Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific) - 1st Trip to Austalia in April

My wife and I are making our first trip Down Under in April. She has a 5-day conference in ADL. We are divers and are coming early so we can dive the GBR. We have already reserved a double cabin on Ocean Quest for a 4 day/3 night trip. We have also made reservations for flights to SYD, up and back to CNS, to and from ADL and home from SYD.

We, of course, have a number of questions.

We arrive in CNS a day and a half early for the dive. We expect the remainder of the first day to be used up recovering from jet lag. We are looking for a low impact day activity for the full day before the trip on the boat. We have been told about the Kuranda trip. It was suggested to take the cable car up and the train back. Although that sounds interesting, are there other activities we should consider? We have a reservation to stay in the Comfort Hotel Acacia Court. Did we chose well?

We will then spend 3 full days in SYD. We are looking for a moderately priced hotel in SYD that would allow us to visit the sights and avoid renting a car. Does such a hotel exist? We are also looking for sights to see in addition to the obvious Sydney Opera House.

I will have some time on my hands in ADL during the days to do what I want. She may also have some free time. Any suggestions would be wecome.

I know this is a long post, but its a long trip and we know almost nothing about Austalia.

Thanks

Congratulations on your trip to Aus. You will love it. I'm from near West Memphis and been there 4 or 5 times.
For Sydney, not renting a car is very smart. Traffic is horrible. I found that staying at the Holiday Inn Airport was an excellent choice. It is only a 5 minute walk to the train station, which will get you to the Circular Quay and the harbor bridge and the opera house in about 15 minutes. Trains run frequently, so you have to wait only a few minutes. Lots of things to see and do within walking distance of the harbor.
You would probably enjoy doing the Harbor Bridge climb although it is a bit pricey. An easy way to see a lot of the sights is the Sydney Explorer bus. The round trip takes about 2 hours, but it's hop on-hop off at any of the stops and the ticket is good for 24 hours.
A good bet is to get a family daypass on the ferries and cruise Sydney Harbor. It makes for a great afternoon. Each of the ferries goes to a different destination and you get to go on any or all of them as much as you like. Take the Darling Harbor one and see the aquarium or ride the monorail or take the Taronga Zoo ferry to se the local zoo.
Do a lot of google searches to get a lot of great info on the places you're going. Http://www.australia.com/ is a start.
Enjoy your trip.

You would probably enjoy doing the Harbor Bridge climb although it is a bit pricey. An easy way to see a lot of the sights is the Sydney Explorer bus. The round trip takes about 2 hours, but it's hop on-hop off at any of the stops and the ticket is good for 24 hours. The Sydney Explorer was canned in 2010.
A good bet is to get a family daypass on the ferries and cruise Sydney Harbor. It makes for a great afternoon. Each of the ferries goes to a different destination and you get to go on any or all of them as much as you like. Take the Darling Harbor one and see the aquarium or ride the monorail or take the Taronga Zoo ferry to se the local zoo.
Do a lot of google searches to get a lot of great info on the places you're going. Http://www.australia.com/ is a start.
Enjoy your trip. There are two public transport ticketing options you might like to look at - one is a Daypass, $20 for one day, or a MyMulti3, $57 for a weekly. These tickets will get you unlimited public transport in the Greater Sydney/Newcastle/Blue Mountains/Southern Highland/South Coast area - all CityRail trains, all government buses, all private buses within the area mentioned above, all government ferries, and the Sydney Light Rail. Excellent value.

Further information can be found at Daypass (http://www.cityrail.info/tickets/which/mymulti_day) and MyMulti (http://www.cityrail.info/tickets/which/mymulti).

Dave

We have been told about the Kuranda trip. It was suggested to take the cable car up and the train back.If you do the Kuranda trip, I would do it the other way round - train up, cable car back. There are (usually) two trains up in the morning, so if you take the train up, you have a known (fixed) starting time. The cable car runs continuously, so you can take it back whenever you've had enough, without being tied to a fixed return time on the train (which may either having you rushing or hanging about).

If you do the Kuranda trip, I would do it the other way round - train up, cable car back. There are (usually) two trains up in the morning, so if you take the train up, you have a known (fixed) starting time. The cable car runs continuously, so you can take it back whenever you've had enough, without being tied to a fixed return time on the train (which may either having you rushing or hanging about).

yes I would agree this is the correct way to do it. we did it as a family a few years back and enjoyed the experience.

