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Australia 2022 Land of Big Bitey Things


budmiester1

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After our trip to Orlando with the extended family bit the dust this year, the better half and I have decided to go to Australia win March 2022. Our plan is to fly into Sydney for 6 nights, fly to Brisbane for 3/4 nights then up to Cairns for 6 nights. We intend to head out from Sydney to the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley for day trips leaving us about 3 days for the city itself. Brisbane I think we'll just use as a relax time unless anyone has some ideas for something different to do. As for Cairns we are planning on the Barrier Reef , Rainforest etc with again some down time lying by the pool etc. 

Has anyone done something similar or any suggestions for places to visit, eat etc ?

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On 21/09/2020 at 20:47, budmiester1 said:

After our trip to Orlando with the extended family bit the dust this year, the better half and I have decided to go to Australia win March 2022. Our plan is to fly into Sydney for 6 nights, fly to Brisbane for 3/4 nights then up to Cairns for 6 nights. We intend to head out from Sydney to the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley for day trips leaving us about 3 days for the city itself. Brisbane I think we'll just use as a relax time unless anyone has some ideas for something different to do. As for Cairns we are planning on the Barrier Reef , Rainforest etc with again some down time lying by the pool etc. 

Has anyone done something similar or any suggestions for places to visit, eat etc ?

Lived in Sydney for two and a half years. It's a wonderful city to live in, but even 3 days in the city itself as a tourist might be a bit of a stretch. We lived on the north side of the harbour in Kirribilli, and people would come to visit us for two weeks, then as soon as they stepped off the train at our station they'd immediately see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, and there's your two highlights of the city done in 30 seconds. I would definitely recommend walking across the Harbour Bridge, and if you're looking for beaches then I'd say Bondi is better than Manly - also if you like walking then the Bondi to Coogee walk is very good. Might be a bit hot to do that in March if you're not good with the heat. Manly does have the advantage of having a nice ferry ride out to it though.

I really liked Brisbane, but again like most Australian cities there's not a ton of actual tourist attractions there. The city beach bit and the stuff round about it are quite nice for just having a relaxing afternoon. Lots of nice stuff down by the river too. Cairns is your sort of archetypal tourist town, definitely the opportunity to do all sorts of stuff there. The rainforest at Kuranda is definitely worth visiting, and we also took a drive in towards the tablelands which has lots of nice waterfalls, some of which you can swim up to. Some of the beaches up to the north of Cairns are beautiful too.

Edited by craigkillie
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On 22/09/2020 at 10:54, craigkillie said:

Lived in Sydney for two and a half years. It's a wonderful city to live in, but even 3 days in the city itself as a tourist might be a bit of a stretch. We lived on the north side of the harbour in Kirribilli, and people would come to visit us for two weeks, then as soon as they stepped off the train at our station they'd immediately see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, and there's your two highlights of the city done in 30 seconds. I would definitely recommend walking across the Harbour Bridge, and if you're looking for breaches then I'd say Bondi is better than Manly - also if you like walking then the Bondi to Coogee walk is very good. Might be a bit hot to do that in March if you're not good with the heat. Manly does have the advantage of having a nice ferry ride out to it though.

I really liked Brisbane, but again like most Australian cities there's not a ton of actual tourist attractions there. The city beach bit and the stuff round about it are quite nice for just having a relaxing afternoon. Lots of nice stuff down by the river too. Cairns is your sort of archetypal tourist town, definitely the opportunity to do all sorts of stuff there. The rainforest at Kuranda is definitely worth visiting, and we also took a drive in towards the tablelands which has lots of nice waterfalls, some of which you can swim up to. Some of the beaches up to the north of Cairns are beautiful too.

Thanks Craigkillie. 

