Australia Itinerary

Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house, the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close to
booking tickets for my trip :-)

Your itinerary is really well researched. Well Done!

My opinion: You could cut a day off Melbourne - in fact probably 3 full days
is sufficient for what you plan to do there.

There is more to Brisbane than the beaches. Brisbane now has the largest
(and possibly best) Art Gallery complex in Australia. Until March, 2007,
you'll be able to see the 5th Triennial of Asia-Pacific Contemporary Art -
in the largest (and newest) Australian Art Gallery.

Then there's 'Australia Zoo' (of Steve Irwin renown); and the magnificent
Natiional Parks behind the Gold Coast. You can do it all in 3 full days.

There are no box jelly fish on Gold Coast beaches. They're a tropical
phenomena. And really they present no problems further north either. The
local Surf lifesavers keep everyone well informed as to the danger levels -
and the most popular beaches are 'stinger netted'. They use nets designed by
James Cook University School of Marine Science.

I love Cairns. The Great Barrier Reef is at hand - Green Island; or cruises
off Port Douglas. The Atherton Tableland. The Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural
Park - http://www.tjapukai.com.au/. The Skyrail rainforest cableway -
http://www.skyrail.com.au/. The Kuranda Scenic Railway -
http://www.kuranda.org/?p=73. Up the train - back the cableway; or vice
versa. Then there's the exquisite Daintree World heritage Area (just 90
minutes drive from Cairns - or an hour from Port Douglas) -
http://www.daintreerainforest.com/.

Mate! I envy you. It's God's Own Country!!

Enjoy!




"saby" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house, the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close to
booking tickets for my trip :-)

Sounds like a good trip. I would comment though that you are not going to
see that much in the way of animal life. Some ideas to consider...

Dubbo Plains Zoo is well worth a trip - you drive around it and the animal
are up close and viewable in a natural environment - much better (and more
humane) than Taronga Park. (Google for info)

Canberra is well worth seeing - one possibility is to drive from Syd to
Melb detouring via Canberra - great museums, war memorial, parliament
house, the mint, and my favourite, Questicon.

That trip would give you a different view of Oz - you travel through very
different scenery to the other places you plan to visit, and could see
some of the smaller country towns - the wineries around Albury way are
well worth seeing as well as being in Ned Kelly country.

Currumbin Bird Sanctuary near the Gold Coast is must see and well worth
seeing if you drive down that way from Brisbane

Googel will give you info on any the above, or feel free to drop me a line

And all that trip and area is very civilised - no dirt roads or such -
plenty of accommodation and facilities - and a pleasant drive.

Cheers and have a good trip

David

saby wrote:

Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house, the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close to
booking tickets for my trip :-)

Thanks Mate. Ideally I would like to walk/drive through the
rainforest rather than through a skyrail. Is that possible - are there
drivable roads? I did see some hiking trails on the website you pointed
me to - those seem like a good idea.
I am trying to get tickets but its hard :-( Qantas has a really
good special for Australia (australia pass) but since the latter half
of my itinerary will be in New Zealand I need to find tickets that will
give me two stopovers in NZ. Any ideas? If you are from US do you know
of good travel agents speciallizing in tickets to Australia?

A Mate wrote:
Your itinerary is really well researched. Well Done!

My opinion: You could cut a day off Melbourne - in fact probably 3 full days
is sufficient for what you plan to do there.

There is more to Brisbane than the beaches. Brisbane now has the largest
(and possibly best) Art Gallery complex in Australia. Until March, 2007,
you'll be able to see the 5th Triennial of Asia-Pacific Contemporary Art -
in the largest (and newest) Australian Art Gallery.

Then there's 'Australia Zoo' (of Steve Irwin renown); and the magnificent
Natiional Parks behind the Gold Coast. You can do it all in 3 full days.

There are no box jelly fish on Gold Coast beaches. They're a tropical
phenomena. And really they present no problems further north either. The
local Surf lifesavers keep everyone well informed as to the danger levels -
and the most popular beaches are 'stinger netted'. They use nets designed by
James Cook University School of Marine Science.

