State of South Australia Travel Forum

Hello,

Thank all of you for your replies to my first posting. I really appreciate your feedback!

I am traveling to Australia with my son who is 30 years old, and the situation is that we have had a difficult relationship in the past. This trip is an opportunity to let him know how much he means to me. We live near Los Angeles, CA., and I am not healthy and don't know if I will be able to travel in the future.

Thanks to your help, we have decided on our itinerary:

1. Arrive in Brisbane on 8/31/08
2. Leave Brisbane and arrive in in Adelaide on 9/3
3. Leave Adelaide and arrive in Melbourne on 9/5
4. Leave Melbourne and arrive in Sydney on 9/8
5. Leave Sydney on 9/13 and arrive in Los Angeles

We have already booked the flight and the hotels and I was wondering if I can get guidance on what we should do during our stays in these four locations.

My budget is limited but I feel that this is a once in a lifetime chance for us to have a second chance to re-develope our relationship. I want my son to remember this trip for the rest of his life and am so grateful that he agreed to it.

I am afraid that if we go there without knowing what we must see, I will surely regret it.

Any replies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all of you for your kindness in this matter.

Hi ,
Well i can answer a little of Brisbane for u ,i live about 1 hr away on the coast.Okay in the bog smoke u can get an all day pass which covers all forms of transport and u can catch the hydrofoils (cats) which run like a ferry service all along the brisbane river very cheap way to see a lot of the city area.

You can get a train and come down to the Gold Coast for a day or two (u can get cheap accom via the internet).Great beaches even if i do say and i lived on "Venice" beach for a little while.Heaps of fun parks and things to do if that is what u are after.

As to Melbourne / Sydney great places to go very cultural but i will leave that to the people who live there to give u better advice.
You worry about missing out on stuff by not asking but u have made the best decision by coming here and there will be too much for u to do and see but ..u can always come back..lol.
ps..do the Ferry from sydney central to Manly great ride..

cheers Chris

Hi, I'm from Melbourne, spent 12 years in Sydney but like the last person, live about an hour from Brisbane but do get there quite a bit. HAve studied in Adelaide and spent a bit of time there.

Here are a few things to consider. You have such short times in each area and you can get to see plenty using local transport rather than expensive tours.

One of my tricks is to get details of interesting tours and then work them out myself using local transport etc - always works out cheaper even if not as easy sometimes.

Melbourne: http://www.visitvictoria.com

National Gallery of Victoria, Southbank for a wander and meal. A show at the entertainment centre (all near to each other) A day trip to Mornington Peninsular or Healesville Sanctuary.

Sydney: http://www.sydney.com.au

Manly ferry trip is great, check out both beaches. Botanuical gardens. Bondi Beach if you are into beaches. Tour the Opera House, climb the bridge. Day trip to the Blue Mountains.

Adelaide: http://www.southaustralia.com/Adelaide

visit to the wineries, the Adelaide hills (Hahndorf) a tram to Glenelg Beach.

Have a wonderful trip

Hi Barry,

First off not sure of your interests, so if you'd like to give us a few clues on those that would help.

I'm in Melbourne, so here's a bit of a list for 3 days here.
Free city circle tram would be a good starting point and from that tram explore as you see features of the city you'd like to see. go to http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/route/view/1112 for map and timetable.

Get an all day met ticket and explore inner Melb by public transport. Go down St Kilda Road and go to The Shrine (pyramid shaped building) - free entry and go to the top deck and get a great view of Melb. From there to the Royal Botanical Gardens (bit of walking here) - they are one of the best gardens in the world. Get back onto tram and head down to St Kilda and dinner along Fitzroy Street. You could also go to Brunswick Street for dinner and street entertainment.

Last full day maybe a bit of a splurge and go on a tour to the Healsville Santury and Penguin Parade at Phillip Island - a number of coach companies do this tour each day. Would be hard to do both by public transport.

Again if we know your interests we could fill in a few more gaps.

Adelaide - I liked the Immigration Museum there

I don't have any specific details to add but I think it's great you're doing this.

Don't try to plan every single minute of your trip; some of the greatest bonding moments come from serendipity and discovering surprises together.

Hiya Barry. Sounds like a great trip you've got planned. Don't forget that at the time of year you are visiting it will still be quite cold. A good day trip in Brissy is either the Steve Erwin Park (Australia Zoo) or Loan Pine Sanctuary. Plus there's other places to visit like Tangalooma Island and Mt Tamborine but it'll probably be too cold for water sports. Here's a good site -
http://www.tourstogo.com.au/search.submit?idcountry=2&idregion=&idlocation%5B%5D=42&idstyle%5B%5D=97&keywords?p=349&gclid=CLqr4_SMw5ICFSYuagodARCQOQ
Sydney - Blue Mountains and a trip to Manly on the ferry/hydrofoil are excellant as well as visiting Darling Harbour, The Rocks, China Town and Botanical Gardens.
Melbourne - St Kilda and I would try to hire a car and do the Great Ocean Road.
Adelaide - Yes the Barossa Valley & Claire Valley are good.
Have a wonderful time downunder.
Cheers, Ann :o)

Hi
I would think we need to know more about what interests your son. Knowning this is essential for him to really enjoy himself, and possibly may be a little less enjoyable for yourself, however I believe for your relationship to improve your son must enjoy the trip.

Have you asked your son what he wants to see, get him involved in planning the holiday.

Some web pages which may help

visit brisbane.com.au
visitsunshinecoast.com.au
visitgoldcoast.com.au

visitsouthaustralia.com
visitadelaide.com

visitvictoria.com
www.fedsq.com
www.melbourne.citysearch.com.au
www.victrip.com.au

www.thisweekinsydney.com
www.sydneywildlifeworld.com.au
www.skywalk.com.au
www.sydneypass.info
www.sydneyferries.info
www.sydneyvisitorcentre.com
www.bluemts.com.au
www.cityrail.info

Recommend you visit the Australian pages of all the VT Members who have replied.

Good Luck,
Mike

Hi Barry,

I think what you are doing is wonderful! Don't worry too much about planning everything out in advance ... Australia is such a laid back and fun place with so many things to do spontaneously!

I am originally from Florida, but I've lived in Adelaide for 4 years. I have visited Sydney, Melb and Bris but do not know them well enough to give advice.

Adelaide has so many great possibilities. If you enjoy wine, definitely go to the Barossa or McLaren Vale for some tasting. If you like to hike, definitely check out Morialta National Park, Hallet Cove (on the sea - you can get there by public train - check out www.adelaidemetro.com.au), or Waterfall Gully. Glenelg is beautiful, right on the beach, but I am biased since I live here! One idea if you are daredevils, is to come to Glenelg's Holdfast Promenade and go for a jet boat ride. Its a little pricey, but I've heard its so much fun!

If you let me know what kind of stuff you are into and which part of Adelaide you are staying in and whether you will have a rental car, I can give you some more specific suggestions. :)

Happy travels,
Daniele
ocpcw@yahoo.com

Great answer Danielle and thumbs up to you :o) You have some great answers on the travel threads. Hopefully we'll see you at one of our big downunder vt meets sometime :o) Keep up the good work. Cheers, Ann.

Thanks Ann! I would love to come to a big aussie VT meet ... when and where is the next one?

Next one Danielle is in Darwin next month - see the meetings thingy here on vt. And then at the Darwin meet the 2009 big downunder meet will be announced, so expect to see it posted under the meetings end of May/early June. Plus we'll all be talking about it on the miscellaneous forum. Hope to see you there! Cheers, Ann :o)