I am heading to Oz for 3 weeks in November with my missus. I have a few friends in Sydney that we would like to visit but the rest of the trip is an open book at the moment. Any recommendations of where to go and where not to go ? ( never been before )
Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road...I would go back in a heartbeat if i had the chance
Quote from: The Real Laoislad on August 29, 2008, 04:19:12 PM
Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road...I would go back in a heartbeat if i had the chance
Will second that, spent part of my honeymoon in Melbourne, fantastic city, defo do the Great Ocean Road, try and do the helicopter ride over the 12 Apostales absolutely outstanding, go to St Kilda, also did the Penguin parade, was ok but their is a farm on the way to it was great, was able to get up close and personal with the Roos, Wallabys, Emus etcc ;)
Quote from: Gaoth Dobhair Abu on August 29, 2008, 04:31:56 PM
Quote from: The Real Laoislad on August 29, 2008, 04:19:12 PM
Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road...I would go back in a heartbeat if i had the chance
Will second that, spent part of my honeymoon in Melbourne, fantastic city, defo do the Great Ocean Road, try and do the helicopter ride over the 12 Apostales absolutely outstanding, go to St Kilda, also did the Penguin parade, was ok but their is a farm on the way to it was great, was able to get up close and personal with the Roos, Wallabys, Emus etcc ;)
Thats a good distance down though isn't? Philip Island if a remember correctly..Twas good though..
Also if you head 3 hours up from Melbourne to a place called Mansfield its at the foot of a mountain called MT.Buller it has all year round skiing at the top
Give Ayers Rock a big miss......a massive let down and you probably will waste alot of time getting there and back
For me the "must sees" for Oz are
1 Sydney
2 Melbourne
3 Frasers Island (a must see imo)
4 A meander up the East Coast to see FI, Barrier Reef,Brisbane etc
Should imo be enough for a 3 week trip with alot of chilling thrown in.
Quote from: Canalman on August 29, 2008, 04:54:21 PM
Give Ayers Rock a big miss......a massive let down and you probably will waste alot of time getting there and back
For me the "must sees" for Oz are
1 Sydney
2 Melbourne
3 Frasers Island (a must see imo)
4 A meander up the East Coast to see FI, Barrier Reef,Brisbane etc
Should imo be enough for a 3 week trip with alot of chilling thrown in.
Go even further past Brisbane to Port Douglas...You'll never want to come home
heading there in October myself for the honeymoon, going to Sydney, Ayers Rock, Cairns, Brisbane and Whitsunday Islands, with a stopover in Hong Kong on the way out and Singapore on the way home!! have a load of tours organised when we are in the various cities, so can't wait for it!!
Def. take in the Whitsundays, absolutly lethal couple of days sailing around them and then get to see whitehaven beach! prob the most relaxing few days you could ever spend!
In 3 weeks it would be hectic but i would say try to get to;
Melbourne
Sydney
Brisbane
Whitsundays
Cairns.
Loads of stuff to do at each place like great ocean road, st kilda beach, bondi, darling habour, opera house & bridge and you can a ball of things up the Coast!!!
Frick it is some spot! will def. be back!! ask around before you go to find out about good hostel's to stay in!
Great Ocean road is fantastic and Melbourne is a great city.
On the East Coast, the WhitSundays are amazing. Pay a bit extra to go on a smaller boat. Its worth it. Some of the bigger boats there are just 24 hr party boats with minimal sleeping room. If its a honeymoon she would not be impressed!!
Frazier Island is fantastic and well worth the visit. Very basic facilities though.
Bondi has a fantastic surf beach. That's it.
I would doubt if you would have time but the West Coast of Australia is fantastic. Margaret River, Rottness Island, Perth, Exmouth(esp if the whale sharks are in, unreal) and Coral bay for a snorkel with a reef thats still in one piece.
Take yourself over to the most beautiful part of Australia, the Kimberley and the Pilbara regions. I swear you will never see colours or lightning displays like those which occur every night from just east of Newman across the Hamersley Range to west of Paraburdoo. Nor will you see torquoise water and pindan red soil like that in the Kimberley. The last great wilderness in the world. Actually get there before BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are given permission to rape the land.
Quote from: Aerlik on August 29, 2008, 06:45:53 PM
Take yourself over to the most beautiful part of Australia, the Kimberley and the Pilbara regions. I swear you will never see colours or lightning displays like those which occur every night from just east of Newman across the Hamersley Range to west of Paraburdoo. Nor will you see torquoise water and pindan red soil like that in the Kimberley. The last great wilderness in the world. Actually get there before BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are given permission to rape the land.
