6 weeks, leave on 27th Sept, land on 29th Sept!!!

W00t! Australia here you come! your gonna love it, you should have nice warm Australia weather by then aswell, atm its rainy and shitty

Aye, fingers crossed, weather looks ok Sydney way, but Melbourne does indeed look a bit pants ATM.

Does it start warming up around October time then?

I live in Sydney and can tell you that the harbour bridge climb is a fabulous experience (even though it costs a fortune, damn government, there should be prices on the website). The view from the top of the bridge great, you can see everything, the walk to the start of the 'arch' is probably the scariest. You can see through the floor and you realize your being supported by some metal poles and wooden planks.

^hope that didn't put you off because it really is great.

The other thing is the 'Three Sisters' located at Echo Point, Katoomba. I'm not really a 'ohh look at the view its lovely' kind of guy. But the view from Echo Point was just magnificent. The gorge is absolutely huge, the three sisters are also massive. But while your there, go on the scenic railway. Its the steepest incline railway in the world. The info of it is here... http://www.infobluemountains.net.au/rail/ksr/Default.htm. It tells you the incline level and you can take a virtual reality ride. 52 degrees might not sound like much but when your on it, it feels like your almost vertical.

Hope you have fun.

The only thing that puts me off about the Harbour bridge, is that fact I am not allowed to take a camera up with me

Lol, yeh you know why, because they take a photo of you with their own camera, then charge you a fortune to buy it off them.

Also, when i went up there, there was some other guy and his daughter. She was about 10 years old i think (the minimum age for the climb) and the lady breath tested her before she went up. I LOL'D

Quote from LewX :

I live in Sydney and can tell you that the harbour bridge climb is a fabulous experience (even though it costs a fortune, damn government, there should be prices on the website). The view from the top of the bridge great, you can see everything, the walk to the start of the 'arch' is probably the scariest. You can see through the floor and you realize your being supported by some metal poles and wooden planks.

^hope that didn't put you off because it really is great.

The other thing is the 'Three Sisters' located at Echo Point, Katoomba. I'm not really a 'ohh look at the view its lovely' kind of guy. But the view from Echo Point was just magnificent. The gorge is absolutely huge, the three sisters are also massive. But while your there, go on the scenic railway. Its the steepest incline railway in the world. The info of it is here... http://www.infobluemountains.net.au/rail/ksr/Default.htm. It tells you the incline level and you can take a virtual reality ride. 52 degrees might not sound like much but when your on it, it feels like your almost vertical.

Hope you have fun.

OH NO flimsy metal poles and wooden planks... Its not like captain cook traveled for months to get here in something made out of flimsy wooden planks :P

I forgot to mention the scenic railway. But yeah there are many sights to see in the mountains.... So where the bloody hell are ya?
And i almost forgot to warn you about the fashion. No pretty boy hair cuts or trendy t shirts. Make sure you get a nice broad akubra with corks in it and some crocodile skin boots so you can avoid being a social outcast - if you cannot find the propper clothing at least wear sun screen because nothing makes us laugh more than a bright red pom whinging about their sunburn (seriously...)

It's been 20 years since I was in Melbourne but I liked hanging rock if your into a bit of bush walking. All the other spots already listed are good. If you get a chance Camberra might be worth a look as the nations capital and I've always like the war museam if your into that sort of stuff. I've done the outback tour and you would need 5 weeks to do the whirlwind tour of it, too big to drive in a short space of time. Blue Mountains are nice in NSW. Bathurst is on Oct 9-12 if your still around otherwise while your in NSW go drive the track it's a normal road most of the year, but watch out for the boys in blue.
Victoria is a nice compact state and you can do alot of day trips, and if you going to go to a zoo I'd pick Sydney as the best but it's been awhile since I've been south.
Almost forgot the Fairy penguins at Phillip Island that good to see too.
You'll have a ball and if you ever get to do it again make it Queensland

i live in sydney as well, i would say.
-powerhouse museum.
-Australian racing museum at eastern creek
-Opera house
-Centre point tower
-Sydney Imax Theater.
-Bondi beach
-Olympic village
-Take a ferry only the harbour from Parramatta to the City and back.
-Etc there tonnes of things here, if you need any questions message me.


and on the way to melbourne take the hume highway and stop at canberra for a few hours lots of history there.

But i have to say Brisbane would be better to go to then Melbourne, its basically the LA of Oz

theres a few interesting places of which not many know that they are in fact in pris... australia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ... HELmM&feature=related

Three weeks to go, hows the weather down in Aus?, must be better than the crap weather we have here!!!!.

Must confess, I am not looking forward to the 23 hours in a damn aluminium tube.......

Getting better I must say- Spring is well and truly on the way (I'm in Melbourne). Lovely sunny day today.

Sweet, I am driving down to Melbourne for the MotoGP on 5th Oct

I imagine Sydney is a little warmer than Melbourne?

Quote from danowat :

Must confess, I am not looking forward to the 23 hours in a damn aluminium tube.......

just think though - it'll be more than worth it

Yeah, should be. Melbourne can have very cruel winters and this year was no exception. You should probably be glad you missed it

Quote from mookie427 :

just think though - it'll be more than worth it

I bloody hope so, even thinking about it......23 hours............twenty....three....hours...................TWENTY..................THREE..............HOURS

And then again on the way home, all in Econo-squash-as-many-people-in-as-you-can class

Mind you, I am sure Aus is going to be so awesome

i think you will enjoy your stay alot here. I've been wearing shorts and a T-Shirt for the last week to school, the sun has been so nice!

Whats the proliferation of free wi-fi hotspots like in Aus?

Might be nice to know if I can expect to hook up on my travels

Sydney -

Eastern Creek, racetrack, drag strip and kart track
Harbour bridge
Opera House
Center Point tower
Imax
my house

simple basic ones mate, you could pm me later when you are here, i know some good resturants etc, places to go for fun, rather then landmarks. maybe jump on the ozbee lfs racing forum and see if the aussie drivers will organise a karting event, they do time to time.

If your commin that distance should grab a quick commuter flight and see NZ. After all, we're just over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Damn sight less driving and better beer ( etc )
Best thing about OZ, well, they've got a Kiwi to get their Rugby team performing and Wombats, they're really cool.
Place is full of killer critters, snakes everywhere and don't go swimming cus if the sharks don't get u then the croc's will. If they both miss u then did I mention the snakes, the most poisonous ones are in the water !!! Oh, and Jellyfish .........
The spiders are worth avoiding too .......
That and the size of the place, drive for days just to see more desert.
Always ask a kiwi for advice on Australia - lol

LOL, thanks Mr Kiwi

I think that this is very appropriate, and is a clear understanding of what may happen to you on your trip to Australia.

Haha, Mickyc! Classic song.

Yeah, it should be the national anthem!

Just a quick Q to those in / around Melbourne.....

I am driving the great ocean road, and will be wanting somewhere to stay in that area, any suggestions for nice towns/villages to stay?