As a Yank ex-pat half-settled in ADL just wanted to throw out a few suggestions...

Things reasonably close to CBD (central business district = downtown) and doable with public transportation...

1. Cleland Wildlife Park - Pretty touristy, but a place to pet & feed the roos / wallabies / koalas etc. Go early when the critters are hungry and you can get some great iconic Aussie pics of you with a roo for the folks back home. Although you can get very close to the emus I wouldn't.

2. Central Market - On most days the huge farmer's market is running and it's fun getting a feel of the local produce & eats. The market is next to a small Chinatown area & Gouger Street which has the most eclectic array of multi-ethnic restaurants in ADL.

3. Adelaide Zoo which is pretty close to the Botanic Garden.

4. Glenelg is a cute seaside community with tons of restaurants, ice cream & souvenir shops down Jetty Road. Also known as one of the very few cities in the world which is a palindrome.

5. Mount Lofty probably offers the best views of the city but there's not much to do there. Windy Point restaurant is spectacular after dark. There are actually two restaurants -- the upstairs is a bit pricey, but the downstairs 'cafe' is more reasonable & has the same great views. There's also a free lookout parking lot & I've never driven by from dusk on without seeing several cars pulled over admiring the view.

Further afield (you'll need a car & a day)...

6. South Australia is probably best known for their wine production. The Barossa Valley is about an hour's drive from ADL and has many world-class wineries. Think there might be a train & daily bus but have never tried it.

7. Going the other direction for about an hour & a half is Victor HARBOR (spelled our way /me waves little American flag). Just after dusk you can take a little walking tour on the boardwalk & watch the little blue penguins return from the sea to their nests (check online, as they just stay at home during moulting time and I don't remember when that is.) They also have signs claiming to be a home for leafy sea dragons but I've never seen one there -- I suspect this might be an old Aussie trick perpetrated on visitors, similar to posting koala warning signs on major roads & laughing at all the drongos (idiots) looking up in the trees. You also pass through the McLaren Vale wine growing region going to VH.

Even a bit farther...

8. If you have several days you might want to take the ferry to Kangaroo Island. Very quaint & yes there are a lot of roos (surprise!), wallabies, echidnas, koalas, penguins, goanas, & snakes running wild. It can be scary to drive at night. IIRC on the Western end of the island is the only place on the continent where you can find platypus in the wild although I'm not sure how they fared after the major wildfires a few years back. (Apologies to Tasmania, I know you're part of the continent but don't know how you differentiate yourself from the 'mainland'.)

Anyway just a few ideas... arguably ADL may be one of the less interesting capital cities for tourism, but hey at least we're not Canberra :p

Anyway just a few ideas... arguably ADL may be one of the less interesting capital cities for tourism, but hey at least we're not Canberra :p I LOVE Canberra! I can spend all day at the Australian War Memorial (http://www.awm.gov.au/) (admittedly, I am a member of the Friends of the AWM), it is one of the BEST War Memorials in the world (ranked with the Imperial War Museum), the National Gallery is well worth a look, plenty of other features. A lot more than Adelaide has!

Dave

A few suggestions for SYD:

1. Take the ferry to Manly for breakfast on, or a walk along, the waterfront.

2. Sydney Open - a free look inside buildings you wouldn't normally get to see inside, such as dis-used subway stations and historic buildings. It occurs on one weekend every second year in SYD (it also occurs in many other cities around the world), next in 2012. It occurred late in the year in 2010, but date for 2012 has not yet been announced, so you might be in luck! See http://www.hht.net.au/sydopen/home/about/general_info

3. A trip to the Blue Mountains is well worth it - you can get there by train, but a rental car is more flexible. Lots of walks (including one of my favourites, national pass - nationalpass.com.au) and other things to do.


4. Glenelg is a cute seaside community with tons of restaurants, ice cream & souvenir shops down Jetty Road. Also known as one of the very few cities in the world which is a palindrome.

You can take the only tram (trolley/street car) in Adelaide!


6. South Australia is probably best known for their wine production. The Barossa Valley is about an hour's drive from ADL and has many world-class wineries. Think there might be a train & daily bus but have never tried it.

Also the Clare Valley is about an hour and a half away - great if you like riesling!


Even a bit farther...

