Australia Trip - Page 9

FordACE · 31-08-2012, 03:03 AM

I'm originally from North Queensland (Ingham) currently living in Brisbane.

Your trip sounds fun. Unfortunately there is so much to see and do that you will be keen for another trip back here soon to see more.

Moby Vic · 31-08-2012, 06:45 AM

Yes, I'm sure I will! But I will also be nearly bankrupt by the time I get home!

It's a shame that my schedule worked out so I'll only have one full day in Cairns—I'll have time for a day trip to the Reef and that's about it.

If I can ever make it back, I'll have to visit Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and possibly Townsville.

But I think four states plus ACT is pretty good for a first-time trip.

All my friends and coworkers are already jealous!

Trevor 57 · 31-08-2012, 07:48 AM

After being here you will soon realise just how big this place is with so little in between.

Moby Vic · 31-08-2012, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Trev

After being here you will soon realise just how big this place is with so little in between.

I already understand that on some level, but I'm sure that actually experiencing it on the ground (or flying over it) is a different thing. That's one of the reasons I wanted to take a long train ride!

AndrewR_AUII · 31-08-2012, 04:04 PM

Hopefully will be able to catch up with you in Bathurst, will be driving over there from Adelaide for the Race.

Moby Vic · 01-09-2012, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewR_AUII

Hopefully will be able to catch up with you in Bathurst, will be driving over there from Adelaide for the Race.

How many days will that take?

Are you camping or will you be in the grandstands?

XR6TCraig · 01-09-2012, 07:30 AM

You could do it in a day, but it would be a big one.

I use www.whereis.com.au to work out driving distances Moby. There are others out there now but I find it as useful as any.

Just hit direction tab and put in the start and finish places and it will give you the route and the time to do it in.

Moby Vic · 01-09-2012, 01:47 PM

I plan to drive as little as possible. As of now it looks like I'll only be driving up to Bathurst and the day after. After that it should be all airplanes, trains, and chauffeured rides!

Moby Vic · 04-09-2012, 12:21 PM

Well, now I've booked a room in Sydney for the first leg of my trip. I'll be there 24 September until 28 September, and then I'll either drive or take a train to Canberra, where I plan to stay through the weekend.

Can anyone recommend somewhere reasonable to stay in Canberra? And is it reasonable to drive from Canberra to the Blue Mountains in a day? (Looks like it should take about 6 hours.)

Can anyone recommend somewhere to stay in the Blue Mountains? I'm thinking I'll stay somewhere in that region (definitely northwest of Sydney) for a few nights, and then go to Bathurst on 4 October.

Jason[98.EL] · 04-09-2012, 12:41 PM

hey Ken for accom at great rates have a look at

this is for camberra

myself and the wife use these guys for our night's away from the kids when we can convince the outlaws to take them for the night

Jason

AC · 04-09-2012, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

Can anyone recommend somewhere reasonable to stay in Canberra? And is it reasonable to drive from Canberra to the Blue Mountains in a day? (Looks like it should take about 6 hours.)

Can anyone recommend somewhere to stay in the Blue Mountains? I'm thinking I'll stay somewhere in that region (definitely northwest of Sydney) for a few nights, and then go to Bathurst on 4 October.

Sydney to the Blue Mountains is around 3hrs to penrith at the base of the mountains.
I should know, I've done it a few times cause I live in the lower blue mountains.

As far as accommodation in the mountains, I'm not to sure.
I know there are a few expensive restore type places, but there will always be the cheaper Bed & Breakfasts around. Katoomba, Leura and Mt Victoria are nice touristy places so there should be plenty in the area.

This link should give you a few ideas.
http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/blue-mountains

One thing I will say though, public transport in the mountains is pretty limited.
There are trains, but if you have a rental car, probably best to hang on to it a few more days. It'll give you a bit more freedom to move around.

