Australia -- The land down under
In the past 25 years, we have visited Australia three times. I've
only scratched the surface of this huge continent, visiting mostly the
east coast, where most of the people live and where most people go.
What most american's don't immediately realize is that Australia
is as large and varied as the entire US, and trying to see it in 2
weeks or even a month is obviously impossible.
Getting there
Australia is about 8,000 miles from the west coast of the US and about
the same distance from most of Europe. Unless you are on a round
the world cruise, you will get there on a very long plane flight. The
best advice for such a flight is to try to find a way to fly business
class. First class
isn't really a huge leap over business in comfort, but business is a
big
leap from coach, and gives you at least some chance of getting some
sleep.
From the US, you will probably depart LA or San Francisco late in
the
evening and arrive in Australia very early in the morning a day and a
half
later, after a 14 hour flight. (The international date line adds
a
day.) Some folks advise trying to break up the flight with a stop
in,
say, Hawaii, but I'm not sure this is wise. 14 hours, all at
night
is enough to have a good meal, watch a movie, and still make a
reasonable stab at sleep, while on a shorter flight you will invariably
not get enough sleep. If you fly on a 747, try to fly on the
upper deck. Only 20-30 seats plus the pilots and usually a lot of
room on the sides for baggage. Much less likely to be disturbed
in the night than on the main deck with 300+ people.
The time difference (7-9 hours from the west coast) will challenge you.
(Remember, most of australia is on Daylight time when we are on
standard
and vice versa. Queensland doesn't change time). Best
advice
is to dump those bags in the hotel when you arrive and plan to spend
the
first day outside in the sun. After a long day out and an early
night,
you will sleep and wake up more or less in the right time
Timing
Australian seasons are 6 months off set from the US, so if you go on a
summer vacation here, it's winter there. .Not a problem if you
are visiting the tropical north or the center, in fact it's an
advantage. Winter means cooler and drier, and avoids the
potentially deadly stinging jellyfish which inhabit the coastal beaches
in the far north during the summer. Some people try to combine
Australia with New Zealand, since both are a long way from home.
This is really too much and the seasons are a problem since
New Zealand and far southern Australia have real winter, meaning
unless you are looking to ski you probably want to go in their summer,
but winter is a better season for the rest of Australia. The
short days will surprise you
Driving
Australia drives on the left side of the road, like the UK and a few
other places. This will be an adventure for most americans.
While you can avoid driving -- you can fly to most cities and
resorts, and there is some inter-city train service, if you want to go
where you want when you want
there is no better way to do it. It's not too intimidating and
you
will quickly adapt.
Right hand drive cars
If you have never driven a car built for the left side of the road,
realize that the drivers seat is on the right, putting you in the
middle of the road as in the US. I knew that, but I didn't know
how the controls would be laid out in the car. The pedals are in
the car are in the same places and order as in the US -- gas on the far
right, brake left of that and clutch, if you have one, on the left.
All the hand controls, though, except the starter key, are
reversed. That means the right hand stalk on the steering wheel
controls the turn signals and lights, and the left side the windsheild
wipers/washer. Gear shift is on the left, with radio, heater and
other conveniences on the left in the center of the car. The thing you
are
most likely to have trouble with is turning on your windsheild
wipers
when you go to signal a turn. Locals say it's a sure way to spot
an
American tourist. After driving that way for 2 weeks of course
you
will do the same thing in your own car when you get home.
Manuevering isn't hard, though you will probably notice you have
trouble making tight corners and judging where the car turns so be
careful and have a passenger spot for you when parking. The
problem is you are used to
sitting on the other side of the car and the turning radius you see is
going
to be different. Left turns won't see that hard, but right turns
may
surprise you. Be sure to pull onto the left side of the road when
turning
right. They obviously are aware of the problem as you will find
islands
with "keep left" signs everywhere (just like in Monty Python, except
they
don't attack people :-)
Roads
You will notice the lanes are narrow in cities. Think of this
before renting something large. A Toyota Camry is a large car on
the streets of Sydney. The most notable feature of roads though
is the rotaries (or roundabouts as they call them). If you
haven't encountered these on the east coast of the US, what this means
is that several roads meet in a paved circle around a circular island.
