Australia - once in a lifetime trip. Tips please!

[MrsMigginsCat]

After an unexpected windfall, DH and I are going to Oz for just over 3 weeks in October. The itinerary is already set - we've used a travel consultant so all hotels and internal flights are booked - we have 4 nights in Melbourne, 4 nights in Adelaide, 2 nights in Alice Springs, 2 nights at Uluru, 4 nights in Cairns and 6 nights in Sydney.

We've got a few things we definitely want to do; DH wants to climb Sydney Harbour Bridge - I'm not keen on edges, so I'll watch from a cafe below! A trip to Fitzroy Island and/or the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns to Kuranda on the Scenic Railway so I can cuddle a koala at the Koala Gardens and we already have a sunset BBQ booked for Uluru. I'm a bit of a history buff, so any must see museums are right up my street. We're into nice, but not wildly expensive restaurants, live music bars and good coffee.

All recommendations welcome to help with the planning!

[BIWI]

Bondi to Coogee, not Congee!

details here

[babbi]

Definitely go to Manly as the others have said .. it’s fantastic and a great boat ride .
Uluru is spectacular too .

Have a great trip and I wish you the best of health x

[BIWI]

When you're on the bridge, you're actually walking on really wide metal platforms. And you're fasted to a railing all around it, so there's no way you can fall off!

It's amazing and you get fantastic views of the harbour, so I'd really do it if I were you.

Taronga zoo is great, but there's also an aquarium and (small) zoo in Darling harbour that's worth a visit.

The Bondi-Congee walk is fabulous, but it is a long way and if it's hot (which it may well be in October), it's tiring. Make sure you take water (and sunscreen!). There's a great bar at Congee though, so there will be a very welcome pint of lager waiting for you.

[Pinkybike]

Following with interest as we are planning a trip to the east coast next year.
We are planning to go for 3 weeks in August.
Anyone who lives in cairns and Brisbane areas, is it likely we can swim in the sea in August?
My husband is worried about the sharks, jelly fish and crocodiles

[MrsMigginsCat]

Im very similar @okformoreinfo. I'm scared of edges more than being high up so maybe I will give it a go. It's the looking down I don't like - I get a horrible wobbly feeling - so if I can just look ahead I'll hopefully be ok. Will be something to tell the grandchildren anyway!

[okformoreinfo]

I am terrified of heights OP but I did the bridge climb. The staff are brilliant and will help. I was told they could get me down quickly if things got too much. To be honest, at height I can look straight head, I just can’t look down. If I look down that when the fear starts.

[MrsMigginsCat]

@Freddofan

If you’re in Oz for the 1st November try and arrange something / book in for Melbourne cup day . We arrived in Sydney that day and hadn’t arranged anything but it was crazy to see all the locals glammed up and celebrating.. hard ! Champagne and fun could be a good way to end your trip.

We are there on 1st Nov! It's our penultimate day so that might be a great end to the holiday, getting glammed up and celebrating with some fizz in a rooftop bar.

[ajandjjmum]

Will be a fabulous trip OP. We went to Aus a few years ago and spent time in Sydney, Uluru and Port Douglas - after flying in to Cairns.

We're back this year (hopefully twice) having had a number of flights cancelled during Covid. DS lives in Sydney, so we're looking forward to spending time with him, but really interesting to see suggestions of where else we should visit. Lots to see in Aus!

[Fifilafrog]

My DH is terrified of heights but made it over the Sydney harbour bridge. You must do it, it's a once in a life opportunity, he loved it!

Taro has zoo. Manley beach (better than Bondi), darling harbour aquarium.

Enjoy!

[Freddofan]

If you’re in Oz for the 1st November try and arrange something / book in for Melbourne cup day . We arrived in Sydney that day and hadn’t arranged anything but it was crazy to see all the locals glammed up and celebrating.. hard ! Champagne and fun could be a good way to end your trip.

[CakeAmbushAlert]

Thanks for info @MrsMigginsCat absolutely life is for living & it sounds live a wonderful trip, enjoy!!

[MrsMigginsCat]

@CakeAmbushAlert we've paid just under £8k which includes return flights, all internal flights, accommodation in 4* hotels and a couple of trips at Alice Springs and Uluru. With spends, I reckon we'll not see much change from £12/13k. Its a once in a lifetime trip so we intend to do as much as we can while we're there. It feels really frivolous - we're more used to a couple of weeks self catering in the Med, but I had cancer two years ago and the money is from an insurance payout. It's made me (and DH) realise that life is too short and precious not to enjoy it while you're here.

[chatw0o0]

If you have time when at Uluru, try to get to Kata Tjuta - which is a cluster of rock formations that you can walk around (there's a short route and longer route). Take plenty of water and a hat, it will be hot!

[MangoSeason]

Hi. I’m in Cairns and have lived here most of my life.

Fitzroy Island is amazing and one of my favourite places on Earth. However, you won’t see the Great Barrier Reef on Fitzroy Island. It has some very basic coral and nothing spectacular. It is quite close to Cairns and you won’t get the amazing outer reef experience. Great island for swimming in crystal clear waters and beautiful (but spikey!) white coral beaches.

If visiting the Great Barrier Reef is on your bucket list, I would recommend a day trip from Port Douglas on a vessel like Wave Length.

