day 5 - bottoms 1, top 5, walking shoes
Day 6 - bottoms 2, top 1, overshirt 2, sandals
Day 7 - bottoms 3, top 2, overshirt 3, walking shoes
Day 8 - bottoms 4, top 3, sandals
Day 9 - bottoms 1, top 4, overshirt 1, walking shoes
Day 10 - bottoms 2, top 5, sandals
Day 11 - bottoms 3, top 1, overshirt 3, walking shoes
Day 12 - bottoms 4, top 2, overshirt 1, sandals
Day 13 - bottoms 1, top 3, walking shoes
Day 14 - bottoms 2, top 4, overshirt 2, sandals
Day 15 - bottoms 3, top 5, walking shoes
Day 16 - bottoms 4, top 1, overshirt 1, sandals
Day 17 - bottoms 1, top 2, overshirt 2, walking shoes
Day 18 - bottoms 2, top 3, sandals
Day 19: flight - bottoms 3, top 4, overshirt 3, walking shoes, jacket
Wear the jacket during the trip as needed. By mixing and matching, you can bring 4 bottoms, 5 tops, and 3 overshirts and never wear the same outfit twice.
My trick for not feeling like I'm wearing a uniform every day is to pick one shoe color (I do brown) and match the jacket to that. Then I use colors for the bottoms that coordinate (olive, khaki, and brown). Then I pick more colorful tops (yellow, salmon, olive, chocolate, and blue). I match the overshirts to the top colors (salmon, olive, and chocolate).
Changing the styles of the tops (not all t-shirts or tanks, but variations with different sleeve lengths - sleeveless, cap, short) creates even more variation to my daily outfit without giving up the mix and match approach.
Depending on where you're going, you can vary your bottoms between pants, capris, shorts, and skirts.
As I'm working it out, I find that using Excel to lay out the options helps. I ususally have an idea of what I'm going to be doing each day, so I just play with the spreadsheet finding the best order to wear the clothes so that each type of day (outdoor, dress up, etc.) is covered without wearing any piece twice in a row.
When I pack, I "bundle" the clothes according to the planned schedule. Then it's easy to grab a bundle in the morning without thinking. When I put things back in the suitcase, I will resort them according to the next group of outfits. Even with unforeseen changes (spills, changes in itinerary, etc.), I find that I wear all my clothes equally and don't end up with pieces never worn.
Day 1: flight - bottoms 1, top 1, overshirt 1, walking shoes, jacket
Day 2 - bottoms 2, top 2, overshirt 2, sandals
Day 3 - bottoms 3, top 3, walking shoes
Day 4 - bottoms 4, top 4, overshirt 3, sandals
Day 5 - bottoms 1, top 5, walking shoes
Day 6 - bottoms 2, top 1, overshirt 2, sandals
Day 7 - bottoms 3, top 2, overshirt 3, walking shoes
Day 8 - bottoms 4, top 3, sandals
Day 9 - bottoms 1, top 4, overshirt 1, walking shoes
Day 10 - bottoms 2, top 5, sandals
Day 11 - bottoms 3, top 1, overshirt 3, walking shoes
Day 12 - bottoms 4, top 2, overshirt 1, sandals
Day 13 - bottoms 1, top 3, walking shoes
Day 14 - bottoms 2, top 4, overshirt 2, sandals
Day 15 - bottoms 3, top 5, walking shoes
Day 16 - bottoms 4, top 1, overshirt 1, sandals
Day 17 - bottoms 1, top 2, overshirt 2, walking shoes
Day 18 - bottoms 2, top 3, sandals
Day 19: flight - bottoms 3, top 4, overshirt 3, walking shoes, jacket
Wear the jacket during the trip as needed. By mixing and matching, you can bring 4 bottoms, 5 tops, and 3 overshirts and never wear the same outfit twice.
My trick for not feeling like I'm wearing a uniform every day is to pick one shoe color (I do brown) and match the jacket to that. Then I use colors for the bottoms that coordinate (olive, khaki, and brown). Then I pick more colorful tops (yellow, salmon, olive, chocolate, and blue). I match the overshirts to the top colors (salmon, olive, and chocolate).
Changing the styles of the tops (not all t-shirts or tanks, but variations with different sleeve lengths - sleeveless, cap, short) creates even more variation to my daily outfit without giving up the mix and match approach.
Depending on where you're going, you can vary your bottoms between pants, capris, shorts, and skirts.
As I'm working it out, I find that using Excel to lay out the options helps. I ususally have an idea of what I'm going to be doing each day, so I just play with the spreadsheet finding the best order to wear the clothes so that each type of day (outdoor, dress up, etc.) is covered without wearing any piece twice in a row.
When I pack, I "bundle" the clothes according to the planned schedule. Then it's easy to grab a bundle in the morning without thinking. When I put things back in the suitcase, I will resort them according to the next group of outfits. Even with unforeseen changes (spills, changes in itinerary, etc.), I find that I wear all my clothes equally and don't end up with pieces never worn.
Feb 7th, 2009, 05:23 PM
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Melbourne had just experienced the hottest day ever recorded 46.4 degrees C or just a shade over 115 degrees F. Today is literally half that 24 degrees C. Having said that you are coming at a lovely time of year and the weather should be a lot more consistent (hopefully).
Fall here in Melbourne is just beautiful. Often with sunny days and coolish nights. It is always said we are cold and rainy but we really haven't seen any good rain for ages. I think you will get reasonably mild to cool weather, probably in the low to mid 70s, so layers is definately the way to go. Cairns should be lovely too and not too humid at that time of year probably in the low to mid 80s. Summer is the worst up there for humidity. Adelaide will be a little warmer than Melbourne.
Casual clothing will be fine with one or two items you can use to dress things up.
The exchange rate is in your favour but I'm not sure you will find our clothing particularly cheap. I worked with an American lady who could not get over the price of our clothing. She thought it was quite expensive. I suppose it is all relative.
Enjoy your trip.
Fall here in Melbourne is just beautiful. Often with sunny days and coolish nights. It is always said we are cold and rainy but we really haven't seen any good rain for ages. I think you will get reasonably mild to cool weather, probably in the low to mid 70s, so layers is definately the way to go. Cairns should be lovely too and not too humid at that time of year probably in the low to mid 80s. Summer is the worst up there for humidity. Adelaide will be a little warmer than Melbourne.
Casual clothing will be fine with one or two items you can use to dress things up.
The exchange rate is in your favour but I'm not sure you will find our clothing particularly cheap. I worked with an American lady who could not get over the price of our clothing. She thought it was quite expensive. I suppose it is all relative.
Enjoy your trip.
