On 05 Nov 2004 20:07:13 GMT, (GCRYAR) wrote:

We are pretty open on the trip. We have about a $14,000 budget and enjoy the
outdoor stuff. Australia Zoo is a must, as is the outback and reef. We are in
our 50s. We only know what the Crock hunter has taught us about Australia, so
any help or suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks

Glen

Hi Glen

I'm making a couple of assumptions about you, so correct me if I'm
wrong.

The assumptions are that you are from the USA, (which also means that
the $14K budget is about AU20K), you're only here for a few weeks
commencing February, and you want to see as much as possible in that
time without driving into oncoming traffic.

And all you know about Australia, you learnt from Steve Irwin?

OK, the first thing Steve neglected to mention was "the wet", which is
the monsoonal weather conditions north of the tropic of Capricorn
(Rockhampton on the map) at that time of year. That doesn't meant that
you can't visit the reef, but take your raincoat and umbrella.

Secondly, I'd recommend you fly between the main centres you wish to
visit, then take local tours from those centres.

To give you an idea of distances, say you arrived in Sydney, flew to
Alice Springs or Uluru, then to the reef at Townsville, then to Brisbane
for Irwin's zoo. In the states the equivalent trip would be NYC - St
Louis - Miami - Washington DC.

But my suggestion would be broadly that, subject to time.

Sydney, with tours to the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley wineries.
Fly to Alice Springs, with a tour to Uluru.
Fly to Brisbane, tours to Irwin's zoo, or the Gold Coast hinterland or
both.
Fly to Cairns or Townsville (depending on the wet and timing) for the
reef.


Cheers, Alan
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