Yes, remarkably. Apparently Singapore and Dubai are shit hot at linking flights.
I flew with Singapore Airlines to Sydney.
Went London-Singapore-KL-Singapore-Sydney going out as I need to work in all 3 places and then just Sydney-Singapore-London coming home. Upgraded to 1st Class all the way too as they couldn't get me Business Class on the Singapore-Sydney leg 🙂
Buggy across the airport too, straight from the lounge to the gate.
If Singapore are accepting it, crack on - but just understand though that it doesn't mean you'll make the transfer, just that worse-case they'll 'honour' a later flight.
will the Cairns area be fixed by then?
I lived in North Qld for 30+ years. The infrastructure is built to take the weather. I've sat out at least 10 cyclones, and the State Emergency Services have got things back to normal in no time.
The current bad weather will be almost as if it didn't happen by the time a few weeks have passed. The locals just shrug that sort of thing off.
Cairns is an ideal base because you have access to the outback and it's closer to the Great Barrier Reef. Any time the weather seems too hot, you just nip up to the Tablelands and it's much cooler, but still as sunny.
Ah, that's good to hear. Cairns is just the starting point tbh, but everyone here is saying such nice things about the area I think we may look at stopping and acclimatising for a few days before travelling southwards.
If you can the area around Daintree is great, rain forest and the like. North of Cairns
There are so many amazing areas up there that are completely overlooked and never promoted. No tourists either.
Every time I filled up with fuel, I used to ask the person in the garage what was good to look at for a visitor. It never let me down, they always said oh mate, you wanna go and have a look here or such like. Gorges, rain forest, crocs, Swimming across a river to look at painted caves, termite mounds, fruit bats, massive nodes of copper and crystal. Couple of times I got directed to some incredible look out point where you could see for miles up the coast or across forested valleys. Just got my bivi bag out and slept on the viewpoint, happy days
Several times I camped by a pub in a tiny village, have a few drinks then they would ask if I need a feed - no worries mate, we;ll sort you some grub. Cue delicious meal and another beer.
Some of the incidental stuff is great - I remember walking to a bar from my tent one evening, it was on the front behind the beach. An A frame chalk board was tied to a post with the message 'CROC SEEN HERE TUESDAY', which kind of took me a moment to comprehend but it was pretty common in that neck of the woods.
If you pop in a roadhouse, no one will bat an eyelid if you have a cup of tea on a hot day, I loved that. I remember sitting under a veranda drinking a cuppa one afternoon, the radio was playing then on came Madness, It must be love. A brew, Madness, in a rainforest. Quality
Incidentally, the flooding is kind of expected. In the outback you come across bridges and the like in the middle of nowhere. It seems mad until you remeber the wet season and the amount of water that comes.
Also how else do the crocs get from the sea to the inland waterholes?!
I went to Australia to visit family about 15 years ago - stopover in Singapore, then Darwin, Sydney, Brisbane.
Australia - flat hot and racist. Singapore was abhorrent up tight consumerism. Once I'd realized I'd prefer a holiday in Scotland I vowed not to fly again and have stuck with it.
Was nice seeing family though.
In your position I reckon I'd go for the following:
In to Cairns, Whitsundays, Brisbane for the family stuff. Get your hot weather/beach/deadly animal shit done here.
Fly to Hobart, do a lap of Tasmania over a couple of weeks. The place is small by Aus standards, pretty varied environmentally and stunning. Culturally it feels like going back in time, but in a good way. Granted it will be relatively cold.
Ferry back to Melbourne, time in and around the city, then home.
I would avoid trying to cram too much in because you could spend a quarter of your holiday in airports.
Have been to Aus 7 times now, my folks live in a place called Jervis Bay, which is on the south coast of NSW. That's an incredible place, whales, dolphins, stingrays in the bay. Was there last July and it was low 20s most days, perfect for me.
Australia – flat hot and racist
I know the history is pretty bad, bu the only racist I've encountered on my three trips there was the taxi driver taking me back to the aiport on my first trip. He had a lot to say about immigrants.
Which was odd for a white guy in Oz...
