Cairns to Sydney - Aug 2005

On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 13:55:32 +0100, "Simon DOLBY"
wrote:

Myself and my girlfriend have three weeks (max), in which to travel from
Cairns to Sydney - August 2005.

I have never been to OZ before, and would really welcome some ideas and some
"local" travel tips (Lonely Planet book exhausted!!).

Our aim is to travel down the coast, taking in the Reef, Whitsunday Islands,
Fraser Islands etc etc.

We have a number of questions, that we would be very grateful for feedback
on;

What is the best way to travel?
Would it be more economical to hire, say a camper van?
How reliable is public transport?
Where are the best places to stay & chill out?
Does accommodation need booking in advance - or is it really low season?
Would the weather be sufficiently warm for swimming in the sea (south of
Gladstone)?

We did the trip in the opposite direction. We figured that arriving in
Sydney in July would get us temperatures around 15° C and that it
would get warmer as we moved north... That was more enjoyable than
going in the other direction. For a general idea of what we did take a
look at my website. We used a rental car and stayed in hotels/motels
that were pre-booked. As far as we know and saw I guess we could have
gotten away with finding a hotel as we moved along the way.
Enjoy your trip, we did! (I want to go back!!)



Bye Maurice
--
Hamradio: ON4BAM / M0CIL / 9H3Z http://www.on4bam.com/
Travelstories from Alaska, Scotland, South Africa,Iceland,
Faroe Isl., Australia, Norway, Svalbard and IOTA activations

Simon DOLBY wrote:
[deleted]
Would it be more economical to hire, say a camper van?
[deleted]

More economical than *what*?

We prefer a campervan for the freedom it gives. In general, a small
2WD campervan will probably give about the same total cost as a normal
2WD car with 'cheap' hotels/motels/appartments/cabins/whatever. We
mainly use the campervan and occasionally stay in cabins, etc. for the
extra luxury.

Also if you *can* then think about going in a different season. August
is the middle of 'winter', which is not best, but probably beats the UK
any day! :-)

Have a good one.

Thanks - when you say winter, how "cold" does it get?

In the UK, summer gets to the high 70's (at best) - bearing in mind that
most of our time will be north of Gladstone, I was kinda hoping that we
would experience a similar climate to our Summer!!!!! Am I wishful thinking?

On the way home from Oz, we are going via the Cook Islands & Tahiti,
herefore we are hoping to catch a few rays then!

How easy is it to rent a campervan for 3 weeks, and are there lots of places
to park up an night (beach fronts???)

Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

Thanks again.

"Frank Slootweg" wrote in message
...
Simon DOLBY wrote:
[deleted]
Would it be more economical to hire, say a camper van?
[deleted]

More economical than *what*?

We prefer a campervan for the freedom it gives. In general, a small
2WD campervan will probably give about the same total cost as a normal
2WD car with 'cheap' hotels/motels/appartments/cabins/whatever. We
mainly use the campervan and occasionally stay in cabins, etc. for the
extra luxury.

Also if you *can* then think about going in a different season. August
is the middle of 'winter', which is not best, but probably beats the UK
any day! :-)

Have a good one.

In article , Simon DOLBY says...
Thanks - when you say winter, how "cold" does it get?

In the UK, summer gets to the high 70's (at best) - bearing in mind that
most of our time will be north of Gladstone, I was kinda hoping that we
would experience a similar climate to our Summer!!!!! Am I wishful thinking?

Too bloody right. You'll be lucky to see any days over 40.

Pete

No way! Are you teasing me?

My travel guide suggest that Brisbane's average temp is approx 68 , with
cairns being in the high 70's (August)

In all honestly, what weather are we likely to receive north of the Tropic
of Capricorn (late August)? I'm getting worried!!!!


"Peter" wrote in message
T...
In article , Simon DOLBY says...
Thanks - when you say winter, how "cold" does it get?

In the UK, summer gets to the high 70's (at best) - bearing in mind that
most of our time will be north of Gladstone, I was kinda hoping that we
would experience a similar climate to our Summer!!!!! Am I wishful
thinking?

Too bloody right. You'll be lucky to see any days over 40.

Pete

In article , Simon DOLBY says...
No way! Are you teasing me?

My travel guide suggest that Brisbane's average temp is approx 68 , with
cairns being in the high 70's (August)

No way. Either he's pulling your leg or using some outmoded system of
measurement. http://www.atn.com.au/qld.htm has a range of temps, with an
average August maximum of 22.

