The Itinerary for Oz

Sorry for the delay in posting! I do expect to update this site daily from Australia, of course, as long as we're not stuck in the willywacks with only a payphone and no internet connection...

We're flying out of LA this Sunday, Oct 9th, direct to Sydney & arriving at 6:50am on Tuesday, Oct 11th. Its about a 15 hr flight though - so kinda like flying from Boston to Alaska? I'm soo excited. Can't wait.

Our plans are kind of sketchy, but we figure we'll do the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Rocks, Opera House, downtown... We're thinking we'll spend the night or two and take off the following evening up the coast of Australia to Brisbane (about 400 miles) We have to be in Brisbane by Saturday to check in to our hotel. On the way up, we plan to stop in little outback towns, hang w/ kangies, kiwis and drink beer. We thought about taking a bus or train, but there's really nothing like winging it on our own.

While in Brisbane, we'll check a few local wineries, check out the rainforest, swim w/ dolphins, hit the Australia Zoo. I'm fascinated by the Whitesunday's, about 180 miles north of Brisbane, which apparently have pristine beaches ... and snorkeling snorkeling snorkeling.

We may have to rule out the Great Barrier Reef for this trip & catch it the second trip. The normal reef access points are about 800 miles north of Brisbane to Townsville or Cairns. The trip would unfortunately suck up alot of time while our stay in Brisbane is free & we'll have to pay to stay in Cairns. Especially when we fly out of Sydney on the 24th. If we included the reef, it would be 1200 miles there in total from Sydney, then 1200 miles back in a little rental, which would mean divorce most likely.

Maybe we can take a quick hop on a plane... we'll see.

I'm amazed about the size of Australia. The reef is about a 30 minute boat ride off the coast of Cairns, but if you get it on the southern end near the Whitesundays, however its about a 3-4 hour boat trip to reach it. Coming from the deep North Atlantic region, when after the little islands off the Maine coast have passed, one would next expect to find nothing until the UK. To know there's a living, breathing reef that's about 800 miles long just waiting for you is incredibly tempting. We'll see how the rental car does ...

So trip two - we'll hit Uluru, the Reef, and maybe the western coast?