8. If you have several days you might want to take the ferry to Kangaroo Island. Very quaint & yes there are a lot of roos (surprise!), wallabies, echidnas, koalas, penguins, goanas, & snakes running wild. It can be scary to drive at night. IIRC on the Western end of the island is the only place on the continent where you can find platypus in the wild although I'm not sure how they fared after the major wildfires a few years back. (Apologies to Tasmania, I know you're part of the continent but don't know how you differentiate yourself from the 'mainland'.)

Driving at night is not recommended and if you are in a rental car, prohibited! The chance of hitting a kangaroo at 100 km/h is quite high!

2. Central Market - On most days the huge farmer's market is running and it's fun getting a feel of the local produce & eats.

One of my favourite places in all the world. If only Sydney had something even close.....

it is one of the BEST War Memorials in the world (ranked with the Imperial War Museum)

I'm a Canberran, and am always surprised at how much foreign guests of mine seem to like the Australian War Memorial... I always thought it would probably be quite boring to non-Australians!

I LOVE Canberra! I can spend all day at the Australian War Memorial (http://www.awm.gov.au/) (admittedly, I am a member of the Friends of the AWM), it is one of the BEST War Memorials in the world (ranked with the Imperial War Museum), the National Gallery is well worth a look, plenty of other features. A lot more than Adelaide has!

Dave

+1

The AWM is worth a day trip in itself.

+1

The AWM is worth a day trip in itself. Or two or three. Every time I am in there, I find things I haven't seen before.

Dave

I third the thought on the war museum. It was awesome and we were there for the closing ceremony at night which was quite moving. The memorials lining the street ate also worth a look as well as the new contemporary museum.

I third the thought on the war museum. It was awesome and we were there for the closing ceremony at night which was quite moving. The memorials lining the street ate also worth a look as well as the new contemporary museum.

Yet another +1 here.... not sure why it's not on more "must-see" lists in Aussie.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will print them out and see what we can get to while we are there. Although I would love to get to the capital and see everything it has to offer, it is doubtful that we will get there. There are so many things in Oz that I know we would like to see and do. We would love to get to MEL and Perth also. That's not going to happen on this trip. Your country, like the US, is so vast and diverse. We could spend months - even years - trying to see it all.

We submitted our visa applications about 10 days ago. We'll wait and see where that goes.

If anyone else has more suggestions, we still have 3 months to plan.

Thanks for your guidance.

JIM

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will print them out and see what we can get to while we are there. Although I would love to get to the capital and see everything it has to offer, it is doubtful that we will get there. There are so many things in Oz that I know we would like to see and do. We would love to get to MEL and Perth also. That's not going to happen on this trip. Your country, like the US, is so vast and diverse. We could spend months - even years - trying to see it all. Most Australians haven't seen it all, I am in the fortunate situation that, having worked for various travel operators - Greyhound Australia, East-West Airlines, Australian Airlines and Qantas, as well as being a life member of YHA Australia, I have travelled extensively, and have seen a lot, and I still consider this country as unique and worth exploring.

Yet, I still haven't seen it all, with many more places to see in years to come.

I love this country!

Dave

Adelaide Hills and Hahndorf are possibly worth a look, and not too far from town by car ... Lots of nice wineries that way, and if you go through Stirling or Bridgewater some nice restaurants and pubs. This would also take you close to Mylor where you can go to Warrawong Sanctuary - similar to Cleland but a bit smaller, and free! Plenty of kangaroos and other wildlife to feed though.

If you have a car and want to head along the coast to Victor, you can go into Moana beach where you can drive the car right in and along the beachfront a bit, and heading the other way (staying in town) you can drive along the beachfront road towards Semaphore and Largs Bay, which also offers some nice old buildings and good eateries!

Adelaide's museum and art gallery are in town, and are pretty good (if you're into such), and a short stroll from there to the East End, which is considered the "arty" end of town ... and you guessed it, lots more fine places to eat and drink!

Hope this helps

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will print them out and see what we can get to while we are there. Although I would love to get to the capital and see everything it has to offer, it is doubtful that we will get there. There are so many things in Oz that I know we would like to see and do. We would love to get to MEL and Perth also. That's not going to happen on this

We submitted our visa applications about 10 days ago. We'll wait and see where that goes.

If anyone else has more suggestions, we still have 3 months to plan.