I love Cairns. The Great Barrier Reef is at hand - Green Island; or cruises
off Port Douglas. The Atherton Tableland. The Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural
Park - http://www.tjapukai.com.au/. The Skyrail rainforest cableway -
http://www.skyrail.com.au/. The Kuranda Scenic Railway -
http://www.kuranda.org/?p=73. Up the train - back the cableway; or vice
versa. Then there's the exquisite Daintree World heritage Area (just 90
minutes drive from Cairns - or an hour from Port Douglas) -
http://www.daintreerainforest.com/.

Mate! I envy you. It's God's Own Country!!

Enjoy!




"saby" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house, the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close to
booking tickets for my trip :-)

You will probably enjoy your trip but you certainly are not seeing the best
parts of Australia.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns are just cities - cities all over the
world are very similar. You need to get out of the cities and see some of
our amazing bush. You don't need to be "adventureous" The centre of
Australia has some magnificent scenery. The Great Ocean Road is beautiful,
so are the Blue Mountains and the Great Barrier Reef.

If I were going to the US would you suggest I go to Salt Lake City or Bryce
Canyon or Zion Canyon or should I go to Phoenix or the Grand Canyon?

Julie

"quietguy" wrote in
message
...
Sounds like a good trip. I would comment though that you are not going to
see that much in the way of animal life. Some ideas to consider...

Dubbo Plains Zoo is well worth a trip - you drive around it and the animal
are up close and viewable in a natural environment - much better (and more
humane) than Taronga Park. (Google for info)

Canberra is well worth seeing - one possibility is to drive from Syd to
Melb detouring via Canberra - great museums, war memorial, parliament
house, the mint, and my favourite, Questicon.

That trip would give you a different view of Oz - you travel through very
different scenery to the other places you plan to visit, and could see
some of the smaller country towns - the wineries around Albury way are
well worth seeing as well as being in Ned Kelly country.

Currumbin Bird Sanctuary near the Gold Coast is must see and well worth
seeing if you drive down that way from Brisbane

Googel will give you info on any the above, or feel free to drop me a line

And all that trip and area is very civilised - no dirt roads or such -
plenty of accommodation and facilities - and a pleasant drive.

Cheers and have a good trip

David

saby wrote:

Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house, the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close to
booking tickets for my trip :-)

Saby,

I'm Australian - so can't help with US Travel Agents.

However - if you fly on Air NZ to Sydney you would fly through Auckland - so
no problem with stopovers in NZ. Otherwise - there are many cheap fares for
Austr to NZ - using Freedom Air (Air NZs cheapie subsidiary), Qantas, Virgin
Blue, Emirates etc. Auckland is the major international port of entry to
NZ - normally only flights from Australia use any of their other
international airports (Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin,
Palmerston North, Queenstown in the ski season).

Of course there are walking trails in all National Parks - the cable-way
however is the only way of viewing the tropical rain-forest canopy up close.
You can drive through the Daintree, and there are car parks near points of
interest, with trails (and/or boardwalks) originating nearby.

Cheers


"saby" wrote in message
ps.com...
Thanks Mate. Ideally I would like to walk/drive through the
rainforest rather than through a skyrail. Is that possible - are there
drivable roads? I did see some hiking trails on the website you pointed
me to - those seem like a good idea.
I am trying to get tickets but its hard :-( Qantas has a really
good special for Australia (australia pass) but since the latter half
of my itinerary will be in New Zealand I need to find tickets that will
give me two stopovers in NZ. Any ideas? If you are from US do you know
of good travel agents speciallizing in tickets to Australia?

A Mate wrote:
Your itinerary is really well researched. Well Done!

My opinion: You could cut a day off Melbourne - in fact probably 3 full
days
is sufficient for what you plan to do there.

There is more to Brisbane than the beaches. Brisbane now has the largest
(and possibly best) Art Gallery complex in Australia. Until March, 2007,
you'll be able to see the 5th Triennial of Asia-Pacific Contemporary
Art -
in the largest (and newest) Australian Art Gallery.

Then there's 'Australia Zoo' (of Steve Irwin renown); and the magnificent
Natiional Parks behind the Gold Coast. You can do it all in 3 full days.

There are no box jelly fish on Gold Coast beaches. They're a tropical
phenomena. And really they present no problems further north either. The
local Surf lifesavers keep everyone well informed as to the danger
levels -
and the most popular beaches are 'stinger netted'. They use nets designed
by
James Cook University School of Marine Science.

