In the spirit of keeping the airplanes flying, I decided to use my United frequent flier miles for trip to Sydney. United was offering an attractive mileage discount that I couldn’t refuse. I have very limited time (leaving on Jan. 16, returning on the 26th). Thought that I might just hang out in Sydney for the entire trip, taking short day trips, but then found a short tour that fits my timetable.
Accommodations
First Class: The Wentworth, Oasis Resort Cairns.
Superior Tourist Class: The Cambridge, Palm Royale Cairns.
Itinerary
Day 1 Sydney Arrive at Sydney’s Mascot Airport where you will be met by an A.T.S. Pacific representative and transferred to your hotel.
Day 2 Sydney Full day tour commences with a stop at Seaforth Lookout for views of Middle Harbour. Spend some time in Manly and travel our famous northern beaches. Enjoy a lunch cruise on Sydney Harbour and in the afternoon travel by coach through Darling Harbour, exclusive suburbs and Paddington. Highlight is a stop at world famous Bondi Beach. (L)
Day 3 Sydney A full day at leisure for relaxation,shopping or additional sightseeing.
Day 4 Sydney
Cairns Transfer to airport and depart by air to Cairns gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. (Airfare not included).
Day 5 Kuranda Travel aboard the Kuranda Scenic Rail and explore at your leisure Kuranda Village. Next stop is at Rainforestation for a BBQ lunch and a performance of the Pamagirri Aboriginal Dancers. Tour through the rainforest and lake in an amphibious army duck and visit the wildlife park to view kangaroos and koalas. Return to Cairns on the Skyrail cable car. (L)
Day 6 Great Barrier Reef Travel up the coast road to Port Douglas where you join the MV “Quicksilver” for a delightful cruise to the Outer Reef. Lunch is served on board. Return to Cairns and your hotel in the late afternoon. (L)
With that free day in Sydney, you could visit the Rocks (first white settlement in Australia, now a big tourist area) or maybe the Aquarium at Darling Harbour. You might even have time to get out to the Blue Mountains - go and see the Three Sisters (big rock formation) or something.
Well, I am not an Aussie doper, but I can tell you that you will have no trouble filling that free day in Sydney. Walk over the Harbour Bridge, take the tour of the Opera House, stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens, a walking tour of The Rocks, shopping everywhere you look. And don’t miss the Harbour Lights ferry ride at night. Great view of the Harbour with the Bridge and Opera House all lit up. And there is also Taronga Zoo, Koala Park, and Featherdale Wildlife Park if you are interested in the animal life down under.
Didn’t make it up the Queensland yet, so I don’t know anything about the sights up there. But they don’t call it the Gold Coast because it is cheap.
Oh, and if you get a chance, have a meal at Phillip’s Foote. Nice atmosphere, good food.
straykat23, IMHO keep ‘em comin’ … we need the hard currency.
As tavalla noted, a SydDope on day 3 is a definite possibility, presuming that the dopefest for your compatriot pldennison doesn’t end up trashing the place tomorrow.
Cairns at that time of year is usually stacked to the gunnels with Swedes and Japanese.
hey, always good to have another Doper down under.
Sounds like you have all of your bases covered.
there is the Sydney Festival on during the month of Jan, so you might find something there to do.
We’ll be glad to have you here, 'kat. I have just spent a beery afternoon with pldennison, woolly, and don’t ask, and the place still isn’t completely trashed. I think I could get used to these Dopefests.
If you have any more questions, you are welcome to go to the link on my sig, where you will find a friendly bunch of Aussie Dopers. Or just post 'em here of course.
I would have to agree that the Sydney Festival will be way into its swing then and so you will have no trouble filling your time.
One recommendation would have to be the OpenAir Cinema. It is a big screen over the harbour, with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as a back drop. Just make sure you bring aome “Aeroguard” (insect repellant) and you will be fine.
