Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Where to go in Australia with extra week?

Hi, we already have SYD and CNS covered. When the rest of our group leaves from CNS (beginning of December) we will have another week or so to do something else. We are considering Alice Springs, Darwin, Perth, or Hobart. We are probably more interested in outdoors than indoors. Our beach and swimming/diving will be taken care of in Cairns.

Which if the above mentioned destinations will provide the most variety and/or be most interesting for about a week in early December?

Thanks for your input!

I have only been to the Northern Territory once, but it was great and would probably be a better option from Cairns rather than flying across Australia to Perth or Melbourne. You might get some helpful info here. http://www.travelnt.com/en/explore/kakadu/

wherever you go, you will enjoy, australia is a wonderful and beautiful country with great people.
i would suggest either perth, i've not been, but friends rave abt. it. you can hire a car and travel down the coast to margaret river area. depending where you leave from, plane travel can be long, i'm unsure how long from cns.

or tasmania, again long travel but if you were considering melb. anyway, i think it's only abt. one hour or shorter to hobart. (once travelled in a very small plane and it took over 3 hrs, scary). once again either car hire or bus trips out from hobart to the rest of state, lots of history and beaut spots in this state. only had the opportunity to hire a car for one day in hobart and we drove out to a lake, name forgotten, and stopped for lunch at the most delightful tiny place called something like possum inn on the dewart river. the outdoor environment was great and sitting by the pot belly stove inside having lunch was fun.

or south australia, lots of wine country outside capital of adelaide and once again lots of history.

or taking the train from adelaide to alice springs (may not be possible to book tho.)

whatever you do, you will enjoy. cheers, trish

Perth is great, but if I had a week I would head to Tasmania, no question. With a rental car you can easily do a circle trip around the island, hitting Hobart area, Freycinet, Launceston, Cradle Mountain, Strahan. Wonderful outdoor scenery, walking/hiking, with a lot of variety. Quiet and laid back, with a bit more sophistication in Hobart, but unless you want nightlife, Tassie is the place. I last did this in March 2006 and can't wait to go back.

Flying in and/or out of Launceston offers additional flight options.

Enjoy your trip to Australia - my favorite place to visit!

Have to agree with Iflyfish - Tassie rocks, lovely views and landscapes & opportunity to see platypus, penguins, and other fauna. Highly recommend Cradle Mountain.

Hobart in December rocks...I ought to know I live here! Its really laid back with nice bushwalks etc within an hours drive, lots of history, not too hot or cold, good food and just really lovely and zen like.
There will be quite a few people around getting ready for the SYD-HBA race, Taste of Tasmania etc etc which all start after Christmas.
If you want any more info drop me and PM with what you are interested in and I'll suggest stuff.

I would consider northern NZ (Bay of Islands etc). NZ flies non-stop from CNS to AKL, or can easily connect on QF at BNE or SYD (competitively priced).

I spent some time in Perth and, though lovely, I wouldn't recommend it for a week. It actually reminded me of San Diego - it was beautiful, but it wasn't the most exciting place in the world. However, Freemantle had some interesting things and the day I spent on Rottnest Island ranks among my top five travel memories anywhere.

I'd listen to the people who suggested Hobart, but if you decided that it was a bit too far, I'd go up North. However, you could probably also have a great Outback experience... a couple of nights in Uluru and a few more in the Alice area.

How is Uluru / Kakadu (originating from Alice Springs or Darwin) at that time of year?
That would be a unique and amazing experience if the weather is suitable for a tour.

Aside from coastal Tasmania, you won't find anything as uniquely memorable on your trip. A week might not be nearly long enough but you could get an idea of the scale and sights.

Tasmania. It might be a small island but there is a lot to see - Hobart, Bruny Island, Queenstown - everywhere, really. Hiring a car is the best way to go.

How is Uluru / Kakadu (originating from Alice Springs or Darwin) at that time of year?
That would be a unique and amazing experience if the weather is suitable for a tour.

