mamapjama Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I just found out that I will be heading to Australia. A life long dream to say the least!! I was hoping you wouldn't mind taking a minute to give me some pointers on places to visit, things to do, best picks etc. We will be flying into Melbourne and having that as our base. Will be there at least two weeks possibly three. We are a very active couple, I'll be continuing my training for triathlons and marathon, so I will be looking for a good place to rent a bike. But we are looking for places to visit that may be a bit off the beaten tourist trap, although we certainly want to visit some of those as well. We both love meeting people and interacting with people lucky enough to call the area their home. We are also wondering if it is worth the time/effort/money to go to New Zealand for a bit. I understand it is a 4 hour flight. What about Tasmania? I thought I'd check here before I delve into too many websites and books and become over loaded!! Can you tell I'm excited :) Any suggestions would be more than appreciated! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamapjama Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Bumping this as I think there were board problems the day I posted ... or else no one had any ideas for me LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Melbourne is a very bike friendly city, lots of roads have bike lanes, and you can ride a bike on all roads apart from the freeways. there are many great National Parks fairly close to Melbourne, including the Grampians. I would also recommend a trip to Philip Island. Wold you be doing mostly day trips from Melbourne? or would you be renting a camper/camping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 when are you going? here's a link to fire info: http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/warnings-and-incidents/ so much to see and do, its hard to imagine. can you travel, or are you day-tripping? oh, and you asked for advice. you will need a very, very large suitcase. (because i will be in it :001_smile: ) have a glorious time. ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 If you only have two to three weeks, I'd stay in the one state. You could see most of Tasmania's best in three weeks (if it is not on fire.) If you want to stay in Victoria, my brother may well give you a zoom around tour. He does that sort of thing. :) (I already asked him.) But you must be prepared for 14 hour days. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm379 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Recommendation #1 - Bring me! :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awisha. Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 These are all of the touristy Victorian places I can think of at the moment :) Melbourne Zoo Healesville Sanctuary Werribee Open Range Zoo Sovereign Hill in Ballarat Riding the Paddle Steamers in Echuca Warnambool and watching the whales Drive along The Great Ocean Road Surfing at Torquay beaches Botanical Gardens in Melbourne and other state towns Any other touristy places fellow Vics?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamapjama Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 We are planning on Melbourne as our base, but my partner is very interested in NZ or Tasmania as well. I know we are going to have a lot to squeeze in. He will be there a week before I arrive. Thank you for the links and recommendations! I will get busy looking them up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 If you like bike riding I highly recomend going on some of the Rail Trails http://www.railtrails.org.au/trail-descriptions/victoria. the one near me is absolutely beautiful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Right before we moved to Melbourne, it was voted the most liveable city in the world. We quickly found out why :) We've been gone for 13 years so my info is dated - but we LOVED the Dandenongs and the Great Ocean Road. Definitely go see the penguins on Philip Island. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 The public transport in Melbourne is excellent. When I visit Melbourne I only use public transport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmama2 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Sovereign Hill gold rush re-enactment theme park in Ballarat & the Gold Museum next door. As PP's have said - Melbourne is very bike friendly. Ride along the river to Collingwood Children's Farm/Abbotsford Convent (now an arts precinct with restaurants, bakeries, a Steiner school & organic markets on weekends). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 If you haven't already purchased your tickets, you might want to check into flying Air New Zealand. Coming from North America, you'd change planes in Auckland both directions, but it gives you a chance to do a stopover in NZ for a few days (which I'd highly recommend). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamapjama Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 They just booked my ticket this morning to Melbourne. Do you think it would be cheaper to book a flight to NZ once there or should we do it from here? I'm in Canada. And any idea how prices in Canada compare? I need some shorts and another bathing suit but wondering if I should wait as it is winter here and not much selection in that right now lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Most things in Canada are cheaper than in Australia, however, lots of shops will be starting to have their summer clearance sales on and selling things like shorts and bathers cheaper at the moment. Just about the only thing cheaper in Australia than Canada are electronics like cameras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 And any idea how prices in Canada compare? I need some shorts and another bathing suit but wondering if I should wait as it is winter here and not much selection in that right now lol! General rule: Everything is more expensive in Australia!!! :D That said, it is summer here, but stores are already starting to advertise clothes for the next season- warm pj's, long sleeves, etc. So if you are coming soon you'll still be able to find summer clothes, and probably on sale. It's not officially autumn until March. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamapjama Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Perfect! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecclecticmum Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Okay, first of all, you can come help me purge and clean my house. :laugh: On your way to Ulupna Island. Ulupna Island is beautiful, and considering how close we are to it, we haven't been there, ridiculously enough. A while back (I think the 70's perhaps?) they relocated a whole bunch of Koala Bears there. Americans seem to adore the Koalas (for reasons unknown to me, perhaps because they haven't actually had to deal with one rofl. Koalas are HEAVY, like a lump of metal, they have sharp claws, their fur is rather rough, and they STINK to high heaven rofl. All those eucalyptus leaves seem to make for a stinky diet. Anyhoo you may see some playpus' up there in the creek too. Its like a natural zoo, and its definitely off the beaten path for tourists (most have never heard of it). Tasmania - it depends how soon you go, Aus is in big dramas at the moment. Tasmania is having huge bushfire dramas, and Queensland is having huge floods (even in the middle of the city people are kayaking around) :bored: I just wouldn't suggest straying too far if you only have 2 weeks, a lot of people tend to think Australia is much much much much (jusy imagine "much" for about a page) smaller than it actually is. If you plan to jump from state to state, you'll end up spending most of your 2 weeks in airports, ferries and cars. There is about 3 Melbourne Museums (we went to the kid one, theres also another two in the middle of the city) Aquarium, two zoos, a homeschooling community, craft recycling shop that has some cool stuff, strange arty clubs, theatres and a kalamazoo of other things. (seriously I could spend 3 days listing all the sites to see in Melbourne and another 10 days on Sydney (Sydney is longer because I lived there for quite a while, so know many off the track adventures). A fun thing to do would be to get a backstage pass to the Aquarium if you and your kids are interested in it, they have different backstage passes (feed penguins, swim in shark tank etc). The zoos are brilliant too. Tasmania unfortunately I don't know much about. If your planning on travelling for whatever reason from melbourne to adelaide I think theres some sort of rock water formation called the singing sisters? or something. There also was Hanging Rock somewhere in Australia (I think maybe up near Sydney) but I think they blew it to bits (look up the based on a true story movie - Picnic at Hanging Rock, a bunch of schoolgirls were on a school trip there, one girl disappeared during break, never to be found, and all their watches stopped :bored: always wanted to see that place, sadly they tore the rocks down or something (probably because of the locals insisting it was a "bad place" and stories of hookie alien abductions :confused1: :closedeyes: Anyway happy travels!!!! :driving: :hurray: :hat: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Uh. Hanging Rock is in Victoria. It was in perfect health when I looked at it last October, other than invasive weeds. The story is fiction, but let's not allow truth to get in the way of a good story. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecclecticmum Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Uh. Hanging Rock is in Victoria. It was in perfect health when I looked at it last October, other than invasive weeds. The story is fiction, but let's not allow truth to get in the way of a good story. ;) Oh....poop :( Maybe thats why I blanked out that the rock was still around, it was one of my favourite movies (unfortunately I didn't know about the novel, or I would of read that first, I have trouble reading the book after reading the movie and prefer to do it the other way round). I guess I'm going to vist it some time soon then! Next your going to be telling me the last cottingley fairy photo they insisted was real (see-through one) isn't.....no don't tell me! :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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