Talk to me about Australia

3-4 weeks is far too short :) It took me 2 years to work my way round. I'd concentrate on a couple of places if you are already doing Perth & Maggie River i'd be tempted to do the east coast down from cairns for 2 weeks. The weather will be best in those areas as well.

You need a bit of time to get to,do, and get out from Uluru and even though it was a good experience it is just a massive rock in the desert :) (its frowned upon to call it Ayres rock these days and they don't like you to climb it either).

My favourite place was Melbourne, ended up staying there for 8 months but it won't be very good weather at that time of year otherwise I'd recommend doing Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road,

PS re above post...Cyclone season is in the Australian summer the weather in NE Queensland in August should be mid 20s and sunny,
 
I did the South West- Perth, Albany, Margaret River, Esperance and all that jazz in a campervan with my mate, and it was brilliant- took us 5 days I think, and much more flexible than a tour. Having said that we did an trip with Adventure Tours from Darwin- Perth which was awesome, we met some really cool people and have so many good memories from it, so they're a good company to go with if you decide to do a tour.

We used Jetstar for internal flights- they tend to have Friday Fare Frenzies where you can get super cheap flights on certain dates, and sometimes have $1 fares, so always worth checking out! We flew from Perth to Alice Springs then did a 3 day tour of Kings Canyon (take lots of water if you'll be doing this!!!) and Uluru.

The East Coast is nice if all you want to do is party and do pretty much what you can do here, except with sunshine and lots of wasted, easy women (a big appeal for many of the people on here I'm sure), but the West definitely has some of the most beautiful scenery.
 
I lived in Perth for 3 months and I'd recommend a day in Freemantle and a visit to the outdoor cinema in Lederville. Not exactly must rush home and tell the folks stuff but I remember having a few great days mooching the coffee shops of Freemantle and drinking beer, eating barbeque and watching a film on a real screen outdoors is wonderfully decadent way to waste a few hours.
 
daver said:
3-4 weeks is far too short :)

PS re above post...Cyclone season is in the Australian summer the weather in NE Queensland in August should be mid 20s and sunny,
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Oops my bad :rolleyes: I was in a rush in my defence , weather in should be perfect north of brissie sorry again OP teach me for posting to quickly :(
 
Woot booked up, or at least some of it.

Thai airlines depart 30/7/11 return 26/08/11. (£1,116.93)

arrival day in perth, then 3 day tour http://www.adventuretours.com.au/3-day-albany-margaret-river-south-west-tour/

then a few days in Freemantle, then a few days in here. http://www.lakesideholidayapartments.com.au/

Although haven;t been able to book tour/hotel as HSBC blocked my card, just phoned them up and should be good to go in a few minutes.
Not sure what after that, looking at Alice springs/darwin and possibly Cairns.
 
I don't want to spoil your excitement but want to be honest with you. Perth, is a bit dull in winter. It really is a summer city, I first arrived in Perth in Sep 2008, I couldn't believe how dead the place was mid week. On Fridays and Saturdays it came to life a bit but nothing that compares to any city in the UK. In August expect Perth to be wet, and not very warm (avg daytime temp of around 8 - 10c).

At the time of year you're going you'll see the best that Perth has to offer in about a week.

Perth

  • Kings Park - This place has the best views of the city.
  • Swan Valley Tour - make sure this includes the Caversham Wildlife park
  • Take in the atmosphere of Fremantle on a Saturday or Sunday arvo - defiinitly go to Little Creatures Brewery. The "Rogers" ale is the best!
  • Sunset at Cottesloe is awesome
  • Good night spots are - Leederville, Fremantle, Mt Lawley although as I said mid week in the winter won't be great - stay away from NorthBridge it's rough at night!
  • If you like Casinos then Burswood is worth a visit.

South of Perth
  • Bussleton Jetty - it's just been re-opened after a couple of years of repairs - it is a 1.5km long jetty, over some beautiful waters.
  • Pinjarra - Pies - the Aussies won't let you forget how good their pies are & how *** British pies are, put them to the test!
  • Denmark - As has already been said - stunning!
  • Walpole - Do the tree top walk it's great.

Margaret River - even though this is South of Perth there is lots to do so it get's its own section
  • Waves Restaurant in the town is fantastic - esp for seafood
  • There are three main caves in the area (Mamouth, Jewel & Lake) Mamouth and Lake are the best
  • Hamelin Bay - There is a road here that goes right to the coast, and on a day when the water is calm, massive rays (2m+) come right up to the beach and you can snorkel with them (carefully we don't want a tourist doing a Steve Irwin impression) and they regularly take food from the hands of the local fishermen
  • There are tonnes of wine & beer tours all over Margaret river - but to be honest I would recommend the bushtucker river & cave tour (http://www.bushtuckertours.com/brivertour.html)
  • Can't not mention wineries - my personal favorite was Happs
  • Cape Leeuwin light house - great views - it's hard to get any decent height in WA for good viewing points.

North of Perth

  • Most of the good stuff North of Perth requires some serious distance to be done. But there are some gems especially if you dive.
  • Monkey Mia - Experience wild dolphins up close and personal, you can do this around Perth too, but here it's pretty much guaranteed
  • Exmouth - Some of the best diving in Australia, unlike the Barrier reef which is hours & hours by boat off the coast, the reefs on the north west coast are right off the shore.