Aside from coastal Tasmania, you won't find anything as uniquely memorable on your trip. A week might not be nearly long enough but you could get an idea of the scale and sights.


It is VERY hot in the middle of summer in Alice Springs or Uluru or Darwin.
It can be 45 celcius here in the centre and it can be 32 celcius in Darwin
with 99% humidity. However, I love the summers here in the center. If you
come that time of the year, you'll have most tourist destinations to yourself.
I am not 100% sure about Darwin, but I believe some areas of the top end
can be closed due to the wet/monsoon season which causes flooding.

I'm sure the wx in Hobart would be absolutely fantastic in summer, only ever been in the colder months.

Dazza

I do not know where you're flying out of to get back to SBA but considering you have seven days, I would fly into Melbourne, spending a day (or two if you're so inclined). I think Melbourne is a great city, different to Sydney but I only really know the city relative to sporting events I've been to at the same time. Then catch the Spirit of Tasmania (www.spiritoftasmania.com.au) (a ferry) to Tasmania (Devonport), traveling anti-clockwise visiting Hobart, Port Arthur and making your way to Launceston where you can fly back to the major city you are departing from.

These are all wonderful ideas. Thanks to everyone and keep 'em coming. Our international departure point is SYD so after all is done we will be heading back there for our final leg of our journey (SYD-ICN-NRT-HNL-PDX-SMF.....why am I not OneWorld or StarAlliance elite?).

To be completely truthful, we actually have 2 weeks after CNS, but I may need to skip the last week to head home early for a work related reason. Currently, we have been tossing around the idea of flying to Darwin first, and then from Darwin to Tasmania. Apparently this would be possible using an inter-regional AA award on Qantas, but we are interested in flying in business class and the Darwin-Hobart is proving difficult to find availability for.

Another vote for Tasmaina! Do not miss Frycinet National Park...the drive and the park itself are beautiful. We were there in December three years ago and the weather was good - warm and windy.

To be completely truthful, we actually have 2 weeks after CNS, but I may need to skip the last week to head home early for a work related reason. Currently, we have been tossing around the idea of flying to Darwin first, and then from Darwin to Tasmania. Apparently this would be possible using an inter-regional AA award on Qantas, but we are interested in flying in business class and the Darwin-Hobart is proving difficult to find availability for.

Thats cause there are no direct flights...you will either have to go Darwin-SYD or Darwin-MEL if you want to fly QF mainline down to Hobart. There is only one QF flight a day from SYD and about 3 from MEL. You may be better off getting a Virgin Blue flight.

Hi, we already have SYD and CNS covered. When the rest of our group leaves from CNS (beginning of December) we will have another week or so to do something else. We are considering Alice Springs, Darwin, Perth, or Hobart. We are probably more interested in outdoors than indoors. Our beach and swimming/diving will be taken care of in Cairns.

Which if the above mentioned destinations will provide the most variety and/or be most interesting for about a week in early December?

Thanks for your input!

Going across Australia ie CNS-PER or CNS-MEL will waste you a day each way.

If you want to see the outback grab a car in Cairns and drive to BNE via the Atherton Tablelands, Hughenden, Winton, Longreach, Blackall, Charleville, Roma, Dalby, Toowoomba and Brisbane. Then fly back to Sydney and home. You will meet good country people and get a real taste of the variation in the areas of Australia. Some long stretches driving but well worth it.

Similar to the USA you cannot hope to do Australia justice by trying to cover the whole continent on one short trip.

For early December I recommend Tasmania via Melbourne (perhaps do MEL for a day or two perhaps). 5 to 7 days driving Tassie taking above suggestions into account.

In all likelyhood Darwin/Kakadu too hot and wet; red centre simply too hot.

A few years ago, I took the Indian Pacific railway between Sydney and Perth. If you like trains, this is one of the world's great train journeys. The service and food were excellent, and we got to see remote wilderness areas in air-conditioned comfort. The journey is three nights, so this would give you a few days to explore Perth and the west coast before flying back to Sydney.