The obvious problem with coming to NSW or Victoria in Winter is all the really good mountain bike areas are closed because of the Ski season (Thredbo, Falls Creek, Buller etc) and it might be a bit chilly in Tassie. I'm surprised no-one has suggested the NSW north coast - from Coffs Harbour Down to Newcastle there are so many great little towns and beaches to stop at. Newcastle itself is worth a look too with some amazing beaches good bars and restaurants (I lived there for 10 years so a little biased). I also don't get all the hate for Melbourne -it's a bit like a hipster version of Glasgow. Great location, night life, museums, restaurants, public transport and a couple of hours drive down to the surf coast to Torquay, Anglesey, Bells Beach and Lorne.
For Cairns, we did white water rafting on the Tully river which I'd highly recommend (you might have to check if there's an age restriction I don't recall any children)
Sydney, as others have said, northern beaches (Manly upwards) are much nicer than Bondi. Palm Beach was really nice, but Curl Curl, Dee Why, Manly etc are all good (eldest sister lives in Collaroy). A day trip out to the Blue Mountains.
One year we spent a week driving from Sydney to Surfers Paradise for Christmas and stayed on some fantastic beach campsites on route.
I also don't get all the hate for Melbourne -it's a bit like a hipster version of Glasgow.
I wouldn't fly to the other side of the world to visit the hipster version of Glasgow!
Again, thanks everyone for the input. I am monitoring everything!
SWMBO announced two days ago, when my finger was poised on the button to buy flights, that she's "always wanted to go to Bali". Cue a day's worth of running around trying to make it fit.
Anyway, Melbourne isn't an option. We need to be Brisbane and Sydney is a good idea for various reasons. I know it'll be chilly, but not cold there.
Kids have asked about going to Bondi but we know from last time that the locals are at Manly etc. What will the water be like north of Sydney? Just wondering whether to train from Brisbane and stop off en route?
I need to defend Melbourne in this... I lived in Sydney for many years and will retire back Down Under. Melbourne is the top of the consideration list.
Sydney is great as a tourist, but there is nothing that would make me live there again. Melbourne on the other hand - it's beautiful and civilised and easy and all the good things. It has a distinctive character, whereas Sydney would be an anonymous city without the harbour.
Sydney is shiny, shallow and vacuous. The pretty blond everyone wants to take home.
Melbourne is enigmatic, warm, interesting. The sultry brunette everyone wants to marry.
What will the water be like north of Sydney? Just wondering whether to train from Brisbane and stop off en route?
There's one train a day from Brisbane to Sydney, dep 0600. It's a slow and unreliable ancient 125. The only place you could stop realistically without needing to hire another car would be Coffs Harbour, which is not the nicest place in that 1000km strip.
If you've already rented a car in Brisbane, keep it to drive to Sydney. It'll give you more flexibility, will be cheaper, and will let you stop off at tiny beach towns along the way...
...imvho.
What will the water be like north of Sydney? Just wondering whether to train from Brisbane and stop off en route?
There's one train a day from Brisbane to Sydney, dep 0600. It's a slow and unreliable ancient 125. The only place you could stop realistically without needing to hire another car would be Coffs Harbour, which is not the nicest place in that 1000km strip.
If you've already rented a car in Brisbane, keep it to drive to Sydney. It'll give you more flexibility, will be cheaper, and will let you stop off at tiny beach towns along the way...
...imvho.
What will the water be like north of Sydney? Just wondering whether to train from Brisbane and stop off en route?
There's one train a day from Brisbane to Sydney, dep 0600. It's a slow and unreliable ancient 125. The only place you could stop realistically without needing to hire another car would be Coffs Harbour, which is not the nicest place in that 1000km strip.
If you've already rented a car in Brisbane, keep it to drive to Sydney. It'll give you more flexibility, will be cheaper, and will let you stop off at tiny beach towns along the way...
...imvho.
Hahaha...I lived in Melbourne a d there's nothing that would make me live there again. It's flat. It's grey. It doesn't even have the ferry to Devonport any more.
