What to do in Australia?
Discussion
He He, some lucky person is leaving the UK on July 11th to live in Sydney for 4 months and travel Aus and New Zealand for the next two!
Question is what do I need to see when I am out there, I am trying to find out everything there is to go at, including all the petrolhead stuff!
So what should I see, what is unmissable in Australia?
My basic route at the moment is:
London to Sydney, then travelling from November to January: Sydney to Cairns, Cairns to Perth, Perth to Christchurch, Christchurch to Auckland, Auckland to Sydney, Sydney to London!
Fire away folks
Question is what do I need to see when I am out there, I am trying to find out everything there is to go at, including all the petrolhead stuff!
So what should I see, what is unmissable in Australia?
My basic route at the moment is:
London to Sydney, then travelling from November to January: Sydney to Cairns, Cairns to Perth, Perth to Christchurch, Christchurch to Auckland, Auckland to Sydney, Sydney to London!
Fire away folks
Ben - are you working in Sydney?
I used to live there.
Given you are staying in the Sydney area - you MUST not miss:
1) A visit to Bondi Beach - just to say you've done it. There's a nice walk and the "wildlife" can be very entertaining! Its not that special - its just that its the nearest best beach to the city.
2) Harbour Bridge - climb it.
3) Opera House - at least go look at it!
4) Breakfast at Circular Quay.
5) Dinner at the many fabulous Thai and asian restaurants on Oxford street - if its still there have the yabbies at the Angkor Wat Cambodian place.
6) BYO to whatever places you eat - a Sydney tradition!
7) Walk around "The Rocks" - very interesting. Do it in the day to see the touristy stuff and at night to visit the bars. Remember to wear a short with a collar and avoid trainers - someplaces can be surprisingly stuffy about these things in Aus...
8) Tour the city and see some of the architecture - and how the areas vary. Surry Hills is interesting...and visit the parks.
9) At the weekend get out of the city:
a) You MUST see the Blue Mountains. Superb scenery, close to Sydney. Terrific walks - not for the faint hearted.
b) The Hunter Valley - I don't give a shit if you don't drink wine - you HAVE to tour the closest wine region to Sydney. Buy wine direct from the manufacturers, as it were, preferably the small guys operating out of small farms and marketing the stuff from their garage! Stay at "Peppers" (or something) if you can afford it --- NICE!
There's so much to do in Sydney - four months doesn't do it justice. Keep in touch via PH. If I remember extra things I'll post 'em. I still have a Sydney A-Z, lots of books, and a LOT of happy memories.
Cairns: Cairns is a bit of a dissappointment. The town is.....c**p. What you can DO from the town is excellent though. You MUST see the Reef. Do everything. Tour. Glass floored boat. "Submarine" - actually a boat with a huge glass viewing gallery at the bottom. If you can stand the mask etc go scuba diving.
Depending on your budget Cairns has every type of accomodation. The big tourist hotels are very comfortable. I chose to stay well out of Cairns, myself....
Visit Port Douglas. A friend of mine retired there...wonderful place (if overfull of grockles now)..and do the tourist stuff - however tacky - its fun!
If you are really adventurous head further north and hire a 4WD to head down the dirt tracks into Queensland. Not for me....but maybe for you?
Errrmmmm. Probably more but I can't remember it now.
New Zealand: I've only done the South Island myself - but its unmissable. Milford and Doubtful Sound in Fjordland are musts - as is some Glacier trips. I hired a BMW Z3 (crap - but the roof came off) to really soak up the most fabulous scenery. Its the only place where, quite genuinely, around every corner the view gets better and better. In the South Island you have to visit Queenstown and tour the Otago Valley to see the wine region. Brilliant Pinot Noir.
ENJOY! Let us know how you are getting on. If you want any advice regarding specifics I'll be happy to give you my recollections - if I still remember - and if they're still valid ten years on!
I used to live there.
Given you are staying in the Sydney area - you MUST not miss:
1) A visit to Bondi Beach - just to say you've done it. There's a nice walk and the "wildlife" can be very entertaining! Its not that special - its just that its the nearest best beach to the city.
2) Harbour Bridge - climb it.
3) Opera House - at least go look at it!
4) Breakfast at Circular Quay.
5) Dinner at the many fabulous Thai and asian restaurants on Oxford street - if its still there have the yabbies at the Angkor Wat Cambodian place.
6) BYO to whatever places you eat - a Sydney tradition!
7) Walk around "The Rocks" - very interesting. Do it in the day to see the touristy stuff and at night to visit the bars. Remember to wear a short with a collar and avoid trainers - someplaces can be surprisingly stuffy about these things in Aus...
8) Tour the city and see some of the architecture - and how the areas vary. Surry Hills is interesting...and visit the parks.
