cairns , australia
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Soldato
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The "City" itself is a bit rubbish in my opinion but theres plently of things to do up and down the coast and around it. Things like the daintree, the reef, port douglas, waterfalls, the atherton table lans etc. etc. if you're willing to travel further south you've got the whitsundays too. Great area but don't stay in Cairns for a month.
Edit: You'll be going to the reef snorkelling no-doubt and I can whole heartedly reccomend Wavelength Marine Charters (look them up). They operate out of Port Douglas (just north of Cairns) and run a smaller boat, meaning less people per group and more maneuverability, so they can get exclusive access to better spots that the bigger operators can't get to. They're also upfront about their prices and really passionate about what they do. Could not give them a higher praise
Edit: You'll be going to the reef snorkelling no-doubt and I can whole heartedly reccomend Wavelength Marine Charters (look them up). They operate out of Port Douglas (just north of Cairns) and run a smaller boat, meaning less people per group and more maneuverability, so they can get exclusive access to better spots that the bigger operators can't get to. They're also upfront about their prices and really passionate about what they do. Could not give them a higher praise
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Caporegime
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Oz is huge, why limit yourself to one place for four weeks?
[FnG]magnolia;17030780 said:
i wont have enough money to buy a vehicle and drive. i'd quite happily go to other places but cairns seemed like a good starting point. i did consider landing in sydney and working my way up to cairns but i fear i will underestimate just how long this will take me on a train
Caporegime
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You can rent a car for not too much cash. A lot of my friends have done this as well as some of the guys on this forum ([TW]Fox springs to mind and he also knows a great deal about cars to go for/avoid) so don't write it off too early.
Hey, how long can you take, how much can you spend and what do you want to do/see etc? Which airport are you flying into? Seriously, it's a long way to come if you're only going to do it one or twice so do what you can the first time around!
Hey, how long can you take, how much can you spend and what do you want to do/see etc? Which airport are you flying into? Seriously, it's a long way to come if you're only going to do it one or twice so do what you can the first time around!
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I was in Cairns this time a year ago. Lovely place, lots to do in the surrounding area but Cairns itself is pretty small (It's about the size of somewhere like Winchester?) and most of the good stuff you'll need a car or something to get. I wouldnt spend a month in Cairns.
In a month you could comfortably travel from Cairns to Sydney or even Melbourne and be able to see all the sights on the way down.
I spent 4 days in Cairns and didnt feel like it wasnt long enough. Also most of the best stuff to do - ie the Reef - costs big cash.
Hiring cars and driving is not expensive in Australia. I hired brand new 250ish bhp Saloons everywhere I went. A friend of my girlfriends chose to take the bus from Brisbane to Cairns whilst we drove in a 280bhp rented Toyota Aurion.
The car hire and fuel cost less than her friends bus ticket..
Trains are in theory a great idea and in reality a pain. The timings are pathetic. At one point in Rockhampton we were looking for a train to Mackay for the aforementioned GF's friend. Now, up the East Cast Mackay is the next town up from Rockhampton. It's a few hundred km and they are two of the largest cities on the coast. There is a huge mainline railway with large railway stations.
Despite this there was ONE train a day and it left at... 23:55
In a month you could comfortably travel from Cairns to Sydney or even Melbourne and be able to see all the sights on the way down.
I spent 4 days in Cairns and didnt feel like it wasnt long enough. Also most of the best stuff to do - ie the Reef - costs big cash.
Hiring cars and driving is not expensive in Australia. I hired brand new 250ish bhp Saloons everywhere I went. A friend of my girlfriends chose to take the bus from Brisbane to Cairns whilst we drove in a 280bhp rented Toyota Aurion.
The car hire and fuel cost less than her friends bus ticket..
Trains are in theory a great idea and in reality a pain. The timings are pathetic. At one point in Rockhampton we were looking for a train to Mackay for the aforementioned GF's friend. Now, up the East Cast Mackay is the next town up from Rockhampton. It's a few hundred km and they are two of the largest cities on the coast. There is a huge mainline railway with large railway stations.
Despite this there was ONE train a day and it left at... 23:55
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I'd actually spend more on the flight.
Flying to Oz is about the worst thing I have ever had to endure. It doesn't matter how many books etc you take you are in a metal tube for 22 hours..... it doesn't get worse than that.
Unless I can go 1st class I'm not returning the thought of the flight home actually spoiled the last week of my trip. As for Cairns great spot and much warmer in at this time of year than Sydney (freezing 8-10°C and artic wind
make sure to pack hat and scarf for Sydney. 