I love Cairns. The Great Barrier Reef is at hand - Green Island; or
cruises
off Port Douglas. The Atherton Tableland. The Tjapukai Aboriginal
Cultural
Park - http://www.tjapukai.com.au/. The Skyrail rainforest cableway -
http://www.skyrail.com.au/. The Kuranda Scenic Railway -
http://www.kuranda.org/?p=73. Up the train - back the cableway; or vice
versa. Then there's the exquisite Daintree World heritage Area (just 90
minutes drive from Cairns - or an hour from Port Douglas) -
http://www.daintreerainforest.com/.

Mate! I envy you. It's God's Own Country!!

Enjoy!




"saby" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house, the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close to
booking tickets for my trip :-)

"Julie" wrote in message
news
You will probably enjoy your trip but you certainly are not seeing the
best
parts of Australia.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns are just cities - cities all over the
world are very similar. You need to get out of the cities and see some of
our amazing bush. You don't need to be "adventureous" The centre of
Australia has some magnificent scenery. The Great Ocean Road is
beautiful,
so are the Blue Mountains and the Great Barrier Reef.

If I were going to the US would you suggest I go to Salt Lake City or
Bryce
Canyon or Zion Canyon or should I go to Phoenix or the Grand Canyon?

Julie


And besides, the most important part of Australia is Western Australia with
its mining and agricultural products.

It is also very scenic.

Gerrit -Perth

Some extra highlights from our trip in 2001 (porbably "things to do" ...... if you have the time for it :-))

Ballarat : The sound-and-light show "Blood on the Southern Cross "
http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/?id=bosc (have a look at the video).


Paronella Park : http://www.paronellapark.com.au/index.html (Amazing history).

Have a nice trip

Greetings

Hawkins


"saby" schreef in bericht ups.com...
Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house, the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close to
booking tickets for my trip :-)

Hi Julie - if I were to try and get some experience of the Australian
bush, what would be the best place to go? What would be the best way to
enjoy the scenery (drive in a car?) If you could help me with an
itinerary of 2-3 days that would be great. I might be able to cut some
time out of the cities to experience this.

Julie wrote:
You will probably enjoy your trip but you certainly are not seeing the best
parts of Australia.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns are just cities - cities all over the
world are very similar. You need to get out of the cities and see some of
our amazing bush. You don't need to be "adventureous" The centre of
Australia has some magnificent scenery. The Great Ocean Road is beautiful,
so are the Blue Mountains and the Great Barrier Reef.

If I were going to the US would you suggest I go to Salt Lake City or Bryce
Canyon or Zion Canyon or should I go to Phoenix or the Grand Canyon?

Julie

"quietguy" wrote in
message
...
Sounds like a good trip. I would comment though that you are not going to
see that much in the way of animal life. Some ideas to consider...

Dubbo Plains Zoo is well worth a trip - you drive around it and the animal
are up close and viewable in a natural environment - much better (and more
humane) than Taronga Park. (Google for info)

Canberra is well worth seeing - one possibility is to drive from Syd to
Melb detouring via Canberra - great museums, war memorial, parliament
house, the mint, and my favourite, Questicon.

That trip would give you a different view of Oz - you travel through very
different scenery to the other places you plan to visit, and could see
some of the smaller country towns - the wineries around Albury way are
well worth seeing as well as being in Ned Kelly country.

Currumbin Bird Sanctuary near the Gold Coast is must see and well worth
seeing if you drive down that way from Brisbane

Googel will give you info on any the above, or feel free to drop me a line

And all that trip and area is very civilised - no dirt roads or such -
plenty of accommodation and facilities - and a pleasant drive.

Cheers and have a good trip

David

saby wrote:

Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house, the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close to
booking tickets for my trip :-)

Hi Saby,

If you are looking for great beaches you can't go past the beaches north of
Sydney. I wouldn't bother with the Gold Coast unless you have young
children - that is where the theme parks are .

From Sydney you could hire a car and see any of the following:
http://www.bookeasy.com.au/website/visitstephens.asp

http://www.cctourism.com.au/

http://www.grandpacificdrive.com.au/

From Brisbane I would be looking at going to see:

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/p....cgi?parkid=97

and a trip to Fraser Island would be good - http://www.fraserisland.net/

From Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road is a must. If you are pressed for time
I would drive the inland route down to Port Fairy and stay the night, and
then come home along the Great Ocean Road probably stopping the night in
Apollo Bay.

