Hi all, me and the missus are off down under end of next month and we’ve got a few days in Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne. Has anyone been, what shouldn’t we miss out on seeing? Any good places to eat?

Thanks

What do you like?

Sydney Not been there for a while. Do something on the ferries have a trip to Bondi and see the bridge. Fish and chips at the fish markets? We did Garfish overlooking the harbour last time.
Trip out to the blue mountains?

Melbourne – Bring a coat 🙂 Over about once a month now Loads of funky shops/cafe’s/bars down brunswick street/gurtrude st. Breakfast is good at Atomika. Dinner at Mamma Sitas 1/11 Collins St (no reservations & biggest tequila bar in Melbourne – awesome food) Fireworks every friday at the docklands.
Get day passes for the the Trams/Trains makes life easy.

Cairns no idea

Warning due to the shocking Value of the pound try not to look too shocked at the price of stuff.
A good beer will be about 9$/Pint (6quid)

Was in Sydney over 10yrs ago, so not going to comment on specific restaurants, but Darling Harbor was nice, if a little touristy, and a ferry out to the Zoo was excellent. Walk over the bridge towards Luna Park, take a few photos of the Opera House from the other side, then walk back again, maybe round to the Botanical Gardens…

They say you are either a Melbourne person or Sydney person. I loved Melbourne had a great time, partied in St Kilda at the Prince Of Wales which is in a Hoodoo Guru song 😀 Melbourne back then was still rough around the edges, a lot has changed.

Utterly underwhelmed by Sydney every time I have ben there.

Cairns was gorgeous very humid but small, agin a lot has changed, loads to see.

Also for top tips
Melbourne Sky Bus $28 Rtn from the airport and I think links up with hotel bus
Bring an old/unlocked phone and get a prepaid sim Optus free with no address needed. Telstra maybe wanted more details.
Gig Guide if you like music
It’s mostly friendly – avoid Kings Cross in Sydney and watch out in St Kilda in Melbourne (some parts) oh and there are snakes all over the cities hiding in the trees

I loved Melbourne though that was 10 years ago so as above, I can’t really recommend specifics.

I hired a bike and cycles the F1 track which was cool (if you’re into that).

St Kildas beach is nice

Various bars opposite Flinders St station were cool for somewhere to sit by the river

Rialto Tower was worth going up for a view of the city from high up

Byron Bay northern NSW is well worth a visit along with Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast a couple of hours north of Brisbane, while there get a trip to Fraser Island.

In Sydney I would recommend getting the ferry to Manly. It’s a great way to see the sights and Manly itself is a great place to spend a day chilling out.

Hello from Noosa Heads – far kin lovely place. Never going home, I’m moving here.

Depends what you’re into of course, but I’d look at getting a Greyhound down to Airlie Beach from Cairns and having a boat trip around the Whitsunday Islands. I went for 3 days there and it was absolutely stunning. Most include diving in the inner reef (No diving skills required for shallow dives).

I was there almost exactly 7 years ago and I want to go back now just thinking about it.

If the bus trip is a bit of a slog there are still plenty of national parks around Cairns. Just watch out for the Cassowary to the north. They gouge your belly out mate!

They say you are either a Melbourne person or Sydney person.

One of the papers had an article that summed it up, in Sydney the places to be have neon signs, a full write up in the paper and a massive queue outside.
In Melbourne you crouch down to tie your shoelace fall through a door into the most amazing place have a great night and never find your way back there.

There is a great noodle/dumpling place that I’m still trying to find again

Melbourne

This was always a special place to eat when we lived there. Its central.

Hard to know what to recommend. Melbourne is very nice and has its own vibe with the trams, river and parks. You will look around Federation Square, they have events most weekends to liven things up. They have lots of concerts/ festivals and the venues are all within walking distance.
There are many nice cafes along the bay, from St Kilda down to Black Rock and beyond. The front a St Kilda has been done up and you should go down. We used to have brunch at North Point Cafe.
I affectionately remember the fish and chip shop on Church Street in Brighton was good (vast array of fish, cooked any way you want with salads or even chips). Better than most of the restaurants we tried. Might be a bit out of your way although they do have some pretty, painted beach huts in Brighton. There is a cycle track around the bay and if you could hire bikes for a day then this would be a good way to get out of the centre. Go from St Kilda down to Brighton/ Black Rock perhaps.
There are some lovely spots if you were to drive out of the city for a few days. Great Ocean Road lies west and Wilsons Prom is east.

What do you like? Just going to the cities would miss a big chunk of what makes Aus a great destination but YMMV. The old part of Sydney is well worth a wander, as above, take a ferry ride. We stayed in the youth hostel in The Rocks which is in a cracking location and more like a hotel than a hostel. A lap of the monorail is cheap and qwirky. From Cairns the reef is a must.