Swimming in the Ocean in Sydney and north New South Wales in July will be a little bracing - but no worse than the North Sea in Summer 🙂 I'd recommend getting your photos at the Bondi Lifeguard hut then piss off to a nice beach like Coogee about 5kms further south. Manly is OK but a pain in the ass to get to by road - the ferry trip out there from Circular Quay is pretty cool though and there is a sea life centre and a few other things once you get there. The Gold Coast is worth avoiding unless you like strip bars, casinos and tower blocks but if you head south a few kms you get to Tweed heads, Kingscliff and Cabarita beaches which are definitely worth stopping for. Heading north of Brisbane, the Sunshine coast is definitely worth a visit - Noosa and Mooloolaba are both great little towns with beautiful beaches.
Swimming in the Ocean in Sydney and north New South Wales in July will be a little bracing - but no worse than the North Sea in Summer 🙂 I'd recommend getting your photos at the Bondi Lifeguard hut then piss off to a nice beach like Coogee about 5kms further south. Manly is OK but a pain in the ass to get to by road - the ferry trip out there from Circular Quay is pretty cool though and there is a sea life centre and a few other things once you get there. The Gold Coast is worth avoiding unless you like strip bars, casinos and tower blocks but if you head south a few kms you get to Tweed heads, Kingscliff and Cabarita beaches which are definitely worth stopping for. Heading north of Brisbane, the Sunshine coast is definitely worth a visit - Noosa and Mooloolaba are both great little towns with beautiful beaches.
Swimming in the Ocean in Sydney and north New South Wales in July will be a little bracing - but no worse than the North Sea in Summer 🙂 I'd recommend getting your photos at the Bondi Lifeguard hut then piss off to a nice beach like Coogee about 5kms further south. Manly is OK but a pain in the ass to get to by road - the ferry trip out there from Circular Quay is pretty cool though and there is a sea life centre and a few other things once you get there. The Gold Coast is worth avoiding unless you like strip bars, casinos and tower blocks but if you head south a few kms you get to Tweed heads, Kingscliff and Cabarita beaches which are definitely worth stopping for. Heading north of Brisbane, the Sunshine coast is definitely worth a visit - Noosa and Mooloolaba are both great little towns with beautiful beaches.
Swimming in the Ocean in Sydney and north New South Wales in July will be a little bracing - but no worse than the North Sea in Summer 🙂 I'd recommend getting your photos at the Bondi Lifeguard hut then piss off to a nice beach like Coogee about 5kms further south. Manly is OK but a pain in the ass to get to by road - the ferry trip out there from Circular Quay is pretty cool though and there is a sea life centre and a few other things once you get there. The Gold Coast is worth avoiding unless you like strip bars, casinos and tower blocks but if you head south a few kms you get to Tweed heads, Kingscliff and Cabarita beaches which are definitely worth stopping for. Heading north of Brisbane, the Sunshine coast is definitely worth a visit - Noosa and Mooloolaba are both great little towns with beautiful beaches.
Noosa and Mooloolaba are both great little towns with beautiful beaches.
Noosa's pretty, but it has become a shopping strip overrun (by local standards) with tourists really. There's a good ferry trip you can do down the Noosa River - or if you're more adventurous overnight kayak trips up the river.
You'll also find the places between those places are often a bit quieter but also have brilliant beaches (if that's your cup of tea). But as I said in my first comment, it depends on what you value. I tend to avoid the coast in the more populated areas. Inland trips might be interesting if you like forests - Eungella up near Mackay, Bunya Mountains further south, Waterfall Way west of Grafton. Dorrigo. All great spots.
Finally booked the flights! Gone with a day layover in Singapore each way, which I'm not sure about but it was the cheapest option.
Still arriving into cairns and out of Sydney.
I started looking at things to do round cairns and overloaded pretty quickly! The kids seem interested in getting a train to Whitsundays which has made me smile, 11 hours worth. I think I'd rather drive 😁
Turns out we have friends in Pelican Waters and Woody Point to see. And some recommendations to stay in Palm Cove just North of Cairns which fits in nicely with the info you lovely people gave.
So, the plans are being planned! Probably without bike riding as inevitably I'll end up breaking myself 🤪
Nice one.
I'm pretty close to Pelican Waters. If you fancy a ride while you're there I can source a bike.
