iamonlyone Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Our younger daughter (17 yo) and I have the opportunity to go to Melbourne for a week with my husband on a business trip next February. Should we do it? Pros: • Airfare and hotel would be paid (free vacation!) • Not usually a busy time of the school year for us (will be homeschooling dd's senior year) • Dd and I have not been to Australia Cons: • My mom was diagnosed at the end of December with end-stage pancreatic cancer, with an average one-year life expectancy. We may or may not need to be with her in February. (I am/will be the caregiver.) • All those hours in the air • Not a destination that has been at the top of our bucket list Is Melbourne a good place to vacation? We love sand beaches, hiking, swimming pools (hotel does not have one; are there any public ones in town?), and biking (I see there is a great bike network; is it easy to rent a bike?). DD is not that interested in museums, botanical gardens, zoos. Neither one of us wants to do a bus tour. What does the great Hive mind think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I think in this case the Cons take priority. Even if Melbourne was on your bucket list (as it is mine - most definitely!), the timing with your mom's illness doesn't sound good. If you are able to book the air tickets closer to the actual trip, then perhaps you'd have a different answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 The only thing that would give me pause is your mom. Is there any way you can cancel the ticket closer to the time of flight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamonlyone Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 We should check about cancellation. The company that invited my husband to speak will pay up to a certain amount for airfare and encouraged him to stretch it for more tickets for family members to accompany him. So, we could let some tickets go unused, although it would not be a good use of the company's money. We do need to decide by next month. Wintermom, why is Melbourne on your bucket list? What would you do there if you went for a week? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I've never been to Australia, so I'd have to research specific areas and see what there is available and what I'd have time for. One week is really short. In general, I'd love to explore the unique animals, nature and coastline. I believe that there are is a colony of penguins along the south coast. It would be spectacular to try and see them and this special coast. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 The penguins are at Phillip island, not far from Melbourne at all. Bike hire is readily available. A short public transport trip will get you to the beach. February is nice and hot, perfect beach weather. There are lots of public swimming pools. I live in the same state as Melbourne. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamonlyone Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 The penguins are at Phillip island, not far from Melbourne at all. Bike hire is readily available. A short public transport trip will get you to the beach. February is nice and hot, perfect beach weather. There are lots of public swimming pools. I live in the same state as Melbourne. All of that sounds lovely. I requested a travel book from the library for us to pore over. Thank you for your firsthand information! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 February can be *too* hot. You should have come this February! There were very few fires this year for the first year in as long as I can remember. A week really isn't a long time when you have to adjust and recover from such a long flight. Make sure you have a realistic idea of your schedule before you get here, (assuming commitments to your mother allow it.) You would want to book accomodation near Philip Island (where the penguins are) as far in advance as possible. It's a very popular destination. Can you get yourself an international drivers licence? That would make life much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamonlyone Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 (edited) Can you get yourself an international drivers licence? That would make life much easier. Oh, wow. I didn't even know that was a thing! And that is why I came to you ladies. :) We would be staying at the Hilton Melbourne South Wharf, so I think that would probably be in the general area of being able to go to Philip Island. How hot is too hot, in February? I can look at averages, but that only helps so far. Too hot to walk on the sand at the beach? Too hot for extended bike rides? And, yes, I'm concerned about the 30-some hour flight each way. I don't enjoy traveling much...and the jet lag. Wish we could teleport! Edited April 20, 2017 by iamonlyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Oh, wow. I didn't even know that was a thing! And that is why I came to you ladies. :) We would be staying at the Hilton Melbourne South Wharf, so I think that would probably be in the general area of being able to go to Philip Island. How hot is too hot, in February? I can look at averages, but that only helps so far. Too hot to walk on the sand at the beach? Too hot for extended bike rides? And, yes, I'm concerned about the 30-some hour flight each way. I don't enjoy traveling much...and the jet lag. No, the Hilton would not be a good base for seeing the penguin parade at Philip Island unless you had someone accustomed to the time zone and driving on the left along to drive you back. It's 2 hours each way. Look up on Google Maps. If you don't want to see the penguin parade, it's probably not worth going down there. But it's probably your only chance to see blue penguins! Too hot in February means usually too hot for extended bike rides. Unless you live in the tropics, then no worries. It means you really want to cover up on the beach. If you're sensible, you won't even be at the beach between 10 and 4, if you are a white person, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I'm trying to think if I were offered the same in reverse. The only problem was that going from Australia to the USA I had very severe jet lag for the first week. You might experience the same. I agree Feb in Melbourne might be super duper hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Jet Lag is worse when traveling in one direction than the other. I think ( but could be wrong) that traveling to Australia is better than traveling the other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Melbourne is not as hot as other parts of Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Jet Lag is worse when traveling in one direction than the other. I think ( but could be wrong) that traveling to Australia is better than traveling the other way. Jet lag is not as bad for me when traveling westward or "backwards" in the time zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamonlyone Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 So many good things to think about! (And yes, I do need to look at a map! Still waiting for that library book on Melbourne to help me self-educate.) I would like all of your posts, ladies, but I'm out of likes, apparently. As far as the mom aspect, I'm trying to think from all angles (going, not going, planning to go but perhaps canceling last minute). I had planned for a year to travel to a national fine arts competition last month with my daughter and her singing group and other parents—if they qualified through local and regional competitions—but we had to have reservations two months ahead for all the travel plans etc., and that was when my mom was not doing well at all. We moved her in with us, and I was very busy with appointments and support, so I told the planners I could not go. I am thankful that my mom has initially responded well to chemo and is able to live at home except for the week after chemo now. What ended up happening, though, was she was at her home doing well, and I was at my home pretty depressed that I was missing the week-long trip and seeing our kids win at a national level. So, all that to say, it's very hard to plan right now, but I don't want to rule things out without quite a bit of thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Give us a yell when you've got more questions. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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