Seconded. Bringing back good memories Aerlik
Also doin the honeymoon in Oz in January almost 4 weeks.
Spending first 3 nights in Melbourne, then planned to do the Ocean Road, but wasnt sure how many days or nights we should take to do this before flying onto Sydney. Was planning 2 days/ 2 nights. Is this giving us enough time??
Have hotel booked in Melmourne and was just planning to hire a care and book a hostle or two on the road.
good stuff lads, much appreciated. Going to fly in and out of sydney. Staying in most reasonably priced hotels and hostels along the way how much money do you think I will need to have for the 3 weeks including internal flights ( if I was to say take 4 there ) 3.5k or so ??
Quote from: stpauls on August 29, 2008, 05:35:53 PM
heading there in October myself for the honeymoon, going to Sydney, Ayers Rock, Cairns, Brisbane and Whitsunday Islands, with a stopover in Hong Kong on the way out and Singapore on the way home!! have a load of tours organised when we are in the various cities, so can't wait for it!!
Was in Oz at xmas past, we went out to Ayrs rock we were there for 3 days, holy f**k i was ready for getting out after an Hour, very disappointed in it,
Quote
Go even further past Brisbane to Port Douglas...You'll never want to come home
Seconded. Absolutely fantastic place was up there in July and the rainforest and beaches , cape tribulation etc are unreal. However November is the rainy season I think so it mightn't be as accessible as it usually is.
Quote from: Declan on September 01, 2008, 11:43:33 AM
Quote
Go even further past Brisbane to Port Douglas...You'll never want to come home
Seconded. Absolutely fantastic place was up there in July and the rainforest and beaches , cape tribulation etc are unreal. However November is the rainy season I think so it mightn't be as accessible as it usually is.
Superb place. Forget Cairns and drive the extra hour up the road to PD. Especially since the Queen of Kilskerry will be with you. PD is a much classier destination.
In Sydney, to paraphrase, Bondi is worth seeing, but not worth going to see. Manly (and the ferry out and back) was better. A night in the Blue Mountains is quite rosemantic. Take her for dinner at one of the open air restaurants in Circular Quay opposite the Opera House. Superb location and the food's not bad. The missus will be impressed. These boys are worth a try - very entertaining night it was too. www.destinytours.com.au (http://www.destinytours.com.au)
Bondi is the one of the most iconic beaches in the world - and everyone wants to say they've been there. But it is a bit of a shit hole - crawling with people. Was over there early on a Saturday morning about a month ago (bearing in mind it is the tail end of winter) and it was peacefully quiet and quite nice for the first time ever, so if you're going to go I'd do it then.
The one Sydney attraction I'd make sure to see is the Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour - I loved it, but again timing is everything in one of the globes most popular tourist cities. Go early evening as all the families will have fecked of to put the kids down for the evening.
Ramsey Street
Quote from: ziggysego on September 02, 2008, 02:17:57 AM
Ramsey Street
Its actually called Pine Oak Avenue in real life...Or something like that anyways :-\
My top 10 so far
1. Melbourne (Best place in Australia) PJ O'Briens is a most see in itself ;)
2. The Red Centre, Northern Territories (Uluru/Ayres Rock, The Oglas & Kings Caynon) esp. The Oglas
3. Tasmania
4. Darwin
5. Brisbane
6. Whitsunday Islands
7. Ferry in from Manley
8. Sydney Opera House
9. Fraser Island
10. (Joint) Byron Bay
10. (Joint) Krokbitt Cattle Station
The Sydney Ferry from Manly ahead of Fraser Island? :o
Quote from: stephenite on September 02, 2008, 08:07:35 AM
The Sydney Ferry from Manly ahead of Fraser Island? :o
Ya I know for most people it would be the other way around, the Ferry from Manly gets bonus points because it was only my second day in Oz & I was still in awe & ya its a great view.
