Hannah Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 We are planning a trip to Australia in October to visit recently emigrated friends in Melbourne and Brisbane. Is it worth our time and money to visit Uluru (Ayers Rock)? On the one hand I feel that we are traveling so far to get to Australia that we should add the most famous landmark to our itinerary, but on the other hand I don't know that it justifies the cost and time. Have you been? Is it worth it? And most importantly :001_smile: Are there good homeschool stores in either city? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I have never been to Ayers Rock. so can't help you on that. I am not aware of any homeschool store in Melbourne or Brisbane. I get all my books from chariot press, in East Gippsland www.chariotpress.com.au there is an other supplier in Canberra. http://www.lem.com.au/ and another one somewhere near Adelaide http://www.adnilpress.com/ When In Melbourne, make sure to go to the Victoria Market. it is the cheapest place to get souvenirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 Thanks for the links Melissa! So far everything I've considered ordering for next year is on one or more of the sites. I will definitely save a lot of postage if I order online and have it delivered to our friends. I'll just have to check our baggage limits. If there are stores, I'd love to be able to touch something before buying though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Don't know of any HS stores on the east coast. I have been to Ayres Rock as a child and teen. Personally if i were coming all that way i would do the Great Barrier Reef, it is pricey to get out there on the boats but awesome to see (snorkel or dive). I would also visit Sydney (between Melbourne and Brisbane) and climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge, visit the Opera House. Plenty of incidental learning there. There are loads of markets in and around Melbourne. Both Collingwood and Richmond markets accessible by tram are worth a visit. St Kilda is a great day out too, a very busy cafe strip with excellent cake shops. The other thing about Ayres Rock is that there isn't really anything else there. It is a VERY large rock that sticks up out of the ground and that's it, if you have seen the pics there isn't really anything more to it. OK, you do get that oh, wow feeling and you can climb it but personally like i said i would do the barrier reef or visit Sydney with the extra expense you'd incur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 My Dad was in Oz back in the 80s and he climbed Ayers Rock, as it was called then, and he only just made it up there. He was a Royal Marine. Now that Uluru/Ayers Rock has been handed back over the the Aborigines, they ask that you do not climb it. And from this Austrailain Government Site The Uluru climb is the traditional route taken by ancestral Mala men upon their arrival to Uluru. Anangu do not climb Uluru because of its great spiritual significance. Anangu have not closed the climb. They prefer that you - out of education and understanding - choose to respect their law and culture by not climbing. Remember that you are a guest on Anangu land. Anangu traditionally have a duty to safeguard visitors to their land. They feel great sadness when a person dies or is hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 In 1980 my family travelled to Australia. (We live here now) While here we did a camping bus tour from Melbourne up the Red Centre to Darwin. Obviously this included Uluru. We stayed at the same campground as the Chamberlains actually within a very short time of baby Azarias death. I remember being very wary of dingos! We also climbed the rock. It really is one of the most amazing trips I've ever done. If I was to travel to Uluru with my children that is how I would do it. There is so much more than Uluru to experience in the Outback but driving distances are very vast. I'm not sure I could be bothered just flying in to Alice Springs to see the rock and out again. So if you have time to do the whole trip up the middle I say you won't regret it. If you don't then I wouldn't bother just to do the rock this trip. We've been to the reef and the Whitsundays. We loved the islands but I have to say I was underwhelmed with the reef. I've done as good snorkelling in Fiji. There are plenty of really amazing sites right by Melbourne too. The Great Ocean Road is a spectacular drive and the Grampians are worth a visit too. I don't think there are any Homeschool Stores as such. Most of the retailers work from home by internet and mail order and do displays at church halls and the like from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I do agree with Sandra. Both of my trips to the rock have been through major family holidays where we have travelled up through the desert camping along the way. We have come up from Perth and across though. Sandra you can actually land at Ayers Rock, they have an air strip so it isn't necessary to go through Alice. On my first trip i was a baby and we too stayed at the same camp ground as Azaria. I was 9m old at the time, our trip was before she died. There were a lot of dingoes, they came right into our camp licking our BBQ plate clean. They never once bothered us though. They always came in at night and were only scavanging for food. We (me included) were sleeping on the dirt right my them and they didn't bother us at all. I am not calling the Chamberlains liars but honestly i can't believe their story in its entirety. No offence to them at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I am not aware of any homeschool stores in Australia that you can visit. I have been to Uluru and it is awesome, particularly if you are sensitive to the land. I think it is magic, but I imagine the tourist industry has picked up since I was there 15 years ago. Dh and I travelled across the Gun Barrel HWY from Perth directly across the desert, on a corrugated dirt road. It was wildflower season- about June/July i think. We got lost at one point. At the Rock, I remember one of the elders invited us to spend some time with them, and he asked Dh if he could buy me for the price of an aeroplane- some of the people there are wealthy even though they live a traditional lifestyle- wealthy because of the tourism. (I was younger then, too! It was funny at the time though). But there are a lot of things to see in Australia, and lots of beautiful country and cultural things to visit- I wouldnt worry if Uluru seems too much. Its too much for plenty of Australians to visit, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 How was the trip? Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thanks for asking Rosie. We've moved it and are leaving just after Christmas and coming back mid-Jan. Our friends have work and school holidays then. We've decided to stick to Melbourne for the visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thanks for asking Rosie. We've moved it and are leaving just after Christmas and coming back mid-Jan. Our friends have work and school holidays then. We've decided to stick to Melbourne for the visit. Good luck with the heat then! Thats a hot time of year. Good for the beaches though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina J Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 We've moved it and are leaving just after Christmas and coming back mid-Jan. Our friends have work and school holidays then. We've decided to stick to Melbourne for the visit. Good move. We had a short stopover at the Ayers Rock airport on our way to Cairns in January a couple of years ago. When we got out of the plane and walked onto the tarmac, I thought momentarily that we had stepped into the jet-stream of an aircraft engine. The burning hot air was blowing a gale like I'd never experienced before. Uluru is a fascinating place but I felt sorry for all the tourists that day. We had a great holiday a few years ago in Melbourne and surrounds. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Ooh. Well, I hope you can enjoy it. It's not the best time of year to visit, though February is much worse. It was a good decision to limit your trip to Melbourne. You will see much more that way. There are some lovely day or overnight trips to be made as well, if you can hire a car. You can get around pretty well on the Vline trains, but it gets pricey. What are you intending to see? There's a few of us who know Melbourne well. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 It's not the best time of year to visit. We were warned about the heat and remember them complaining last year, but our friends are on leave at that time and they also have school holidays, so we decided to slot in with them to do as much as possible together. They live about a km from the beach, so I'm looking forward to early morning walks and the children to time on the beach. Our other friends from Brisbane will come for a weekend. We were a tight group here, so are all looking forward to seeing each other again. What are you intending to see? There's a few of us who know Melbourne well. Rosie We don't have anything planned as yet, but options our friends have mentioned are a day at the zoo, the Queen Victoria market (as Melissa said), the science museum, riding the trams, a wine tour and Captain Cook's cottage (because we've just learnt about him in SOTW). The men are planning on going to the MCG for a day of the Boxing Day Test and us women are leaving the kids with their dads for a day of (window) shopping and a visit to the Lindt Chocolate Cafe - which sounds like heaven! We're also thinking of doing a camping trip, so I'll definitely keep The Great Ocean Road and Grampians that Sandra recommended in mind. We still have to discuss budgets and finalise the itinerary. What must-sees do you recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Well, if you like sushi, the best place is the Port Philip Arcade opposite Flinders St Station. Get there at 12 because it sells out by 2! If you drink wine, the Yarra Valley would be a nice day trip. You can camp in our backyard for a night or two if you want to come and see Bendigo. If we're still here that is :glare: The St Andrews market would be a nice place to add on to a trip to the Yarra Valley, but it burned out last year so I don't know if it's still running. No mention online that it isn't: http://www.standrewsmarket.com.au/cust.html :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 Well, if you like sushi, the best place is the Port Philip Arcade opposite Flinders St Station. Get there at 12 because it sells out by 2! If you drink wine, the Yarra Valley would be a nice day trip. You can camp in our backyard for a night or two if you want to come and see Bendigo. If we're still here that is :glare: The St Andrews market would be a nice place to add on to a trip to the Yarra Valley, but it burned out last year so I don't know if it's still running. No mention online that it isn't: http://www.standrewsmarket.com.au/cust.html :) Rosie Thanks Rosie! I love both sushi and wine - so will add these to our to-do list. I appreciate the very generous offer of a camping spot, but with 4 adults and 4 kids we would be imposing! If we do get to Bendigo, I'll look you up! Are you planning on moving? I might have missed a post on that. I've never met any WTM'ers IRL. Few of the homeschoolers around here have heard of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Hannah the biggest issue you will have at that time of year is that the whole state is on holiday and campgrounds on the coast in both directions from Melbourne are fully booked from the 26th of December right through until the end of January. I'd be getting your friends here to start looking NOW. This is something that frustrates me annually as most people book again from year to year so breaking in to the list and getting a spot for a week or two is pretty hard. Wilsons Prom is gorgeous. We've just come back from camping there for the weekend but I know it's fully booked until the end of January. Make sure you go down South Bank at night to see the fires outside the casino. They are really neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Yeah, Sandra is right about camping grounds being booked up. If you want to go down Great Ocean road or somewhere like that, you might have better luck staying inland, though the Otways are pretty popular too. Well, if you want to come by Bendigo, and we are still here (it all depends when and where dh gets work) I would have to check by him to see if he minded a bunch of people camping out in the backyard. He probably won't. Our back yard is big enough, and the grass won't even need mowing (it'll be dead by then, heheheh.) Your kids can't possibly be a worse imposition than my toddlers are. Do note that I'm not offering comfort. It will be hot, our house is a sardine tin of a place and it is 38C in here with the air con on so you won't want to spend your days here. It will be cheap though, and no one else is wanting to book out our yard. It is easy to take a day trip up to Echuca, which is nice and on the river. It's only an hour up the road. Bendigo is only two hours from Melbourne, too. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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