Touring Australia

[GSE]

I'm seriously considering a visit down under, sooner rather than later!

I'm thinking of .... fly to Thailand for a couple of weeks, then fly to Perth. From there on I would like to tour the south coast .... probably in a camper to start, and then somewhere on route, pick up an HSV - I'll need to hire one - and then drive to Canberra and Sydney, possibly Cairns. The trip is open ended, I'll have no deadline to return to the UK.

Want to see the country, the wildlife, the cities ;) and of course meet up with some of the Holden clubs en-route.

Any advice, and/or contacts re the camper van, and a Monaro, would be most welcome.

Been working renovating a flat for the last six months (it's almost finished!) I need a hoilday ;)

[raggyman]

Can recommend alot of places to go and see that is for sure. Would put on your list, Mackay and the Whitsundays, can show you a couple of cool places to go and stay on route as well.

[HSVGTSCoupe]

big place... lots to do & see
If there is one must see though I agree it's the Whitsunday Islands. Best thing is to hire a yacht for 5 days (self drive or with your own skipper) and just cruise around hundreds of miles of unspoilt islands. Ironically, the Oz winter (jun-Sep) can be the best time for this area although if you are heading south (Melb or Adelaide) the winter is a bit cooler (similar to UK spring or Autumn). Punch "whitsundays" & "yacht" into google.com.au and enjoy!

[qldmick]

Hey GSE
Try monarent.com.au or [e-mail] for HSV/Monaro hire. If you get down Melbourne way,HSV are at Clayton east of Mlb, and you can have a look around there.In the same area are Sandown raceway and some of the V8 Supercar teams,e.g Larry Perkins is at Moorabin airfield. There's a tidy motel on Princes Highway called Dandenong Motel. All of these are within about half an hours drive of each other.
You can't go to Aus without going to Sydney for the Opera House,Bondi,Manly and that bridge.Most of Queeensland is superb from the Gold Coast northwards. If you get as far as Cairns,take Quicksilver to the Great Barrier Reef. A must!, or take GTOs advice and stop at The Whitsundays.
It's all about time and money,and how much you've got of both. Don't underestimate how big Australia is. DO IT. Envious or what!

[motomk]

Don't underestimate the distances involved!!
You will love Perth! It is a bit cut off from the rest of the world but it is a clean and pretty city. Be aware, it does get very hot between January and March but it is dry heat. The South west stays a bit cooler normally. Albany, Margaret River and Augusta are nice tourist type places. York, out to the east of Perth is a time warp type place!
I would at least fly from Perth to Adelaide/Melbourne or Sydney and start again over that side of the country!
Melbourne has a lot of museums. Healsville (animals), Great Ocean Road (great drive/apostles whats left of them!), Philip island (penguins), Ballarat (Sovereign Hill gold town) Has the commonwealth games next year so prices might go up a bit.
Queensland is obviously the flash tourism area. Beaches/islands/weather/a reef/rain forest.
Holden Factory is in Adelaide, HSV in Melbourne as already mentioned. Bathurst is on towards the end of year too.

Tourism sites
WA - www.westernaustralia.com/en/
SA - www.southaustralia.com/home.asp
VIC - www.visitvictoria.com/
- www.visitmelbourne.com/
NSW - www.visitnsw.com.au/
QLD - www.queenslandholidays.com.au/
TAS - www.discovertasmania.com/home/
NT - www.travelnt.com/
ACT - www.canberratourism.com.au/

Airlines
www.qantas.com
www.virginblue.com.au
www.jetstar.com.au
www.flightcentre.com.au

motomk

[ringram]

Forget australia. Too many ozzies there. Head to NZ, much nicer scenery. Plenty of Holdens and HSV's there too. Plus you get to see a much nicer country.

Rich

[GSE]

Great info, thanks all!

Going to start getting some plans down on paper over the weekend.

Paul.

>> Edited by GSE on Saturday 9th July 13:29

[EH*ROB]

[quote]Forget australia. Too many ozzies there. Head to NZ, much nicer scenery. Plenty of Holdens and HSV's there too. Plus you get to see a much nicer country.

Rich [/quote]

Plus You go back 50 yrs in time,

[qldmick]

G'day Rob
re;NZ
Didn't know you were a bitch too.