Excellent gravel options and also very close to a fun free mtb park too
Ride the Five - Sugar Bag | Visit Sunshine Coast.
Finally booked the flights! Gone with a day layover in Singapore each way, which I'm not sure about but it was the cheapest option.
If you’re going to have a stopover, then I think Singapore is probably the best choice. I don’t know a huge amount about the region, but a very close friend of mine has family there, her mum is from there, (ethnic Chinese), and she and her husband were out there last year, so I saw a lot of photos! There’s a lot of cultural diversity and great architecture, plus it has a lot of WW2 history, it was overthrown by the Japanese, and the British armed forces there were captured and put into Changi Goal, a place with a very dark reputation. My dad was RAF ground crew, and ended up there. He survived it.
If the chance presents itself, worth looking at a part of Britain’s history in the Far East that doesn’t really get much attention.
I went to palm cove recently - it's nice, pretty quiet, but with some cafe's, restaurants etc. It's a good base to see around the cairns area and up to port douglas / see the rainforest / go and see some crocs etc. We stayed in a apartment rental which was attached to the Pullman "Palm sea cove temple" (ie: not the actual hotel itself) very good value considering you could use all the facilities. Will try to find a link if I can.
We did a daytrip out to Fitzroy island from Cairns - maybe don;t bother if you are going out to the whitsundays, but the kids enjoyed it, and they had a great day exploring there, and the beaches were better that they were on the mainland.
It looks exactly like this:
+ a million to "I would avoid trying to cram too much in" It's a big place so do one bit well. If you have to visit family, fly between major cities. But also do try and focus your time outside the cities.
Since you are focusing on the GBR - and as said it is a nice idea to see it while it's still there, and genuinely research where is still alive / well - then maybe stick with the north and north east. There are very deep seated, systematic racist issues in Northern Territory but the area around Darwin, Kakadu is special, fly there and back and try to use indigenous led trips.
I lived in Tas-lutruwita for 2 years, I do have to laugh a bit at the impression that winter isn't worth visiting south of Brisbane. There is a risk of a storm which would be disruptive - more of an issue around Sydney then Melbourne or Hobart. But temps are nice, it's very rarely frosty and day temps in the mid teens generally around the island. But as per the first point, I wouldn't try to combine it with the GBR in one holiday.
Yes this thread has provided me much amusement - apparently Sydney is a shithole…. According to some blokes on the internet who live in Bracknell/stevenage
I shall cry about how terrible it is here, during my surf after work tomorrow.
Melbourne hosts a GP so it can't be too bad, it takes an awful lot for me to go anywhere near Glesca coming from the East side of Scotland so I might knock the Melbourne trip on the head
I've been watching the Underbelly on Amazon prime, not as good as the Sopranos but fruitier than anything made in the UK. In Glasgow it's all knifes and fires rather than the guns
I used to ride along the GP track at Albert Park on my way to work. Past the pits. You could still access it right up until a week or so before the race.
Hello again. We've now booked about 3/4 of the trip, got a few bits and bobs to plan in still.
Just looking for some help for Singapore on the way back - just one night stay. (On the way out we're booked in for a 24 hour hotel room in the airport as we land at 0700 and depart 25 hours later).
It's been 24 years since we went to Singapore and we stayed at the Four Seasons; that ain't happening again! 😀
So, places to stay in Singapore please? Due to arrive 2100 ish and depart about 29 hours later. I'm ok with another hotel room in the airport, but think we may have more fun downtown.
An option that've come up is the Yotel on Orchard Road. But I can't help thinking that somewhere more down by the bay might be better.
There are five of us, so it's not that easy to find somewhere that fits the bill - but any tips would be great. And any tips about places we can use to recover from before we go back to the airport to fly out at 0200 would be terrific - airport lounges are an option but spendy.
Ta!
Only time I did it there were good deals through Singapore Airlines and we had a decent place near the Indian area...whatever that's called.