Newtown is a great suburb with an interesting sidewalk culture that is five minutes from the city, Bondi is a must, Manly, Balmain…
I honestly not worry to much about the Gold Coast - probably a little too touristy that time of year - Byron Bay would be a much better choice…
Have fun
AB
Sydney-based myself, so I could give you a day out…
January is the month of heat and humidity in Sydney - strong sun, with a late thunderstorm (on average) once a week.
There are a lot of national parks and ‘wilderness’ areas surrounding Sydney, but at a distance that means a day trip just to go to those places. Worthwhile to go to an Aussie fauna park, like Koala Park at West Pennant Hills, where you can cuddle a koala, feed kangaroos hopping around, examples of our magnificienbt birdlife and reptiles (but not crocodiles). Good areas round Sydney Harbour and the coast (like North Head or the clifftop walk from Bondi to Tamarama) that are untouched since European settlement.
Cairns will be in the middle of the wet season, so expect every afternoon to be rainy. You would need a good 4WD to venture into the rainforest national parks, but mist-shrouded mountain scenery will be nice, as Kuranda will be. Port Douglas is a bit of a tourist trap (on the small side, about an hour north of Cairns), you could take an equivalent reef trip from Cairns (eg to Green Island) and save the travel to PD. but well worthwhile to buy some cheap flippers and snorkel and just swim at an inner reef island - there will be plenty to look at. You don’t need to splurge and have a skindiving session at the outer reef.
Thanks for all the info! I know to bring insect repellant, warm weather clothing, wet weather clothing and lotsa cash.
Also thanks for the invitation to meet fellow dopers; unfortunately, I’m old enough to be the mother of the guy who describes himself as a ‘old fart’ and I don’t think I’d provide the amusement you’d share with younger dopers who are bound to drop by for a visit. I have a friend living in Sydney and plan to spend an afternoon or evening with him, so I’m not totally antisocial! As a matter of fact, I’m pretty hot with the old hippie set.
You do know that most of us who posted are the “old hippie set”, don’t you?
One thing you might want to check out before committing youself to an itinerary is whether the beaches up in far north Queensland will be closed (my brother used to live in Cairns at at certain times of the year the beaches were closed due to blue-ringed octopus - which is why almost everyone in Cairns seems to have a swimming pool) - only really an issue if your planning on beach-based activity, but something to be aware of nonetheless.
Sydney in January is fantastic, because of the festival. There are always unexpected cultural things happening in parks and tourist areas, like Circular Quay. You will have such a good time. And the people really are friendly.
Just correcting a few mistakes on this, beaches in Cairns will be closed, not to blue ringed octopus, but due to box jellyfish, which is rather annoying having miles of white beach and sun and you can’t swim. There are stinger nets out at most beaches, but personally I find those limiting to swim in, just ignore the beaches aside from sightseeing and swim on your reef trip, or go to Fitzroy Island, which is a mainland island off Cairns and swim there. Do NOT go to Green island, the other island off Cairns, as its totally wrecked due to tourism, all you see is coral rubble and overpriced drinks, Fitzroy island is mainland island, so it has a lot of nice coral, rainforest right up to the beach, and a beach thats actually called Nudey Beach
A 4wd isn’t neccessary to drive to anywhere, you can actually make it anywhere with a standard vehicle, but the wet season will limit a lot of trips + rain you out if you are unlucky, 4wd or not.
Kuranda rail trip is great, Kuranda itself is actually a bit of a retirement town, with a liberal soaking of hippie “feral” types, Port Douglas is a tourist trap, but its a nice town. Quiksilver trips are usually great, the wavepiercer boats are nice and smooth.
Funny, my best friend owns the Foodstore in Kuranda, he lives at the amphibious vehicle forest station, another friend owns/runs the Skyrail service, and I’ve lived in Cairns for 2 decades and learned to drive a boat out to the reef before I could ride a bike, talk about being overqualified for a simple post on a message board
Hope any of that long winded post helps, have fun in Aus.