EDIT and if you are planning some trips out of town don’t just look at a map and think we’ll go there and there. The distances can be huge

Get a train (from Sydney) out to the blue mountains – a good way to see things along the way and some great views when you get there

Melbourne has one of the best bar and restaurant scenes in the world. No idea what you’re into but try downloading the Broadsheet app for the lowdown on what’s hot: http://www.broadsheet.com.au/
Sydney – take the Manly ferry and go house hunting along the Northern beaches. The CBD is a bit rubbish.

I’m moving to Sydney in 9 DAYS…. cant wait!

I get a email every morning from these guys:

Morning motivation

It’s keeping me motivated through all the packing/renting flat/handovers at work etc!

Bike is in a box and waiting to get shipped

I’m moving to Sydney in 9 DAYS…. cant wait!

I get a email every morning from these guys:
I found beer and whiskey and the prospect of seeing the missus for the first time in 3 1/2 months incentive enough 🙂

We need a STW Oz Ride – meet somewhere in the middle?

We need a STW Oz Ride – meet somewhere in the middle?

haha…. what’s perisher like? Have you been?

Passed through Thredbo – had to pay s loads and some spotty 14yo assesed if you were good enough.

Buller is good. Canberra is awesome. Loads of riding in NSW. Mail for pointers if you want.

NZCol – you lucky lucky man.

Read Bill Brysons book about down under, great read and will help you with plenty of info.

Look for shifter bikes in south yarra, Victoria great bike shop.

http://www.shifterbikes.com

Enjoy Matt.

Oops sorry double post 😳

I’ve been up near Byron for the past couple of days – agreed it’s a lovely place!

I came via Armidale in New England, which had some pretty stunning waterfalls and gorges

god I miss Byron Bay.

From what I recall, and it was quite some time ago, there is very little that is special about Sydney beyond the harbour and Opera house. Why there is a fuss over Bondi is beyond me. It may be a great place to live but to be honest from a visitors perspective it’s just a city and not really much better or worse than any I’ve visited in Europe.

Noosa on the other hand, now that was nice place with far more to recommend it to a visitor.

A few from me;

http://thecrossingbondi.com.au/ – Great bar just up from Bondi. Really nice place.

http://www.rawbar.com.au/index.html – Epic Japanese food overlooking the beach. Epic. Great sake list, too!

Why the need for such a long flight?

Don’t you have a Walkabout nearby?

Go up the Harbour Bridge. Yes, it’s expensive, but just do it. It’s great.

I’d also recommend on a Wednesday or Thursday night turning up at the Cruising Club of Australia and blagging your way onto a yacht for an evening’s “racing” (when I went it was 20 minutes of medium intensity sailing followed by 45 minutes of drinking on a posh boat).

Don’t come to Tassie. Nothing to see here 😉

From what I recall, and it was quite some time ago, there is very little that is special about Sydney beyond the harbour and Opera house. Why there is a fuss over Bondi is beyond me. It may be a great place to live but to be honest from a visitors perspective it’s just a city and not really much better or worse than any I’ve visited in Europe.

TBH, after a few days in Sydney I thought exactly the same. Rather an empty, soulless place. I’d rather go to Bristol. Even the Sydney Harbour bridge was made in the UK…. It’s the Tyne bridge Mk2.

That said, there’s some great food and

Go up the Harbour Bridge. Yes, it’s expensive, but just do it. It’s great.

Is very true. I really enjoyed the bridge climb. 🙂

Go to Port Douglas, not Cairns

Sydney is nice to visit, but pretty dull to live in, as said above away from the hsarbourside it’s nowt special. (The matrix was filmed in Sydney, the film-makers wanted a bland, stereotypical city)

Rural NSW has some nice places to visit though.

The blue mountains.
Dubbo (the zoo is great, no fences and you ride your bike around it)
Broken hill and Silverton – outback Oz, a lot to do. Take the train there from Sydney.
Wagga Wagga and Orange, nice old towns.

FWIW I hate Byron bay – full of rich hippy kids driving BMWs

Thanks for all the info guys.

Byron Bay in August is relatively quiet and accomodation is cheaper. I think it’s got a lot more on offer than Noosa (surf the Pass, Friendly Railway Bar, walk up to the lighthouse, good places to eat) plus a short drive to Hippiedom.

8 days to go…. just saying 😀

Crown are coming tomorrow morning to get all my stuff

batfink – Member
8 days to go…. just saying

Crown are coming tomorrow morning to get all my stuff

Make sure you have your passport/wallet and driving license somewhere else – I paniced a little to say the least. Found them shortly after.

Also consider air freight for anything small non electrical you want urgently. I did 1 sea and 4 lots of air in the end. About £1k for loads – 6 bikes some sharp kitchen knives, pans bedding etc. Bikes got there before me. Spent first day getting burned and putting bikes together.

Just in the Indian in Adelaide waiting for take out. When finally back home will try to post some pics of Byron later. You’ll want to go there. Stunning!

Mission Beach (QLD) is Byron before the tourists arrived 😉

Australia is awesome. Just be prepared to recalibrate your cost of living setting.

Mission beach got nailed in the cyclone btw.

Ah that brings back some memories. I was in Quuensland when it might as well of been a separate counrty. Joh Bjelke Petersen anyone.