I'm so very envious... I haven't been to Aus in longer than I want to think about, decades, not years, there's zero point me sharing my views about cites, the ones I visited hardly exist anymore. When I'm feeling a bit low and melancholy, mourning my youth I occasionally walk around places I used to stay at in Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns etc on Google Maps. Different places now, different people, just like every other city on earth, change is the only constant.
One thing I would add, and I know you've mostly booked everything up now, if you can take the time to see rural Aus and a few bits of the Outback (where ever you go an Aussie will tell you that's not the real outback, but still, red soil, massive open spaces and Roos will do). It's very special.
It's one of those things I want my family to experience with me, even if they have to put up with my giggling to myself about all the stupid shit I did when I was a backpacker. I've no plans, it's a really expensive thing to do! When the time comes I'm torn between the usual Tourist places, Sydney Harbour, Whitsundays, Barrier Reef etc and going to new places like Darwin for Croc Tours or Outback Camping (as long as they sort out all the creepy crawlies and snakes for me.) For me, it's the geography of Aus that's special, cities are cities, they have their own feel and charm, but they're not that different from LA or London.
The main thing I'll say about Aus is that the best places were ones we had no.prior knowledge of and just stumbled across.Crowdy Bay national park and Girraween national park to name a couple
Once had to ring the law in Perth for work related reasons. The person who answered the phone and both police officers I spoke to were all from the north of England.
That's the two poms that live here. You lucked out if you spoke to both of them!
Cairns in July/August is very pleasant. It's not as humid as Dec/Jan and very unlikely to be hit by cyclones at that time of year. I used to ride my motorbike up the Cook Hwy to Port Douglas. Really fun and scenic road. If you fancy it, have a stay on Dunk Island.
I don't know a lot about Brisvegas but I will later this year 😉 The road trip from Brisbane to Sydney I've done a few times. Tamworth is the heart of country music in Australia. Lots of wineries around Mudgee and the Hunter Valley.
Sydney used to be a really fun place night life wise but I think the lock out laws changed the character of the place. However, pop into the Rocks area. Where us convicts started the place. 😀 Harbour Bridge climb is worth it, go early though if the temps are looking warm.
Taronga Park zoo is worth a look. Check out our strange critters. Take the ferry from Circular Quay. Likewise, visit Manly via the ferry.
Darling Harbour has a great selection of restaurants and bars.
We got back from Oz this morning. It was a remarkably good trip, we did plenty and only ran out of steam in the last couple of days.
Rough itinerary was:
1 day Singapore, staying at the airport Crowne Plaza hotel which was excellent.
Cairns area for 3 nights, we did the railway up Kuranda, sunrise kayak from Palm Cove,
Then headed through the Tablelands to Airlie Beach over the next few days, wild swimming, Magnetic Island was a great highlight with wild koalas and wallabies tapping on the window to get fed in our apartment.
Private yacht trip around the Whitsundays for a few days. Spendy but absolutely fantastic. Weather was perfect, mid 20s and sea fine for no wetsuits (the locals might not agree but we were fine). Lots of whales including a mother and calf diving under our boat.
On to Brisbane area to see friends. Gold panning, beach stuff, swimming, Australia zoo and cuddling koalas for some of us. Saw a wombat being taken for a walk! Sand dune surfing at Rainbow Beach, wild dolphin feeding at Tin Can Bay.
3 days in Sydney to finish off, bridge climb, jet boat around the harbour, Manly beach, stayed for one night at Shangri-La in the Rocks in a suite, which was very nice indeed with a view of the opera house and bridge.
Home via Singapore, too hot, tired kids and grumpy dad!
We kept the itinerary fairly flexible around a few key points following the advice on here.
As it was winter most places were quietish and the weather was really quite pleasant, if a bit chilly in Sydney and a couple of rainy nights in Brizzy.
Thanks to everyone who helped with advice - might go again in a couple of years and do another bit of it...
If anyone wants more info about anywhere we went please just ask and I can supply links etc.
Overall, it's a fabulous place to go to. Things like clean loos, excellent food, helpful people really made it work for us 👍
Nice one mate - hopefully the crappy weather in Sydney didn't ruin it! Wettest August since records began!
The whales have been awesome this year - we were up in the Gold Coast a few weeks ago.
Good luck with the jet lag!