Thanks for your guidance.

JIM


The eta should be approved almost instantly. Where did you submit the applications

There is a lot to do up and down the east coat for the first time. Perth and Melbourne are really two different trips unless you have a lot of time.

We completed our applications on line almost two weeks ago. We haven't heard anything since then.

You should have a reference number that you could check online. Normally as soon as you fill in your information a screen pops up and indicates you have a valid eta and the last day it is valid for entry to Australia. You also should have received an email confirming payment of your visa fee. What website did you use?

We just did this last weekend and the process took all of five minutes to enter the data, the approval and the payment receipt.

I didn't understand what I was seeing. We have our eta's.

Thanks.

Glad to be of assistance. There is a lot to see in Australia. Its a great place to visit. You wont be able to see it all in one or several trips, so just pick a few wonderful things to do, and enjoy. Feel free to ask questions as you do more research.

Congratulations on your trip to Aus. You will love it. I'm from near West Memphis and been there 4 or 5 times.
For Sydney, not renting a car is very smart. Traffic is horrible. I found that staying at the Holiday Inn Airport was an excellent choice. It is only a 5 minute walk to the train station, which will get you to the Circular Quay and the harbor bridge and the opera house in about 15 minutes. Trains run frequently, so you have to wait only a few minutes. Lots of things to see and do within walking distance of the harbor.
You would probably enjoy doing the Harbor Bridge climb although it is a bit pricey. An easy way to see a lot of the sights is the Sydney Explorer bus. The round trip takes about 2 hours, but it's hop on-hop off at any of the stops and the ticket is good for 24 hours.
A good bet is to get a family daypass on the ferries and cruise Sydney Harbor. It makes for a great afternoon. Each of the ferries goes to a different destination and you get to go on any or all of them as much as you like. Take the Darling Harbor one and see the aquarium or ride the monorail or take the Taronga Zoo ferry to se the local zoo.
Do a lot of google searches to get a lot of great info on the places you're going. Http://www.australia.com/ is a start.
Enjoy your trip.

If you do decide to stay near the airport, I recommend buying a multi-day all zone public transport pass. It is more expensive if it includes trips to/from Kingsford, but well worth it (the transit time to the CBD is 15 minutes!). The pass is good for all of the ferries, recommend night ferry with views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

A word of caution on "inexpensive" hotels in SYD. Due to the rapid appreciation of the AUD $, it is very expensive to stay in Sydney. We stayed at the Westin on points (highly recommended) but otherwise it would have been $400 US!

If you are not a points chaser I have always loved staying at the Kirketon Hotel in Darlinghurst when I am in Sydney. Its a little bit shabby and the standard rooms are VERY small by American standards, but the staff are amazing and its a nice walk into town, or a short walk to the train station to get into town. There are lots of cafes etc the next street over and Peite la creme is one of the best french cafes for breakfast. Cant really make suggestions as to what to do touristy wise as I live in the Central west and only ever venture into town for work.

One thing I would suggest (if you're not too fussed with using your points) is to rent a short-stay apartment or property on stayz.com.au. You can find various properties scattered throughout the CBD (Central Business District) or alongside beaches like Bondi and Manly from $150 a night. Compare this with a night at the Holiday Inn which has an average rate of $250 for the month of April in a Queen/King Bed room.

I've even used the website to stay at some AMAZING beachfront mansions for a week or so around Australia, pretty much your own private resort.

If you have any other questions or would like recommendations for casual/fine dining, feel free to PM me :)

One thing I would suggest (if you're not too fussed with using your points) is to rent a short-stay apartment or property on stayz.com.au. You can find various properties scattered throughout the CBD (Central Business District) or alongside beaches like Bondi and Manly from $150 a night. Compare this with a night at the Holiday Inn which has an average rate of $250 for the month of April in a Queen/King Bed room.

I've even used the website to stay at some AMAZING beachfront mansions for a week or so around Australia, pretty much your own private resort.

If you have any other questions or would like recommendations for casual/fine dining, feel free to PM me :)

WOW! stayz.com.au is a great solution. We found a place we liked about 500 meters from the Opera House and put in a request. They want about $5 more for the 4 night stay than the hotel.

All of you have been so helpful. Although I did not respond directly to each of your suggestions, we are using many of them. We still have more than 60 days until our departure. Don't stop now!

Thank you