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Posted

I have somewhat limited PTO for my job, but I've really wanted to make a trip out to Australia for the first time. I probably want to spend limited time in Sydney as I've heard it's not all that is cracked up to be 😀. Definitely want to spend some time in Brisbane and Melbourne. Any suggestions for a first-timer would be much appreciated! Mainly looking for a suggested amount of time for each city and how many cities I should focus on. Also please let me know if this belongs in a sub forum other than the water hole.

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Posted

- Dive the Great Barrier Reef

- Eat Lamington, Chiko Roll, Tim Tam, Vegemite, Meat Pie, Damper

- Visit the Great Pineapple and Uluru

- Throw a boomerang

- Go to the Outback and the Bush

- Drive the Great Ocean Road

- Surf

- See kangaroos and koalas

- Play the didgeridoo

:wink2:

 

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Posted

Reverse the thinking on Sydney. I love living in Brisbane, but Sydney is the jewel in the crown - especially for a first time visitor. Easily the best city in terms of geographical beauty and has as much or more of what you're looking for than Melbs and Brissy. 

Melbourne is great for the cultural scene (possibly the best foodie-wise, too) but If you're talking this time of year will likely be rubbish weather. 

It's not a lot of time overall, so I'd limit to 2 cities. I'd suggest at least 5 days in Sydney (maybe a day trip or two - Newcastle is a great spot), then maybe 5 days in Brisbane where you can also shoot to the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast (basically an hour south/north respectively) for day trips. 

Also, if you're looking to catch-up with any FOH crew in Aus most are in Sydney and Brisbane. 

Hope that helps. I'd be happy to suggest some specific venues, etc., once you've locked in your basic itinerary. I'm sure other Aus members will be only too happy to as well. :ok:

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Posted

2 nights Melbourne  

2 nights Sydney

2 nights Uluru

1  nights Brisbane 

3  nights Cairns/Barrier Reef/Daintree

 

 

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Posted

If you're coming to Sydney, hit up either myself or JohnS. We'll round up some of the Sydney FOH crew for drinks and smokes.

As for what to do in Sydney? Depends on when you are coming. Right now we have the Vivid Festival that is running until June 17th. On weekends, The Rocks markets are in full swing. Plenty of food trucks and little market stalls for handmade jewellery, knick-knacks, etc. The usual sightseeing; Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Taronga Zoo, cruise the harbour, Sea Life Aquarium,  Bondi Beach (though Freshwater Beach is better), Bondi to Coogee walk (2-3hr coastal walk) for great views, Royal Botanic Gardens, Centennial Park, Australian Museum or Art Gallery of NSW. That's just the CBD and nearby.

Head out west you can visit Sydney Zoo, Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney Olympic Park, Parramatta Riverside. Further out west you have the Blue Mountains, Scenic World, The Three Sisters (rock formation), Jenolan Caves, Wentworth Falls, The Giant Stairway, Mayfield Garden, Bilpin Cidery, Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens, Leura Cascades, Glow Worm Tunnel, Australian Pioneer Village, for those inclined... the Lithgow Small Arms Museum, Norman Lindsay Gallery & Museum. 

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Posted

Walkabout creek? I just watched Crocodile Dundee the other night  🤣 

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Posted
4 hours ago, ha_banos said:

We watched once were warriors the other week. Watch out out there! Oh and frikkin spiders! 

Jake Da Muss

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Posted

10 days - depends on whether you want to chill in the sun and wind down and relax or go and explore with adventures etc. It's verging in Winter here in OZ but that means different things to North and South. I live in Melbourne and it is quite bleak this time of year. It's a great city with cool bars and restaurants but the Covid lockdowns have slightly ruined the vibe a bit. Still good but expensive to eat out and drink. If you come to Melbourne I can direct you to some places if you like. I would fly into Sydney. It's spectacular and do tourist stuff. Walk across the top of Sydney harbour bridge, go on a ferry on the harbour. Eat and drink at the Rocks. Visit Bondi beach, the zoo or Watson's bay. Maybe 2 days 3nights. Then I would maybe head to Cairns or Port Douglas this time of year. Cairns is more activity based and Port Douglas is more relaxed and resorty. You can explore both the Reef and the Daintree Rainforest which are a must do. Darwin is another option but it's pretty quirky. You can do a Croc tour from Cairns and Port Douglas. You could drop back the Brisbane and visit HQ and maybe spend the last 2 days on the Gold Coast or Surfer's Paradise area if you want to chill on the beach. Lots of options because Oz is so varied in climate. Another left field option is to go to Hobart Tasmania in the cold. It's a very magical place. Their tagline is, "come down for air". Visit the art gallery, hire a car, but it's more of a place you'll maybe need more time. The other option is go west young man. Ha ha! Margaret River Wineries, Ningaloo Reef, Broome then go to Alice Springs to see the Rock Ularu or maybe Kimberley region if you really want to get into the outback. But as a first visit I'd suggest Sydney, Queensland this time of year. All the best. Cheers.

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Posted
On 5/28/2023 at 2:51 PM, dangolf18 said:

I have somewhat limited PTO for my job, but I've really wanted to make a trip out to Australia for the first time. I probably want to spend limited time in Sydney as I've heard it's not all that is cracked up to be 😀. Definitely want to spend some time in Brisbane and Melbourne. Any suggestions for a first-timer would be much appreciated! Mainly looking for a suggested amount of time for each city and how many cities I should focus on. Also please let me know if this belongs in a sub forum other than the water hole.

i would suggest one thing - other than avoiding vegemite. lots of people saying go here and there which is great. but look at the distances and the time involved. Australia is way way bigger than most people realise.

i had a client who rented a car when he was here because he thought it would be nice to duck into Sydney for lunch, not realising it was a 12 hour drive each way, give or take.

another friend planned this day for when he was in Melbourne - i am not making this up. he planned to drive out to the 12 apostles for some photos. come back to Melbourne airport and fly up to cairns and then drive to port douglas for lunch. he would return to cairns, fly to brizzy to say hi to us and catch up for a few glasses of champagne and then fly back to Melbourne for dinner. he was a bit surprised when reality crashed that party. 

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Posted
2 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

i would suggest one thing - other than avoiding vegemite. lots of people saying go here and there which is great. but look at the distances and the time involved. Australia is way way bigger than most people realise.

i had a client who rented a car when he was here because he thought it would be nice to duck into Sydney for lunch, not realising it was a 12 hour drive each way, give or take.

another friend planned this day for when he was in Melbourne - i am not making this up. he planned to drive out to the 12 apostles for some photos. come back to Melbourne airport and fly up to cairns and then drive to port douglas for lunch. he would return to cairns, fly to brizzy to say hi to us and catch up for a few glasses of champagne and then fly back to Melbourne for dinner. he was a bit surprised when reality crashed that party. 

To give some scale to your post.

How Big is Australia Compared to USA? - About Australia

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