6 Weeks in Aus, must see things ?
Discussion
Ok, so next year I will be in Aus for 6 weeks with the wife and children (boys age 13 and 11 by then)
My Mrs has been before , so shes got some ideas. The only must do's so far are:
Sydney harbour bridge climb
Uluru (just a day trip probably), maybe do a light aircraft tour around it as well
Scuba diving the great barrier reef
Steve Irwins zoo
some kind of outback safari , probably an organised one as I would probably end up dead otherwise
Some kind of rainforest experience up at the top end
Syk diving/bungee jumping for me
Also thinking about hiring a winnebago thing for maybe 2 weeks of just driving around , but Aus is a fecking big place so need to have a proper think about it
Open to suggestions and ideas !
My Mrs has been before , so shes got some ideas. The only must do's so far are:
Sydney harbour bridge climb
Uluru (just a day trip probably), maybe do a light aircraft tour around it as well
Scuba diving the great barrier reef
Steve Irwins zoo
some kind of outback safari , probably an organised one as I would probably end up dead otherwise
Some kind of rainforest experience up at the top end
Syk diving/bungee jumping for me
Also thinking about hiring a winnebago thing for maybe 2 weeks of just driving around , but Aus is a fecking big place so need to have a proper think about it
Open to suggestions and ideas !
Edited by bigdods on Monday 10th May 14:59
Steve Irwins Zoo is over-rated. Try going to a croc farm, that is where it's at - real up close and personal! We found SI a bit 'slick' and touristy. There's a great croc farm north of Cairns.
Why is Fraser not on that list?! Or the Whitsundays? We skydived the Whitsundays - fecking awesome. The view of the islands is just amazing.
Why is Fraser not on that list?! Or the Whitsundays? We skydived the Whitsundays - fecking awesome. The view of the islands is just amazing.
You've obviously already got the Great Barrier Reef but you DEFINITELY need to see it from the air. I would say it's a more memorable experience than actually diving on the reef. You can see how the reef is formed much better from the air and get a real feel for how vast it is, it really looks amazing. From a boat you just don't get a feel for the scale at all as you obviously can't see it as they go out at high tide.
Most of the trips out to the reef are organised that you go out on a boat to a pontoon and dive/snorkel from the pontoon. With most of them you can either fly one way or other in helicopter or take a spin whilst on the reef. I would recommend making one of the journeys as there generally isn't much to see going out to the reef and quite a lot of people get motion sickness on the boat trips. Or you can do a private helicopter excursion.
You also need to go to the Whitsundays and go to Whitehaven Beach...again by air. It's absolutely stunning. You can combine a trip to the reef and Whitehaven by air, there is a sea plane company as well as helicopters that do it I think.
Cairns is well located for things like the Daintree Rainforest and the Reef but it's a bit of a s
t hole. Port Douglas which is a bit further north is much nicer. You can also go white water rafting near Cairns, it's a bit tame but safe and great fun. They make it seem more dangerous by deliberately flipping the boats so you get the adrenalin kick.
The Aquarium and Zoo in Sydney are both pretty good, helped by the amount of unique wildlife they have!
Don't go to Surfers Paradise...it's st hole. A nice enough beach with a lot of tower blocks casting shadows on the beach.....
Most of the trips out to the reef are organised that you go out on a boat to a pontoon and dive/snorkel from the pontoon. With most of them you can either fly one way or other in helicopter or take a spin whilst on the reef. I would recommend making one of the journeys as there generally isn't much to see going out to the reef and quite a lot of people get motion sickness on the boat trips. Or you can do a private helicopter excursion.
You also need to go to the Whitsundays and go to Whitehaven Beach...again by air. It's absolutely stunning. You can combine a trip to the reef and Whitehaven by air, there is a sea plane company as well as helicopters that do it I think.
Cairns is well located for things like the Daintree Rainforest and the Reef but it's a bit of a s
t hole. Port Douglas which is a bit further north is much nicer. You can also go white water rafting near Cairns, it's a bit tame but safe and great fun. They make it seem more dangerous by deliberately flipping the boats so you get the adrenalin kick. The Aquarium and Zoo in Sydney are both pretty good, helped by the amount of unique wildlife they have!