From Cairns, obviously the GBR is exceptional. I would also take a day trip
up to Cape Tribulation. If you still have the time a trip inland from
Cairns to Undara via the Atherton Tableland would be great.

I have tried to find places that are close to the major cities that you are
planning on being in - if you don't need to be in these cities then you
would be better advised to fly into one (possibly Melbourne) hire a car, do
the Great Ocean Road trip and then head north. I doubt you would get to
Cairns but you would get to Brisbane.

One other thing that you may not be aware of - February in Far North
Queensland will be very hot and very humid. Could very easily be cyclone
time.

Please feel free to email me if you have any other queries.

Julie

"saby" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi Julie - if I were to try and get some experience of the Australian
bush, what would be the best place to go? What would be the best way to
enjoy the scenery (drive in a car?) If you could help me with an
itinerary of 2-3 days that would be great. I might be able to cut some
time out of the cities to experience this.

Julie wrote:
You will probably enjoy your trip but you certainly are not seeing the
best
parts of Australia.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns are just cities - cities all over the
world are very similar. You need to get out of the cities and see some
of
our amazing bush. You don't need to be "adventureous" The centre of
Australia has some magnificent scenery. The Great Ocean Road is
beautiful,
so are the Blue Mountains and the Great Barrier Reef.

If I were going to the US would you suggest I go to Salt Lake City or
Bryce
Canyon or Zion Canyon or should I go to Phoenix or the Grand Canyon?

Julie

"quietguy" wrote
in
message
...
Sounds like a good trip. I would comment though that you are not going
to
see that much in the way of animal life. Some ideas to consider...

Dubbo Plains Zoo is well worth a trip - you drive around it and the
animal
are up close and viewable in a natural environment - much better (and
more
humane) than Taronga Park. (Google for info)

Canberra is well worth seeing - one possibility is to drive from Syd to
Melb detouring via Canberra - great museums, war memorial, parliament
house, the mint, and my favourite, Questicon.

That trip would give you a different view of Oz - you travel through
very
different scenery to the other places you plan to visit, and could see
some of the smaller country towns - the wineries around Albury way are
well worth seeing as well as being in Ned Kelly country.

Currumbin Bird Sanctuary near the Gold Coast is must see and well worth
seeing if you drive down that way from Brisbane

Googel will give you info on any the above, or feel free to drop me a
line

And all that trip and area is very civilised - no dirt roads or such -
plenty of accommodation and facilities - and a pleasant drive.

Cheers and have a good trip

David

saby wrote:

Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 17-18 day trip to Australia in
mid Feb. I want to see the important bits - Sydney, Melbourne, GBR
etc.
I would like to do visit the Daintree if time permits. I've no natural
incliantion to go to Alice Springs or Uluru. We don't like orgainsed
groups. In fact we have to avoid them. We are not the adventorous kind
(no outback for us) but do like it close to nature and would love to
see some of the varied animal life that Australia has to offer. The
following is a rough itinerary at this point in time - can you guys
comment on it/give some suggestions specially for the second half of
the trip (after Melbourne)?

LA-Syd - spend about 5 days in Sydney. Sydney Harbour, Opera house,
the
Rocks, Taronga zoo, drive to blue montains, Bondi/Manly beach (one of
the two).

Fly from Syd-Melbourne Spend 5 days here. the Great Ocean Road, the
Twelve Apostles , Phillip Island (penguin parade)

Fly from Mel to Brisbane - rent a car. spend 3 days visting nearby
beaches (gold coast?). Would it be a good time to hit the beaches
(around end of Feb) in terms of the weather? Would the water be safe
(no box jelly fish?) Is there enough to do for 3 days?

Fly Brisbane-Cairns - GBR, what else does one do here? We don't know
much swimming (I know, I know :-(.We would like to snorkel but are not
into scuba diving. How much time would I need here? Someone on this
newsgroup suggested that I go to Port Douglas for the GBR? Is that a
better choice?

Drive from Cairns to Daintree and Cape Tribulation and back. How much
time would I need to cover this? Is this worth the time it will take
us?

Thanks a lot for your help. I think I might be finally getting close
to
booking tickets for my trip :-)