Australia

This info is from last year, but since I’m still paying for the trip I reckon that counts …

If you fly with Singapore Airlines you get very good rates on stopovers in Singapore; hotel rooms are available whatever time you arrive, which is good news at 7.00 a.m. after a 12-hour flight. Trips to Sentosa Island and the Night Zoo are recommended. And anybody wanting a suit or a silk kimono won’t be short of offers.

Sydney: Temperatures can be mild in July and August, though chilly in the mornings and evenings. There’s a good train link to the centre and suburbs directly from the airport, so you could save money by not hiring a car directly at the airport, thus avoiding a surcharge. If flying within the country, there are two domestic terminals; I came out the wrong side of the car park and ended up in the wrong one. The Australian Museum is well worth a visit; if you want to climb the Harbour Bridge, book well in advance. The harbour is popular with street performers. At Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, an hour from Sydney by train or car, walk the trails and take the cable cars, including the alarming Scenic Railway.


Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas): Days in July and August are warm rather than hot. Expensive, but how often are you going to go? Both dawn and sunset viewings are worthwhile, but wrap up well. Tour at least part of the Rock base and the Olgas with a guide; you can still climb Uluru, but the tribal owners ask you not to. The “Sounds of Silence” dinner is pricey, and again dress warmly, but aperitifs in the desert followed by sitting out under the Milky Way eating kangaroo, crocodile and barramundi is worth it.


Northern Queensland: July and August is the dry season. See the Mossman Gorge, crocodiles, the Daintree River, crocodiles, Kuranda (take the railway up and the cable car back), the waterfall circuit, Paronella Park, Cairns Night Zoo, crocodiles, and of course the Great Barrier Reef (for non-scuba divers the semi-submersible boats are recommended; a better view than the glass-bottomed boats).



Driving the east coast from Cairns to Sydney or vice versa requires at least ten days to do it justice. It’s a lot of driving, largely on single carriageway, and there’s a surprising amount of sugar cane in Queensland. Motels such as Golden Chain or Budget are reasonable value and well-distributed; some in the main tourist centres offer package deals. At least in (their) winter months, though, restaurants and motel receptions can close at 9.00 p.m.

The highlights include:
the Whitsunday Islands – worth at least a one-day cruise;
platypus-spotting at dusk at Broken River;
Fraser Island - trips on four-wheel drive minibuses (take at least one day), with the possibility of a brief flight;
humpback whale-watching from July to November in Hervey Bay - always pot luck, but a half-day trip should be enough; the whales seem to enjoy it as much as the humans;
Australia Zoo - catch the presentations; kids (and adults) can pet a possum or cuddle a koala;
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane.

Steve