Australia - looking for info for a possible future trip

[littlelish0544]

I love a good trip report! Thanks, and I do realise how far/long it is between PErth and Sydney, but I would want to make the most of it and would feel like we had just gone on a really expensive 'visit' to friends if we didn't try and get t he most out of going all that way. I know our friends have spent time in Sydney with their family members who have been so hopefully they would join us too.

[Heather1957]

I'll be visiting Perth for the first time on this trip having never been before.

We fly into Brisbane and will drive down the East coast and then flying from Sydney into Perth.

We have decided to have 10 nights in Rockingham just South of Perth and booked an ocean view house!

We were told that the Margaret River area was the better place to stay but it was very expensive and so we decided to make Rockingham our base for our stay.

We have also booked to stay in Noosa (love love love it here) North of Brisbane and a place close to the Hunters Valley to sample the wine!

The trouble is I just love Australia and know once I go back I'll have to start the planning to return!

[mitch84]

Perth itself is a beautiful city, but quite small, I reckon you no way need a week there. Head North or South though, and thats a different matter.

We hired a campervan and went North, we went as far as Exmouth which is 15 hours drive north of Perth, and you can swim with whale sharks there. There were lots of very cool places to see along the way such as Monkey Mia where dolphins come up to the beach, and Coral Bay. There are great campsites and hiring a campervan can often be cheaper than hiring a car and stopping in motels.

South is very beautiful too apparently though, Margaret river wine region and Bunbury etc

Bear in mind too that hotels in Perth itself can be extortionate (Sydney too).

I don't get the big pull to the Gold Coast. Sure its got theme parks, but if you have been to Florida they will seem a bit lame (the waterparks are good, but queues are insane in summer, 2 hrs per big flume)

Its got good beaches, but the waves are quite big and you can't really sit on the beach as there is no shade. Oh and Surfers Paradise is Blackpool with sun.

I think there are much nicer places, Byron Bay is really special, Cairrns is good fun (as is the Daintree Rainforest) but Port Douglas would be too quiet for teenage boys.

Flying from Perth to Sydney is nearly 5 hours. Qantas will provide a comfy and catered flight with IFE, however Jetstar and Virgin are both like flying Easyjet or Ryanair, perfectly doable, but feels like a bit of a mission. DO NOT FLY TIGER

With Teenagers I think that Melbourne is a city with more to do, whereas Sydney has more to see. Even at 29 and 35 we prefer Melbourne, I think you'd have a fun time in Melbourne, but I agree that Sydney is more iconic.

I have been most places, so feel free to ask any questions

[mitch84]

Originally Posted by Heather1957

I'll be visiting Perth for the first time on this trip having never been before.

We fly into Brisbane and will drive down the East coast and then flying from Sydney into Perth.

We have decided to have 10 nights in Rockingham just South of Perth and booked an ocean view house!

We were told that the Margaret River area was the better place to stay but it was very expensive and so we decided to make Rockingham our base for our stay.

We have also booked to stay in Noosa (love love love it here) North of Brisbane and a place close to the Hunters Valley to sample the wine!

The trouble is I just love Australia and know once I go back I'll have to start the planning to return!

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I LOVE wine Regions, and I have been to several in Australia and NZ, I haven't yet been to Hunters Valley though, you will have to let me know what you think. Also will you be doing a trip to the Margaret River?

[Omega1]

In January 2013 we flew to Sydney and had 4 nights in the Blue Mountains, then back to Sydney for a few nights before boarding the Celebrity Solstice for a 30 day cruise - Melbourne, Hobart, New Zealand fjords, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga, Auckland, 3 further stops in NZ then back to Sydney and on to Adelaide, Esperance, Albany before disembarking in Perth (Fremantle). We then had four days in Perth.
It was a great trip and cruising was a brilliant way to get a good overview of the main places - only problem is that we want to go back to NZ to do a road trip!
In 2005 we flew to Brisbane and did a three week road trip north to Port Douglas - again a great trip

[Heather1957]

Originally Posted by mitch84

I LOVE wine Regions, and I have been to several in Australia and NZ, I haven't yet been to Hunters Valley though, you will have to let me know what you think. Also will you be doing a trip to the Margaret River?

See more...

Thankfully (with some help from you!) we managed to get the place booked in Rockingham.

We would like to visit Margaret River but it is quite a long drive from Rockingham but we are both used to long drives so may well do that.

We have stayed at the Hunters before, we stayed right in the thick of it last time in beautiful log cabins, where we saw the kangaroos hopping by, but like everywhere in Australia at the moment it was too expensive to justify so we will be staying just outside the Hunter's at a place called Lake Macquarie which is slightly cheaper, we've 3 nights here.

I love the Australian wines and on our last trip way back in 2002 we spent more on wine than petrol and we drove to Brisbane from Adelaide!

[mitch84]

That is impressive, but not unbelivable. It is a very expensive country to get drunk in.

A bottle from a winery starts at $20, and unless you have a bogof deal it costs $15 for something drinkable from the off-license

[Ian&Sharon]

This is something we are planning on doing one day as Ian has a cousin over there that he grew up with and was very close to before she left. They keep in contact via facebook and the odd phonecall and she is always asking when we are coming over for a visit, she stays in Perth too!
Would like to visit Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and a couple of the beach areas but haven't looked into it properly as it's something we want to do when Josh is a bit older

Sharon xx

[shell22]

My daughter and grandson went over to Perth at the end of December, they are staying in bumbury, I think that's what it's called. They are over there for ten weeks, from the conversations I have been having with her and the pictures she has been sending I think she is having a wonderful time.

[Guest]

Sydney is certainly expensive, but it's wonderful. It's worth making time for a trip to the Blue Mountains too.

Also loved Queensland, but my favourite place of all is Kangaroo Island, in South Australia. The beaches are unbelievable.