In all honestly, what weather are we likely to receive north of the Tropic
of Capricorn (late August)? I'm getting worried!!!!

Very pleasant weather with maximum temperatures between 25 and 30. Low
humidity. You'll love it.

http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/qld/cairns/climate.shtml

Pete

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:40:04 +0100, "Simon DOLBY"
wrote:

No way! Are you teasing me?

My travel guide suggest that Brisbane's average temp is approx 68 , with
cairns being in the high 70's (August)

In all honestly, what weather are we likely to receive north of the Tropic
of Capricorn (late August)? I'm getting worried!!!!


"Peter" wrote in message
ET...
In article , Simon DOLBY says...
Thanks - when you say winter, how "cold" does it get?

In the UK, summer gets to the high 70's (at best) - bearing in mind that
most of our time will be north of Gladstone, I was kinda hoping that we
would experience a similar climate to our Summer!!!!! Am I wishful
thinking?

Too bloody right. You'll be lucky to see any days over 40.

Pete

Hi Simon

You're talking F
Peter's talking C

70 F = 21 C

Anywhere north of Coffs Harbour will be like a pleasant (or even hot)
English Summer in August; even Sydney will seem like Spring.

I live just south of the NSW/Qld border. North of here will be warmer,
south cooler. To get some idea, here is what happened in August this
year in our area:
Coolangatta
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/20...6.200408.shtml
and in Townsville:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/20...8.200408.shtml
and in Sydney:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/20...4.200408.shtml

Temp Conversion:
C F
10 50
11 52
12 54
13 56
14 57
15 59
16 61
17 63
18 64
19 66
20 68
21 70
22 72
23 73
24 75
25 77
26 79
27 81
28 82
29 84
30 86


Cheers, Alan
--

Thanks Alan, feel much better now!!!!


"Alan" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:40:04 +0100, "Simon DOLBY"
wrote:

No way! Are you teasing me?

My travel guide suggest that Brisbane's average temp is approx 68 , with
cairns being in the high 70's (August)

In all honestly, what weather are we likely to receive north of the
Tropic
of Capricorn (late August)? I'm getting worried!!!!


"Peter" wrote in message
ET...
In article , Simon DOLBY says...
Thanks - when you say winter, how "cold" does it get?

In the UK, summer gets to the high 70's (at best) - bearing in mind
that
most of our time will be north of Gladstone, I was kinda hoping that
we
would experience a similar climate to our Summer!!!!! Am I wishful
thinking?

Too bloody right. You'll be lucky to see any days over 40.

Pete

Hi Simon

You're talking F
Peter's talking C

70 F = 21 C

Anywhere north of Coffs Harbour will be like a pleasant (or even hot)
English Summer in August; even Sydney will seem like Spring.

I live just south of the NSW/Qld border. North of here will be warmer,
south cooler. To get some idea, here is what happened in August this
year in our area:
Coolangatta
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/20...6.200408.shtml
and in Townsville:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/20...8.200408.shtml
and in Sydney:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/20...4.200408.shtml

Temp Conversion:
C F
10 50
11 52
12 54
13 56
14 57
15 59
16 61
17 63
18 64
19 66
20 68
21 70
22 72
23 73
24 75
25 77
26 79
27 81
28 82
29 84
30 86


Cheers, Alan
--

Peter wrote in message ET...
In article , Simon DOLBY says...
No way! Are you teasing me?

My travel guide suggest that Brisbane's average temp is approx 68 , with
cairns being in the high 70's (August)

No way. Either he's pulling your leg or using some outmoded system of
measurement. http://www.atn.com.au/qld.htm has a range of temps, with an
average August maximum of 22.

In all honestly, what weather are we likely to receive north of the Tropic
of Capricorn (late August)? I'm getting worried!!!!

Very pleasant weather with maximum temperatures between 25 and 30. Low
humidity. You'll love it.

http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/qld/cairns/climate.shtml

Pete

T-shirt, shorts and thongs (for your feet) weather for QLD.

The locals may start rugging up if it drops below 25ºC! ;-)

Cheers
Bill

Simon DOLBY wrote:
[Already covered stuff deleted.]
How easy is it to rent a campervan for 3 weeks, and are there lots of places
to park up an night (beach fronts???)

Should be no problem (if you book in advance). There are many rental
companies, both nation-wide and local ones. Searching this group with
Google Groups on "campervan" should give some pointers.

We mostly camp in "caravan parks" (except sometimes in the bush/
Outback). They are 'everywhwere'