[MHM]

Yay! I really enjoy your reports and Australia is my favourite place in the world. We lived in Sydney for a while a few years ago and have taken several holidays in the Port Douglas/Cairns beaches area.

For Sydney I would say get a hotel close to the ferries as they are the best way to travel. I wasn't so keen on Bondi, it reminded me of Southend (with better weather, obviously!). Mosman is a lovely beach area if you have the time to visit.

In Queensland, I would recommend The Sheraton in Port Douglas, which has 5 acres of swimming pools, or the newer QT which has a great buffet restaurant. There are some lovely hotels in quieter Palm Cove (mostly run by Accor), and finally Coral Sands in Trinity Beach has nice apartments with a good Italian restaurant (and really good cocktails overlooking the sea). Port Douglas has the most to see/do and is where most of the trips out to the reef go from, if going by boat. I would recommend going with a smaller company that takes you to smaller sections of the reef or to the beautiful Low Isles rather than one that takes you to a very crowded pontoon. Try Sailaway Port Douglas

For Kurunda, it is worth upgrading to first class if going one way by train, for the air conditioning and the drinks/snacks. Train up and sky rail back is the best way. Kurunda itself isn't somewhere you would want to spend a long time. Also, Tjapukai by night is a lot of fun!

Have an amazing trip, if you have any questions, let me know.