Fraser Island is great & on my first night there I loved Lake McKenzie etc. had mighty craic with the 3 jeeps on our tour, unfortunatly Fraser has minus points not because of Frasers own failings, but because I decided to drink nearly two whole boxs of Goon the first time I had ever tried the stuff, made a complete twat of myself :-[ & had to stop the jeep on way back to Ferry so I could go into the jungle & puke until bile came up & my ribs hurt :-X. Shame, Pain & was white as a ghost :'(
The Tea Gardens :D
QuoteThe Sydney Ferry from Manly
The best commute in the world
I stayed in Adelaide for a while, nice city with some good sight seeing but very quiet. Sydney is the ticket and Brisbane too, also stayed in Surfers Paradise for a few weeks good relaxing spot but a bit like Spain except for the waves. Fcuk i wish i was back there :'( :'(
Quote from: Declan on September 02, 2008, 11:22:57 AM
QuoteThe Sydney Ferry from Manly
The best commute in the world
Without a doubt - is that where you ended up in the end?
Yep . 5 minute walk by the sea to the ferry and 30 mins later arrive at Circular Quay - Blissful
Quote from: Declan on September 02, 2008, 01:41:31 PM
Yep . 5 minute walk by the sea to the ferry and 30 mins later arrive at Circular Quay - Blissful
Certainly is - Manly too isolated from the rest of the city for herself. Wouldn't suit my commute now either. You still out here?
No. Came back last weekend. Very hard to settle back but eldest was starting 5th year here so really wouldn't have been fair on her to stay out there. Very attractive lifestyle though
Just back there from Oz at the end of May. Was there for nearly 4 months. Done a hell of a lot. My top 10 destinations for what it is worth:
1. Byron Bay
2. Airlie Beach
3. Brisbane
4. Fraser Island
5. Mount Beauty (Northern Victoria)
6. Melbourne
7. Coffs Harbour
8. Whitsundays
9. Beechworth (Northern Victoria)
10. Sydney
Quote from: DownFanatic on September 02, 2008, 03:24:08 PM
Just back there from Oz at the end of May. Was there for nearly 4 months. Done a hell of a lot. My top 10 destinations for what it is worth:
1. Byron Bay
2. Airlie Beach Hated this place, caught bedbugs, an Irish barman was beat up the same weekend, 3 Canadian girls in our hostel had some freek come in and expose himeself & another hostel had their safe with everyones passports, credit cards, atm cards, drivers lic etc. stolen all on the same weekend, the fact that there was alot of redkneck Ozzies about because it was a public holiday (bank holiday) might have been a major part of the place being like that. O ya and the roughest Outback muckers you ever seen where drunk as skunks everwhere (unlike your endearing backpacker drunk ;) ) in their filthy singlets.
3. Brisbane
4. Fraser Island
5. Mount Beauty (Northern Victoria)
6. Melbourne
7. Coffs Harbour
8. Whitsundays
9. Beechworth (Northern Victoria)
10. Sydney
Quote from: Onion Bag on September 02, 2008, 11:07:04 AM
The Tea Gardens :D
LOL there is a Tea Party reunion on the 28th Sept in Dublin somewhere, don't think it will be as messy as that place though!
headin on my honeymoon in october also. sydney for 3 days then fly up to ayers rock for 1 night(heard you have to see it) then up to cairns (port douglas) for 3 days. whitsundays hamilton island for 4 days after that then fly down to brisbane and stayin with a few friends in surfers paradise (catch the indy car racing and of watch the international rules on tele. perth was to far away and didnt want to spend most of my honeymoon on a plane) driving down to sydney after this then on to melbourne for 4 nights and catch the second leg in the mcg. cant wait
is it any any hassle driving from city centre melbourne hotel out on great ocean road, spending 2 nights in 2 different towns and then back to airport.
great ocean road starts about 100k from sydney and last for another 300k or so, is that alot of driving with the bendy roads ?
Planning to do the same myself King.for honeymoon in Dec.
3 nights in Melbourne, then do the ocean road for another 3 nites by car, back to Melbourne, flight to Sydney. Wasnt sure whether 3 days was too much time or perhaps too little time??
Done the east coast about 2 mths ago and it was amazing - sky dive in Mission Beach, Cairns, whitsundays and Frazer were the highlights, the valley in Brisvegas was good, arts factory in Byron was good. Townsville was boring and Didn't like sydney, might as well been at home, dragged to every irish bar over two weeks and ended up in the tea gardens a couple of times (a brighter Coppers). don't think i saw anyone other than irish while there.
working for Rio Tinto at the moment in Perth. Not in the Mines, just Booking accom. for all the miners in dampier etc. Heading up the coast on Nov. 14th. to darwin. Anyone list a few places we shouldn't miss on the way.
cheers
PHP
Quote from: ludermor on September 03, 2008, 12:08:26 AM
Quote from: Onion Bag on September 02, 2008, 11:07:04 AM
The Tea Gardens :D
LOL there is a Tea Party reunion on the 28th Sept in Dublin somewhere, don't think it will be as messy as that place though!