Moby Vic · 04-09-2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason[98.EL]

hey Ken for accom at great rates have a look at

this is for camberra

myself and the wife use these guys for our night's away from the kids when we can convince the outlaws to take them for the night

Jason

Very nice!

Moby Vic · 06-09-2012, 12:08 PM

Well, this evening I booked three nights at the lovely Best Western Alpine Inn in Katoomba. It's supposedly by a heavily traveled road, which should make it easy to find, but apparently it's a noisy place. The price was right, though, and it'll be a good place between Sydney and Bathurst to spend a few days. It should be easy to get to the Three Sisters from there (I should have a car).

I also booked a room near the Sydney airport for the night after Bathurst (before my flight to Cairns).

All that leaves is accommodations in Canberra and Melbourne and I will have filled my four weeks! I'm exhausted simply from booking all this stuff....

**Mechan1k** · 06-09-2012, 12:20 PM

Here's what you see on a clear day at the Three Sisters.
I managed to get this luckily ... some days are luck of the draw with cloud cover

Moby Vic · 06-09-2012, 10:11 PM

Wow! I may just steal that photo.

Moby Vic · 07-09-2012, 09:55 AM

All right, Canberra is booked! Now if I could just get a few blokes to check their PMs I could finalize my arrangements for Melbourne and be done.

Moby Vic · 08-09-2012, 12:01 AM

I read that the National Zoo in Canberra has ligers. Sweet!

**hawkgirl** · 08-09-2012, 11:25 AM

they also have King cheetahs, which are not common. The zoo is pretty small but is good, went there to pat the cheetahs. They do a behind the scenes feeding tour which I'd like to go back & do.

Moby Vic · 08-09-2012, 12:37 PM

Yes, I've seen the price for that feeding tour. It's close to what I'm paying for my full day at the Great Barrier Reef!

If I go to the zoo, I'll probably skip that tour (and someone posted earlier that you have to have advance reservations for it, anyway).

It's interesting that it is cheaper to stay in Canberra over the weekend than during the week, but I guess all the action happens there during the week. I got a pretty good deal (at least according to the site I used!) because I'm staying for 3 days over a weekend. It's probably unfortunate that I traded a weekend in Sydney for a weekend in Canberra, though.

Will it be too cold to get in the water at Bondi Beach the last week of September?

I recently had an interesting revelation: I get two springs this year!

XR6TCraig · 08-09-2012, 02:22 PM

Depends what you think "too cold" is.

Either way the water will be nice in Cairns. Just need to keep an eye out for stingers, crocs and sharks. LOL.

AC · 23-09-2012, 06:26 PM

Hey Moby,

http://www.youtube.com/user/V8SupercarsOfficial

Looking at these Vids should get you excited

And this... 45mins worth, grab a couple of beers and some pretzels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8s81noAc8Y

Moby Vic · 26-09-2012, 12:49 PM

Well, I got to Sydney a day late thanks to American Airlines getting me to Dallas 15 minutes or so late. I've been in the same clothing since Saturday morning. Qantas called the hotel desk here and said my bag should be here after 10:00 (it's 12:45 now).

That said, Sydney is beautiful and very relaxing. I've done quite a bit of walking. I was very impressed by the Royal Botanic Garden, and saw the opera house in the distance, so I walked over there and ate lunch. Today I ventured into Paddington to find bookstores. I found some interesting history books, and a few car books.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how cool it is here, and it's not particularly humid, which is strange with it being right on the coast.

Once my clothing arrives I hope to take some proper tours. I hate that I've lost a day here, but I've got reservations in Canberra for Friday night, so I must move on.

FordACE · 26-09-2012, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

Well, I got to Sydney a day late thanks to American Airlines getting me to Dallas 15 minutes or so late. I've been in the same clothing since Saturday morning. Qantas called the hotel desk here and said my bag should be here after 10:00 (it's 12:45 now).