[Bussinbussin]

OP I was a bit dismissive of Adelaide before but if you are definitely going I have a few more ideas to pad out your stay!

• The Zoo is the only one in Australia with Giant Pandas.
  
• Central Market is interesting for foodies.
  
• There's an indigenous restaurant called Red Ochre where you can eat kangaroo and crocodile and things.
  
• Cool little wine bars and cafes in the laneways off Rundle St.
  
• Haighs chocolate and Coopers brewery are Adelaide institutions.
  
• If you get a warm sunny day, a tram to Glenelg Beach, it's lovely, and facing west for gorgeous sunsets over the water.
  

Enjoy!

[MrsMigginsCat]

Wow, loads of replies! Thank you.

The destinations are already fixed as flights are booked and I don't think they can be amended now.

We've purposely done 6 days in Sydney as we are planning on meeting up with friends for the weekend we are there so that still gives us a few days to do stuff we want to do.

We used Freedom Destinations to organise the trip and they've been really helpful. We said roughly where we wanted to go, and a rough duration and they came up with the itinerary.

The Daintree Rainforest is a great suggestion @LegallyBlende as is the Blue Mountains/Three Sisters. I was looking at that the other day.

I have family in Adelaide so we may meet up with them on one of the days we are there. The Immigration Museum looks like it might be my cup of tea too - thanks @pastypirate (Are you in Cornwall by any chance? We are too!) I didn't know about the women's museum in Alice Springs so thank you for that suggestion @WeegieWan.

We're defo up for some wine tasting somewhere! Yarra Valley or the Hunter Valley depending on where we fit it in would be good.

I've set an spreadsheet and am gradually filling in each day with ideas. I think it's going to be pretty full on so am also leaving a couple of days just to relax as well!

I'm super-excited - it was a bit of a punt as to whether we'd be able to go when we booked it, but it all looks good now. It's all amendable anyway so if covid does do something random, we can move it on.

[LegallyBlende]

1. Daintree Rainforest when in Cairns - one of my favourite places ever
   

2 Blue Mountains / Three Sisters walk when in Sydney

[scissorspaperrock]

I'm from Sydney. Definitely do Taronga Zoo and the Bondi to Bronte walk (but would continue on to Coogee). When in Manly go to Shelly Beach. There are also fairy penguins in Manly that are cute to see. I personally prefer the harbour beaches to the coastal beaches in Sydney as the surf can be quite rough. The best harbour beach being Balmoral. Neilson Park (Shark Beach - don''t worry, there's a net) is good too and you could make a day trip out of it (with an uber) if you add Watson's Bay which is where you get good fish and chips. There is a nice cliff walk and a great place for drinks there at the watson's bay hotel, plus an easy ferry back to Circular Quay.

I want to also add do day/evening drinks at Opera Bar and the rooftop of the Glenmore Hotel is fab but you might have to book a table. Also try to do a dinner at a restaurant along Woolloomoloo wharf. It's a bit expensive but lovely at sunset.

Anyway, basically there is a huge cafe culture in all of Australia so embrace the coffee,brunch and early morning lifestyle.

[violetbunny]

Oh no, just realised it's saying that it's currently unavailable. Might be a temporary Covid thing, hopefully will be back by October.

[violetbunny]

I loved breakfast with the koalas in Sydney. Apparently koalas sleep 23 hours of the day, they basically wake up for an hour in the morning to eat early in the morning, so this way you can see them at their most active.

www.wildlifesydney.com.au/tickets-passes/experiences/breakfast-with-the-koalas/

[JassyRadlett]

While you’re at Uluru do try to get to Kata Tjuta as well, absolutely stunning.

Dinner under the stars at Uluru is also excellent, we had a First Nations star guide to tell Dreamtime stories of the constellations, it was fantastic.

I’m also questioning why Adelaide but I’ve never been a massive fan.

I’d take a couple of your Sydney nights up in the Blue Mountains - totally different landscapes and so beautiful.

[Weenurse]

If I had a choice between Adelaide and Tasmania, I would chose Tasmania. I can see why you are going to Adelaide though, sets you up for the outback

[BaruFisher]

If you can change the configuration at all, I would reduce the Sydney and Adelaide days. 3 full days in Sydney is enough- 1 harbour bridge/ opera house sightseeing etc/ 1 blue mountains/ 1 beach- personally I prefer Manly but you may like Bondi or Coogee.

I’d increase time in Cairns and try to fit in Mossman and Cape Tribulation and more time in the Tablelands than just Kuranda, the waterfall circuit in the southern part of the Tablelands is stunning.

Melbourne is one of the best places for museums, history, coffee. Immigration museum is great. Great Ocean Road trip is beautiful.

Try and get in at least one wine tour- Barossa from Adelaide or Hunter Valley from Sydney if you can’t shorten that part.
Uluru is beautiful.
I’ve been travelling around Aus working for almost 4 years now and the most beautiful places I’ve been to are Far North Queensland and Tassie. You have a bit of FNQ but won’t have time to add Tassie this trip but keep it in mind for next time. Get out of the cities as much as possible. For the most part they’re like any modern city- high rise and all about the shopping/ money-making. It’s Australia’s wildlife and landscape that make it so spectacular in my opinion.

[BGJO]

You should take the ferry from Sydney to Manley Beach.