Tea gardens and the on to Scruffys. good times :)
Stay away from Ayers Rock, It's just a big rock in the middle of nowhere
Quote from: Son_of_Sam on September 02, 2008, 11:58:41 PM
Quote from: DownFanatic on September 02, 2008, 03:24:08 PM
Just back there from Oz at the end of May. Was there for nearly 4 months. Done a hell of a lot. My top 10 destinations for what it is worth:
1. Byron Bay
2. Airlie Beach Hated this place, caught bedbugs, an Irish barman was beat up the same weekend, 3 Canadian girls in our hostel had some freek come in and expose himeself & another hostel had their safe with everyones passports, credit cards, atm cards, drivers lic etc. stolen all on the same weekend, the fact that there was alot of redkneck Ozzies about because it was a public holiday (bank holiday) might have been a major part of the place being like that. O ya and the roughest Outback muckers you ever seen where drunk as skunks everwhere (unlike your endearing backpacker drunk ;) ) in their filthy singlets.
3. Brisbane
4. Fraser Island
5. Mount Beauty (Northern Victoria)
6. Melbourne
7. Coffs Harbour
8. Whitsundays
9. Beechworth (Northern Victoria)
10. Sydney
I thought airlie beach was great craic. Everyone there was in good spirits as they were travelling through, so they just spent a few days getting loaded before heading out on the Whittsundays.
Quote from: el_cuervo_fc on October 09, 2008, 08:58:28 AM
Quote from: ludermor on September 03, 2008, 12:08:26 AM
Quote from: Onion Bag on September 02, 2008, 11:07:04 AM
The Tea Gardens :D
LOL there is a Tea Party reunion on the 28th Sept in Dublin somewhere, don't think it will be as messy as that place though!
Tea gardens and the on to Scruffys. good times :)
Stay away from Ayers Rock, It's just a big rock in the middle of nowhere
Quote from: Son_of_Sam on September 02, 2008, 11:58:41 PM
Quote from: DownFanatic on September 02, 2008, 03:24:08 PM
Just back there from Oz at the end of May. Was there for nearly 4 months. Done a hell of a lot. My top 10 destinations for what it is worth:
1. Byron Bay
2. Airlie Beach Hated this place, caught bedbugs, an Irish barman was beat up the same weekend, 3 Canadian girls in our hostel had some freek come in and expose himeself & another hostel had their safe with everyones passports, credit cards, atm cards, drivers lic etc. stolen all on the same weekend, the fact that there was alot of redkneck Ozzies about because it was a public holiday (bank holiday) might have been a major part of the place being like that. O ya and the roughest Outback muckers you ever seen where drunk as skunks everwhere (unlike your endearing backpacker drunk ;) ) in their filthy singlets.
3. Brisbane
4. Fraser Island
5. Mount Beauty (Northern Victoria)
6. Melbourne
7. Coffs Harbour
8. Whitsundays
9. Beechworth (Northern Victoria)
10. Sydney
I thought airlie beach was great craic. Everyone there was in good spirits as they were travelling through, so they just spent a few days getting loaded before heading out on the Whittsundays.
Have to agree with you, biggest pile of shite and a waste of time and money
Ayrs rock that is
Scruffys was never a waste of money. always a good result at the end ;)
A good warm up in the tea gardens and then scruffys, air locked
Quote from: PadraicHenryPearse on October 09, 2008, 01:05:01 AM
working for Rio Tinto at the moment in Perth. Not in the Mines, just Booking accom. for all the miners in dampier etc. Heading up the coast on Nov. 14th. to darwin. Anyone list a few places we shouldn't miss on the way.
cheers
PHP
Right, if you have any brains you'll do the coastal route seeing as it is only 200-odd kms longer than the inland route as far as broome. OK, so seeing as I am fairly familiar with this part of the world here's what I recommend.
First of all it is starting to get very fecking hot and humid here so MAKE DAMNED SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF DRINKING WATER- at least 20 lts per person. A mate had to go out yesterday and conduct the aerial search which found the car of the 50-something y.o. man who died from heat exhaustion east of Derby in the last couple of days. This is very unforgiving land, I promise you.
