Melbourne! Well, I’m biased, given that part of my family are from there, but it’s a very relaxed, cultured kinda place with a lot going on.

And while you’re in Victoria, you could check out some of the beautiful countryside near Melbourne, like driving down the Great Ocean Road, hiking in the Grampians, or walking around Wilson’s Promontory. The only problem is that in August it’s going to be a bit cold, and (being Melbourne) probably damp.

Alternatively, you could head north – I’ve never been, but up around the top of Queensland (around Cairns) is tropical, so it should be nice and warm. And round there is the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsunday Islands etc. etc.

Uluru – it is one big friggin’ rock!

And the Great Barrier Reef.

You will have a great time!

Great Ocean Road, whitsundays, Melbourne, Surfers Paradise!!

go skiing !!

If you have time..get down to Melbourne. Sydney is a nice city but it just doesn’t have the atmosphere of Mebourne – Sydney is where Australia’s money is made, Melbourne is where the fun is had!

If you do plan on travelling around then get to the Barrier Reef and Ayer’s Rock (Uluru). You can get internal flights to these places (if you’re concerned about your carbon footprint then flying might not be the best option but we’re talking massive distances so I think it’s acceptable). Although driving through Australia is great and you’ll miss quite a lot from the air – if you do fly up to Cairns (to see the barrier reef) try to request a seat on the right-hand side of the plane – when we flew there the plane flew over the reef and it was clearly visible from the right of the plane (I was on the left side and didn’t see anything!).

The Blue Mountains (just outside Sydney) are a closer option – they’re certainly worth it. Take a walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (I didn’t get to do it which is a real regret).

Buy some decent guidebooks (my preference is Rough Guide) and take their advice.

Have a good time!

Hmmm i spent 3 weeks in Sydney and i recommend. . .

- Taking a ferry across Sydney harbour to Taronga Zoo for the day !

- Hornsby shopping mall ( if your a shopaholic )

- A day around Sydney centre (circular quay, where the opera house is and botanic gardens.

- Go to bondi beach, its really busy and very touristy but its just one of those things you have to do if your in Australia !

- Go to palm beach ( where Home & away is filmed), and at the end of the beach there is heaps of rocks, (if your abit of a risk taker like me) i recommend climbing the rocks untill the end point and jumping off into the ocean. It’s amazing !

- Deffinatly go to “Harry’s Cafe De Wheels” Best pies in the world, and all the celebrities go there!

- Last but not least, probably my favorite place when i went was “Manly beach”, you can get a ferry across the Sydney harbour straight to manly, and the beach is about a 5 minute walk down the town, but i fell in love with this little lagoon just to left of you as you come out of the ferry depo… Just sit on the decking looking into to crystal clear water, watching the sun go down behind the skyline of Sydney !

Weeeell i hope ive helped…. and have a Super Duper Time !!

Love Moo X x x x

I definitely recommend going to Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin’s zoo) which is up the Gold Coast if your in Australia then you shouldn’t miss this. You should also do the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb this was the best thing I have ever done it is quite scary but it’s definitely worth it!If your a beach person i suggest Manly Beach which is beautiful or Palm Beach where Home and Away is filmed. Of course you should take a trip to Bondi Beach aswell!

Well! The votes are in! :) I agree with everyone’s entries; I loved Melbourne. It is a bit cold at that time of year but it’s still beautiful. You might want to go to the Great Barrier Reef first and then work back: Surfer’s Paradise is pretty commercial (in my opinion) but I liked the little town of Byron Bay. Sydney is a great city. I particularly liked the area around Oxford street. There are some good and inexpensive restaurants there if you go off the beaten track. You can walk just about anywhere and the “Hop On, Hop Off” circle route bus stops there; it will take you to Bondi Beach. I would definitely go to Manly beach again. Terrific place.

Near Melbourne is the Yarra Valley wine region. If you can rent a car, drive along the Ocean Rd. and stop along the way at some of the wineries.

You will love it! Have a great time.

Always check out the little towns. I have only been around Melbourne, Ballarat and Geelong and would recommend all those big cities for sites and sounds but never look past the little towns for local fare especially the little cafes, small town shopping and countryside view.

We spent 3 weeks in Australia, beginning in Melbourne, which is a great city. While there, we visited the wine country in the Yarra Valley and had a wonderful lunch at Domaine Chandon—gorgeous views and great food. We also went to Phillip Island to see the fairy penguins—beautiful trip and cute birds. While in Sydney, we took a day trip to the Blue Mountains, which were gorgeous. We wish we would have stayed overnight there, rather than heading right back to Sydney so that we would have had more time. Lastly, I would highly recommend a trip to the Whitsunday Islands—gorgeous beaches, awesome snorkeling—all around, this was the highlight of our trip.

As others have said it really depends on what you’re interested in.

Sydney was my least favorite place in Australia. I was just fine with only two tourist days there (I was working for three days.)

Sydney is a very beautiful city and we loved getting around the city on the ferries, but I was much more impressed with the other areas of Australia we

visited.

I agree with the folks who suggest going to Cairns, we had a great time there. Be sure to go snorkelling or scuba diving on the Barrier Reef. They have scuba “lessons” on many of the boats so that you can try scuba diving without being certified. My wife did it and loved it. I also highly recommend dining at the Cairns Yacht Club. It isn’t fancy, but the food was amazing.

We also spent a week around Adelaide because my wife was attending a glass conference there. Adelaide is a nice little city and centrally located to several interesting places. Our favorite excursion was a three day trip to Kangaroo Island. The wildlife we saw there was amazing and the place has lots of beautiful vistas and views.

The other thing we did in Adelaide that was wonderful was riding bicycles out to the ocean. There is a fantastic bicycle path that takes you almost the entire way there.

Adelaide had some good restaurants and the museums there were quite good as well.

The other thing we had a great time doing was visiting the Barossa Valley wine region. We stayed at a little bed and breakfast there that had bicycles. We toured the wineries on the bicycles and had a great time. There are lots of wine regions in Australia, I think

visiting one of them is a great idea.

The two things we would have liked to have done would have been going into the outback and heading over to Perth and seeing the sights there.

Again to echo others, it depends on your interests and budget. If you like the ocean, go North to Brisbane and Cairns and snorkel/scuba the Great Barrier Reef.

I would also recommend renting a car and driving to Melbourne along the coast. I was pleasantly surprised the South Coast. I also remember the beautiful beaches with few people and swimming in an outdoor rock ocean pool.

Here’s a tourist link for more info: http://www.visitnsw.com.au/Destination.aspx?DProductID=9017194

Melbourne is so cosmopolitan and has delicious food. I like the trolley buses and the atmosphere of people there. I wish I’d spent more time on the Great Ocean Road – truly amazing!

Have fun with your trip!

I actually spent most of my time in Western Australia (the Perth area and Fremantle). If you can make it out there WA definitely has its charms.

The southwestern coast was my favorite though (the Albany, Denmark area). It’s really gorgeous, and not what you think of when you imagine “Australia.”

Lots of answers and all good. I spent eight weeks starting in Melbourne and travelling the East coast and so can’t comment on Perth etc.

As I said all of the above but I have to endorse Fraser Island, it’s the worlds largest sand island and is well worth a visit. You can get to it by ferry from Hervey Bay… some great photo opportunities.

Have fun!

Oh and I’ve just thought of another must do (esp as you like photography).

There’s a stunning coastal walk from Coogi beach to Bondi beach. As I understand even in the Australian winter it will be averaging 22 degrees Celsius and sunny every day :)