9) At the weekend get out of the city:
a) You MUST see the Blue Mountains. Superb scenery, close to Sydney. Terrific walks - not for the faint hearted.
b) The Hunter Valley - I don't give a shit if you don't drink wine - you HAVE to tour the closest wine region to Sydney. Buy wine direct from the manufacturers, as it were, preferably the small guys operating out of small farms and marketing the stuff from their garage! Stay at "Peppers" (or something) if you can afford it --- NICE!
There's so much to do in Sydney - four months doesn't do it justice. Keep in touch via PH. If I remember extra things I'll post 'em. I still have a Sydney A-Z, lots of books, and a LOT of happy memories.
Cairns: Cairns is a bit of a dissappointment. The town is.....c**p. What you can DO from the town is excellent though. You MUST see the Reef. Do everything. Tour. Glass floored boat. "Submarine" - actually a boat with a huge glass viewing gallery at the bottom. If you can stand the mask etc go scuba diving.
Depending on your budget Cairns has every type of accomodation. The big tourist hotels are very comfortable. I chose to stay well out of Cairns, myself....
Visit Port Douglas. A friend of mine retired there...wonderful place (if overfull of grockles now)..and do the tourist stuff - however tacky - its fun!
If you are really adventurous head further north and hire a 4WD to head down the dirt tracks into Queensland. Not for me....but maybe for you?
Errrmmmm. Probably more but I can't remember it now.
New Zealand: I've only done the South Island myself - but its unmissable. Milford and Doubtful Sound in Fjordland are musts - as is some Glacier trips. I hired a BMW Z3 (crap - but the roof came off) to really soak up the most fabulous scenery. Its the only place where, quite genuinely, around every corner the view gets better and better. In the South Island you have to visit Queenstown and tour the Otago Valley to see the wine region. Brilliant Pinot Noir.
ENJOY! Let us know how you are getting on. If you want any advice regarding specifics I'll be happy to give you my recollections - if I still remember - and if they're still valid ten years on!
If its Aussie motorsports you are after try and get to the Bathurst 1000 V8 sportscar race, its held November time I think.
When I went I hired a car and drove there and back from Sydney in the same day, but I wouldn’t recommend it (and I wouldn’t do it again!) as it’s a long way. A stopover in Katoomba & the Blue Mountains is the way to go I think.
While watching the racing at Bathurst I happened to glance down at my feet only to see a brown snake at my feet, you don’t tend to get that at Donnington!
Have a good trip,
Al.
When I went I hired a car and drove there and back from Sydney in the same day, but I wouldn’t recommend it (and I wouldn’t do it again!) as it’s a long way. A stopover in Katoomba & the Blue Mountains is the way to go I think.
While watching the racing at Bathurst I happened to glance down at my feet only to see a brown snake at my feet, you don’t tend to get that at Donnington!
Have a good trip,
Al.
Thanks for all the info Don, a very good guide to Sydney indeed.
I do want to try and do some PH type stuff out there but the budget will be fairly tight as I am a student so not much cash.
Going to try and do the backpackers travel thang round Eastern Aus and New Zealand if possible depending on the time.
I am studying in Sydney from July to November at UNSW so should get plenty of chance to explore the city!
I will be keeping on PH when I manage to get the time in between exploring though
Keep the ideas coming folks!
I do want to try and do some PH type stuff out there but the budget will be fairly tight as I am a student so not much cash.
Going to try and do the backpackers travel thang round Eastern Aus and New Zealand if possible depending on the time.
I am studying in Sydney from July to November at UNSW so should get plenty of chance to explore the city!
I will be keeping on PH when I manage to get the time in between exploring though
Keep the ideas coming folks!
Many backpackers end up buying a car to do this type of trip. Car hire is expensive and busses limiting, buying gives you the freedom to make yer own road.
Couple of friends bought an old 4 litre 6cyl Cortina and drove Sydney to Cairns in it then back to Byron before flogging it to another backpacker for pretty much the same ammount of money (about $300 iirc)
I had a vw van that I bought for a grand stuck an engine in it and sold a year later for the same money (was a few years ago but principle is the same)
The SMH classifieds sometimes carry cheap car ads but the auctions or other backpackers are the way to go for real cheap transport.
If you get a basic Aussie car it will usually survive the worst, all the bits that can fall off will have already done so and you are left with basic transport that can be fixed in any outback town by visiting the local scrappy.
All presumes you are a bit mechanical and prepared to discover new towns and make friends with scrapyard dogs.
>> Edited by willmcc on Monday 2nd May 17:27
Couple of friends bought an old 4 litre 6cyl Cortina and drove Sydney to Cairns in it then back to Byron before flogging it to another backpacker for pretty much the same ammount of money (about $300 iirc)
I had a vw van that I bought for a grand stuck an engine in it and sold a year later for the same money (was a few years ago but principle is the same)
The SMH classifieds sometimes carry cheap car ads but the auctions or other backpackers are the way to go for real cheap transport.
If you get a basic Aussie car it will usually survive the worst, all the bits that can fall off will have already done so and you are left with basic transport that can be fixed in any outback town by visiting the local scrappy.