Do the Pinnacles near Cervantes if you absolutely must. It is a bit of a hike off the main drag to get there but you decide. Nothing to see in Jurien Bay so you should easily get way past Geraldton (stop for fuel only - bit of a redneck paradise quickly taking off as the Iron Ore Boom brings the grunts out of Perth and further north) and spend a night or two at Kalbarri. Nice, off the main drag and great, I mean great fishing off the beach.
The road to Monkey Mia (named after a ship) takes you past one of the saltiest bits of ocean in the world apparently but it is worth taking a look at the stromatolytes, the oldest living organisms in the world. Shell beach is breathtaking and the wee village of Denham is not bad for a quick stopover. It has been 6 years since I was there though so things have probably changed. The dolphins are interesting and the catamaran tours to see the eagle rays, tiger sharks, dugongs, flying fish and turtles are good value.
Carnarvon - use it to stock up and then make your way to Coral Bay. The whale shark season is long over but whale watching tours are, I think in full swing. Judging by the number of humpback whales I have seen this past two months they're bound to be down that way now.
You MUST go to Exmouth and you simply MUST snorkel in Ningaloo Reef. Simply an outstanding experience. If you can get good quality snorkelling gear in Perth do so as the stuff up there is nasty and definitely not cheap to hire. If you can get a waterproof case fitting for you camera do so as you'll not regret it!!!
Now, here's next bit. Are you in a hurry to Darwin or can you spare an extra three or four days in WA? If you can, then I implore you to take the inland route to Karajini national park. For me simply
the most beautiful place I have been to in this massive land. Get there before the rains start in December...BUT...make damned sure you know what the weather is like before you go wandering through the gorges. Flash floods have killed some local volunteer rescuers recently all because stupid German and Japanese tourists didn't check, got caught out and had to be rescued.The gorges have to be seen to be believed. The view from Oxer's lookout is class.
Drive on afterwards stopping only to refuel at Pt.Hedland and then brace yourself for the most boring stretch of road in Australia. Feck me I will NEVER drive between Broome and Pt. Hedland again. I actually enjoyed the Nullabor in comparison...and that is saying something. If you are driving at night be very wary of cattle from Sandfire Roadhouse to the very end of the road when you turn left to Broome. Also, keep an eye out for Bilbies and if you see any, PLEASE, contact the authorities and let them know where you saw it/them. Likewise if you see any cats or foxes drive over the bastards. I wish I had a gun licence in this country as I could have had dozens of cats and foxes removed from the foodchain.
Broome. well I'm here now so it's not a bad joint. Make up your own mind. Cable beach...nah feckit...overrated. Go for a trike flight with my auld mate Charles, the first man to ride a motorbike across the sahara desert in 1975. Tell him this Irish lad sent you.
Avoid Derby...shithole. I would not recommend going on the Gibb River Road mid October to mid April as the wet season storms have already started and it is just too damned dangerous, even if you have a 4WD. Fitzroy Crossing, well, refuel and move on. Halls Creek. Stay at the Kimberley Hotel/Motel and then onwards to Kununurra. Thereafter I'll leave the Territory to someone else as it's not my forte.
I cannot emphasise enough the dangers of the heat at this time of year and it'll only get worse. Be prepared. Service your car professionally and make sure you have fuel, food and water.
Enjoy. I have been doing so for years now.
Aerlik has it spot on. Could not give up any better tips.
Exmouth and Coral bay are the best diving and snorkling in Oz, bar none.
Take the inlland route to Karajini national park. It is stunning. spend 3 or 4 days there just exploring.
Some of the rock climbing and trails are stunning. One in particular i recall that brings you to a plunge pool. we had it all to ourselves for about 2 hours. was sureal.
I do recall that the flies are good craic up that coast, especially around Monkey Mia.
I think that was Handrail Pool, FG. Yes, same thing happened to me. Dragged all the photography gear down and waited for the sun to come directly overhead. Now, I'm no Lord Lichfield, but you cannot fail to take a decent photo in karajini Nat.Park.
Ah yes, the flies. One serious piece of investment is a fly net for about $3. It will prevent you from losing the plot as the flies are vicious bar stewards.
Sail the Whitsunday Islands for 3 days and snorkel the Great Barrier Reef at the same time.
That trip is a must.