[island boy hsv]

You always get this when talking about Australia and New Zeeland. Each country is the best place to live in the world according to its inhabitants. I think you need to sample both places, as they are so close to each other. My recommendation you be not to fill you itinerary too much an allow you self some flexibility so that if you find somewhere you like you can stay a little longer.

[HSVGTSCoupe]

Isn't NZ part of Australia????
www.42below.co.nz/flashad/storyof42.html
hehehehehehehehehehehe

[EH*ROB]

[quote]G'day Rob
re;NZ
Didn't know you were a bitch too.[/quote]

You know me mate, like to stir it.

Nice place NZ if your a Sheep,

You all know the best place on Earth is, AUSTRALIA

>> Edited by EH*ROB on Monday 11th July 11:32

[jagsy]

Never mind thinking about a visit to Oz we are on out way. We land in Melbourne on 24 October 2005 for 15 days - Nick watch out for a loud northern git

Hang on, never mind a trip to Oz, we are working on emigrating......

Had a great 1st stage interview last week, fingers crossed for the next stage. Bear in mind this is the first interview of what could be many, but Lynne Dan and I are in the throws of moving.

Any interest in a stunning Tiger Pearl HSV?

[EH*ROB]

Glad you have finally gone for it,

Good luck mate !! It will take at least 1 yr to sort out,

As you know I'm trying to get my English family & I back to Aus, ours has been going from last Nov, & I'm Australian. Should know more in 2 weeks,

Rob.

[qldmick]

Well done Richard, fingers crossed eh mate.
Has Lynne found a house yet?
Regards
Mick

[GSE]

Trip booked at the travel agent today

19 sept - out to Thailand for 2 weeks, after this I fly to Perth, will be travelling around on a combination of camper van, train/plane and Monaro hire car, hope to make my way across to the gold coast and Sydney by Early November then possibly a stop back in Thailand or Singapore, returning home late November.

Any recommendations for Australia Perth and for the aus rail service between stops?

Whats the best driving road? I want to run in a camper for a while from Perth, to get used to the roads, but from some point in, I'll be in a Monaro so I want to reserve that for the best roads.

Really looking forward to this one I can hardly wait - it's been a long time coming

Oh, and if anybody wants to buy a particularly nice one bedroom fully refurbished Victorian appartment/bungalow, in the heart of historic Stansted Mountfitchet - send me a pm
_________________
2002 ----- 2003: MY01 TTC 225 bhp
2003 ----- 2004: MY03 Boxster S 260 bhp
2004 -- present: MY04 Monaro V8 430 bhp

[Strife]

In Perth head up to kings park where you will get great views of the city.

Early on during your visit to Perth head down to the city of Fremantle for a day, you might find you want to visit it a second time.

For the beach, head West of Perth and then North, lots of nice beaches.

[Strife]

Whats the best driving road?

How far are you going?
If your heading to the eastern states, head towards Kalgoorlie which is a nice long long road... take lots of Water!

edit to add:
Kalgoorlie would not be the best route for a visitor wanting to see the country, it is the fastest driving route east. I recon you want to head south from Perth and follow the coastal roads to Albany then east to Adelaide, SA. You could still visit Kalgoorlie on your trip, check it out on a map.


>> Edited by Strife on Friday 2nd September 20:18

[V-Car]

Gday GSE, if you need anything while youre in Perth, dont hesitate to contact me. Happy to help if i can.
Ive emailed my details to you.
Cheers.
Ross.

[GSE]

V-Car many thanks I have your details.

Here's my itenary:

Mon 19th Sept -> flight Bkk/Gulf of Thailand for 2 weeks
Wed 5th Oct -> flight Perth - Hotel/Camper van 10 days
Tue 18th Oct ->flight Perth -> Ayers rock
Wed 19th Friday 21st Oct 4x4 to Alice Springs Red Centre discovery trail
Fri 21st Oct flight Alice Springs -> Melbourne
Sat 22nd Oct Melbourne combo of Monaro Hire car (visit to Holden/HSV) and good hotels drive/cruise thru Canberra Sydney to Gold coast Brisbane
Sun 6th Nov flight Brisbane ->Sydney where on the same day I pick up flight back to Bkk / Gulf Thailand for 5 days
Fri Nov 11th depart home to Heathrow.