Just remember to turn left into the roundabout, and that traffic
in the roundabout has the right of way.
You will encounter these everywhere, even on high speed roads,
and
often the turns are fairly sharp. Also watch out that if the
circle in the middle is small, cars from the roads to the right can
enter the circle very quickly and surprise you.
The most fundamental rule to remember is look to the right as you
attempt any maneuver. This applies to pedestrians as well as
drivers.
Major roads are not unlike the US. Roads that are part of the
National Highway system will in general be good two lane roads, with
stretches of divided
highway ("Motorway"), and lots of passing lanes in any section that has
curves
or hills. Minor roads can be narrow. Speed limits are
100km/hour
on most country roads (62Mph), and 60km/hour in towns (40mph), with
stretches
of 110km/hour (68) on motorways and good roads in unpopulated areas.
Most
urban areas are bypassed on major highways, allowing you to avoid
having
to navigate those narrow streets. (This isn't always true,
though,
there is no effective way to go from the Sydney airport on the south
side
of town to the pacific coast highway towards the north without a fair
amount
of city streets). You can, though count on being able to make
good
time on major roads and generally avoid city traffic. There are
few
traffic lights for intersections, more for pedestrian crossings.
Many people will probably want to drive some or all of the distance
from Sydney to Cairns. This is about the same as the distance
from Boston to Miami. Most of the road is inland and not
particularly scenic, but it does give you access to many mountain parks
and coastal towns and beaches. From Sydney to Brisbane it's
a mix of freeway and good two lane road with passing lanes. The
motorway continues about 100km north of Brisbane, and from there north
it's basically 2 lanes and there are long stretches with little on
them. Past Cairns to Port Douglas the road is coastal, curvy,
spectacular, slow, and dangerous. Much past there and you need
4WD and lots of luck. Keep in mind that if you drive this route south
to north, especially in their winter, you will be driving into the sun
most of the time.
Passing is an interesting excercise since you are on the left side of
the road. The best way to pass is in the "overtaking lane" zones,
which are frequent in hilly or curvey areas but can be quite short.
Keep left
in these areas if not passing. If you drive any distance, you will
quickly discover that the thing have trouble passing isn't the
narrow little microbus style vehicles common in NSW (which are easy),
or the giant seemingly overtall trucks (which keep reasonable speed),
but the &*&*! towed campers, or caravans as the aussies
call them. These seem very wide on narrow roads and you have to
stay well back to be able to see enough to pass. Whether by law
or practice, they don't go faster than 80km/hour, which seems very
slow, and if you don't pass, people will pass you.
Traffic laws
Drivers with a valid license from an english speaking country are legal
to drive in Australia. Otherwise you need an international drivers
permit, easily obtainable proof that you can read roadsigns.
(Check though with
your rental company to be sure of their requirements). New South
Wales
(Sydney) uses radar equipped cameras to enforce speed limits and catch
red
light runners. We noticed signs warning of the cameras in all areas
where
we saw them, but don't bet on it. Most people don't speed.
Queensland also claims to use cameras though they are far less
common. Note that Australia also has cameras that look for fatigued
drivers and ones that recognize your car at different locations to
calculate your average speed. Don't speed.
Pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks and everyone respects
that. They do not have the right of way elsewhere, so jaywalk at
your own peril.
We noticed that Australians don't really like anyone using their
brights. Our rental had lousy normal headlights, so I used them
whenever I could, but I'd be flashed at to turn them off even when the
approach car was miles away.
Australia has very tough drunk driving laws (.05% blood alcohol).
They also have "safety stops" where they stop cars at random and
check alertness and sobriety. Don't risk it.
Maps and Signs
Finding where you want to go can be a bit of a challenge. We
hadn't
(Spring 2003) found a good internet map site. (Google does
okay now, but not perfect) Some areas provided
reasonable maps, but many were not quite accurate. I suggest
anyone
going buy good maps when they arrive. (The bookstores in the
international
terminal in Sydney have excellent maps, unofortunately they are on the
departure
level and few people arriving will notice them.