That said, Sydney is beautiful and very relaxing. I've done quite a bit of walking. I was very impressed by the Royal Botanic Garden, and saw the opera house in the distance, so I walked over there and ate lunch. Today I ventured into Paddington to find bookstores. I found some interesting history books, and a few car books.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how cool it is here, and it's not particularly humid, which is strange with it being right on the coast.

Once my clothing arrives I hope to take some proper tours. I hate that I've lost a day here, but I've got reservations in Canberra for Friday night, so I must move on.

Wow you are here already. Sucks that you arrived a day late. What tours are you taking when your clothing arrives?

Moby Vic · 28-09-2012, 07:35 AM

My luggage arrived while I was on the Internet the other day!

I'm getting ready to hire a car to drive to Canberra (Countrylink train is sold out for today). I didn't end up taking any actual tours. I went to the Police and Justice Museum on Wednesday. I also waked across the bridge and paid the $15 to climb to the top of the pylon.

Yesterday I went to Bondi Beach and walked all the way to Coogee and back (good lord what a walk!). Then I came back to town and took the ferry to Manly ... where I did more walking to Shelly beach. I saw a water dragon, though.

I ate dinner at a wonderful Bavarian restaurant, then took the ferry back to Circular Quay after dark to see the harbor lit up (and watch the big bats fly by). I looked at a free exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, also.

I was going to go up in the Westfield Tower (is that the correct name?), but I was completely exhausted from all the walking and didn't feel like waiting for hours to go up. I went to bed at 8:30 last night!

I've been enjoying myself immensely though.

Moby Vic · 30-09-2012, 08:48 AM

Good God it's cold in Canberra! It's my last day here. Yesterday I went to the Parliament House, the old Parliament House, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Museum of Art. Today I'll do the War Memorial and maybe the zoo.

I've been driving an XR6. Great car, but I'm really not comfortable driving on the left! That was fun starting out in Sydney's morning rush hour.

Driving down here reminded me of driving through rural Virginia, aside from the wombat and kangaroo crossing signs.

**Mechan1k** · 30-09-2012, 08:53 AM

Yeah the ACT can still be cool around this time of year.

Hahahahahaha ... driving on the wrong side of the road for you in Sydney traffic would have been interesting ... I am guessing you have an auto ... a manual would have been even more interesting.

Hee hee ... the drive down to Canberra is a nice one ... although dawn during heavy fog is an interesting one ... especially if a roo does jump out in front of you. Avoid wombats as well ... they have the consistency of a decent boulder and WILL rip the suspension out of the car if hit.

Good to see you have made it to some decent landmarks while here ... hope you are enjoying your visit so far.

fingers crossed the weather is good for Bathurst.

XR6TCraig · 30-09-2012, 09:32 AM

LOL. Winter only ended a few weeks ago and you wonder why its cold?

Head north young man and you will find warmer weather, I promise!

**Professor Farnsworth** · 30-09-2012, 11:55 AM

are you heading to melbourne? i haven't read the whole thread. Should be ok weather on Tues and wed, then up to 28deg (C) on thurs before a bit of rain

Moby Vic · 01-10-2012, 05:03 PM

Well, I'm done with CanBRRRa. Yesterday I visited the War Memorial, the National Museum, and the Deep Space Communications Center (Centre?). It's in the middle of bloody nowhere! I was scared driving out there, but actually had fun for about 5 or 10 minutes driving back (nice twisty road with 100 kph speed limit) until I got stuck behind an L plate. And then I took a wrong turn and wound up on an unpaved road. I found my way back to the hotel, though.

I drove back through Sydney to switch rental agencies. I was supposed to have another Falcon through Thrifty, but when I arrived they told me that the car had been wrecked and was un-rentable. So now I'm in an Accord Euro. I saved about $100, though.

I saw two dead roos not far from Canberra this morning. Haven't seen a live one yet!

I'm in Katoomba for 2 days, and then on to Bathurst!

**Mechan1k** · 01-10-2012, 05:56 PM

Wow ... the trip is progressing quickly indeed.