Some of the stuff that I've been told not to bother with in WA are...
  • Wave Rock - A long journey to see a rock shaped roughly like a wave
  • The Pinnacles - Billy Connolly danced around them naked - that's the only way he could make them interesting

This has turned into a massive post but I will say one more thing, if I were you - once I had seen enough of Perth, I would head straight to the North East of Australia. At the time of year you're going it's the best place to be, and it's considerably cheaper than Perth. The rain Forrest is fantastic so much to see and do.

Either way I'm sure you'll have a great time, but expect to pay about 6quid a pint in Perth! ;-)
 
Australia as a tourist destination has lots of nice things to see and do. Thats about the only positive thing I can say after 13 months living here. My view of Australia has been soured because of where I am. I have met some of the most disgusting people possibly on this planet. I might apply for PR (if possible) so I can come back and work in the future but it would be on the east coast. So glad I am leaving next month.
 
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Yes. Contractors for various companies just there to work, drink beer and fight. Getting paid unbelievable amounts of money for monkey work just because companies want to keep everything Australian. My only advice would be do not travel further up the west coast than Exmouth/Coral Bay. Any further and you should take a flight to get to Broome. Karijini national park is also a good shout if for some bizarre reason you find yourself up the north west.
 
Well if I went over it would be as a Geologist so I'd probably have to be in the thick of all that... But I guess FIFO would mean at least I could live in Perth or somewhere like that.
 
Amp34 said:
Well if I went over it would be as a Geologist so I'd probably have to be in the thick of all that... But I guess FIFO would mean at least I could live in Perth or somewhere like that.
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Good luck. Im on FIFO doing 8 and 2. Most do 4 and 1 unless youre an operator. Luckily Im a superintendent so get put in the decent camp. Its great if you have a family and live up here. Boating, camping, fishing etc.
 
Watch your shoes!

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Mr_T said:
I don't want to spoil your excitement but want to be honest with you. Perth, is a bit dull in winter. It really is a summer city, I first arrived in Perth in Sep 2008, I couldn't believe how dead the place was mid week. On Fridays and Saturdays it came to life a bit but nothing that compares to any city in the UK. In August expect Perth to be wet, and not very warm (avg daytime temp of around 8 - 10c).

At the time of year you're going you'll see the best that Perth has to offer in about a week.

Perth

  • Kings Park - This place has the best views of the city.
  • Swan Valley Tour - make sure this includes the Caversham Wildlife park
  • Take in the atmosphere of Fremantle on a Saturday or Sunday arvo - defiinitly go to Little Creatures Brewery. The "Rogers" ale is the best!
  • Sunset at Cottesloe is awesome
  • Good night spots are - Leederville, Fremantle, Mt Lawley although as I said mid week in the winter won't be great - stay away from NorthBridge it's rough at night!
  • If you like Casinos then Burswood is worth a visit.

South of Perth
  • Bussleton Jetty - it's just been re-opened after a couple of years of repairs - it is a 1.5km long jetty, over some beautiful waters.
  • Pinjarra - Pies - the Aussies won't let you forget how good their pies are & how *** British pies are, put them to the test!
  • Denmark - As has already been said - stunning!
  • Walpole - Do the tree top walk it's great.

Margaret River - even though this is South of Perth there is lots to do so it get's its own section
  • Waves Restaurant in the town is fantastic - esp for seafood
  • There are three main caves in the area (Mamouth, Jewel & Lake) Mamouth and Lake are the best
  • Hamelin Bay - There is a road here that goes right to the coast, and on a day when the water is calm, massive rays (2m+) come right up to the beach and you can snorkel with them (carefully we don't want a tourist doing a Steve Irwin impression) and they regularly take food from the hands of the local fishermen
  • There are tonnes of wine & beer tours all over Margaret river - but to be honest I would recommend the bushtucker river & cave tour (http://www.bushtuckertours.com/brivertour.html)
  • Can't not mention wineries - my personal favorite was Happs
  • Cape Leeuwin light house - great views - it's hard to get any decent height in WA for good viewing points.

North of Perth

  • Most of the good stuff North of Perth requires some serious distance to be done. But there are some gems especially if you dive.
  • Monkey Mia - Experience wild dolphins up close and personal, you can do this around Perth too, but here it's pretty much guaranteed
  • Exmouth - Some of the best diving in Australia, unlike the Barrier reef which is hours & hours by boat off the coast, the reefs on the north west coast are right off the shore.

Some of the stuff that I've been told not to bother with in WA are...
  • Wave Rock - A long journey to see a rock shaped roughly like a wave
  • The Pinnacles - Billy Connolly danced around them naked - that's the only way he could make them interesting

This has turned into a massive post but I will say one more thing, if I were you - once I had seen enough of Perth, I would head straight to the North East of Australia. At the time of year you're going it's the best place to be, and it's considerably cheaper than Perth. The rain Forrest is fantastic so much to see and do.

Either way I'm sure you'll have a great time, but expect to pay about 6quid a pint in Perth! ;-)
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Thanks for that, I have a friend who lives in Fremantle and those are some great info.
 
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