"official" road signs are pretty good and generally very readable
even
at night, but one thing to note is that while many areas do have signs
for
accomodations and attractions, theses are often well off the road,
unlit,
and hard to read at night, which if you go during the Australian winter
will
fall much sooner than you expect. My suggestion is make sure
where
you are going before night falls because trying to figure it out in the
dark
isn't much fun.
Some Places we have visited
Sydney
If you go, chances are you will come and go from Sydney. It's the
largest
city and has plenty of interest. It's not particularly freindly
to
cars, so plan on using Taxis, trains, busses, and Ferries.
Circular
Quay is a good central location to be in, with a railroad station and
the
main ferry terminal. Ferries can take you to the beaches as well
as
the suburbs on both sides of the harbor. One interesting thing to
do,
especially on that first day is the Taronga Zoo, which requires a ferry
ride and is sold as
a package -- Ferry ride, tramway to the top of the zoo, and admission.
The
zoo has lots of Australian animals, The Ferry ride is always
fun.
Harbor cruises are also nice. Adjacent to Circular Quay is
the
Sydney Opera House, probably more startling when it was built than now
that
there are many other unusually shaped buildings like this, but still
interesting.
Tours need to be pre-arranged but you can walk around it and
galk.
There is also a very nice botanic garden/park here. If you
go
go early in the morning and watch the huge bats (fruit eating, don't
worry)
settle down in the trees near the middle of the park.
The Rocks area near the bridge is a major tourist area, with historic
buildings,
old pubs, and shops. The streets become a giant mall under tents
on
the weekend, probably the largest assortment and best prices on
souvenirs
of all sorts. Hotels in this area are quite expensive, but it is
not
difficult to stay elsewhere and reach this area by taxi or train.
(We
stayed in an airport hotel)
The Hunter Valley.
This is one of several wine producing regions and is set up for tourism
like
the wine valleys of California. It's actually better -- like
California
was years back, unspoiled and unhurried. Tastes are generous and
we
never found a place that charged, so keep those drunk driving laws in
mind
as you are touring. There is also a very nice cheese factory/shop
in
Pokolbin. There are several golf courses and a few resorts in the
Valley
as well. You could easily spend several days in this area.
EagleReach Resort
This is a very interesting wilderness resort on top of a ridge just
north
of the Hunter Valley. Guests stay in log lodges and eat breakfast
(and
dinner if you want) in a lodge house. The accomodations and food
are
first rate, and the views are fantastic. There are lots of
kangaroos
here so you will certainly see them. Also several hiking trails
of
various lengths and difficulty as well as swimming, tennis, and
other
activities. It's a long drive up from the Hunter Valley (about an
hour
and a half, though the distance is quite short you have to go a long
way
around the ridge), and the last few miles are basically a good paved
1-lane
road that switchbacks up the mountain. Don't do it after dark the
first
time.
Port Macquarie
We wound up in Port Macquarie in an emergency -- the hunter valley and
ealgereach experienced major damage and flooding in 2015 and we
narrowly escaped across flooded roads and drove north to Port Macquarie
to escape the storm. It turned out to be a great tourist
destination -- golf courses, nature preserves, two microbreweries, and
a unique Koala hospital, along with beaches, trails, and
restaurants. Well worth a visit.
Gold Coast Area
This is the southernmost coast in Queensland, just wouth of Brisbane.
The
Gold coast per-se is a beach area like Waikiki or Miami, complete with
high
rise hotels and a casino. The beaches just to the south and north
are
just about as nice but much less built up. There are lots of
activities
here and some parks with waterfalls and trails in the mountains behind
the
coast. We stayed in the Royal Pines, a golf resort back from the
beach.
It was nice, not as crowded, and had 27holes of golf. This
resort
is now owned by one of the australian auto clubs, but also caters to
Japanese visitors with a Japanese restaurant and bar in addition
to Australian options. It's a long way from anywhere else though
so
if you don't have a car or don't want to drive it's hard to go
elsewhere
for meals.
