3 months in Oz with kids.. how much money will we need?!

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We are going to spending 3 months based in Sydney next year as my DH's work is taking us there. Our flights and accommodation are paid for (we have sorted out a flat rental already). We will go to visit relatives in other parts of Oz and I can see how much those flights might cost, but I have no idea how much we should budget for doing some travelling ourselves, doing some excursion type things.. the kids will be 7 and 10.
We have budgeted £5k (and my DH will obviously be being paid while we are there) but I am wondering if this is realistic? Any advice welcome, thanks! :-)

Oz is very expensive! I live in Perth but I don't think the cost is hugely different. It's easy for us to spend over $100 on weekly grocery shop just for 2 of us, and closer to $150 if we're not watching our spending. Eating out, you could easily spend $20 per person for breakfast. A sandwich generally costs around $10, and a pint of beer around $9. Meat is expensive (approx $7 for 2 chicken breasts, $6 for 500g regular beef mince). If you have your husband's pay while you're here you should be ok with that and the £5k but don't move here expecting it to be cheap, as so many people seem to do! It's a fab country though so I'm sure you'll have an awesome experience!

Also, it gets cold. Really cold. Depending on which months you're here you might be grateful for English winter coats. Good luck!

My sister has lived in Aus. It's hugely expensive. I have no idea how much money you'll need, but you will need more than you think going on what dsis says and you'll have to take into account the terrible exchange rate too.

Sounds like an amazing trip! Have loads of fun!

Well it depends on exactly what travelling / excursions you are intending to do out there, but I would have thought 5k for 3 months would be quite tight, especially as it's an expensive country. I would throw at least a couple of extra grand on top of that to be honest.

Shed loads. We went for three weeks in a similar situation (flew out to join DP at the end of a work trip). Ds and I had 2 weeks in Sydney then flew up to Brisbane and Byron together. I think we spent around 2k.

Public transport is cheap in Sydney and internal flights are comparatively cheap. Everything else is £££££££££. I have a friend who lives there now who says she physically braces herself every time the cashier turns to tell her how much the shopping is...

That said it was the best trip ever and I don't regret a penny of it.

So you're Looking at Purely holiday funds?

You need to make a spreadsheet. Where are the absolute must sees for you, how can you get to them (fly, train, drive) and how many days will you spend on each trip.

Do the same for day trip type places.

Then it is very easy to put together a budget, transport, accommodation, food, sightseeing, misc spends.

I live here. It's not a cheap country but not horribly expensive if you are sensible. You say that accommodation is paid for, which is great because that'd be your biggest expense. There is lots to do outside here that you don't need to spend loads on entertainment or activities. I'd include a hire car in your budget. To get the best out of sydney you will really need a car. Public transport will only get you so far. "No birds" do reasonablely priced car hire. Petrol is about half the price as in the uk. Go shopping in aldi instead of coles or woollies. 5000 pounds is about 10,000 dollars for 3 months. That's over 3000 dollars per month. As a family of 3 we have about 1500 left for food and fun after bills. You might not be able to live as if in full holiday mode all the time but being careful you should be able to have a great time. Personally I'd try to get a car for half the time then go on day trips picnicing at the hundred or so beaches here in sydney. But as a pp said it does depend when you come. Late spring to early autumn (Nov to april) is beach weather. But don't worry there are other outside activities if the beach isn't your thing. If it's the other 6 months of the year, things may be a bit tighter budget-wise because indoor activities for a 7 and 10 year old can be pricey and you may want to travel to places where you can go to the beach like queensland.

Thanks for all these helpful replies, esp smellslikeoranges - that was reassuring! We are pretty good at living on a budget here (I have been a student much of the time we have had kids) and know how to eat cheaply and well. Delighted to hear there is Aldi!
Youroyalnotness - that sounds so completely sensible and has inspired me to put thoughts into a spreadsheet (rather than backs of envelopes which is how I usually plan) although I get very overwhelmed by such levels of organization ;-)
Any more thoughts v welcome!