Booked Australia!

[munmun]

We really want to head back to Australia but think we will leave it for a couple of years.

[stanleycamel]

Originally Posted by Claudette

Wonderful city to live in. It wasn't our first choice at all, we thought Melbourne but DH very niche and needed to work in Sydney. We soon loved living there, fantastic blend of being a bus ride into the city centre plus a walk to the beach from home.



A great choice but we have done it, also done the Indian Pacific (Sydney to Perth). We did the Ghan in 2011, it had been a wet year and the centre had quite a lot of greenery as well as the usual red.

We still haven't come up with anything since I started the thread. We have done a fair bit of Australia already hence scratching our heads a bit.

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I was going to suggest Kalgoorlie but you will have visited there on the IP - but the area around it is certainly different the Super Pit is not exactly on the tourist route and Lake Ballard for instance to see some Antony Gormley(weird one for me as I have the Angel of the North on my doorstep). It is a very diverse area and definitely not on the tourist trail.

SW Australia around Esperance, Albany and Pemberton- a trip to Yeagarup Dunes are worth a visit and then you can finish off with a trip through the Margaret River wine region (well you have to drive through it to get to Perth so its a handy stop for a day or 2 or 3 or 4 or more ).

The north of WA around Exmouth is really quiet outside of whale watching season but amazing when the whale sharks are spotted (really busy too). Sal Salis is certainly an experience if you want something different and a good sized budget.

The Daintree area is worth a visit and the Kuranda Railway/Sky Rail is certainly unique and as munmun mentioned the Atherton Tablelands can be an interesting side trip.

Mornington Peninsular near Melbourne is nice for a relaxing break from Melbourne. Philip Island is really worth a visit if you are interested in wildlife.

The fires on Kangaroo Island in 2020 had a major impact on the island including, sadly, the destruction of Southern Ocean Lodge which was a wonderful place to stay - the recovery there continues.

Hope there are some ideas there for you

[Claudette]

Originally Posted by stanleycamel

I was going to suggest Kalgoorlie but you will have visited there on the IP - but the area around it is certainly different the Super Pit is not exactly on the tourist route and Lake Ballard for instance to see some Antony Gormley(weird one for me as I have the Angel of the North on my doorstep). It is a very diverse area and definitely not on the tourist trail.

SW Australia around Esperance, Albany and Pemberton- a trip to Yeagarup Dunes are worth a visit and then you can finish off with a trip through the Margaret River wine region (well you have to drive through it to get to Perth so its a handy stop for a day or 2 or 3 or 4 or more ).

The north of WA around Exmouth is really quiet outside of whale watching season but amazing when the whale sharks are spotted (really busy too). Sal Salis is certainly an experience if you want something different and a good sized budget.

The Daintree area is worth a visit and the Kuranda Railway/Sky Rail is certainly unique and as munmun mentioned the Atherton Tablelands can be an interesting side trip.

Mornington Peninsular near Melbourne is nice for a relaxing break from Melbourne. Philip Island is really worth a visit if you are interested in wildlife.

The fires on Kangaroo Island in 2020 had a major impact on the island including, sadly, the destruction of Southern Ocean Lodge which was a wonderful place to stay - the recovery there continues.

Hope there are some ideas there for you

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Yes we did go to Kalgoorlie as a stop on the Indian Pacific including a trip to a very big mine. It was a whistle stop tour though and we arrived at night, I would have quite liked to have seen a bit more of the town. We went up to Exmouth I think it must have been the same trip as I know we had Christmas Day on the train and were at Ningaloo for New Year. Didn’t stay at Sans Salis though, we were in a Novotel. In our final year we did Margaret River and then drove around to Albany and Esperance, I don’t remember going to anywhere called Pemberton though.

I didn’t know the destruction was so bad on Kangaroo Island, how sad. . I think Daintree / wider FNQ could be back on the agenda, probably Queensland is our favourite state. For some reason, Mount Isa came to mind earlier.