)
Edit: just looked it up and it doesn't seem to bad atm. I must have just had a bad week there lol
Flying to Oz is about the worst thing I have ever had to endure. It doesn't matter how many books etc you take you are in a metal tube for 22 hours..... it doesn't get worse than that.
Unless I can go 1st class I'm not returning the thought of the flight home actually spoiled the last week of my trip. As for Cairns great spot and much warmer in at this time of year than Sydney (freezing 8-10°C and artic wind
make sure to pack hat and scarf for Sydney. )Edit: just looked it up and it doesn't seem to bad atm. I must have just had a bad week there lol
Yep, been there, very humid so you'll feel the heat more than you would further south.
I stayed in Palm cove, couldn't go in the sea from the beach due to box jellyfish, although they did have fenced off areas.
Town is alright, it does have a hire car centre if you can afford it.
Loads of restaurants there to choose from.
Town is very vibrant at night, quite a few bars with live music. I ended up in oneils most evenings
I stayed in Palm cove, couldn't go in the sea from the beach due to box jellyfish, although they did have fenced off areas.
Town is alright, it does have a hire car centre if you can afford it.
Loads of restaurants there to choose from.
Town is very vibrant at night, quite a few bars with live music. I ended up in oneils most evenings
[FnG]magnolia;17030857 said:
i'm trying to work out if i can afford it at all but i will fly by the cheapest means necessary into any east coast airport, sydney is coming up cheapest so far. i am now thinking of an open ticket and i will stay there for longer than a month if funds suffice. when people say car rental is cheap, how cheap are we talking?
Soldato
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If you're really on a shoestring budget, and wouldn't mind hitch hiking you could do what I did or something similar?
flew to Brisbane and spent 3 months hitch-hiking slowly (can actually be done in a few days) up the east coast to just past cairns, stopping off at pretty much every interesting place along the way, camping/staying with people I met. Then got a budget flight down from Cairns to Brisbane and flew back from brisbane.
The whole trip cost £1500 including flights and reef trip and it was the best three months of my life. Whats more is that I got to experience an Australia (well, Queensland) that few tourists ever get.
flew to Brisbane and spent 3 months hitch-hiking slowly (can actually be done in a few days) up the east coast to just past cairns, stopping off at pretty much every interesting place along the way, camping/staying with people I met. Then got a budget flight down from Cairns to Brisbane and flew back from brisbane.
The whole trip cost £1500 including flights and reef trip and it was the best three months of my life. Whats more is that I got to experience an Australia (well, Queensland) that few tourists ever get.
that's what i'm talking about. don't need to hitch hike but i'd consider it
Soldato
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I had a pretty good experience with it. Had over 60 lifts in total and met a lot of very generous people.
The return flight to brisbane was £750 with Quantas. This was 2 years ago now though.
What time of year are you going? Someone mentioned box jellyfish. These are only a danger in summer (our winter). I went between may and august and had no problem swimming in the sea or lakes for the whole length of the east coast. Got to be wary of crocodile zones still though.
Queensland coast is absolutely amazing, though I can't speak for other parts of Aus.
The return flight to brisbane was £750 with Quantas. This was 2 years ago now though.
What time of year are you going? Someone mentioned box jellyfish. These are only a danger in summer (our winter). I went between may and august and had no problem swimming in the sea or lakes for the whole length of the east coast. Got to be wary of crocodile zones still though.
Queensland coast is absolutely amazing, though I can't speak for other parts of Aus.
Associate
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It was a few years ago, but I stayed a few nights at Kewarra Beach just north of Cairns, and a few more at Silky Oaks a bit further north towards the Daintree. Both nice places to stay, but Silky Oaks was something special.
From there I flew to Alice Springs and stayed outside town in a farmstead and explored the McDonnell ranges - that was fantastic, a memory I'll never forget.
From there to Darwin and then on to Kakadu which was also great.
Out of all the experiences though, the McDonnell ranges was the most memorable - no people about, and beautiful scenery, aboriginal art, wildlife - wish I could afford to go back !
From there I flew to Alice Springs and stayed outside town in a farmstead and explored the McDonnell ranges - that was fantastic, a memory I'll never forget.
From there to Darwin and then on to Kakadu which was also great.
Out of all the experiences though, the McDonnell ranges was the most memorable - no people about, and beautiful scenery, aboriginal art, wildlife - wish I could afford to go back !
Your loss - just pick the right airline and its not a problem. Some of the worlds best airlines fly to Australia - I went with Malaysia Airlines and the 34" seat pitch was lovely.