Visiting Australia.. possiblity in August need travel advice!

In 4 days as much as I prefer and live in Melbourne Sydney is enough. For me in Sydney do the toursit things, opera house, manly beach, zoo, rocks, etc. If you have time & inclination lots of friends speak very highly of walk across top of Sydney harbour bridge!

This is a good list. Some further tips…

The Zoo will take most of a day. If you do go catch the ferry across the harbour to the zoo, then take the little cable car up to the top of the hill near the main entrance and then walk back down the hill to the ferry for the trip home. Doing it this way means you're mostly walking down hill which saves the legs ;)

The bridge climb is indeed highly recommended. I suggest you get on their website and book ahead so as not to be disappointed - I believe it's very popular.

http://www.bridgeclimb.com/

You could also do a day trip up to the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney to see the Three Sisters or even the Jenolan Caves which are pretty awesome.


Re the reef - as mentioned most of the life is in pretty shallow water so yeah diving isn't an absolute requirement… Still strongly recommended though, being able to stop and watch without running out of breath is an advantage.


-kaos
 
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Now I sure have a lot of things to plan, thanks again everyone!

Having done some searching myself it looks like prices in Australia is even higher than in Sweden.... is it just the touristy things that are so expensive or should I expect everything to be expensive? for example how much for a dinner in a middle class restaurant ?
 
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That depends on the restaurant and where it is located. Some are pure tourist traps. However, the price you see on the menu is the price you pay. There is no tipping for example. Expect to pay between $25 and $35 for a main meal, though there are certainly a lot of places where you would pay less and a few where it would be more. Hope that helps, but pricing can be very regional as the cost of transporting goods in such a large country can be high.
 
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Well, that is not too bad :) a bit cheaper than here even.

Good to know. Everything is booked and ready now, so I got something to look forward to in August! I have wanted to visit Australia ever since I was really small and one of my best friends moved there.
 
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I just have one request Gothic, and that is you please buy a dead fish as soon as you land, leave it out in the sun a few days in a trash bag, then find Corwin and hit him with it for me....please....the idea of a real get even is exciting. :cm: :) Hope you have a great trip.
 
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Well, time moves fast... I am leaving for Australia in about 7 hours from now.. after some sleep! Here we go!
 
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Be sure to send regular updates to Pibbur!! :)
 
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I work around Circular Quay/The Rocks area, so if you are around Sydney during weekday, you might even bump into me! :) Enjoy your time in Australia, GG.
 
Well, have fun visiting a place where pretty much anything is about to kill you.
And that's not even counting the local populace.:p
 
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Ok, so I am back... and here are my thought about Australia by territory and generally as well:

Darwin:
Lovely little town, very nice climate in winter.
Lots of good adventures to be had, pity I didn't make it to Tiwi Island... well.. maybe next time! Surely I would come again.
The national parks were great both Lichfield and Kakadou ( spelling ? ) and they sure have a lot of salt water crocodiles around there in the rivers!

Cairns:
Well, the city kind of sucks nothing to see there.... but..
WOW so many things to do, I'll sure come to visit here again as well!
My favourite place here was Cape Tribunal the only place in the world where two world heritage areas meet. Very beautiful place, also the oldest rain forest in the world was very nice... if only I had more time to explore it... well maybe next time :) surely I would come again.
Also we stayed in a very nice suit @ Trinity beach outside our balcony there was only the sea as long as the eye could see.. very nice.

Sidney:
Ok, this is not going to be popular here :D I had low expectations.... but WOW what a great city. Especially Manly such a beautiful place so near to the city. Their China town was also really good... some of the Chinese food their was very authentic and good. And the harbour area around the opera house is very beautiful, especially at night.

I also liked the blue mountains.

Now for some Sidney Negatives:
Now there is one thing to hate about Sidney... the city is invaded by cars!! you can't walk 20 meters without having to wait to cross the street.. I acctually heard they'll do something to try and fix it though, by digging up the old tram-rails and starting to shutdown traffic on some streets... better late than never I guess.

I did not run into purple at the Circular Quay :D well maybe next time, surely I would come again

Some Australia negatives:
How can you sell your fresh water to Coca Cola? And why are you destroying your great and beautiful country with coal mines, and shale oil operations? for shame.

What is up with the toilets? they can't flush.... even 6 times is not enough sometimes. I thought I had a bad one in Darwin but it was the same everywhere... well it was a little better in Sidney :D

Finally a little Bonus

Singapore:
Well, the country is one huge shopping mall.... but a pretty nice one. I also managed by chance to catch their 50 years celebration... nice show!