Another interesting thing to do here is the Carumban wildlife sanctuary
at
the south end (Very near where route 1 splits with the Gold Coast
highway
and becomes a motorway). This is a visitor participation zoo
where
there are opportunities to interact with birds, kangaroos, koala's and
other
wildlife. Wear clothing you wouldn't mind getting dirty.
Come
early for the feeding of the Lorikeets,thousands of tropical
parrots
that congregate in trees near the entrance waiting for staff and
visitors
to hand feed them with bowls of a milky nectar. Walk in and they
will
hand you a bowl and before you know it you have dozens of birds
perching
on it, your arms, you head and everywhere else they can. The
sanctuary
can easily take half a day or more.
Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine coast is just North of Brisbane, and less developed than
the
Gold coast. Wide sand beaches, golf courses, and attractions of
all
kinds. We liked the Novotel resort, which has a saltwater lagoon
in
addition to ocean and riverside beaches, plus a golf course.
There
are lots of options in this area as well though.
Queensland Islands
There are probably at least a dozen islands off the coast of Queensland
with
resorts on them where one can stay or just go for a day. Some
offer
close access to the Great Barrier Reef, others just a tropical get
away.
Prices are high to outrageous for most (a couple offer camping, a
real
bargain). By visiting an island you get away from the Jellyfish
problem
on mainland beaches and gain better access to coral viewing and diving.
Most of the islands can be reached by boat or by small plane or
helicopter,
a couple of scheduled flights. The flights are expensive, but
keep
in mind that the boat trips can be long and some can be fairly rough,
particularly
in areas where the island isn't protected by the barrier reef.
Here
are some we visited in 2 trips.
Heron Island
This island is at the southern end of the reef, just barely in the
tropics.
It is reached by boat or helicopter from Gladstone on the
mainland.
This is a coral atoll, part of the barrier reef. Snorkeling
and
diving are fantastic on the outer reef (outside the atoll), which
requires
a short excursion boat from the island resort. You can also walk,
wade
or swim, depending on the tide, in the lagoon, viewing coral and
tidepools.
One end of the Island is a preserve and bird rookery (turtles use
the
beaches in the Australian summer). The resort is run by the
P&O
cruise ship company and all inclusive. When we visited, there
were
a lot of international visitors here and at least half were there
specifically
to dive. You can snorkel from the dive boats as well, and the
view
is very good, a shear wall of coral reef dropping down hundreds of feet
outside
the lagoon. The water can be a bit cold here in the winter so you
will
likely need to rent/buy a wetsuit for warmth, especially outside the
lagoon.
Lady Musgrove and Lady Elliot Islands in this area are basically
similar
but have fewer and different visitor facilities.
Brampton Island
(Note -- as of 2015, the Brampton Island resort is closed for
renovations, not clear when or whether it will re open. What
follows is from 2003) This is the southernmost of the Whitsunday
islands, off Mackay. It's
a contential island about 700 feet tall and a national park. Thre
are
nice trails around and up the island (about 10 km total) and many
beaches
you can walk to in addition to those fronting the resort. The
island
adjoins another uninhabited park island and you can walk between them
at
low tide. (At high tide those sandbars are 12 feet underwater, so
watch
the time!). The extreme tide range here guides water activities,
with
swimming and boating at high tide, and at low tide walking on sandbars
and
snorkeling in the reefs in the channel between the island. The
resort
accomodations and food are first rate, again run by P&O. Most
of
the visitors here were australians, and the resort caters to couples.
They
have lots of activities, including tennis, a 6 hole pitch/putt golf
course,
boats, hikes, and evening entertainment in the bar. The golf
course
is basically closely mown tropical weeds, but where else do you get to
play
through the kangaroos. The island has lots of colorful
butterflies.