[stanleycamel]

Originally Posted by Claudette

Yes we did go to Kalgoorlie as a stop on the Indian Pacific including a trip to a very big mine. It was a whistle stop tour though and we arrived at night, I would have quite liked to have seen a bit more of the town. We went up to Exmouth I think it must have been the same trip as I know we had Christmas Day on the train and were at Ningaloo for New Year. Didn’t stay at Sans Salis though, we were in a Novotel. In our final year we did Margaret River and then drove around to Albany and Esperance, I don’t remember going to anywhere called Pemberton though.

I didn’t know the destruction was so bad on Kangaroo Island, how sad. . I think Daintree / wider FNQ could be back on the agenda, probably Queensland is our favourite state. For some reason, Mount Isa came to mind earlier.

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What a shame you missed the joys of the "Animal Bar" in Pemberton - locals slang for the Front Bar in the Pemberton Hotel - rough doesn't describe it and soo chauvanistic you wouldn't believe. As a non local when I walked in the entire bar stopped talking and stared as though I had 2 heads - turned on my heels and proceeded quickly to the lounge next door.

We stayed in a really quirky place called the Pemberton Old Picture Theatre and yes it was exactly that. The owner had a huge shed full of the old memorabillia and was so interesting to talk to. We also had a group of Hell's Angels staying in the two apartments next to us and they were wonderful hosts insisting we shared their supper one night and prepared a veritable feast for us to take on our next drive.

Good thinking about Mount Ida - my next trip will probably be Brisbane, Moreton Island area as my last proposed trip there had to be abandonned because of the flooding in 2011.

I also stayed at the Novotel in Exmouth - it is now called Mantarays Ningaloo Beach resort but I wonder if they kept the "rusty sculptures".

Good luck with the planning.

[mitch84]

I was the complete opposite to you, loved Melbourne and never fully warmed to Sydney. I think that might have just been as they are so different (and I lived in Melbourne)

There is lots of lovely bits around and about Melbourne, but I don’t necessarily recommend the main tourist bits.

The Great ocean road is ok. If you have done any of New Zealand though, or even Scotland/Ireland you will have seen better. It was worth a drive out to from Melbourne when I lived there. But otherwise no not really. The towns are small and isn’t much there.
The puffing Billy is a steam train set in the hills a couple of hours from melbourne, again great if you are there, but otherwise not worth a trip.

If you do go to Victoria I would recommend

Daylesford - Real arty and foody little spa town in regional Victoria. Seriously good restaurants and a few little wineries. Very hippy feel, great place to get massages and go to chef hatted restaurants

Mornington Peninsula - really pretty region with loads of wineries, breweries, artisan food producers like berries, chocolate and cheese, lighthouses and lovely views

Philip Island - obviously the main attraction is the penguins (who are very sweet) or the racetrack, but there is also lovely chocolate factory, and walks etc. the little towns are cute and I’d stay over

Bright - up near the ski resorts. Again lots of food and wineries etc, breweries. Good walks. Great for hiring bikes, little independent cinema etc

Halls Gap - regional Victoria in the Grampians. This would be the smallest place and quite outdoorsy but again good for a night or two away. Lovely little zoo and a great Indian

Non Victoria recommendations.

Did you ever go to Canberra? I went not long before I left and was really surprised how much I loved it

Hobart and Tassie in general

There are some amazing road trips north of Perth (up as far as Exmouth (Whale sharks) and coral bay, Monkey Mia

Port Douglas does nothing for me, but I enjoy a night in Cairns and Daintree rainforest was incredible

[Claudette]

We were a bit dubious about living in Sydney at first, we were sure Melbourne would be for us. Funny how it turns out, I guess there is an element of getting used to something, but we really did love Sydney. I think it will always rank as favourite city in the world for us.

Some good ideas re Victoria I will add onto the maybe list, we never saw much of that state.

We went to Canberra twice, very strange but I don’t remember the details of it very well and I have just asked DH and he said the same. The first time we went, we set out to explore after dropping bags at the hotel and almost immediately I had a fall, twisted my knee, managed to hobble back to the hotel and we (or definitely I) didn’t go outside again! The second time we went for a Professor Brian Cox show, he tours there most years it seems. We met him in an after show event and I got starstruck and couldn’t speak, so embarrassing! We drove to Canberra, a couple of different routes, always enjoyed the road trip.