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On 21/09/2020 at 20:47, budmiester1 said:

After our trip to Orlando with the extended family bit the dust this year, the better half and I have decided to go to Australia win March 2022. Our plan is to fly into Sydney for 6 nights, fly to Brisbane for 3/4 nights then up to Cairns for 6 nights. We intend to head out from Sydney to the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley for day trips leaving us about 3 days for the city itself. Brisbane I think we'll just use as a relax time unless anyone has some ideas for something different to do. As for Cairns we are planning on the Barrier Reef , Rainforest etc with again some down time lying by the pool etc. 

Has anyone done something similar or any suggestions for places to visit, eat etc ?

We went to Australia & New Zealand for just over a month 3 years ago when we retired, and while in Australia stayed in Melbourne (my favourite place in Australia) , Sydney, Port Douglas and Brisbane (for 1 night).

As has been mentioned above you need to do the harbour bridge walk - it is a great experience.  We did it later in the day so started off when t was light and finished in the dark, which was great.  There is a museum under one of the pylons, which is worthwhile seeing, and the admission was included in our tickets for the walk. 

We did the tour of the Opera House (the guy who did it came from Lanark) and it was okay, nothing special. The Botannic Gardens are nearby and are quite good to spend some time in. There's an open air swimming pool nearby as well if you are interested. 

We went to both Manly and Bondi beaches and while we spent more time on Manly, I preferred Bondi beach.  The ferries are at the jetty next to the Opera House. 

When we stayed near Port Douglas we did a trip via Quicksilver to the Barrier Reef (Agincourt Reef) - whilst there you can scuba dive, snorkel, take a helicopter ride over the reef (which we did).  I would say though that there is a lot of bleaching of the reefs so the colours are not that great. 

We also did a full day tour of Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation, which was fantastic. The scenery and views were brilliant and there was quite a lot of wildlife to see if you are interested in that sort of thing. 

Brisbane was where we flew home from so only had 1 day there; we enjoyed the city beach area.

Australia is a fantastic place to go to and was the final continent I had to visit, which made it extra special. 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 22/09/2020 at 05:47, budmiester1 said:

After our trip to Orlando with the extended family bit the dust this year, the better half and I have decided to go to Australia win March 2022. Our plan is to fly into Sydney for 6 nights, fly to Brisbane for 3/4 nights then up to Cairns for 6 nights. We intend to head out from Sydney to the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley for day trips leaving us about 3 days for the city itself. Brisbane I think we'll just use as a relax time unless anyone has some ideas for something different to do. As for Cairns we are planning on the Barrier Reef , Rainforest etc with again some down time lying by the pool etc. 

Has anyone done something similar or any suggestions for places to visit, eat etc ?

I dont think you can come all the way here and not got to Melbourne. I normally find that there is alot more going on in Melbourne for a tourist than any of the other cities. March 2021 should be the Grand Prix, the start of the AFL and some pretty good grade horse racing. You also have quite a large theatre district with well known shows touring.

I would say your time in Cairns is too long. It is the Blackpool of Australia, and only really serves as an entrance to the reef. One good, but quite expensive, alternative way to see the reef is to go to Hamilton Island. Direct flights from all major cities, nice resort island with some good quality accommodation, and some excellent snorkelling round the island (last time I was there there were at least 20 loggerhead turtles in the bay)  and diving a bit further out (about a 1 hr sail from the island).

For the Hunter Valley tours, use this guy: https://gourmetgetawaytours.com.au/about/  The tour is excellent and well worth the money. He will pick you up from your Sydney hotel. Blue Mountains are nice, the Australians love them, but for people from Scotland they are a little underwhelming.

For the bridge, walk over it and go up one of the Pylons, dont spend all the money to see what is essentially the same view from the climb. That money could be better spent. There are excellent helicopter flights over the harbour for the same (or less if you are a group) money. Or you could save your money and do a nice meal. Quay and Aria both have amazing views of the Bridge and Opera House for a special meal.

If you were to cut down Cairns and cut out the Mountain day you would be able to do either Melbourne, or you could drive from Sydney to Brisbane. The stops up the cost from Sydney tBrisbane, such as Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Byron etc are all really nice and all in it is only around 10/11 hours of driving time from city to city

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^^ Pretty much what he said re Melbourne. Melbourne Comedy Festival is also on in March.

