Australia Itinerary

Thanks for all the help guys!!! I have booked my air tickets. Got an
excellent deal on air NewZealand from Honolulu to Sydney with a
stopover in Aukland for $770. Now looking forward to it all :-) i was
thinking of booking accomodation only for the first 3-4 days and then
book it as i go along. Is that a good idea? I will be looking for
clean, 2-2.5 stars motels/hotels in a safe area, something around $50
per night. Is it easy to get such accomodation at a short notice (in
the cities mainly)? Is my estimate for the daily fare realistic?

A Mate wrote:
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 :-)

Have a look at www.wotif.com.au for cost of accommodation. This will give
you a rough idea.

I doubt you will get accommodation in hotels/motels for $50.00. More like
$65/$70. They may not be in really safe areas either.

Hostels may be cheaper.
http://www.bcl.com.au/melbourne/melb...ackpackers.htm

Julie

"saby" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks for all the help guys!!! I have booked my air tickets. Got an
excellent deal on air NewZealand from Honolulu to Sydney with a
stopover in Aukland for $770. Now looking forward to it all :-) i was
thinking of booking accomodation only for the first 3-4 days and then
book it as i go along. Is that a good idea? I will be looking for
clean, 2-2.5 stars motels/hotels in a safe area, something around $50
per night. Is it easy to get such accomodation at a short notice (in
the cities mainly)? Is my estimate for the daily fare realistic?

A Mate wrote:
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 :-)