Don't go to Surfers Paradise...it's s
t hole. A nice enough beach with a lot of tower blocks casting shadows on the beach..... Edited by Beardy10 on Monday 10th May 20:49
Edited by Beardy10 on Monday 10th May 20:52
Beardy10 said:
The Aquarium and Zoo in Sydney are both pretty good, helped by the amount of unique wildlife they have!
On the "easy to do" side, I'd definitely agree with this.Also, whilst in Sydney try and do a "Captian Cook" cruise. They're based in Circular Quay, you can't miss them. They're basically a cruise in a posh boat (not historical or owt) around the harbour with food and booze included. You can have a wonder outside whilst cruising (get outside whilst going under the Bridge away from the harbour - great views). We did it a few times and loved it every time. You also get some cheesy club-singer thrown in. Go for the "Gold" or "Superior" or whatever as the choice of food and wine is better.
That said, the last time I did this was circa 8 years ago.
Don't underestimate the driving distances!
Noosa would be my place of choice to stay on the east coast. Fraser Island is also quite cool. I haven't been further north than that on the east coast though.
And for really weird places try Coober Pedy, where they do all the opal mining and live underground. It is quite remote though, you'd only go driving from Adelaide to Alice Springs/Uluru.
Noosa would be my place of choice to stay on the east coast. Fraser Island is also quite cool. I haven't been further north than that on the east coast though.
And for really weird places try Coober Pedy, where they do all the opal mining and live underground. It is quite remote though, you'd only go driving from Adelaide to Alice Springs/Uluru.
Heron Island - Simply stunning. It is worth spending the extra and getting a helicopter transfer so that you can see the reef from the air.
http://www.heronisland.com/
http://www.heronisland.com/
I think you'd struggle to do Ayres rock in a day, so why not combine it with your outback trip. We flew from Adelaide to Coober Pedy, then got the bus to Alice Springs. From there we took a 3 day tour of Ayres rock, The Olgas and Kings Canyon, camping out, cooking over the campfire etc - excellent! There's quite a few that do it. The one we went with did sunset at ayres rock, and sunrise at the olgas (because sunrise at ayres rock is basically sunset in reverse).
Would also recommend a sailing trip round the Whitsundays, and a jetboat ride round Darling Harbour in Sydney.
Have fun!
Would also recommend a sailing trip round the Whitsundays, and a jetboat ride round Darling Harbour in Sydney.
Have fun!
Ditto on Singapore...I'd also check with someone like Trailfinders on business class. I know you have four people to pay for but you might be surprised at the deals you can get.
Also make sure you get a flight that leaves London at night.....most of the flights tend to leave at 9 or 10 pm. That way you get on can watch a movie and have dinner and then hopefully get a few hours sleep. Much,much better than getting an earlier flight.
Also make sure you get a flight that leaves London at night.....most of the flights tend to leave at 9 or 10 pm. That way you get on can watch a movie and have dinner and then hopefully get a few hours sleep. Much,much better than getting an earlier flight.
Third for Singapore here.
For the activities, you'd be mad not to do Frasier island, in a 4x4 and camp on the beach (well just off) the dingos wandering around you tent at night is quite something else!
Noosa is also excellent as mentioned above, as is Byron Bay. But be prepared to be swamped by snotty british backpackers on mummy and daddys expenses... Stereotypes matter
Ayers rock will be tough in a day, and as mentioned the sunrise / set is the only way to do it.
If your into your beers there are some cracking microbreweries and pubs in 'The Rocks' area of Sydney.
Also avoid bondi and head to Manly / Northern beaches.
For the activities, you'd be mad not to do Frasier island, in a 4x4 and camp on the beach (well just off) the dingos wandering around you tent at night is quite something else!
Noosa is also excellent as mentioned above, as is Byron Bay. But be prepared to be swamped by snotty british backpackers on mummy and daddys expenses... Stereotypes matter
Ayers rock will be tough in a day, and as mentioned the sunrise / set is the only way to do it.
If your into your beers there are some cracking microbreweries and pubs in 'The Rocks' area of Sydney.
Also avoid bondi and head to Manly / Northern beaches.
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