You can't easily get to the reef from here -- it's a plane ride
to
another island, then an hour on a boat, but the local reefs are as nice
as
most in, say, Hawaii. A couple of cautions about the boat ride to
the
island -- the dock is a bit hard to find (it goes from a marina,
adjacent
to the Mackay Harbor, which isn't in Mackay but about 3 miles north
accross
a river. The second is that the ride can be quite rough. We
were
warned of this by another couple boarding the boat in Mackay, and while
the
outgoing ride was a little bumpy it didn't seem too bad. Coming
back
we were in 6-8 foot waves in a relatively small boat and it was rough
enough
that at least half the passengers got sick. I don't know how
common
those conditions are.
Green Island
This is another Atoll on the reef near Cairns. It has both a
hotel on the island (high end, very nice), and an area for day
trippers, as well as a wildlife show park and a national park with
walks. (A lot in a very small island). The island has good
snorkeling off the beaches as well as organized dive/snorkel trips and
glass bottom viewing. You can get trips to other outer reef areas
from here as well. The convenience and beauty here are
nice. The fact that there are something like 2,000 visitors here
a day (many Chinese in tours) makes it a bit of a zoo during the
day. Resort guests get free beach and snorkel equipment, glass
bottom boat tours, and many other amenities though and it's delighful
after the lst boat leaves for Cairns for the day. (Note that
there is an interesting show at breakfast. one of the Egrets on
the island has a taste for sausage and bacon. He's unbelievably
fast and bold about it so Anyone sitting outside, as most do, is
vulnerable, and it's almost ipossible to fend him off. "Sausage"
invariably gets something and then spends the rest of breakfast trying
to get it down.
Cairns/Port Douglas
The Cairns and Port douglas area (actually about 40 miles of winding
road
apart) is the base for rainforest and reef trips for most people.
Cairnes
is a largish city with both commercial and resort development. It
has
a boat harbor but no real beach, but it does have the best assortment
of
shopping and dining in the area. Port Douglas is a much smaller
town,
mostly resort development. It has both beaches and a harbor
(though
the beach here has Jellyfish in the summer). In between are
several
small beach developments including Palm Cove, where we stayed.
This
was nice, somewhat isolated, with a nice beach and boardwalk and a few
small
shops and restaurants along with condos and hotel rooms. A
relaxing
kind of place, which Cairns really isn't. You can take reef trips
from
Cairns, Port Douglas or Palm Cove with the greatest variety in Port
Douglas
and Cairns. The Paradise Palms resort near Palm Cove is also a
nice isolate place, especially if you like golf.
The Great Barrier Reef
If you have been snorkeling or diving elsewhere and think you've seen
it
all, don't miss this. It's like nothing else we have seen in many
ways
(water clarity, variety of species, profusion of corals, etc.).
The
reef stretches for a thousand miles along the coast, about 50-100 miles
off
shore, requiring a 2-3 hour boat trip to reach. There are some
islands
that get you closer and a couple of operators of multi-day cruises in
the
reef, but most people do day trips. The tour operators say the
reef
is better the farther north you go (clearer water due to less
development
and sediment washed into the rivers). There are many different
operators
out of Cairns and Port Douglas
Quicksilver
This company has been at it for years and probably has the largest
fleets.
The boats take you to platforms at the reef where you can
snorkel,
dive, or take trips in their semi-submersibles (basically a boat with a
glass
windowed hull where you view just under the water.) Their big
boats
are the most stable and they have excellent food, but you don't get
much
personalized attention on those tours.
Poseiden
This boat operates out of Port Douglas and is a smaller catamaran
catering
to both divers and snorkelers. They tie up at various points
along
the reef (3 different spots on a trip), so you get to see different
parts
of the reef. It's a great place for learners because it isn't
that
big. Introductory diving seemed inexpensive there compared to
what
I remember, though we didn't try it (you aren't supposed to dive and
then
fly the next day). Because it's a smaller boat, food is a bit
less
lavish and the ride a little rougher, but not really bumpy.
Michaelmas Cay
Some of the operators go to this and other sand islands on the reef.
This
was a very interesting trip because the island has nesting birds, and
the
reef around the island is a bit different from the free standing reefs.
We
saw lots of huge clams here.