I guess I'll add some more detailed expressions later on.
 
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What, no Brisbane, or Melbourne? You'll like them even better than yukky Sydney!! :)
 
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Sidney:
Ok, this is not going to be popular here :D I had low expectations…. but WOW what a great city. Especially Manly such a beautiful place so near to the city. Their China town was also really good… some of the Chinese food their was very authentic and good. And the harbour area around the opera house is very beautiful, especially at night.

I also liked the blue mountains.

Now for some Sidney Negatives:
Now there is one thing to hate about Sidney… the city is invaded by cars!! you can't walk 20 meters without having to wait to cross the street.. I acctually heard they'll do something to try and fix it though, by digging up the old tram-rails and starting to shutdown traffic on some streets… better late than never I guess.

I did not run into purple at the Circular Quay :D well maybe next time, surely I would come again.

Hey GG :) Good to hear you liked Sydney!! Yes, it is a beautiful city. Don't listen to Corwin, Sydney is better than Melbourne haha (j/k, it really depends on individuals taste. I personally like Sydney better).

When were you in Sydney? I was away in NZ for business trip last week, and maybe that's why you didn't run in to me :p oh well, next time!
 
What, no Brisbane, or Melbourne? You'll like them even better than yukky Sydney!! :)

Well, I plan to visit them for sure, but I'd like to visit some beaches as well when I do, and it was a bit to cold this time... so I choose the places after the seasons so to say. Except for Sidney which was *ahem* on the top of my Australia large cities to visit lists. But since I know want to revisit all the places I went to, I'll have some trouble to find the right season to travel there next time I guess.... hmmm maybe two more visits is the only solution ? :D Now if only I did not get a bad consciousness every-time I fly so far, because of the environmental impact...

Hey GG :) Good to hear you liked Sydney!! Yes, it is a beautiful city. Don't listen to Corwin, Sydney is better than Melbourne haha (j/k, it really depends on individuals taste. I personally like Sydney better).

When were you in Sydney? I was away in NZ for business trip last week, and maybe that's why you didn't run in to me :p oh well, next time!

It was between August 18-21.... I suppose we were just unlucky? :D Besides there are so many Asians all over Sidney.. so maybe we did without noticing ? :p Perhaps we should have a better plan for the next visit.

Glad you enjoyed it GG.
I won't enter into the Sydney vs Melbourne except to ask the Sydney tragics which city is growing fastest????:smartass:

Well, considering how nice Sidney was..... I am very very curious about Melbourne I heard it was ranked as number 1 nicest city a couple of times and Sidney was 7 on the same ranking.... so I have very very high expectations on Melbourne now.. if I am disappointed I can always take the boat to Tazmania.. that is also on my next to visit in Australia list.

OO, and are you Australians sex fanatics? It appears like at least 30% of the channels show some kind of sex related programs most of the time... even beating Japanese TV :D
 
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We aim to please, but I think Brisbane is better than either Syd, or Melb, and we have the Gold Coast with all its fantastic beaches just a short drive away!! :)
 
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We aim to please, but I think Brisbane is better than either Syd, or Melb, and we have the Gold Coast with all its fantastic beaches just a short drive away!! :)

Fair enough, Brisbane is also added to must visit next time..... looks like it is going to be at least a two months trip next time. :D
 
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Was it difficult getting intor the country? I've watched several episodes of "Border control" and it's clear that Ozzie authorities are very concerned about food entering the country with the traveler. They don't like it, this can only mean that Australian food is bland, and they don't want any competition.

To be sure, I suggest you empty your bowels by taking drugs like x-prep before starting the journey. They are very efficient, you should do this a day before the flight starts to avoid uncomfortable episodes. And of course, don't eat anything on the plane.

pibbur who is still considering going down there.
 
Was it difficult getting intor the country? I've watched several episodes of "Border control" and it's clear that Ozzie authorities are very concerned about food entering the country with the traveler. They don't like it, this can only mean that Australian food is bland, and they don't want any competition.

To be sure, I suggest you empty your bowels by taking drugs like x-prep before starting the journey. They are very efficient, you should do this a day before the flight starts to avoid uncomfortable episodes. And of course, don't eat anything on the plane.

pibbur who is still considering going down there.

Not at all, and the staff was very friendly... I actually forgot that I brought some food.. so I was kind of lucky to not get checked I guess. I hate all the forms you have to fill in all the time though! Departure form? what is the point!!!!
 
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