All presumes you are a bit mechanical and prepared to discover new towns and make friends with scrapyard dogs.
>> Edited by willmcc on Monday 2nd May 17:27
willmcc said:
Many backpackers end up buying a car to do this type of trip. Car hire is expensive and busses limiting, buying gives you the freedom to make yer own road.
Couple of friends bought an old 4 litre 6cyl Cortina and drove Sydney to Cairns in it then back to Byron before flogging it to another backpacker for pretty much the same ammount of money (about $300 iirc)
I had a vw van that I bought for a grand stuck an engine in it and sold a year later for the same money (was a few years ago but principle is the same)
The SMH classifieds sometimes carry cheap car ads but the auctions or other backpackers are the way to go for real cheap transport.
If you get a basic Aussie car it will usually survive the worst, all the bits that can fall off will have already done so and you are left with basic transport that can be fixed in any outback town by visiting the local scrappy.
All presumes you are a bit mechanical and prepared to discover new towns and make friends with scrapyard dogs.
>> Edited by willmcc on Monday 2nd May 17:27
Will, that sounds like a great idea but would I as a 19 year old with only 2 years on my driving licence be able to go out there and buy a car even for a few weeks travelling?
I would absolutely love to try that idea but I fear it could be quite pricey. What about things like petrol, insurance, taxing the car, would it be possible to sell it after a couple of weeks with only a little loss??
tax and insurance are the same in NSW ie basic insurance is included in the tax, there may be age limits though there is a curfew on young drivers in some states. You need someone living there now to tell you.
the other option is to go halves with some other travellers, any of the sydney hostels will have loads of lifts offered and wanted on the notice boards.
the otehr thing you may find however is that the trip does go on longer thatn you planned. Mine (done when older) turned into a four year stint in the end.
the other option is to go halves with some other travellers, any of the sydney hostels will have loads of lifts offered and wanted on the notice boards.
the otehr thing you may find however is that the trip does go on longer thatn you planned. Mine (done when older) turned into a four year stint in the end.
If you buy a car, or a share in a car, with a rego sticker on the windscreen then the car is 3rd party insured. Providing the car still has ticket on it when you return you will sell it no problem.
Going the route of lifts is perfectly possible just have to compromise a little on routes though.
Gas is cheap and out of Sydney pretty much everything else is as well.
You can drive on UK license for a month but I never heard of anyone getting any trouble doing it for up to a year, took me two years to take the test in the end.
Going the route of lifts is perfectly possible just have to compromise a little on routes though.
Gas is cheap and out of Sydney pretty much everything else is as well.
You can drive on UK license for a month but I never heard of anyone getting any trouble doing it for up to a year, took me two years to take the test in the end.
Couple of useful links :-
Great restaurant in Sydney :-
www.bayswaterbrasserie.com.au/
Sydney bridge climb :-
www.bridgeclimb.com/
Great hotel in Sydney (yes it is the one in Project Gotham Racing 2) :-
http://sydney.park.hyatt.com/
Last time we were in Sydney we refreshed our memories of all of the above and they were just as good as we remembered.
OZ & NZ - God's playground... enjoy!
Great restaurant in Sydney :-
www.bayswaterbrasserie.com.au/
Sydney bridge climb :-
www.bridgeclimb.com/
Great hotel in Sydney (yes it is the one in Project Gotham Racing 2) :-
http://sydney.park.hyatt.com/
Last time we were in Sydney we refreshed our memories of all of the above and they were just as good as we remembered.
OZ & NZ - God's playground... enjoy!
The sites around Perth include
Wave Rock
The Pinnacles
Rottnest Island
Freemantle and its Prison
The Old Mint
Down to the South Coast and you have Albury (spelling) and its whaling station and the Tree Top Walk in the Valley of the Giants.
Tours are arranged to all of these from Perth.
Wave Rock
The Pinnacles
Rottnest Island
Freemantle and its Prison
The Old Mint
Down to the South Coast and you have Albury (spelling) and its whaling station and the Tree Top Walk in the Valley of the Giants.
Tours are arranged to all of these from Perth.
willmcc said:
If you buy a car, or a share in a car, with a rego sticker on the windscreen then the car is 3rd party insured. Providing the car still has ticket on it when you return you will sell it no problem.
Going the route of lifts is perfectly possible just have to compromise a little on routes though.
Gas is cheap and out of Sydney pretty much everything else is as well.
You can drive on UK license for a month but I never heard of anyone getting any trouble doing it for up to a year, took me two years to take the test in the end.
I am now very tempted by this plan, I would like to visit places like Broken Hill and Hunter Valley while in Sydney so maybe a car for the weekend, bought rather than hired, could be the answer. If I purchased a rego stickered car at auction on a Friday, drove it for two days and brought it back to sell on a Monday, I should just about be able to sell shouldn't I???
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