In Sydney the Bondi to Coogee walk mentioned earlier is excellent. Catching the ferries around Sydney Harbour is cheap and a great way to see the sights. 

Brisbane is a bit meh. If you're looking for relax time then heading out to the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast would be better than staying in the city. 

Same deal with Cairns, the city itself is awash with drunken backpackers but head 60 km north to Port Douglas for a more sedate atmosphere. Plenty of reef excursions from there as well. March is still in wet season in FNQ which might close some of the rainforest roads and affect time lying by the pool. 

Road trip is a good idea if you want to get outside the big cities but don't do Melbourne-Sydney: long boring drive.

You also need to familiarise yourself with this:

ozbeersize.jpg

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^^ as above, Sunshine Coast more laid back than gold coast, especially Coolum Beach.

Whoever put together the beer chart doesn’t know what their beer. SA is only place where a schooner is stupidly called a pint (425ml).

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4 hours ago, Arabdownunder said:

^^ Pretty much what he said re Melbourne. Melbourne Comedy Festival is also on in March.

In Sydney the Bondi to Coogee walk mentioned earlier is excellent. Catching the ferries around Sydney Harbour is cheap and a great way to see the sights. 

Brisbane is a bit meh. If you're looking for relax time then heading out to the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast would be better than staying in the city. 

Same deal with Cairns, the city itself is awash with drunken backpackers but head 60 km north to Port Douglas for a more sedate atmosphere. Plenty of reef excursions from there as well. March is still in wet season in FNQ which might close some of the rainforest roads and affect time lying by the pool. 

Road trip is a good idea if you want to get outside the big cities but don't do Melbourne-Sydney: long boring drive.

You also need to familiarise yourself with this:

ozbeersize.jpg

So that's how it works? Thanks a lot for reminding us!

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The Victorian scale is a bit weird, don't think there are many pubs you would order a schooner in, apart from wanky bars who'll charge the same price as a pint.

A pot or a pint is the general measurement here.

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Thanks everyone so far for your suggestions. We’ve thought a bit more about Cairns and are thinking about following the suggestion of Port Douglas as it looks a bit more relaxed and closer to Daintree etc. I’m not really into the idea of a road trip up the coast as I’ve done a few in the States and would prefer to fly to spend more time sightseeing ( visiting bars 🤪) We could dump Brisbane for Melbourne as it looks more like a a place to visit with a bit more cultural side to it than Brisbane has, just need to check flights are available from Melbourne up to Cairns for Port Douglas.

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In Melbourne the tour of the MCG is recommended and they do a joint ticket with a visit to the National Australian Sports Museum which adjoins the MCG. The museum is absolutely superb and incorporates the Australian Sports Hall of Fame. We were lucky to visit on a day when there were no school trips so the interactive stuff wasn’t clogged up. 
Also worth getting the tram down from the city centre to St Kilda....go to the terminus at Ackland Street and there are loads of great bars and restaurants.  A few stops back from the terminus the beach area is great too. In the city, Southbank is the best for nightlife. 

somewhere a bit different to travel to is Hobart. It is very different from other Australian cities and a bit like a step back in time. There were lots of flights from Melbourne and they were very cheap........at that time (2019).  The boat tour from the harbour is worthwhile and the harbour area / Salamanca Street good for eating and drinking. A trip to the Bonorrong Nature Reserve to fed the kangaroos that have been injured  in road accidents is also worthwhile. 2 -3 nights is probably enough in Hobart though.

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We've decided to have 5 days in Sydney,Port Douglas and Melbourne, this should give us plenty of time to see what we want and still have some downtime to relax. We'll drop our trip to the Hunter Valley wine country and replace it with Yarra Valley. Tynierose and Drewmc thanks for your suggestions , certainly has given us some good ideas.

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